For several years I used to edit a golf magazine. Every so often the promotions people would commission reader surveys from which, in theory, we would find out what readers really liked about what we produced and what they didn’t so much. Ditto re our competitors. We obviously thought we produced the best magazine – I say obviously because otherwise we would have been publishing something different – but in general most of our readers liked our title and the others pretty much the same. Why? In sum because they all contained articles about golf and the readers loved golf. What’s not to like?
I thought about this phenomenon while watching the second event of the 2025 Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL) schedule the other evening. Of course I quite enjoyed it because it featured golf, played by some terrific players (Tiger Woods, Max Homa and Kevin Kisner for the Jupiter Links GC and Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala for Los Angeles GC). But having looked forward to seeing some the world’s best players having a go at indoor-simulator golf, I think my overall feeling in one word would be ‘underwhelmed’.
In a way it started when Woods, one of the co-founders of TGL, walked into the arena to the sound of (you’ll never guess!) Eye of the Tiger. Well, I guess he is a survivor of sorts. He was asked how the walk-out felt. “That was awesome,” he said. “That was like the best.” Yep, I’m sure it’s right up there with the moment on the 16th in the final round of the 2005 Masters when he holed that unforgettable chip shot.
When it was over, Woods’ team had lost 12-1. You don’t need to understand the nuances of TGL scoring to comprehend this was a blow-out. Tiger’s son, Charlie, was among the crowd and said his dad’s team were “not very good”. The most memorable strike of the night was hit by Kisner, a thinned bunker shot that smashed into the flagstick and ricocheted wildly – “honestly one of the funniest things I’ve seen,” said Woods. Which leads on to another thing. We were repeatedly told that what we were watching was great/hilarious/wild or something similar even as our eyes were telling us something else.
I am no technical expert in this field (or any other, for that matter) but I am told the simulators provided by FullSwing Golf are not the most sophisticated. I wouldn’t know but I do know Woods is an investor in the company, which I guess is why it got this gig. Certainly there is a significant time-lag between the golfer making his swing and the ball flight appearing on the screen.
I appreciate that over time the concept may evolve for the better, maybe even by the time Jupiter Links take on Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common outfit next week. But bearing in mind his son’s verdict, maybe for the time being we might think of it more as TNVGL (Tiger’s Not Very Good League)?
You can follow Robert Green on Twitter @robrtgreen and enjoy his other blog f-factors.com as well as his golf archive on robertgreen-golf.com
