Where do you think things fell short?
DD: The team-city bond just doesn’t feel real because there’s nothing tangible about it. They play in the same Florida stadium every week and there’s no real connection to the city they’re representing — even though some have tried. A few natural bonds help — Keegan Bradley and Boston Common felt legit, while Collin Morikawa and LAGC worked too. But even though half the league lives in Jupiter, somehow Jupiter Links GC ended up with an L.A. kid who lives in Scottsdale (Max Homa), a Korean kid who lives in Texas (Tom Kim) and the pride of South Carolina (Kevin Kisner). Also, if every team had a home arena that would be sweet. I don’t see that ever happening.
NP: I agree with this wholeheartedly — and I think team passion (big word) is where TGL, along with another golf league, takes off. But that doesn’t happen in a year. Or maybe even 10. So along those lines then, I had trouble with … the second hour. Once I got past Scott Van Pelt, and the music, and the tech, and how the whole thing worked, I often wondered, what’s the point of this, other than just golf? Which is fine, for me, the golf writer. But a feeling of consequence is needed. Favorite teams would do that. Or villains.
What part of the league, be it actual play or something away from it, will you remember from this year?
DD: This may have been the lowest-rated week, so don’t take this as “evidence” that it’s the ultimate answer for anything. But I’ll remember Ludvig Aberg sipping a coffee at SoFi the day after he’d won the Genesis in San Diego, an hour or so before his TGL match. There was another one going on, but a bunch of pros were there warming up and hanging out, which combined for the ideal match-day vibe. Star power. Relaxed environment. A real “my-little-league-team-is-up-next” energy, but for pro golfers. Combine that with the fact that opposing teams share space on “stage,” which leads to real inter-team interaction, and you’ve got the secret sauce.
NP: Hmm, mine, I guess, is gonna be a little sad, but it’s Tida Woods and her son’s “not gonna suck tonight” comment to her. Yeah, the cameras were on, but there was some sports mom-sports son goodness there. And Tiger Woods, 15-time major winner, was a little relatable. That’s a win for TGL.
What are absolute keepers from the year? What are things you wouldn’t touch because they got them right?
DD: Billy Horschel going nuts. Tom Kim going nuts. Wyndham Clark talking s—. Xander Schauffele cracking jokes. Celebrities sitting courtside. (When I went two weeks ago, the crowd included Josh Allen, Sam Darnold and … Celine Dion!) Challenging short-game shots. Also? The schedule. It arrived at the right time. It’s going away at the right time. A nice addition to the sporting calendar.
NP: The more we feel like these guys are playing a cash game — the emotion, the smack talk — the better, and we got that to a degree. It’s a must-keep. The looks of the holes were very imaginative. I liked the arena vibe, too. Horschel was booed some on Monday — and I was good with that, no offense, Billy.
And, of course, unquestionably, our colleague, Claire Rogers on the broadcast.
What must change?
DD: More pin positions. That backstop pin is cool, but TGL diehards have seen it 100 times already. Put fake fans in the fake crowds on the simulator holes. Also — we NEED these guys in matching uniforms. I get why they’re kitted out in their sponsor gear, but it looks ridiculous.
NP: More golf — outside of the screen. Gimme wind. Gimme rain. Gimme 100 degrees. Gimme 30 degrees. Gimme thick rough. Gimme a tree. And gimme SoFi Centers in various cities. And gimme Bryson DeChambeau (hat tip to our colleague Sean Zak). Gimme a penalty shot where a 14-handicap has to hit next. (I know a guy.)
Gimme a winner and a loser.
DD: Winner: The entire league, I suppose. This was a win for TGL just because it felt like this could absolutely fall on its face and instead it …didn’t. That’s massive.
Loser: The league founders! Tiger and Rory built this thing, watched it nearly destruct, resurrected it and then combined to win literally zero matches (other than when their teams played each other).
NP: Winner: I agree with you — it’s the league. I honestly thought this was sunk when the original dome collapsed. But here we are. And whoever landed the ESPN deal. The league might have died after two weeks if it were on a lesser-known sports channel.
Loser: The fact that TGL is bringing in some viewership without Tiger and Rory says something. My loser is whoever failed in getting Jordan Spieth aboard. TGL would have had its signature moment with him somehow hitting out of the funky lava area.
Let’s go deeper. Am I right in thinking that there’s a novelty to this, but once you get into it, it’s golf into a screen and the pace slows? If you believe me, how does that adjust? If you don’t, convince me otherwise!
DD: First of all, it’s not JUST golf into a screen. If it was, I’d be way, way out. The screen is huge and awesome, which helps. But the greenside stuff makes it engaging. Three teammates against three teammates, all reading the same putts and sharing the same green, talking some s—, throwing some hammers? That’s the good stuff.
Still, you’ve got a point. You risk the shine wearing off after season one. (Ratings already seemed to slow near the end of the year.) The solve could be to quintuple-down on this entire concept, building more arenas in different cities, adding expansion teams, etc. They’ll need to find a way to build in some additional variety, likely through simpler technological developments. But if I’m an optimist, I’d say they’ll keep pushing boundaries in the offseason.
NP: OK, I’ll buy that it’s more, but I think there’s validity to my question — and I think it’s the biggest issue the league will face. Can you make fans care about more than just game play and a few laughs — and can you find the fan patience along the way? MLS has taken some time to draw interest. The WNBA has taken some time. On the plus side, as I mentioned, the financial commitment is there. But other leagues also started strong and fizzled so …
How does TGL follow along the path of becoming an established brand — and avoid becoming an XFL?
DD: Because it’s not trying to be the XFL. It’s an add-on. It’s sitting shotgun to the PGA Tour. Nobody is pretending otherwise. They built an expensive arena, sure — but it’s not like there’s endless overhead here. It’s a pretty simple concept. That may mean there’s a ceiling on the league, but it won’t end up some massive catastrophe. With that said, it’s certainly plausible this doesn’t exist in five years.
NP: I agree with you — but can something be just an “add-on” and survive? That goes back to the whole caring concern. Top player buy-in must continue — the XFL failed there; it was football for football-sake. And, as I mentioned earlier, some heat wouldn’t hurt. Packers-Bears. Lakers-Celtics. Maybe no one will be moved by Boston Common-L.A. Golf Club — but Tom Kim versus Scottie Scheffler might interest some people.
It’s at least interesting how TGL and LIV are going at the league-building thing together, right?
DD: Yes, it’s interesting, and it’s always funny hearing PGA Tour guys espouse the joy of competing in a team format after their TGL matches. But look, TGL has a few clear advantages over LIV. Its team competition is baked in; you have six guys on the green versus team members playing across different groups around the course. TGL didn’t have to pay big money to get guys to defect to its league, as it’s supplemental to the PGA Tour rather than a direct competitor. It doesn’t have to keep proving its seriousness because it’s not supposed to be overly serious. It has a condensed time window. And it’s distinctly different than the existing product, which frees it from some comparisons and expectations.
NP: Yeah, it’s very interesting, and they’re in the same predicament — they’re both hoping their current fans stick around, and they’re both hoping new fans start to pay attention. You figure that a lot of people are paying attention to who succeeds best here. And how they did it, especially.
Do you see a day where TGL becomes more than a chance to watch golf on a winter Monday or Tuesday — is there a point where folks actually care care about this? Does it ever crack through to the non-golf junkies?
