I’ll admit it, when TGL first launched, I didn’t exactly rush to jump on the bandwagon. Indoor, simulator-based golf? Sounded more like a slick marketing experiment than actual sport. But curiosity (and, let’s be honest, the promise of seeing Tiger and Rory on the same leaderboard again) got the better of me. So I tuned into Monday night’s match: Tiger’s Jupiter Links versus Rory’s Boston Common. And I’ve got to say I walked in a skeptic, but I walked out a believer.
Was it traditional golf? No. Was it fun? Absolutely.
Forget the green jackets and hushed Augusta whispers this was high energy, bright lights, fast paced, crowd cheering stuff. Think Ryder Cup meets Topgolf, with a splash of WWE showbiz. The crowd, just 1,500 deep inside SoFi Center, had the energy of 50,000. I spotted a ten year-old in a Jupiter Links tee shouting himself hoarse with a ‘hammer’ towel in hand. And at one point, there was even an attempt at a wave. A wave. At a golf match. That’s when it hit me this is the version of golf that kids actually want to watch.
Rory looked like he was loving every second, too. “It’s amazing to go up and compete against one of your heroes,” he said, grinning. He’s shared final groups with Tiger in majors, but even he admitted there was something different about this more playful, but still serious. Tiger, ever the competitor, looked locked in too. No one goes half-speed when there’s a scoreboard involved especially not Woods.
The format? After 15 holes, it came down to a closest-to-the-pin playoff. We nearly got that dreamy Tiger-Rory clutch moment but instead, Boston Common’s Adam Scott and Keegan Bradley fluffed their chips and handed the win to Tiger’s team. Still, the drama was there, and you could feel the crowd leaning in for a moment of magic.
From a fan’s perspective, it was oddly fascinating. Watching the best players in the world stumble over reading putts under arena lighting? Gold. The green surface even rotates no joke and after each hole, the cup is literally moved to a new location. It’s part chaos, part science experiment, and the players looked both challenged and entertained. Even Tiger got caught by the shot clock the first violation in TGL history. A small but hilarious milestone.
I watched it all from the Whistle Pig luxury box yes, there was whiskey, and yes, it helped. Their new 10-year “Snout-to-Tail” bourbon? Surprisingly smooth. A rotating buffet? Yes please. But the real perk was being right next to the action around the green the spot where all the drama unfolded, stubbed chips and all. Kevin Kisner and Scott had a couple of those. It was very humanizing.
My one suggestion? Flatten the greens just a little. The contouring was brutal, and while missed putts are part of the game, we could use a few more highlight reel finishes. The energy in the room doubled every time a putt actually dropped. More of that, please.
TGL still has a way to go, sure it’s shiny and new and still ironing out its glitches but for the first time, I saw what the fuss was about. This wasn’t just about Tiger vs Rory. It was about what golf might look like for the next generation. Loud. Fast. Entertaining.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s exactly what golf needs right now.
