The inaugural season of TGL is set to launch in early 2024 as the tech-infused golf league and brainchild of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy hits TV screens.
The format will see six teams of four golfers compete on weekday nights in a move that aims to offer an exciting and different experience to a regular PGA Tour event.
Some of the best PGA Tour players have already been signed up to compete in the first season, which will see players mic'd up and play a series of two-hour 15-hole matches using a combination of simulators and traditional golf.
The action will all be housed inside a custom-built arena on the campus of Palm Beach State College in Florida. Partnering with digital personal finance company SoFi, the arena will be nearly 250,000 square feet, with an air-supported dome that is 75 feet high and stands that can house 2,000 fans.
The plan is to combine more traditional elements of golf with an embrace of modern technology. The simulators in the stadium, for example, are 64 feet by 46 feet which is around 20 times the size of an average simulator screen.
The monitors will also have additional interactive features that allow teams to preview a shot and strategize their approach. While players' tee shots will be hit into the simulator, they will be hit off real grass.
👀 our custom-built arena, featuring a virtual course complete with a tech-infused short-game complex. pic.twitter.com/iPYxwz7eOKAugust 24, 2022
Alongside the simulators, the TGL stadium will also have a vast short game area featuring bunkers and dynamic putting surfaces. The putting surface will be roughly 3,800 square feet, with the entire short game complex larger than four basketball courts.
Speaking on the heavy use of technology in TGL, TMRW Sports CEO Mike McCarley said: “TGL’s greatest purpose, which makes us most proud, is embracing this technology to provide more access to golf, more access to kids who may not have been able to set foot on a golf course before.
"They may never have dreamed to be Tiger Woods, or to be Rory McIlroy, but because of the use of technology, they can now have that dream. That’s something we are going to do right here.”
TGL begins on Tuesday 9 January, with coverage on ESPN and ESPN+.
