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Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s high-tech indoor golf league has officially gone live.
The TGL’s first match took place on January 7 at its dedicated SoFi Center on the campus of Palm Beach State College in Florida, with Bay Golf Club ultimately defeating New York Golf Club 9–2. Its live prime-time broadcast on ESPN averaged 919,000 viewers, according to the network.
Team-centric league is created tmrw sportsThe company was founded by Woods, McIlroy and former NBC Sports executive Mike McCarley. It was developed in partnership with pga tour,
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL – JANUARY 07: Rory McIlroy of Boston Common Golf and Tiger Woods of Jupiter Links Golf Club are seen before the TGL Match Presented by SoFi between New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club at SoFi Center on January 07. (Mike Ehrman/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images/Getty Images)
During the process of running the league, TGL brought on several big-name partners, including luxury automaker Genesis, consulting company Businesssolver, and consumer electronics retailer Best Buy as “founding partners”. According to a recent press release, it has a dozen official partners in total.
In its matches “three players per team compete in two-hour golf competitionTGL states on its website, “Offering a fresh approach to the game with a focus on technology, innovation and fan engagement.” Two of the six teams in the league face each other in a match.
The TGL regular season consists of 15 matches, all played inside the So-Fi Centre, named after the digital finance company which has signed a multi-year agreement to be its presenting sponsor.
The site is spread over approximately 250,000 square feet. Inside there, competitors – all the big names in golf – play their way through 15 holes in a high-tech space “about the size of a football field” that includes a “screenzone” and a “greenzone.”
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – JANUARY 07: A fan in the stands cheers during play on the ninth hole during the TGL Match presented by SoFi between New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club at SoFi Center on January 07, 2025 in Palm Beach, FL. beach garden (Mike Ehrman/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images/Getty Images)
a huge 64 by 53 foot simulator screen Plays an important role in the match in the “Screenzone” produced by Full Swing.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – JANUARY 07: Shane Lowry of The Bay Golf Club plays a shot on the seventh hole during the TGL presented by SoFi against New York Golf Club at SoFi Center on January 07, 2025 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. , (ph (Mike Ehrman/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the “Greenzone” serves as a dedicated area for miniatures play, featuring a giant rotating turntable green that powers hundreds of actuators to “change the slope of the green, creating a variety of plays on every hole.” Uses, TGL said.
The league uses a triples format for nine holes and singles for six holes. According to the Hi-Tech Golf League, approximately 1,500 people can watch in person from seats surrounding the playing area at the SoFi Center.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – JANUARY 07: A general view of players from New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club on the green during the TGL presented by SoFi at the SoFi Center on January 07, 2025 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawk (Cliff Hawkins/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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The inaugural season of the TGL was planned to be played in 2024. However, in November 2023 “the dome deflated due to a temporary power system and backup system failure” and resulted in some damage, forcing the league to make changes earlier in the year. A TGL press release from that time.
Now, with one match underway, the TGL will hold its remaining regular season games over the next few months, followed by two rounds of the postseason. The team that wins the championship title will receive $9 million of the season’s total prize money of $21 million, According to Golf.com,
The six four-player teams include Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank’s Atlanta Drive GC; Avenue Sports Fund and NBA star Stephen Curry’s The Bay Golf Club; Fenway Sports Group’s Boston Common Golf; TGR Ventures and businessman David Blitzer’s Jupiter Links Golf Club; the Los Angeles golf club of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and former tennis star Serena Venus Williams; and hedge fund founder Steven Cohen’s New York golf club, per TGL.
The company aims to revolutionize the pristine women’s golf apparel industry
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