5 Reasons why TGL could fall

Last week, I wrote about how TGL — a simulator league that will feature PGA Tour players —there is little room to capture the attention of golf fans in 2025.

Running from January to March, TGL has a lot going for it. That includes valuable time on ESPN and the fact that Tiger Woods will be a consistent player in the league despite his lack of competitive involvement in Tour golf at this stage of his career.

format and technology, which you can read about hereit is also intriguing. There will be three-man matches on each four-man roster, eventually leading to a team playoff. This structure could also be fertile ground for gambling, a space golf not properly explored to this point.

My take on TGL is that he can be a great thing for golf. The TV product has to be better than a traditional broadcast and being on ESPN is a big incentive to attract casual viewers. Will it revolutionize golf? I’m not ready to go there, but I’m optimistic that it could be very beneficial to a sport stuck in the mud.

However, there are some troubling aspects of TGL that may hold it back. If it were to be fought, these elements would likely be the culprits.

In no particular order, here are five reasons why TGL might not resonate with people.

1. Teams make no sense

This is a head-scratcher, especially after LIV only made the same mistake.

TGL teams are completely arbitrary. Players represent major cities, but most players are not from that city. The four have no relation to each other beyond the fact that they are all Tour players. Why is every player on every team? Nobody knows.

And there will be no home or road games; it all happens at the SoFi Arena in South Florida. So why should these players represent a city in the first place?

One of LIV’s failings is that its teams were assembled arbitrarily. Players are traded randomly. There is no structure to why a player should be on a certain team.

Why wouldn’t TGL put it differently? Take your six most popular players and make them the team captains who draft their sons: Team Tiger, Team McIlroy, Team Morikawa, etc.

Now we have context. Team Tiger has Justin Thomas on it because Tiger drafted him over Max Homa. So what if the last guy picked plays well? What if the first guy picked plays poorly?

In Season Two, the worst team could draft a player who doesn’t compete in the TGL—perhaps someone who had a successful year on Tour. Talent comes and goes. There is some intrigue as to who holds the seat and who stays.

The way TGL set it up, there’s little reason to root for a specific team. It is not region specific because players do not identify with that team in the first place. It is not draft specific. We don’t know why it joined like that. Why should I root for Tom Kim on the Tiger team? The only reason is that he is on the team for reasons that no one understands.

2. The players may not have the personality to make it fun

The premise of TGL is that we will have full access to players during every match. They will stand up with a microphone and (hopefully) move their jaws back and forth to create a more informal and interactive atmosphere.

That’s what we watch golf regularly on YouTube while great personalities shine through the camera. People are looking to have fun with jokes as they (sometimes) enjoy good golf along with it.

But what will make these players fun?

All these guys play serious golf for a living. They train to be the best players in the world. This is not Fat Perez making jokes on screen– Golfers are programmed to focus and win.

Are any of these players funny? Will it appear on the screen? It’s hard for professional athletes to suddenly turn on the charm in front of a camera for two hours, and apparently there won’t be much of an obstacle to color commentary while the game is happening.

There should be some trash talking and levity in this game. It is not real golf and there is nothing meaningful in the game. We need to hear from the players what kind of shot they are trying to hit and get their immediate feedback. Players should be less robotic and more expressive.

Getting Scott Van Pelt and Marty Smith interviewing the players is promising – those guys are funny and witty – but will the players match that energy every week?

I’m skeptical about that which naturally brings me to my next point.

3. TGL can be much more serious than it needs to be

Look, TGL will succeed if it goes more into the absurd and comical. This should absolutely not look like Tour golf or exhibition golf. It should be the opposite of traditional.

There is a competition structure, which is fine, but we need more than that. This should venture more into Saturday Night Live territory – slapstick comedy with barbs going back and forth. And when it’s not funny, it should be the guys trying to take crazy pictures and react expressively.

Kevin Kisner is a full time talker on NBC and he is playing in this league. This is not a serious competition and should not be treated as such.

The winner of this league gets nothing meaningful. It’s not important to win. This is just for fun.

It would be best to avoid treating this like any shot that counts. This is where LIV was caught –it is very similar to normal golf. It’s just a worse version of the normal tournament.

We have to look at the first night of TGL and admit that it is very different from the relaxed atmosphere of the Tour. I’m cynical that they do this right, mostly because…

4. The people running this are part of the institution

Who is behind TGL?

TGL is being produced by TMRW Sports, a company founded by Woods, McIlroy and NBC Sports executive Mike McCarley. But it’s also being produced in partnership with the PGA Tour.

Woods and McIlroy are the front-runners, but that mostly comes down to McCarley and others in the popular golf world. McCarley led NBC Sports golf efforts from 2011-2021 and initiatives such as the subscription-based GolfPass and the GolfNow service.

Yeah, I don’t feel good about it.

NBC’s golf coverage has been a total disaster for a long time. Golf Channel, owned by NBC, is in the toilet – just look at the lack of original programming and the terrible morning shows. Not sure who uses GolfPass unless you regularly book tee times on GolfNow and want the discount (if you subscribe, let me know why you like it).

Add the impact of the tournament here and I don’t expect this to be “Inside the NBA” from an execution standpoint. It probably won’t be as sharp or funny as it should be.

If the people behind TGL were completely outside the game, I’d feel a lot better about how the telecast will be reimagined. I’d also feel better about the TV product if traditional broadcasting was glamorous, which is obviously not the case.

I apologize for being scarred by the last few years, but I have trouble trusting any pro-golf decision makers at this point.

5. Is this just another cash redistribution mechanism?

Ah, of course, we need to talk about money.

Is TGL just a sneaky attempt to get more money from the Tour’s top players? Is it just a consolation prize to shore up their wallets after not getting the ridiculous amounts offered by LIV?

Honestly, I think the answer is yes. At least partially. The Tour has been frantically trying to make sure its talent stays home and I’m guessing TGL is another game to please the players financially.

This worries me in several ways. Are the players here to make a real fun product for the fans? Or are they here to cash checks and get on with their lives?

The players will be responsible if this works or not. They should turn on the charm and act like they are playing with their friends at home.

If they are not invested in this, TGL may crash and burn.

Do you think TGL will be successful? Let me know below in the comments.

Main photo caption: Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are the driving forces behind TGL. (GETTY IMAGES/Christian Petersen)

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