TMRW Sports, the tech-focused sports venture backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, has confirmed the postponed inaugural season of its TGL golf competition will tee off on 7th January 2025 at a revamped purpose-built facility in Florida.
TGL had been due to start in January of this year, featuring six teams of four players in a series of short-form matches taking place in a tech-infused stadium on primetime television on ESPN.
However, a temporary failure to power and backup systems caused the dome-based roof to deflate and exposed the structure to weather damage.
While most of the underlying technology at the venue was not affected, the delays caused by the damage proved terminal for an already ambitious schedule that could not even absorb a minor delay.
TGL has taken advantage of the postponement by upgrading the SoFi Center’s design. A steel-based structure replaces the damaged dome, with 1,500 seats wrapping around the field of play.
The venue will house a data-driven virtual course and a short game complex hosting putting and chipping. In each event, players will make their initial drive down the fairway using a simulator on a 3,000-square-foot giant screen powered by Full Swing’s simulator technology.
Once teams are within approximately 50 yards of the ‘GreenZone’, the ball will be placed on a 22,475-square-foot short game complex that houses the green, rough and bunkers. The tech-powered green changes for each hole, using a 41-yard-wide turntable and nearly 600 motorised actuators and jacks to dynamically alter slopes and gradients.
Organisers have also used the delay to optimise TGL’s television schedule. ESPN agreed a multi-year deal to broadcast the tournament last year, promising to transmit all events on either ESPN or ESPN 2 and simulcast on the ESPN+ direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming service.
The first three TGL matches will be shown on ESPN’s flagship network and be promoted on the channel’s coverage of the National Football League (NFL) playoffs and the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP).
“As we plan the 2025 launch of TGL presented by SoFi, we now have the first three Tuesdays in January circled to introduce sports fans to this new form of team golf,” said Mike McCarley, TMRW Sports chief executive.
“January is a tremendous time of year for fans looking for primetime sports and TGL’s launch will complement the start of the PGA Tour season and take advantage of ESPN’s promotional machine across their coverage of the NFL and college football playoffs.”
Each of the six teams have been opened up to outside investors, with John Henry’s Fenway Sports Group (FSG), New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, and a consortium including Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six venture capital firm, Serena and Venus Williams, and Michelle Wie West among those on board.
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