Final week, I wrote about how TGL—a simulator league that may function PGA Tour gamers—has some area to seize the eye of golf followers in 2025.
Working from January by way of March, TGL has quite a bit going for it. That features a priceless time slot on ESPN and the very fact Tiger Woods goes to be a constant participant within the league regardless of his lack of aggressive involvement in Tour golf at this stage in his profession.
The format and know-how, which you’ll be able to examine right here, can be intriguing. There shall be matches that includes three gamers on every four-man roster, ultimately resulting in a workforce playoff. That construction might additionally make for fertile playing floor, an area golf hasn’t correctly explored so far.
@TGL preseason warmup@commongolf @Keegan_Bradley pic.twitter.com/ZaWlyXO7vI
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) December 12, 2024
My opinion on TGL is that it could possibly be an awesome factor for golf. The TV product needs to be higher than a conventional broadcast and being on ESPN is a big increase to drawn in informal viewers. Will it revolutionize golf? I’m not keen to go there however I’m optimistic that it could possibly be very useful for a sport caught within the mud.
Nevertheless, there are just a few regarding facets of TGL that would maintain it again. If it had been to wrestle, these parts would seemingly be the culprits.
In no explicit order, listed below are 5 causes TGL won’t resonate with individuals.
1. The groups haven’t any which means
This one is a head-scratcher, particularly after LIV simply made the very same mistake.
The TGL groups are utterly arbitrary. Gamers are representing main cities however many of the gamers are usually not from that metropolis. The foursomes haven’t any relationship to one another past the truth that everyone seems to be a Tour participant. Why is every participant on every workforce? No one is aware of.
And there gained’t be house or highway video games; every thing takes place at SoFi Area in South Florida. So why ought to these gamers be representing a metropolis within the first place?
Considered one of LIV’s downfalls is that its groups got here collectively arbitrarily. Gamers are traded randomly. There isn’t any construction for why a participant needs to be on a sure workforce.
Why wouldn’t TGL set it up otherwise? Take your six hottest gamers and have them be the workforce captains who draft their very own guys: Group Tiger, Group McIlroy, Group Morikawa, and so forth.
Now we now have context. Group Tiger has Justin Thomas on it as a result of Tiger drafted him as a substitute of Max Homa. Then what if the final man picked performs nicely? What if the primary man picked performs poorly?
In Season Two, the worst workforce might draft a participant who isn’t competing in TGL—possibly somebody who had a breakout yr on Tour. Expertise comes out and in. There’s some intrigue over who retains their spot and who stays.
The best way TGL set it up, there’s little purpose to root for a particular workforce. It’s not region-specific as a result of the gamers don’t establish with that workforce within the first place. It’s not draft-specific. We don’t know why it got here collectively that method. Why ought to I root for Tom Kim on Tiger’s workforce? The one purpose is that he’s on the workforce for causes no one understands.
2. The gamers won’t have the character to make it entertaining
The premise of TGL is that we’ll have full entry to the gamers all through every match. They are going to be mic’d up and (hopefully) jawing backwards and forwards to make a extra casual and interactive environment.
That’s what we usually see with YouTube golf as nice personalities shine by way of the digicam. Persons are watching to be entertained by jokes as they (typically) take pleasure in good golf together with it.
However what about these gamers will make them entertaining?
All of those guys play critical golf for a dwelling. They practice to be the most effective gamers on the earth. This isn’t Fats Perez cracking jokes on display screen—it’s golfers who’re programmed to pay attention and win.
Are any of those gamers humorous? Will it come by way of on display screen? It’s robust for skilled athletes to impulsively activate the allure in entrance of a digicam for 2 hours and there apparently gained’t be a lot in the best way of colour commentating because the match is occurring.
There needs to be some trash discuss and lightheartedness to this recreation. It’s not actual golf and there’s nothing significant at stake. We needs to be listening to from the gamers about what sort of shot they’re attempting to hit and get their on the spot reactions. The gamers have to be much less robotic and extra expressive.
Having Scott Van Pelt and Marty Smith interviewing the gamers is promising—these guys are humorous and witty—however will the gamers match that power every week?
I’m skeptical about that which naturally leads me to the following level.
3. TGL could possibly be far more critical than mandatory
Look, TGL will discover success if it veers extra into the absurd and comedic. This could look completely nothing like Tour golf or exhibition golf. It must be the alternative of conventional.
There’s a construction to the competitors, which is okay, however we want greater than that. This must enterprise extra into Saturday Night time Dwell territory—slapstick comedy with barbs going backwards and forwards. And when it’s not humorous, it needs to be guys attempting to tug off loopy pictures and reacting expressively.
Kevin Kisner is a full-time NBC announcer and he’s taking part in on this league. This isn’t a critical competitors and shouldn’t be handled like one.
The winner of this league doesn’t get something significant. It’s not vital to win. That is purely for leisure.
It might be good to keep away from treating this like each shot issues. That is the place LIV obtained caught—it’s too much like regular golf. It’s only a worse model of the conventional Tour.
We should always watch the primary evening of TGL and agree that it’s wildly completely different from the staid Tour vibe. I’m cynical about them getting this proper, largely as a result of …
4. The individuals working this are part of the institution
Who’s behind TGL?
TGL is being produced by TMRW Sports activities, an organization based by Woods, McIlroy and NBC Sports activities govt Mike McCarley. Nevertheless it’s additionally being being produced in partnership with the PGA Tour.
Woods and McIlroy are the frontmen however this largely comes right down to McCarley and others within the established golf world. McCarley led the NBC Sports activities golf efforts from 2011-2021 and initiatives just like the subscription-based GolfPass and tee-time service GolfNow.
Yeah, I don’t really feel nice about that.
NBC’s golf protection has been a complete catastrophe for a very long time. Golf Channel, owned by NBC, is in the bathroom— simply have a look at their lack of authentic programming and downright terrible morning exhibits. I’m undecided who makes use of GolfPass until you usually e book tee occasions on GolfNow and wish reductions (when you do subscribe, let me know why you prefer it).
Add within the Tour’s affect right here and I’m not precisely anticipating this to be “Inside the NBA” from an execution standpoint. It most likely gained’t be practically as edgy or humorous because it must be.
If the individuals behind TGL had been complete outsiders to the sport, I’d really feel quite a bit higher about how the telecast shall be reimagined. I’d additionally really feel higher concerning the TV product if the normal broadcast was charming, which is clearly not the case.
Apologies for being scarred by the previous few years however I’ve bother trusting any professional golf decision-maker at this level.
5. Is that this simply one other money redistribution mechanism?
Ah, in fact, we now have to speak about cash.
Is the TGL only a thinly veiled try to get the highest Tour gamers extra money? Is it only a comfort prize to pump up their wallets after they didn’t get the ludicrous sums provided by LIV?
Truthfully, I believe the reply is sure. At the least partially. The Tour has been frantically scrambling to ensure its expertise stays in-house and I’m assuming TGL is one other play to fulfill gamers financially.
That worries me on a pair fronts. Are the gamers right here to make a real entertaining product for the followers? Or are they right here to money checks and transfer on with their lives?
The gamers are going to be chargeable for whether or not this works or not. They must activate the allure and act like they’re taking part in with their buddies again house.
In the event that they aren’t invested in that, TGL might crash and burn.
Do you suppose the TGL shall be profitable? Let me know beneath within the feedback.
Prime Photograph Caption: Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are driving forces behind TGL. (GETTY IMAGES/Christian Petersen)
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