Photo courtesy TGL Golf
Love it or hate it, TGL is back for a second season.
TGL is a new golf league, combining advanced technology with teams of top players from the PGA Tour for two-hour weekly competitions in prime time.
Six TGL teams representing six different cities go head-to-head in a season long competition at SoFi Center, a first-of-its-kind venue built specifically for TGL on the campus of Palm Beach State College. Matches air on ESPN and the ESPN App in the U.S. with every shot live and all the players mic’d up, bringing unprecedented access to the competition for golf fans.
Last year was the first season and throughout the season I heard mixed reviews. There was a group that loved it – myself included but there were others that weren’t enamored, whether it was they felt like it was a big video game, or if some of the technology needed some work.
One technological issue to me last year was the mechanical aspects of the green complex. Every hole featured a different green, with mechanics reshaping the green complex.
At times I felt it was obviously contrived and not realistic looking. That has changed this year, and the green is better looking this year, and rolling realistically. You could see it right away as the players are spending more time reading the greens and at least in the first match, making longer putts.
There are 15 regular season matches, scheduled Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. Each team will play five matches which will be shown on ESPN or ESPN2.
The playoffs are in March as the league wraps up when the PGA Tour is hitting its stride
I enjoyed the matches last year and through one week this year, it’s even better. If you didn’t see a match last year, take some time to watch one this year.
Having the match live with the players mic’d up gives you and more personal perspective and ability to get to know the players better.
Adding the personality aspect makes it highly enjoyable and that the match takes two hours makes it as watchable as most of the other professional sporting events.
Following are the teams and rosters for this season.
Atlanta Dream G.C.: Justin Thomas, Lucas Glover, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel
Boston Common Golf: Keegan Bradley, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott
Jupiter Links G.C.: Tom Kim, Tiger Woods, Max Homa, Kevin Kisner
Los Angeles G.C.: Sahith Theegala, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose
New York G.C.: Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Cameron Young
The Bay G.C.: Min Woo Lee, Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Aberg, Shane Lowry.
For more information or for a full schedule of the matches visit www.tglgolf.com
By Dennis Miller