The new TGL golf league is the first of its kind, and former Georgia Tech All-American and longtime PGA standout Roberto Castro has enjoyed a unique view of its development.
Castro is the director for CapTech Ventures, the league’s technology provider, and has seen the TGL go from a concept to reality. He worked with TMRW Sports to set up the cadence for the matches and repeatedly tested them to make sure they were accurate, interesting and worked within the time slot.
“It was really the perfect combination of my sports background, my Georgia Tech engineering degree and a couple of other things,” said Castro, who decided to walk away from competition after COVID-19 hit. “A lot of our team that has worked on the project are software developers, computer engineers, data engineers and data architects. And then it’s like, would you happen too be interested in former PGA Tour payer help on the game’s strategy side. It’s been an absolute blast.”
The league, which was conceptualized by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, made its debut last week. It combines traditional golf with the technology of indoor simulated golf. Castro has spent many hours of testing at the facility and was on site for the first match.
“This is like arena golf,” he said. “It’s indoors. It’s prime time. I’m most excited for the world to see it and see how golf fans and sports fans react.”
The first match, which featured the New York Golf Club versus The Bay Golf Club was a success. According to Nielsen, the first broadcast drew an average of 919,000 viewers on ESPN. By contrast, the Duke-Pitt basketball game that preceded it drew 751,000. It also outdrew the weekend numbers of the PGA Tour’s season opener from Maui.
All competition takes place at the SoFi Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, so there will never be a home match. The format features nine holes of three-man alternate shot, followed by six holes of head-to-head singles play, with each golfer playing two holes. The 15-hole format fits neatly into a two-our television window.
There are several wrinkles, including a 40-second shot clock and the ability to apply pressure by using “the hammer,” which is similar to pressing a bet.
The SoFi Center is the ultimate high-def arena that seats 1,200 fans. Players hit their tee shots and approaches into a screen that is 64 feet wide and 53 feet tall. Once on the green, the plays move to the Green Zone, a 23,000 square-foot short game area that includes a basketball court-sized green that rotates 360 degrees and changes undulation for each hole.
“Once you see a couple of holes and how the game is played, it will be very clear to golf fans,” Castro said.
The holes are not replicas of famous holes on the PGA Tour, but rather innovative designs by some of the game’s top architects, some of them a bit over-the-top — such as the one with volcanic lava as a hazard — but all guaranteed to leave most golfers thinking, “I’d like to play that hole.”
In the first match, there was very little trash talking that the broadcast producers tried to encourage, although that could ramp up when Woods gets involved. The small talk between the players was interesting and helped reveal their competitive nature.
The Atlanta Drive, owned by Arthur Blank, is one of the league’s six original teams and plays its first match Jan. 21. The roster includes three-time major champion Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel and Lucas Glover. Thomas (University of Alabama), Horschel (University of Florida) and Glover (Clemson) all have Southern roots.
Atlanta Drive schedule
Jan. 21: New York, 7 p.m.
Feb. 17: (DH) Los Angeles 1 p.m.; The Bay, 4 p.m.
Feb. 24: Boston, 9 p.m.
March 4: Jupiter, 7 p.m.
