Despite being off the green for almost the entire season, Tiger Woods has a lot going on with the launch of his innovative venture closing in. Partnering with golf buddy Rory McIlroy, and Mike McCarley of TMRW Sports, Woods is all fired up for his new project, TGL, an indoor golf league all set to transform the sport with its ingenious structure.
Having already had big names like tennis sensation Serena Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian, NBA stars Steph Curry and Shaquille O’Neal, F1 legend Lewis Hamilton, and Justin Bieber, just to name a few, put in their Benjamins into the league, TGL is all set to make it big!
A Structure That Enhances Fan Experience
Six teams with three PGA Tour players each will be playing 18-hole golf matches every Monday night at a custom-built 135,000 square-foot arena in Palm Beach, Florida. Each season will have 15 games, followed by a semi-final, and then a championship-winning final. Each match shall have a 2-hour time limit, with the golfers hitting long-distance shots into a simulator setup equalling the size of an IMAX screen. Long-distance shots will be followed by chipping, putting, and bunker shots in a short-game area.
An estimated 2000 people will be able to experience this format live and watch their favorite players in action, which include Woods and McIlroy themselves, along with Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele, and Max Homa.
Serena Williams and her husband have already purchased a team, the Los Angeles Golf Club, in the league. Ohanian also owns a 3% stake in the league and has developed a trust that will help his daughter and any children that he might have, own a share of the team in the future.
Thrilled to announce @wearelagc —@tgl‘s inaugural team! An important part of Los Angeles Golf Club is making golf our own, for everybody, and I couldn’t be more excited to shape the future of this sport with my family @alexisohanian @OlympiaOhanian @Venuseswilliams pic.twitter.com/yfreL6jqM8
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) June 8, 2023
What Sets Tiger Woods’ League Up For Success
Launching in January 2024, TGL has a promising start in store owing to how the league has been structured on all of its aspects.
- The league’s ownership is divided between four different groups: TMRW Sports owns the maximum stake at 54%, the PGA TOUR and the individual teams will each be holding 18%, and finally the players will have 10%. This distribution ensures incentives across all major stakeholders and thus forces them to focus solely on growth.
- The association of celebrities with the league provides an access to their huge audiences and following, thus maximizing its reach and the potential for change. Some 50+ high profile celebrities have already invested big in the league.
- The TGL season will run for 15 weeks from January to April 2024 which is primetime for the league as the only games on during those times will be the NBA and NHL seasons. Plus Mondays are already designated game watching days for US fans, and there would be no golf events to compete with in primetime.
- TGL matches will be aired on ESPN which is huge for the league as ESPN has the highest audience reach in the industry. It also has viewers tuning in on Mondays for events like Monday Night Football.
- All the players will be mic’d up during matches, a feat that has proven to be entertaining in ‘The Match’ series.
- The matches will also have fans and enthusiasts engaging in gambling, boosting excitement and social media impressions.
All of these elements prove that Tiger Woods is ready to set the golf scene on fire with the TGL. He strongly believes that this innovative format will be more appealing to the younger fans, and expand the sport’s reach globally.
