It’s fun, loose and entertaining at the start. Tiger Woods walked out to Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” through a cloud of smoke. There was Justin Rose, more in his element than initially assumed, throwing up the “LA” hand sign and apologizing to Los Angeles GC co-owner Serena Williams for a poor tee shot. Max Homa provided the comedic relief, which included a great exchange with his teammate Woods during the middle of LA’s 12-1 win over Jupiter Links.
“My wife is probably so embarrassed right now,” Homa said.
“My mom’s yelling at me, booing me,” Woods responded with a laugh.
Then there was the moment of the match, which came when the third member of Jupiter Links, Kevin Kisner, bladed a bunker shot that clanged off the flagstick and drew an epic reaction from Woods.
Those were the highlights. But it was clear TGL went backward on its second night. All startups have growing pains. This is a new idea that deserves room to adapt and find its identity.
But the two biggest issues TGL faces — both of which were on display during Woods’ debut — need to be fixed to keep golf fans coming back and give the league the time it needs to grow.
Neither should be that difficult to rectify.
The first — and biggest — issue so far is that TGL doesn’t feel like a competition through two matches. Some of that is because Bay GC woodshedded New York GC on opening night, and then LA blew the doors off Jupiter on Tuesday. Blowouts happen in sports, but right now TGL has a competition problem.
The players don’t have to treat TGL like its a major or even a standard PGA Tour stroke-play event, but to retain an audience the players do need to view TGL contests as something they want to win and not just hit-and-giggle with pals on a simulator.
TGL needs to have the same competitive vibe as a pickup basketball game with your college friends; it’s fun, sure, but you’re still playing for pride — a light-hearted competition that brings out the banter everyone wants from the world’s best.
We got some of that from Sahith Theegala on Tuesday, who admitted to being “amped up” after blasting a ball into the giant screen. The TGL needs more of that, but right now, it also need to more than just a chuckle-fest with “the boys.”
Close matches should help, but TGL needs to find the right side of that identity line to have some staying power. It’s more than feasible, and I’d expect the smart people running the league to tweak things for the better.
But the competition aspect has been lacking through two events, and the insistence on going 15 holes no matter the score doesn’t help.
If Homa is jokingly asking when Duke superstar Cooper Flagg plays (the answer was after the TGL match that went over its two-hour broadcast window), you can bet viewers are wondering that, too.
The second issue was with the Full Swing simulator technology. This didn’t appear to be an issue on the first night, but it was clear the tech wasn’t working properly Tuesday night.
There’s a zero percent chance that Woods, the greatest ball-striker in history, would hit a flush 100-yard wedge shot and wind up blowing it 30 yards over the green. There were too many moments on Tuesday night where the simulator left players perplexed at how poorly they hit a shot, especially from short range.
“I didn’t even hook that,” is not something that needs to be a common saying on TGL broadcasts.
The technology can’t make the best in the world look silly or inept. Full stop.
That brings me to the green. It’s a technological innovation, but the league must fine-tune it. Players of this caliber rarely run 25-foot putts 7 feet past the hole. Tiger Woods and Justin Rose having an impossible time stopping downhill puts and/or missing putts in the 5-to-7-foot range by half a cup or more is…not great.
As my colleague Dylan Dethier pointed out, the players stopped short of openly criticizing the technology on Tuesday, but the league needs to polish it by next week’s match.
TGL has promise. It’s not for everyone, but there’s an audience for it if they can get a few things dialed. Do that, and Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s grand vision could have staying power for a new kind of golf audience.
Josh Schrock is a writer and reporter for Golf.com. Before joining GOLF, Josh was the Chicago Bears insider for NBC Sports Chicago. He previously covered the 49ers and Warriors for NBC Sports Bay Area. A native Oregonian and UO alum, Josh spends his free time hiking with his wife and dog, thinking of how the Ducks will break his heart again, and trying to become semi-proficient at chipping. A true romantic for golf, Josh will never stop trying to break 90 and never lose faith that Rory McIlroy’s major drought will end (updated: he did it). Josh Schrock can be reached at josh.schrock@golf.com.
