The launch of the new TGL golf league has raised questions around embracing golf's new modern age. Here Emma gives her thoughts.

An article was brought to my attention from the Financial Times, one of many, that had been written about Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s new TGL venture in partnership with the PGA Tour.

For those who don’t know, TGL is a high-tech golf league which combines virtual and traditional golf elements in a fast-paced, team-based format designed to appeal to a modern audience.

Key features of TGL

  • Matches are played in a custom-built indoor arena at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida with a virtual golf simulator for long shots and a physical short-game area for putting and chipping.
  • Teams consist of PGA Tour players, with 3-player teams competing in a 2-hour, prime-time event format.
  • The league aims to deliver an engaging, tech-driven golf experience with a focus on fan interaction and entertainment.

Financial Times Senior Business Writer Andrew Hill states: “Golf haters will always hate it. Golf lovers are likely to split. Those with an insatiable appetite for the game will happily snack on a primetime mini-contest featuring known names, such as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, TGL’s co-founders. 

“Dabblers like me will need much more convincing.”

There’s no doubt that this is a very different way to consume golf on television. Regardless of what LIV Golf is attempting with a team format, golf is still being played outside across an 18 hole golf course. TGL or the indoor golf side of it, is very much showcasing the move that the game, as a whole, has been making over the last five years or so.

Something that was noted by friend of Women & Golf, Eddie Bullock, an International Golf Consultant, who wrote in to comment on the article. Included in it, Eddie said:

“While the sport has long struggled with perceptions of being outdated and disconnected from younger generations, the truth is that modern golf participation is here to stay, and is thriving.

“Golf, whether played in Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL) or at a local club, is more than a sport; it’s an entertainment business. The evolution we are witnessing is not the demise of golf but its rebirth.”

Golf's enviable position

Taking both views into consideration, it just highlights the enviable position golf finds itself in. If you’re a fan of watching men’s professional golf then you have multiple different formats to watch and it’s safe to say that TGL will be drawing in a new audience, although predominantly in the American market.

At the grassroots level, indoor facilities and driving range technology have significantly expanded opportunities to engage with and play golf in recent years.

Unlike other sports that push alternatives like padel in tennis, golf offers varied ways to enjoy the game without departing from its core identity, using a golf club to hit a ball. Golf’s modern approach offers something for everyone, whether you prefer the traditional game or a more innovative take. A game for all to suit you and your lifestyle.

Issues with modernising the game

But modernising the game, with TGL being part of this, still comes with issues. Using Andrew’s analogy, the lovers (of golf) will be split between embracing the “rebirth” of golf and sticking with tradition, the haters (of anything modern) will hate whilst the dabblers may need some convincing either way.

Regardless of where you stand, we have to accept that the game’s evolution ensures its relevance in a modern, fast-changing world. TGL’s slogan, ‘Keep Up, It’s Golf,’ encapsulates this shift perfectly.

Now the golf industry has the task of continuing to embrace and build upon the sport’s enviable position, whilst tackling the real challenge of creating an environment where these formats and types of golfer can coexist.

Read more Opinion articles from the Women & Golf team here.