Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy’s interactive golf league arena almost ready
1,500-seat SoFi Center nearing completion for TGL interactive golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, January 7 opening in Palm Beach Gardens
Tiger Woods is finally set to make his TGL debut. How many times will we get to see him play in the indoor golf league’s inaugural season?
The first TGL match caught the golf world by storm last week, and while Woods and fellow co-founder Rory McIlroy were both on hand at the SoFi Center, neither took to the tee box (or the ever-changing green). Tiger is in the lineup for Jupiter Links Golf Club’s first match Tuesday, though, and Rory’s Boston Common Golf will be their opponent for their second showdown at the end of the month.
TGL’s premiere season will run through the end of March, culminating in two weeks’ worth of playoff matchups. Here’s what you need to know about the TGL schedule, its teams and how the league works, plus how to watch Tiger’s debut:
Tiger Woods’ Jupiter Links GC is scheduled to make its TGL debut Tuesday, Jan. 14. Their next match is Monday, Jan. 27, with two more set for the end of February (both Tuesdays, Feb. 18 and 25). The team rounds out the regular season on Tuesday, March 4.
There are six teams in TGL made of current PGA Tour golfers and including some of the top players in the world rankings. The teams represent cities and regions across the country from New York to LA (and including Jupiter, home to several of golf’s biggest stars, including Tiger Woods).
TGL is a mix of simulator and traditional golf. Players tee off from a platform into a 64-by-53-foot screen. That’s roughly the size of an IMAX screen (50×72). The league will feature 30 different hole layouts, and there will be fairway, rough and sand surfaces to hit from depending on where the shot lands on the screen. The sand is the same found at Augusta National, home of the Masters.
When the ball lands about 50 yards away from the pin, players will transition to the “Green Zone,” a 3,800-square-foot green that can be adjusted for variety on each hole. There are about 600 actuators under the green that will adjust the slope and layout of the green depending on the hole, as well as sand traps.
Rounds consist of 15 holes: The first nine are triples (all three players alternate shots) with the last six as singles (1 vs. 1 play where each golfer plays two holes). The team with the lowest score on a hole wins a point, and the team with the most points at the end of the match wins. Teams have the option at any point during a hole to throw “The Hammer,” which if accepted raises the hole’s point value by one.
If the teams are tied at the end of the match, it goes to overtime, which is a closest-to-the-pin competition. The overtime continues until one team has the two closest shots.
A point system will determine the four teams that make the playoffs at the end of the regular season:
If there is a tie for playoff seeding, the team that won the most holes over the course of the season will get the nod.
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