Why Golf Wants the Winter Spotlight.
Tomorrow’s Golf League is Making Noise
TGL is aiming for more attention as part of its long-term plan, so they’re launching at a time when most people are inside and still digesting holiday food. For sports bettors, betting the early season of any golf tour brings mispriced lines and a more open field, so you know the sharps are lining up their picks already.
Check out the latest odds at Lucky Rebel.
A Made-for-Couch Golf League
Pro golf is looking to chip away at some winter airtime from the NFL, NBA and other winter sports. TGL is stepping up its reach and sports betting fans will have some more options.
If you missed the first season of TGL, you can imagine it as traditional golf married to esports.
Matches all happen in an indoor arena, and your average Topgolf night comes closest to what it actually looks like. A huge chunk of the golf-betting and golf-playing public lives in areas that are either snowed under or just way too cold for playing golf this time of year, so TGL gives them a shot at getting in that golf fix.
It’s a mix of high-tech simulators, short-game greens, and arena lighting that won’t remind anyone of Augusta. It has teams instead of individual golfers, so some of those Ryder Cup vibes, with players rooting for their teammates, are captured too. Each match features two teams of three PGA and LPGA stars teeing off.
The crowd energy is also there, not quite Waste Management Open style but not that far off either. Instant replays are analyzed at different angles for all the stats/metrics geeks watching too.
TGL is not just bells and whistles though. Golf betting wouldn’t happen in any real numbers if it didn’t include some of the biggest names in golf. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy helped found TGL, for starters. But the different team owners are bringing it to the next level. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson own a team, and so do Venus and Serena Williams. TGL is in partnership with the PGA too, so you can feel good about watching it compared to the LIV Tour, which siphons off players from the Tour and stashes them across the ocean.
Getting the jump on the regular golf season in January, and sitting right between Christmas and the CFP semifinals, TGL Season 2 starts December 28th.
The format has been tweaked, so paying attention to the changes and how they’ll hurt or benefit certain teams is what the smart money will be doing to find an edge.
The Format: Simulators, Strategy, and Speed
Instead of walking 18 holes over five hours, players get into matches that fly by in about two hours. That comes close to a typical NHL or NBA weeknight game and is a bit shorter than NFL games. Physical greens are the finish to every hole, but it’s a different green every time because they can change their slope through the tech underneath them. The fairway and any hazards are all on a golf simulator. Drives and approach shots are all managed through the simulator. F1 fans, just after another season wrapped in early December, would appreciate the emphasis on tech in the TGL.
Once players get within 50 yards of the hole, the match moves to the live green for real chips and putts. Short game play is as important for TGL as it is on the real tour. Every team plays nine holes of alternate shot, again bringing Ryder Cup-style team play into the picture for betting and scoring. There are no prolonged playoff holes in the TGL; any ties finish with a rapid-fire overtime hole.
Statistics fans and gamers should be all over TGL. Augmented reality overlays show the ball’s spin rate, trajectory arc, and projected landing zones.
Players are on microphones throughout the round. This means viewers can tune into team huddles and strategy discussions. Golf purists who can’t stand the tech side probably can’t resist hearing how Tiger or Rory plan to play a shot. And the smart money getting in on live betting can listen in for the intangibles that might shave a stroke or two off the final score.
Season 2 tweaks the scoring too. The new Power Play format allows captains to choose designated scoring holes for double points. Pretty much identical to a “power-up” mechanic in esports. TGL bettors can expect more aggressive drives and riskier wedge play when the Power Play is on.
The Star Power Driving TGL Season 2
For all the tech, TGL’s biggest pull is still its star power. Real people with real brand names are still what bring viewers to any sport.
Tiger Woods (playing for the team Jupiter Links) is still, years off his prime, the biggest name in the sport. Rory McIlroy is back as co-founder and the player-captain for the Boston Common Golf team. And PGA headliners like Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, and Tommy Fleetwood have all signed on. LPGA icons like Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson are also big names that will bring in more attention.
But the Tiger effect is still real. For the 4 events he played, the TV audience averaged 932,000. In the two without him, it was down to just over 800K. That’s a 16% jump when his name is on the scoresheet.
The team aspect should continue to bring in fans that are used to rooting for a jersey.
On top of Tiger’s team and Rory’s Boston Common crew, there’s Los Angeles Golf Club, Atlanta Drive GC, New York Empire Golf, and a handful of new franchises that are joining in Season 2.
The matches are all in prime time, so they can capture the most eyeballs. They’ll rarely go head-to-head against the NFL, but the market share they are looking to take from the NBA and other leagues could show up in TGL betting numbers too. Keep in mind the books are still new to TGL too, so the edges will be there.
Overall, the TGL has some of the biggest champions in sports backing it. They’re used to competing at the highest level so they’re not backing down from the established winter TV sports. They know they’re feeding the traditional golf audience who can’t wait till the first major in April and the new tech fans that need things fast and flashy. Golf betting fans will make room too.