5 honest observations from my first TGL experience

TGL’s debut season has reached the playoffs, and with my personal travels taking me to south Florida for the weekend, I decided to stop by the SoFi Center to check it out.

I’d watched a bit of TGL action on TV over the winter, but I wouldn’t consider myself a die-hard by any means. It’s simply been a solid sporting event to throw on the TV throughout the winter for some cheap thrills.

That said, I was curious to see what the in-person experience was all about. Luckily for me, the schedule worked out for me to take in the first-round playoff match-up between New York Golf Club and Los Angeles Golf Club.

Here are five things I noticed attending my first TGL match.

1. The facility is impressive

As I said above, I’ve watched a few TGL matches on TV, but I don’t think I really understood how big the SoFi Center feels. The playing field is massive.

The listed size of the simulator is 64×46 feet, but I swear it feels bigger in person. Standing on the turf before the match, I was craning my neck looking up at the thing like it was a billboard in Times Square. It feels larger than life when you sit there looking at it for a bit.

The same goes for the size of the rotating putting green. I didn’t really have a sense for the scale of things inside the SoFi Center before taking in a match, but walking away, I was extremely impressed.

2. The size has a downside

The size of the arena was obviously impressive, but to play indoor golf at this scale, there needs to be plenty of empty space. And, unfortunately, that open space hurts the atmosphere.

Despite the flashing LED lights and rowdy MC hyping up the fans, things felt a little subdued at times during the match. I wouldn’t say it was as quiet as a library, but it certainly didn’t have the feel of a big-time playoff event either. And when the crowd did get excited, that noise didn’t reverberate the way you might expect.

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There were some exciting moments to be sure, but the energy wasn’t maintained. The cheers came and went quickly. Perhaps some sound engineering to trap the sound would elevate the atmosphere a bit for season 2?

3. It’s not always attention-grabbing … but that’s OK

The action may be fast-paced on the playing field, but that doesn’t mean it’s always edge-of-your-seat entertainment. And with so many shots hit in such a short time, that’s to be expected.

The more I sat and watched, the more I got the sense that the energy matched that of a baseball game. What I mean by that is that the crowd wasn’t living and dying by every shot (much like the crowd doesn’t stay locked in for every pitch at a baseball game), but when the big moments did arise, they were locked in.

I don’t mean any of this as a slight, either. I’m a huge fan of going to baseball games — and sometimes that has nothing to do with the action on the field. Sometimes the social aspect of live sports is as much fun as the gameplay.

4. Put in some cheap seats!

I’m not going to go on a diatribe railing against high ticket prices in the world of golf. There’s been plenty of that in recent years and at the end of the day, I understand that this is a business. However, I do think the atmosphere in the SoFi Center would benefit from some cheap seats.

Going back to the baseball analogy, think about the bleachers at Wrigley Field. No, they aren’t the most luxurious seats in the ballpark, but the fans out there don’t care. So long as they can get in the park, drink some beer and cheer on their team, they’re happy.

It would be awesome to see the TGL offer a similar experience. Build a new section or two in the rafters with a cheap get-in price and affordable concession options. You want a rowdier atmosphere that feels less corporate? That would be a great place to start.

5. The player commentary is missing

I’ll keep this one short, as it’s been covered before, but not having the player commentary from the broadcast inside the arena feels like a miss. Part of the appeal of this format is the banter between the players, but when you’re in the arena, that element is missing. Even if there were just a quick sizzle reel of viral moments on the big screen that played after every few holes, it would be extremely additive to the in-person experience.

Nevertheless, I walked away from my first TGL experience impressed. For a product in its infancy, there’s plenty of room for growth, but there’s plenty that’s done right, too. I’m excited to see where they take things in the seasons ahead.