TGL might not be for everyone but it can definitely be good for golf

Let’s not beat about the bush here. We all know that lots of people will never have any interest in a product like Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL) but, based on its launch on Tuesday night in the US, it can certainly be good for the game.

Like many others, the prospect of watching players, even if they are the best in the world, take part in a golf simulator event carried little or no appeal to this golf lover after the concept had been mooted.

“I can think of better ways to spend a night” has been my honest view on it and I’m certainly not saying that it will now be essential viewing for me over the next few months.

It’s important, though, to give credit where credit is due and there can be no denying that Mike McCarley, its visionary, with backing from Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, has come up with something that can certainly stir interest in the game.

A giant simulator green and a rotating green in the SoFi Centre in Florida were the stars of the opening TGL show | TGL

“Tonight this is the epicentre in the game of golf as it is reimagined in a way that feels just right for 2025,” declared Scott Van Pelt, ESPN’s host for the launch match between New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club.

“The excitement is creating a buzz that feels a bit more like a courtside in the NBA than a traditional golf gallery. But one thing is for certain. This ancient and great game with its storied history is still very much at the core of it.”

Rickie Fowler, teaming up with Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele in the New York team, said it felt like being “guinea pigs” in the SoFi Centre in Florida while Ludvig Aberg, speaking before joining forces with Shane Lowry and Wyndham Clark for The Bay, talked about it being set to involve “a lot of cool features”.

It certainly did and the undoubted star of the show is a giant screen that is 24 times bigger than a normal golf simulator, which, daft as it may sound, allows you to get the impression that players are actually hitting a proper golf shot.

They do hit proper shots on and around a green that highlights exactly what can be achieved when technology is involved as it can not only be rotated to make it different from the previous hole but the contours also change through a bed of hydraulic jacks under the surface.

Visually, the whole thing looked fantastic and one of the biggest things to shine through was that it was fun for everyone in the arena, including both Woods and McIlroy as they looked on on this occasion before getting involved in the action themselves in upcoming matches.

For the record, The Bay opened with a thumping 9-2 win and Aberg added some more fans in the process, but this wasn’t about a result. It was about showing off something new to the world.

And, while some people will not care in the slightest about TGL, it certainly has the capacity to put a smile on faces and that is badly needed in the game, so let’s not knock it.