How it works: TGL
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(TGL)
TGL presented by SoFi, the tech-infused primetime golf league beginning in 2025, has steadily progressed from concept to reality. Now the first matches are a month away.
What will TGL look like? Here’s a look at the newly conceptualized primetime golf league, which will progress from a regular season into a playoff format with semifinals (single elimination) and a championship series (best-of-three). The inaugural TGL match will air in prime time on ESPN and ESPN+ on Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Format
Each team will play five regular-season matches. Before each match, the two competing teams will name three competitors each. (One player from each team will sit each match.)
Each TGL regular season match will be a 15-hole, 3-on-3 match featuring two distinct components.
The first nine holes – "Triples" – will be played as a 3-on-3, alternate-shot match. The three players from each team alternate who tees off a hole, and then the three rotate who hits each shot from there.
The second six holes – "Singles" – will feature rotating head-to-head competition. Each player will play two holes during the session; Player 1 will play hole Nos. 10 and 13, Player 2 will play hole Nos. 11 and 14, and Player 3 will play hole Nos. 12 and 15.
Each hole has a value of one point, and the team with the fewest strokes on a hole wins the point. Ties are worth zero points and there are no carryovers.
The overtime tiebreaker (if necessary) will feature a 3-on-3 closest-to-the-pin competition until a team successfully hits two shots closer to the pin than their competitors.
All matches will be played at SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with a capacity of approximately 1,600 spectators for TGL’s inaugural season. SoFi Center, a nearly 250,000-square-foot venue with a 75-foot apex, will include a large plaza area to host pre-match festivities and enhance the fan experience.
Course: The course within the SoFi Center will be infused with various technologies and cover an area approximately 97 x 50 yards, roughly the size of a football field.
Tee shots and approach: Players will hit from real grass tee boxes, fairway surfaces, rough and sand on long shots into a 64 x 46-foot screen, roughly 20 times the size of a standard simulator.
Short-game and putting: For shots within approximately 50 yards or less, depending on green setup and hole locations, the players will transition to a custom-built complex (the “Green Zone”), a 3,800 square-foot, tech-infused green that includes three 15 x 27-foot virtual greens, each equipped with 189 actuators and jacks that change the slope of the green to create a variety of play on every TGL hole.
Scoring
TGL will use a points-based system for regular-season matches, comparable to the National Hockey League’s standings structure.
2 points: Regulation win
2 points: Overtime win
1 point: Overtime loss
0 points: Regulation loss
The top four teams from the regular-season standings will advance to the semifinals. The two semifinal match winners will compete in the best-of-three championship series.
If there’s a tie for a spot at the end of the regular season, the tiebreaker will be decided by total holes won. Consequently, matches will play all 15 holes even if the winner is decided earlier.
(TGL)
Team composition
The six TGL franchises are Atlanta Drive GC, Boston Common Golf, Los Angeles Golf Club, New York Golf Club, The Bay Golf Club and Jupiter Links Golf Club.
Here's a look at each team's roster:
Atlanta Drive GC: Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel, Lucas Glover
Boston Common Golf: Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley
Los Angeles Golf Club: Collin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose
New York Golf Club: Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick
The Bay Golf Club: Ludvig Åberg, Wyndham Clark, Shane Lowry, Min Woo Lee
Jupiter Links Golf Club: Tiger Woods, Max Homa, Tom Kim, Kevin Kisner.
How to watch
All TGL matches will air on either ESPN or ESPN2 and simulcast on ESPN+ in two-hour, prime-time competition windows, beginning on Jan. 7.
The inaugural TGL match will air in prime time on ESPN and ESPN+ on Tuesday, Jan. 7. The second TGL match will air in prime time on ESPN and ESPN+ on Tuesday, Jan. 14.