There was Billy Horschel Tuesday evening, admittedly “blacking out” after making a 17-foot, 10-inch putt to give the Atlanta Drive its first lead in Match 2 of the TGL Finals against New York Golf Club with one hole to play. Horschel, one of the breakout stars of “golf but in a dome and on a screen,” curled the downhill putt in, jumped in the air, fired his hat and putter into the artificial turf and entered into an expletive-filled golf “Gladiator” moment where he repeatedly shouted “This is my f—king house!”
As Horschel roared around the area surrounding TGL’s high-tech green, Justin Thomas pumped his fist and gave Horschel a chest bump. Patrick Cantlay, the third member of their team, deadpanned a “well done, Billy” as the trio made its way to the tee for what wound up being the title-clinching hole.
That scene, the defining and lasting image of TGL’s inaugural season — along with Tiger Woods hitting the wrong club and Kevin Kisner skulling a chip — is Exhibit A for why TGL succeeded in Year 1 when it very well could have bombed.
Eleven weeks ago, TGL was an intriguing unknown in the golf space. It was an idea with big names behind it that spent barrels of cash to construct the SoFi Center. There was no telling what TGL would be, if it would capture an audience or if viewers would stay interested after the novelty wore off.
“Six months ago, I didn’t know what to expect,” said Shane Lowry, who plays for Bay Area Golf. “But overall, the whole experience, I think, has just been really cool.”
“I could never imagine what this was going to be,” Horschel said. “I remember coming into the arena in November and walking out and I was just in awe. I couldn’t imagine what I was seeing. I described it like a football player walking into Mercedes-Benz Stadium right about to play, a basketball player walking out — Steph Curry walking out at Oracle Arena, stuff like that. Never imagined we’d be playing golf in an arena with a big simulator and people and music and chanting. It has been really cool and has sort of exceeded all of our expectations.”
Tiger, Rory and the tech were the initial hooks. Golf and sports fans looking for something to watch on a winter weekday night tuned in to see what TGL was all about and what the gameplay would be like.
The tech had some scratchy moments (and continues to). The broadcast was clunky and the first few weeks saw the league sputter as it searched for an identity. What was it going to be? Was it going to be competitive or just a two-hour horse around for the PGA Tour’s top stars?
Therein always lied the biggest key to TGL finding success in Year 1 and being able to build off it next season: The players had to buy in, show they cared, wanted to win and that fans should too.
“I’m sure it will continue to evolve,” said Tommy Fleetwood of Los Angeles Golf Club. “I’m sure there’s different things that they can do with the conditions. I’m sure there will be new holes next time probably. But overall I think everybody has really enjoyed the format. It’s just been so different for us and so new, but everybody has got really behind it.”
Added Justin Thomas: “It’s a lot different than what we do week to week and the grind of the PGA Tour. I didn’t necessarily ever leave a match or a time where it was anything but exciting and fun and really enjoyed it.”
The TGL playoffs and finals, in particular, were a nice window into this buy-in and the magic of TGL.
Professional golfers are competitive, but there was always a concern that they might treat it more like the made-for-TV matches than something they actually care about winning.
But there was no question during the playoffs that the players burned to win.
There was JT chirping his friend Rickie Fowler and getting upset over a late hammer throw. The face Thomas made when referee Derrick Stafford allowed the hammer toss was the same pissed-off face Thomas makes when something goes awry during a tournament round. There was Xander Schauffele talking trash, and Horschel thriving as the type of character TGL needed — someone who can play to the crowd and clearly cares about what, on its face, is a really goofy idea.
“I think the level of emotion and intensity in the match last night and tonight was really high,” Cameron Young said Tuesday night. “Not that there wasn’t all year but it’s just a different level just like the playoffs in any other sport.”
“It was never a thing of, ‘Hey, we need to play better to win more money’,” Fowler said. “That’s all guys playing for pride out there. The money and stuff is a bonus. Most of us live around here — it works out being somewhat convenient but it was just trying to beat up on your buddies.”
The needle TGL needed to thread was to be a competitive sport while being entertaining. It needed viral moments for golfers to show their personalities (which is still a work in progress in some areas). Wyndham Clark, Min Woo Lee, Justin Rose, Lowry, Thomas and especially Horschel thrived. It needed to be additive to the golf space. It’s not a major or the Players, but it’s something for golf and sports fans to watch on winter weekdays that’s different. It’s not for everyone, and that’s OK. It’s not supposed to be something that speaks only to the PGA Tour demo. Golf needs something different than the week-to-week Tour grind and can connect to a different section of fans.
Things weren’t perfect for TGL. The tech still needs to get tuned up. The changes they made to the hammer rules midway through the season really helped as did changing the distance of the tee boxes for closer shots and slowing down the speed of the green.
There will be talks to refine and improve TGL ahead of the second season, which is slated to start next January. Expanding the league to include more teams and players is possible. Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth and Tony Finau have all talked about TGL being more realistic for them if there was an arena closer to where they live, but the interest is there. Adding LPGA players is a wrinkle that has been discussed and would benefit all parties. The league could look to tweak the schedule to have the season end right before the Players Championship.
The benefit of being a well-funded startup is having the nimbleness and adaptability to make changes on the fly. TGL did that with in-season changes and now can take a bigger-picture view of what went right and what needs to get better for it to have long-term staying power.
Those questions will be answered in the coming months, but there’s little doubt that TGL succeeded in Year 1 and will head toward Year 2 with real momentum.
“It completely exceeded my expectations,” Thomas said.
Josh Schrock is a writer and reporter for Golf.com. Before joining GOLF, Josh was the Chicago Bears insider for NBC Sports Chicago. He previously covered the 49ers and Warriors for NBC Sports Bay Area. A native Oregonian and UO alum, Josh spends his free time hiking with his wife and dog, thinking of how the Ducks will break his heart again, and trying to become semi-proficient at chipping. A true romantic for golf, Josh will never stop trying to break 90 and never lose faith that Rory McIlroy’s major drought will end (updated: he did it).
