TGL is finally ready to launch in January
Tech-infused team league hopes familiar stars can create a new way to entertain fans
A year after it was originally scheduled to debut, the tech-infused team golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports in partnership with the PGA Tour will launch its inaugural season at the start of January.
The TGL presented by SoFi will kick off on January 7 in concert with the PGA Tour’s “Opening Drive” of the 2025 season. The 12-week TGL season — with televised live team matches primarily in primetime on Monday and Tuesday nights — will culminate in a two-night best-of-three SoFi Cup Finals series March 24-25.
The 15 scheduled matches — all played in the TGL’s custom-built, 1,500-seat SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. — will run in a two-hour show window, pitting three players from the six four-man teams in head-to-head competition. The first seven matches will be shown live on ESPN with the others airing on ESPN2 and all of them available to stream on ESPN+.
“TGL presented by SoFi will combine teams of world-class PGA Tour stars with the energy fans have become familiar with in other team sports – a live, courtside experience for golf on an unprecedented scale,” said Mike McCarley, CEO and co-founder of TMRW Sports. “The six TGL teams will go head-to-head in a season of matches from January through March, bringing team golf to prime time for the first time on a consistent basis.
“In partnership with ESPN, our season will complement the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup season with a fast-paced team competition that aims to captivate a wide range of sports fans with elements, like a shot clock, that are familiar to fans of other sports. TGL’s two-hour matches are perfect for prime time and will help bring more fans closer to some of the biggest names in golf.”
The opening match on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 9 p.m. will feature the New York Golf Club (Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler and Cameron Young) against The Bay Golf Club (Ludvig Åberg, Wyndham Clark, Min Woo Lee and Shane Lowry).
A week later on Jan. 14 at 7 p.m., Tiger Woods’ Jupiter Links Golf Club (Woods, Max Homa, Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner) will face Los Angeles Golf Club (Collin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose).
Week 3 will introduce the Atlanta Drive GC (Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel and Lucas Glover) against Schauffele’s NYGC team on Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. while McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf team (McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama) will debut against Tiger’s Jupiter Links on Monday, Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 17, will feature a Presidents’ Day tripleheader on ESPN (Atlanta Drive vs. L.A. at 1 p.m. and vs. The Bay at 4 p.m.) and ESPN2 (The Bay vs. Boston Common at 7 p.m.). A day later, Jupiter Links and NYGC face off Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.
All six teams will play Feb. 24-25, with LAGC vs. NYGC at 5 p.m. and Boston Common vs. Atlanta Drive at 9 p.m. on Monday with The Bay vs. Jupiter Links on Tuesday at 9 p.m.
A final-week tripleheader March 3-4 will determine which four teams will advance to the semifinals on March 17-18 after the weekend of the Players Championship. The two winners will advance to the best-of-three SoFi Cup Finals a week later.
The SoFi Center — which had to be rebuilt after a hurricane in 2023 destroyed the original soft-top roof — will offer an immersive experience from seats and suites that encircle the competition floor much like courtside seats at an NBA game.
Fans are encouraged to register for the ticket presale which will commence on Monday, Oct. 28. Public sales will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 10 a.m. Single match tickets will start at $160.
NYGC member Rickie Fowler helps explain how the TGL works in this video.
Using a mix of technology throughout SoFi Center’s field of play, teams will face off across 15 custom-designed holes in a hybrid of virtual and real-life action. They’ll hit their shots from boxes featuring real grass or sand to play custom-designed, virtual holes projected onto a 3,400-square-foot screen (64’x53’) that’s nearly 24-times larger than a standard golf simulator screen.
Once teams are inside approximately 50 yards they will transition to live action and finish each hole within a 22,475-square-foot short game complex that transforms between holes. TGL’s green will use advanced technology to modify the shape of the green on every hole, including a 41-yard-wide turntable that rotates the green and three bunkers to change approach angles and nearly 600 motorized actuators embedded under the synthetic putting surface to morph its topography.
Quick Draw par-5 by Beau Welling (above); Serpent par-5 by Pizá Golf (below)
Each match, the course will be comprised of 15 of TGL’s 30 holes custom-designed by renowned golf course designers including Beau Welling, Chad Goetz (Nicklaus Design) and Agustín Pizá (Pizá Golf). The holes are inspired by authentic golf landscapes such as links, canyons, coastal, deserts and tropical settings.
TGL’s technology mix allows for every shot to be broadcast live; a 40-second shot clock; audio access with all players mic’d up; advanced shot data; a production plan featuring robotic and embedded cameras throughout the field of play; and a high-tech, in-venue lighting and video presentation.