TGL fan experience? Here’s how it really is

For as long as I can remember, golf has been trying to reinvent itself for a younger audience.

Short courses have appeared for those looking to play in less than four hours. High-tech driving range and training aids give players instant feedback on their swing. Golfers on YouTube and other golf content creators keep us thinking about the game even when we’re away from the course. LIV Golf brought its stars to a broadcast window, hoping to capture a sliver of our ever-shrinking attention spans.

And now…here comes TGL.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s new league of simulators has not yet fully matured, but that didn’t stop there more than a million viewers from tuning in at Tiger appeared first on Tuesday night.

In TGL the second match at the SoFi Center, pitting Tiger’s Jupiter Links against the energetic Los Angeles Golf Club, I joined 1,500 other golf fans in the stands, looking to better understand whether this indoor golf league has staying power. Here are 6 things I learned.

1. Fun for all ages

For a league that clearly caters to the next generation of golf fans, there were fans of all ages in the TGL stands. The brand new SoFi Center is on the campus of Palm Beach State College, but there weren’t many college-age spectators.

Small children with their parents enjoyed running around the field and taking pictures with their images Tommy Fleetwood and Ludvig Aberg, among other TGL professionals. Attendees in their 20s and 30s enjoyed reasonably priced cocktails ($14 max) – well, still, reasonable by sporting event standards.

But in the heart of the Palm Beaches, TGL also drew a significant number of older fans to the arena, none of whom seemed too concerned about shrinking attention spans or disrupting the traditional game. These people just saw TGL as a new opportunity to see the pros up close.

“It was really cool to see it in person,” a ticket holder from Hobe Sound, Fla. told me. “All the logistics, the computerized technology, the players in person. You see a lot more here than on TV, so it was very exciting.”

2. The different side of the pros

The interactions between the players and the fans make this product stand out from anything else we see in golf every week. Although a regular-season TGL match pales in comparison to the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, there are similarities in atmosphere.

Sahith Theegala was perhaps the most involved in his team’s first appearance at the arena. From the jump, he was bringing out the crowd and saying hi to familiar faces, and he even responded to a few jabs from opposing fans. His teammates, Collin Morikawa and Justin Rose, quickly joined the action after a series of shots made in what became a blowout victory. Between holes, they threw balls into the crowd.

Woods and his Jupiter teammates Max Homa and Kevin Kisner also went head-to-head, despite the match quickly turning against them. They didn’t interact with the fans as much as the LA players, but the crowd was certainly close enough for Woods and Co. to understand how they were feeling on that rough night involving airmail wedges and a bladed bunker shot that went viral.

“The best part of the show is actually seeing the physical players hit the ball and they hit the ball like I did,” said Mitch, a fan who drove from Miami.

3. Does it feel like a “real” golf event? Yes…and no

One fan I spoke to compared the raucous atmosphere to a college football game. Another felt the lights, music and t-shirt throwing resembled an NBA arena. TGL host Roger Steele motivated the crowd to start “the wave” – ​​not something you’ll see at Augusta. No matter what was going on in the suburbs, TGL matched ARE competitions, just another breed.

As in any other game in any other sport, the fans were loud and opinionated. They shouted to drop the hammer – and NO to. They complained about a wrong club selection or what they saw as too aggressive a line. Some thought Kisner was placed in the wrong spot for the alternate-shot format; others hailed Justin Rose’s music. All sports fans have received, and it was no different at TGL.

4. Speak up!

This was the most repeated criticism among attendees who otherwise enjoyed the event. They expected to hear non-stop banter from the players, whether talking about strategy or smack — and free from the chatter of ESPN hosts.

However, the reality is that in many sections of SoFi, you can’t hear the players at all. Music, sound effects (eg heartbeat shooter clockwhich was universally loved) and the distance between the seats and the players suffocates the players. Fans seated in the lower sections near the green were able to catch some chatter between the players, especially as they were bumping up close to the arena walls, but most fans were in the dark.

One fan pointed out to me that you wouldn’t expect to hear the players live at a football or basketball game. That’s true, but the broadcast partners of these leagues also haven’t set an expectation that you will WILL be able to listen to the athletes in real time.

5. New technology is as cool as advertised

One of my favorite things that I saw in person that you miss on the broadcast is the putting green that rolls from hole to hole. As players hit their drives and approach the simulator, attentive fans watch the “grounds crew” change pin placement and stack bunkers as the green rotates clockwise.

Although TGL’s second game raised some questions about the consistency of its simulator’s accuracy, the unprecedented size of this massive display is better up close. From the kick station where the players leave, there is a considerable distance to the screen where the ball makes contact and quickly returns to the virtual score. This pitch from contact to screen is much longer than most of us are used to playing in our local simulators, so fans can get some elements of real pro ball flights, most notably launch angle and spin. lateral. A power fade Homa looks like a power fade before it appears on the screen.

Fans can also see in person fresh grass fairways delivered by crane, remote-controlled cameras roam the arena, and also see the angle of the fairway bunker edge function change in real time depending on the player’s lie.

6. More affordable than you might expect

Fans looking to attend a TGL match can expect to pay around $200 for a ticket, and unlike most arenas, there are no nosebleed seats. My dinner — a taco bowl and bottle of water — cost me $25. Shuttles to parking lots and hotels keep things in the area moving with no major parking traffic to speak of. There are Full Swing simulators to let fans try some TGL holes and a photo op with the new league trophy near the arena entrance.

The TGL product on the course may still be a work in progress, but even in a blast, you’ll see golf in a way you’ve never seen it before.