TIGER Woods and Rory McIlroy are bringing modern technology to the royal and ancient game with TGL, a team-based golf league played over 15 holes that combines an oversized simulator with actual shots to a tech-infused green that can change contours depending on the shot.
Fourteen months after it was announced, and two months before TGL launches at the newly constructed SoFi Center in Florida, the league on Tuesday provided details on just what it is and how it works.
Five of the six four-man teams have been announced for New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta.
The opening nine holes will be called “triples” — alternate shots for the three players, with one point awarded for winning a hole, no carryovers if there is a tie. The final six holes will be singles, with each team member playing two holes.
Any match ending in a tie goes to overtime, similar to what amounts to penalty kicks in soccer. Each player goes head-to-head in a closest-to-the-pin competition.
A team win is worth 2 points. The losing team gets no points in regulation, and 1 point if the match is decided in overtime. Every team faces each other during the regular season and the top four advance to the playoffs.
TGL debuts on Jan. 9 and ends before the Masters.
“If you take the macro view, we have a sport with 600 years of history and tradition that we’re now combining with technology that exists and has never been deployed in this manner,” said Mike McCarley, founder and CEO of TMRW Sports, which developed TGL. AP