“We’re hitting off real grass, we’re hitting real golf shots.”
We are nearing the beginning of the new TGL golf league, headed by Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.
The venture takes place indoors, and will feature six teams made up of four PGA Tour players. McIlroy is with Boston Common Golf, alongside Keegan Bradley, Hideki Matsuyama, and Adam Scott. Shane Lowry is playing with The Bay Golf Club, alongside Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark, and Min Woo Lee.
The venue is the custom-built SoFi Center in Florida, with matches on Monday and Tuesday nights. The first showdown will see New York Golf Club (Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Cameron Young) take on Lowry’s team on January 8 at 2am GMT.
Players will hit off real surfaces – rough, fairway and sand – into a a 3,400-square-foot simulator screen, before moving to the green complex – which can be rotated depending on the hole – when they get to within 50 yards.
The format will see competitors play the first 9 of the 15 custom holes in a 3 v 3 alternate shot, before six holes of singles, with a 40-second shot clock.
You can find a full explainer here.
Billy Horschel, of Atlanta Drive GC, was there to test the facilities at a media day.
He said: “When someone hears about us playing simulator golf (they think) it is maybe a little gimmicky, and it’s not that.
“We’re hitting off real grass, we’re hitting real golf shots. Yes, there will be some artificial surfaces but there is a lot of technology that is going into this. It’s not just thrown together, ‘let’s do this.’ This is a lot of high-tech stuff and the way they’ve created the competition.
“There’s a lot of stuff that’s going on in this and what is behind that is going to make it different than what people are seeing on a golf course.
“This is supposed to be different. It’s supposed to be new, it’s supposed to be vast, engaging in a two-hour window, where you’re going to be able to see every golf shot and you’re going to see guys more engaged than they would be out on a PGA Tour event.”
🏌️♂️ 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔 𝗧𝗚𝗟 𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗘: From teeing off into a massive 64 x 53 ft simulator, to putting on a custom-built green, and everything in between, here’s what it looks like to play a hole in TGL presented by @SoFi. pic.twitter.com/5NVpkRlYn5
— TGL (@TGL) October 10, 2024
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