A pleasant 18 degrees Celsius is forecast in West Palm Beach on Tuesday evening, ideal conditions for a round of golf under the Florida sun – and yet some of the best players in the world will meet in a hall in the evening. The SoFi Center opens its doors this week to the future of golf, parts of which will take place indoors at the request of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Both usually play outdoors, not far from the newly built golf hall, in their respective home clubs on the Atlantic coast of Florida. For their project called TGL, however, they are trying something new.
The reports from Florida sound futuristic and latently megalomaniacal – and what the TGL is planning to do there. Numerous PGA Tour players will compete against each other in teams of three over the course of a season; they will shoot balls at a video wall on which virtual holes are recreated. Warped blows can land not only on grass, sand or water, but also in deep lava pits or common traps. The fictitious golf courses were created like a virtual version of fun – but the goal remains the same: to putt the ball into a hole with as few strokes as possible.
Underground robots can change the surface from putt to putt
This no longer happens virtually, but in real life again. An artificial green has been built in the hall for this purpose, and together with the lawn around it, the “playing field” is the size of four basketball courts. However, it is not flat: With the help of underground robots, the surface can be changed so that different scenarios are offered from putt to putt – just like in real life.
The question remains: Why not just play on a real green and real course? Or to put it another way: What is the problem with the version of the sport that has been played around the world for over two centuries?
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The answer lies primarily in the attention span of the television audience. Golf tournaments take place in their classic format over 72 holes over four days, are played all day long and are sometimes shown on television for over eight hours – which is hardly acceptable for the young Internet sports audience. However, the PGA Tour, which is committed to tradition, does not (rightly) want to question this format, which is why a second tour was sought, which Woods and McIlroy ultimately founded together with business partners.
TGL is also supposed to be a response to the Saudi Arabian LIV tour, where the problem with attention was also recognized a few years ago. Only 54 holes are played there over three days, music plays in the background and parties are allowed. “Golf, but louder” is the motto of the Saudi start-up, which is, however, a commercial failure.
The fact that the TGL Tour, unlike the Saudi Tour, starts with the promise of not wanting to fight the established golf system is part of the strategy. The Tuesday and Wednesday evening events are intended to be an additional product to the PGA Tour’s weekly tournaments, and the players will of course be compensated in the millions for this. And the chances of success are good for one reason alone: Tiger Woods is not only the owner, but also a fellow player; his participation guarantees interest in the new format.
The 49-year-old is only able to play tournaments to a limited extent due to numerous injuries, especially because the long walks on golf courses put strain on his knee. That’s no longer a problem: the 25-meter video wall changes for him – and Woods just has to swing.
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