The first match of the TGL is in the books, as The Bay Golf Club ran away from New York Golf Club on Tuesday night for a 9-2 win inside the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Golf fans chimed in from everywhere during the debut to voice their opinions on opening night, and most of the initial reviews were positive.
Did the debut of the league live up to the hype? Let’s take a look.
TGL shot clock is fantastic
Superb. Incredible. Fresh breath. Whatever you want to use to describe the pace of play Tuesday night, feel free. The shot clock is an incredible addition to a made-for-TV event. In past renditions of competitions like The Match and The Showdown, play can often get bogged down because of slow play or commercials.
That’s not the case with the TGL, where a 40-second shot clock kept the pace moving and didn’t leave many lulls in the action. and when the timer hit 15 seconds, a heartbeat sound pulsated throughout the arena and got louder as time ticked down. Brilliant. Can we get a shot clock in professional golf now?
The introductions are a cool touch
Each golfer was introduced one by one into the stadium as if they were going through a starting lineup at an NBA game. Nope, just action at the SoFi Center, where golfers walked out to Roger Steele voraciously introducing them with plenty of lights and music to go with it. Think being introduced at the Masters instead you’re at a WWE match.
Handshakes? No thanks
After the introductions, former NBA official Derrick Stafford, who was the referee for the match, had the players meet to shake hands before the match. Yeah, that was a little much. This isn’t an NFL coin toss. It seemed forced at the time, and it would be hard to convince anyone that needs to be a part of the matches week in and week out.
The holes are spectacular
As is the case with a simulator league, all of the holes were created from scratch. The final hole of the night, “Quick Draw” was in a desert setting and gave players two options off the tee: one that required a 310-yard carry and allowed golfers to reach the par-5 green in two. The other was a safer option off the tee but turned it into a three-shot hole.
Another one, The Spear, had two diamond-shaped fairways that met near a point that was only 18 yards wide. Do players risk trying to carry that or lay up? Pick Yer Plunder was another brilliant par-5 design that featured three options off the tee, allowing golfers numerous options to get to the green.
Then there was the hole with lava. Yes, lava.
While there were no real-life holes played (or created, yet), TGL embracing the simulator portion of the event and having fun with hole designs should be embraced. These golfers play basic holes whenever they tee it up at TPC Craig Ranch or TPC Twin Cities or any of the other Tour venues that don’t move the needle. The variety of holes and the risk-reward options players were given throughout the made, made it a bit more interesting than players just hitting into a towering screen all night.
Technology? A+
Whether it was hitting off real grass platforms or the spinning green that has 600 plates beneath it to change slopes of the putting surface every hole, the technology was outstanding. It’s something that hasn’t been done before, but it all came off without any major hiccups to the TV audience and was explained well by the analysts. However…
Show us the stats!
Occasionally, the stats and analytics would be put up on the screen, but not for every shot. That’s what people want to see! They want to know how hard people are hitting balls into this giant screen, how far each shot went, what spin rates were. The technology for the league is next level, so show the fans the data and help them understand what it all means and how impressive it is.
Lack of banter
There were some good moments between the competitors, like when New York Golf Club threw The Hammer right in front of Shane Lowry as he was about to begin his swing. There was also when Rickie Fowler had conceded a putt to Lowry, but that fact was unbeknownst to the fans in SoFi Center. Fowler got Lowry to play along, and as the Irishman hit his putt, Fowler threw the flagstick down in front of the flag.
But in terms of trash talk, there wasn’t much. The atmosphere was way more relaxed, and the players did talk throughout the night with announcers and there wasn’t any dead air, but as far as friendly trash talk, there wasn’t much.
Does TGL need this? Probably not. But embracing the TV side of it and letting their personalities show is how players can get people to tune back in week after week.
Star of the night: Ludvig Aberg
Whether it was drilling the first birdie putt to win the opening hole or his going viral on social media, Ludvig Aberg was the star of the show. Of the six golfers, he was the best in terms of shots hit and putts made, and he seemed willing to step out of his shell for his pre- and post-game TV interviews with Scott Van Pelt and had decent commentary throughout the night. As if people didn’t know who Ludvig was before, he gained a lot of new fans Tuesday night.
Can the momentum continue?
The overall consensus is opening night was a success. The competition itself was a blowout, but it never lost momentum even as the margin got wider. The match took a little less than two hours, which was great. The action was fast-paced and fun to watch, but is it sustainable? In a few weeks, will as many people be talking about TGL and watching as they did on opening night? At the end of the day, it’s golfers hitting shots into a big screen, and that doesn’t do much for a lot of folks. However, there’s a big portion of fans who thoroughly enjoyed the broadcast or those who gave it a shot and are definitely going to watch next week when Tiger Woods and his Jupiter Links GC team make their debut.
It was hard to know what to expect going into Tuesday night at SoFi Center, but there are numerous reasons to be excited about the future of the league.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: TGL takeaways: Highlights from first match, thoughts on the league
