We are less than a week away TGL’s second campaign.
I wonder how interested you all are in watching this time.
TGL’s opening act in early 2025 was a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, we saw a handful of viral moments and some really fun golf that led to respectable TV ratings. On the other hand, there were some technical problems, many blown matches and, at times, a general state of apathy among golf fans.
Here is what I wrote earlier this year after the end of the season:
“My final grade for TGL is a B-minus. While the league is a net positive for professional golf, it seems like it has a high floor with a low ceiling.
TGL was extra at times, creating viral moments and fun matches that occasionally shed an interesting light on players’ personalities. The finale was fun. League is relatively harmless and completely frivolous. If you don’t want to look, you’re not missing out. Still, enough people watched to give confidence that TGL will be part of the pro golf landscape for at least a few more years.
At the same time, TGL regularly gave me chills. Between the incorrect SIM card readings, the monotony of watching balls being hit on the screen, and the whole thing feeling too forced from a comic point of view, I kept wanting to change the channel.”
The good ones? Good TV ratings, fast play, viral moments, the hammer rule worked and the golf community showed a lot of support.
The negatives? Unreliable technology, inconsistent entertainment, a sloppy broadcast, boring players and golf that tries a little too hard to be serious.
What will the second season look like?
there are some important changes coming to TGL.
The hole design will have more risk-reward elements, the graphics have been updated, the greens are significantly larger and matches are being played on a wider variety of days.
In 2027, a seventh team will begin play as Motor City GC gives Detroit a team. You can expect more teams — and potentially more arenas — to enter the equation over time.
Right now, we’re wondering what kind of liquid TGL will have.
Yes, it has the benefit of a great TV deal and trusted owners with deep pockets. Yes, he has the talent of the player.
But in this world of golf events on YouTube such as Internet Invitationalwill TGL be fun enough?
The novelty aspect is gone. Every golf fan knows what TGL is at this point.
What will keep people watching? Maybe it’s something to keep as background noise on a late winter Tuesday night. Could it be more?
The bar is set low enough for how many people should be watching for this to be an improvement over previous ESPN programming. TGL has met and even exceeded that low bar.
The question now is what kind of ceiling does TGL have. Will it evolve into a consistently entertaining product or will it have all the energy of the Arena Football League?
For now, I’ll reiterate that TGL looks like a “high floor, low ceiling” kind of deal. It’s going to be intermittently fun, so you can take it or leave it.
I’ll watch because I’m a golf junkie (and I have a newborn so I can learn it about the hammer strategy early in life).
TGL schedule for 2026
The first match will take place next Sunday, December 28th at 3:00 PM EST between Atlanta Drive GC and New York GC. This is a repeat of the title streak from last season (Atlanta won). You can catch it on ABC, the only time this season that TGL won’t be on ESPN or ESPN2.
As a reminder, here’s how the teams are set up:
- Atlanta Drive (Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel, Patrick Cantlay, Lucas Glover)
- Boston Common (Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott)
- Connections of Jupiter (Tiger Woods, Tom Kim, Max Homa, Kevin Kisner)
- Los Angeles (Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Sahith Theegala, Justin Rose)
- New York (Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Cameron Young)
- sucking (Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark, Min Woo Lee, Shane Lowry)
Now here is the whole plan:
The top four teams in the SoFi Cup standings will advance to the playoffs. After the conclusion of the Players Championship on March 15th, we will have a double-header semi-final on Tuesday, March 17th.
The following Monday and Tuesday will be the championship series, a best-of-three final.
Is that enough for you to watch?
Let me know how many you plan to watch. If it’s not something our readers are interested in, we won’t waste your time (or ours) covering it closely.
Main photo caption: Atlanta Drive GC wins inaugural TGL crown. (Getty Images/Cliff Hawkins)
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