In this simulator golf league, everyday players are competing for $150,000

This article was produced in partnership with GOLFZON.

Intrigued by the concept of TGL — an indoor simulator golf league that will pit teams of PGA Tour players against each other in prime-time matches — and wish you could participate yourself?

GOLFZON is making that dream a reality.

The Korean golf-simulator manufacturer has kicked off a tour in which 12 teams representing cities mostly from around the U.S. compete in a series of matches, culminating in a final that will be contested in Orlando in January and award $150,000 to the winning team.

The concept is similar to Korea’s popular GTOUR, which GOLFZON has run for more than a decade. Some of the GTOUR’s best players have successfully made the transition from screen golf to traditional outdoor tour play. Thanks to GOLFZON’s deep global footprint, with more than 9,400 simulator locations worldwide, there’s plenty of opportunity to host matches in regionally convenient locations — and the teams don’t even have to be in the same space to play each other. GOLFZON’s simulators link together on the Internet, so shots hit from anywhere can be broadcast to the competitors in real time.

So how exactly does GOLFZON Tour work? Find out everything you need to know below.

GOLZON Tour: How it works

What is GOLFZON Tour?

Regional teams of five players each from 12 selected GOLFZON host facilities (nine are in the U.S., with London, Toronto and Mexico rounding out the field) compete against each other in a series of matches, with one team ultimately earning a grand prize of $150,000.

Who can play GOLFZON Tour?

For the inaugural season, the 12 selected host facilities have made their own teams utilizing open qualifiers. Each qualifier was given a $1,000 stipend to cover travel costs. GOLFZON expects to have more participation opportunities available in future seasons. The Tour is open to players 18 and up, both professional and non-professional. The current regional host facilities are:

East Division

Detroit – Tee Times
London – The Golf Rooms
Louisville – Tee It Up Golf USA
New York City – Golfzon Social
Orlando – Golfzon Leadbetter
Toronto – Golfplay

West Division

Chicago – The Green
Houston – The Daly Round
Los Angeles – Golf Envy
Mexico – Mulligan’s Monterrey
Minneapolis – Element Indoor Golf
Tulsa – BirdieBay

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What is GOLFZON Tour’s format?

Seeding

The 12 regional teams were initially seeded with divisional round-robin play, in which each host facility team played five matches. Three of the five players on each team compete in a given match. Each of the matches produced a three-player aggregate team score via stroke play. A win = 2 points, tie = 1 point, loss = 0 points.

Overall seeding tiebreakers were determined by lowest team score for all rounds in round robin play. Points earned from each Seeding Round match determined seeding for the bracket play single elimination tournament.

The top two teams from each division received a first-round bye in the subsequent bracket play single elimination tournament.

Bracket play

Single-elimination bracket play is now in progress. Female competitors play 85 percent of the yardage of their male counterparts. Teams of three compete head-to-head by linking their simulators together over the Internet in a match-play format, with two of the best three player scores for each team counting on each hole.

For example, if Team A scores 5, 4, 4 and Team B scores 5, 4, 3, the match organizers add up each team’s two lowest scores: Team A gets 8, and Team B gets 7. In this instance, Team B would win the hole and go 1 up.

If, after 18 holes, there’s a tie, the match goes into a sudden-death playoff where all three players’ scores count. The first team to score lower than the other on a hole wins.

Final match

The final match — and the $150,000 grand prize — is scheduled to be played in Orlando in front of a live audience at the PGA Show in January. The format will be 5 vs. 5 match play, with a 1 vs. 1 sudden-death stroke play starting on the 1st hole of the championship match course used as a tiebreaker if needed.

How can I follow the action?

You can watch the matches on GOLFZON’s YouTube page, where new episodes will be released weekly. The tour is in the midst of single-elimination rounds, so you can follow along each week to see which team ends up making it to the finale.

For more information on GOLFZON Tour, click here, or check out the video above.