What is TGL? Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's indoor golf explained

By Will Toogood

Technology is changing the game of golf at an increasing rate; longer drives, lower scores and bigger prizemoney.

The two biggest names in golf have a venture that aims to embrace these changes - enter TMRW Golf League (TGL) - headlined by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

Originally scheduled to begin in 2024, TGL has excited golf fans for it’s technology-infused debut since Woods and McIlroy announced they would be joining forces.

The first match between the New York Golf Club and the Bay Golf Club begins at 3pm NZT on Wednesday at the SoFi Centre in Florida.

What is TGL?
Unofficially referred to as the Tomorrow Golf League, the idea behind TGL is to blend the pinnacle of golf technology with the pinnacle of golfing athletes in a competition format.

“Bring a fresh, modern, and fast-paced twist to the game we all love,” says Woods.

McIlroy says TGL is “golf reimagined for the 21st century”.

How does TGL work?
Played entirely indoors the competitors will play nine holes of golf through a simulator with players hitting balls from three natural surfaces (tee box/fairway, rough and sand) toward a 64x53ft screen.

Once a ball lands within 50ft of the on-screen pin, play then moves to the “green zone” a 22,475 sq ft short-game area which can be customed by topography, dimensions and pin position for each hole.

Players will be equipped with microphones so fans can get an inside ear on how the best golfers in the world converse on the course.

How do TGL competition formats work?
One match will be featured each competition day between two of the four teams, each team made up of four PGA Tour players. The matches are split into two sessions - singles and triples - with both being match play.

Triples is a 3v3 alternate shot contest, followed by singles in the second session where golfers go head to head over six holes - each player plays two holes.

A 40-second shot clock adds pressure via a one-shot penalty for violation - doubling as an engagement mechanism for fans to prevent slow play.

Each hole is worth one point, the team with the most points at the end of the two rounds is the winner. In the event of a tie, overtime will see players head to a closest-to-the-pin scenario with the team whose tee shot lands closest judged the winner.

What’s the prizemoney for TGL?
Unsurprisingly with Woods and McIlroy being the faces, TGL has generated significant investment. The total prize pool for the first TGL season is US$20.9m ($37m) with US$9.8m ($17.3m) to the winning team.

Who are on the TGL teams?

Atlanta Drive GC
Patrick Cantlay
Lucas Glover
Billy Horschel
Justin Thomas

Boston Common Golf
Keegan Bradley
Hideki Matsuyama
Rory McIlroy
Adam Scott

The Bay Golf Club
Ludvig Åberg
Wyndham Clark
Shane Lowry
Min Woo Lee

Jupiter Links Golf Club
Max Homa
Tom Kim
Kevin Kisner
Tiger Woods

Los Angeles Golf Club
Tommy Fleetwood
Collin Morikawa
Justin Rose
Sahith Theegala

New York Golf Club
Matt Fitzpatrick
Rickie Fowler
Xander Schauffele
Cameron Young

How to watch TGL?
Unless you happen to be in the Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, vicinity, where the 1500-seater SoFi Centre is located, television is your best bet.

From 3.00pm on Sky Sport 2 you can watch TGL in New Zealand.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission