TGL Season One: 5 Honest Takeaways (A Review of Tiger and Rory’s Indoor Golf League)

I was excited for the launch of TGL—the new golf league from Tiger and Rory. Big names. Big money. Big promises.

Plenty of skeptics (there always are). But indoor golf’s booming. They had the best players in the world. Big investors. I figured: how bad could it be?

Their self-promotion? A lot at times. But I wanted it to work. The pieces seemed to be there.

If you take their victory lap at face value, TGL’s first season was a smashing success.

I’m not sure I’d go that far. But I am sure not everyone sees the golf world the same way.

Wondering if TGL was actually good? Here are my five big takeaways—and a few ah-has—below.

1. Triples is hard… and fun

Their format—three-person alternate shot, or “triples”—isn’t something most golfers have ever played. You’re not just alternating shots with one partner. You’ve got three people trading swings, rooting for each other, picking each other up.

It’s hard. Way harder than you expect when you first hear it. But it’s also really fun.

We ran our Neighborhood National winter league using the same format as TGL: three-player teams, nine holes of alternate shot, then six individual holes each.

Triples adds a different kind of pressure. You’re swinging not just for yourself, but for two other people who are counting on you. It pulls you in. Makes you care in a way that’s different from playing solo.

I loved it. More importantly, our members loved it. It brought out something really cool in the team vibe.

2. The format works

Credit where it’s due: TGL’s structure worked. Team play. Individual play. Short 15-hole matches. Roster strategy. It’s a solid setup.

It carried over well for us too. Gave members a way to play after work without turning it into an all-night thing.

And while there were elements of their production that definitely struggled, seems pretty logical that the format works very well for a TV schedule and the attention spans that are tuning in.

3. Watching pros struggle was fun

One of my favorite parts: watching the best players in the world struggle with the bunkers and the green.

My issues with the simulator side are coming. But the way the short game translated? Honestly awesome—especially seeing how tough it was for them to adjust.

They were real—but different. And it showed. Rollout and speed were hard to figure out. The fact that balls stayed in the bunker more than once? Loved seeing that.

It wasn’t about enjoying their struggles. It was about making the whole thing feel relatable—most relatable of all? The looks on their faces along the way.

4. Their tech choices were surprising

This one caught me off guard.

They had issues with the launch monitor—distances way off, shots not adding up. Tiger hit a wedge from 130 and flew it 30 yards long. Happened more than once. That does not happen in reality.

The wild part? Anyone in the industry knows the Full Swing simulator TGL used isn’t nearly as accurate as TrackMan, Foresight, or others.

It’s honestly not a system we’d allow in the Neighborhood National network, given the performance standards we’ve set. And yet… they went with it.

Why? Because Tiger’s a known investor in Full Swing, as reported widely in the industry. That’s not speculation. That’s common sense.

That’s also a tricky spot. You’ve got the greatest player ever backing both the league and the tech. But credibility starts with data. And the data didn’t always hold up.

If they want this to work… really work… it seems pretty foundational that the core tech driving the tech golf league needs to really work too.

5. People liked it more than I did

A final surprise—this one a positive one.

After the season, I ran a quick survey with Neighborhood National members. Asked them to rate TGL’s first season 1 to 5: “Awful, never watching again” to “Awesome, can’t wait for next season.”

I gave it a 3. Solid “meh.” The hype wore me out. The tech issues bugged me. I wanted to love it. I didn’t.

Literally half gave it a 4 or 5. A quarter of them put it in the top bucket.

Turns out the self-congratulatory promo might’ve been more deserved—or at least more effective—than I gave it credit for.

A good reminder: you’re not your customer. My take’s just one take. Their potential? Still really big.

I’ll Be Watching

TGL’s not perfect. But it’s bold. It’s different. It’s trying to push the game forward.

Me? I’ll be tuning in for season two. Maybe not quite as excited as last time. But still rooting for it.

And maybe even more excited to see how excited others are.
Because that’s part of the story too.
Especially when they’re seeing something I didn’t.

❤️🏘️⛳️

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