The biggest success of TGL’s first night will also be its biggest challenge

After more than a year of hype and publicity, along with untold millions in investment and spending, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s arena golf league, TGL, it finally arrived on tuesday night on ESPN.

Polarizing is the first word that comes to mind after the two-hour inaugural match that saw Ludvig Aberg and The Bay Golf Club hammer (yes, that’s a TGL pun) New York Golf Club 9-2.

There was no shortage of thoughts on Woods and McIlroy’s visionary debut.

some appreciated the fast paceinnovative technology and relaxed atmosphere that allowed players to show more of their personalities than in tournament conditions. Others called for someone to take the idea behind a shack and put it out before the 15-hole match was over.

Herein lies the biggest win from TGL’s opening night. It is something that cannot be easily replicated. It will also be key to ensuring the league grows into what Woods and McIlroy envision and not just slowly fade into irrelevance.

It made golf fans feel something.

at least for one night.

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This is powerful. It’s also rarer than we’d like. Golf still has a handful of events — majors, the Ryder Cup, the Solheim Cup, some major Tour events — that stir the soul. But for weeks golf fans have been overwhelmed by vanilla course layouts, overwatered greens and disappointing television coverage.

All of this can lead to a sense of pro-golf apathy.

But TGL? On Night 1, the brand new league had golf fans flocking to their televisions to watch something completely different.

It was distributed differently, and this was not for everyone. Half of my texts were from friends dismissing this as “not golf” or asking, “Who is this for?” The other half was from people who found it fun, silly, entertaining and worth another viewing.

On a Tuesday in January, three months from the return to Augusta National, golf fans should be invested and care about something. Not 9-2 drubbing Bay Golf placed in New York GC. That’s irrelevant if it doesn’t lead to Steve Cohen taking some of the money he gave Juan Soto and slipping it Scottie Scheffler’s way to get NYGC back on track.

But golf fans hadn’t had something they really cared about since the final round of the 2024 Open, and TGL, at least for one night, gave it to them on a dead Tuesday in January.

Did you like Shane Lowry coming out on “Snap Yo’ Fingers” or Xander Schauffele banging with DMX playing in the background? Maybe the different holes (some good, some very bad) piqued your interest. Maybe you caught NBA referee Derrick Stafford getting involved. (Do we even need a shot clock ref? Doesn’t it just make noise?)

You may have hated them all. There are definitely issues for TGL to sort out. It wasn’t perfect; Day 1 start-ups never are. of transmission needs to be improved. DJ Khaled’s stuff needs to be thrown in the sun. And can we give FedEx a real hammer if they’re going to sponsor one of the main components of the game?

But TGL, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy not playing, sparked conversation and brought excitement, intrigue, humor and/or revulsion to Night 1.

This is a win.

The novelty may wear off after the first few games. There’s a good chance that after Woods and McIlroy play their first matches, the shine will have worn off and everyone will be back to their regularly scheduled programs until the golf season really heats up.

But if TGL wants to have staying power, it’s going to have to find a way to keep making golf fans feel something. This shouldn’t be to everyone’s taste. Nor does it mean that it should take itself too seriously. I would argue that it should do the opposite and lean towards absurdity and fun.

Whatever comes next, the league’s future success depends on giving golf fans a reason to care – something they’ve longed for but can’t always find.