Can simulated golf be genuinely entertaining? That’s the challenge before marketers of TGL, the new made-for-TV indoor golf league backed by PGA Tour superstars Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

Set to debut on ESPN on Jan. 7, TGL presented by SoFi is a team golf competition conducted in a high-tech venue in Florida that seats 1,500 fans and features the world’s largest golf simulator—a 64-foot by 53-foot screen showing virtual courses designed to challenge the PGA Tour stars participating in the league. Golfers will hit tee and approach shots into the simulator, and play balls within 50 yards of the hole in a 22,475-square-foot green complex that includes technology to rotate and change the surface topography.

The endeavor, meant to create a prime-time golf event that mimics team sports, has the opportunity to draw new and existing golf fans, according to Regina O’Brien, chief marketing officer of TGL. Activity around golf in recent years—notably the explosion of simulated golf centers like Topgolf—has proven fans have the appetite, she said.

“What Topgolf has done for the playing of golf, we’re going to do for the viewing of golf,” O’Brien said. “Your core golf fan is going to be interested because we’ve got the top names on the PGA Tour, and then you’ve got something that appeals to a general sports fan,” noting innovations such as the team format, referees, shot clock and mic’d-up players. “I think it’s going to be very appealing to a general sports fan who maybe isn’t a regular golf watcher.”

BarkleyOKRP developed a creative strategy meant to capture the freshness of the league while demonstrating that the pace of TGL would be no leisurely Sunday afternoon. The ads will mainly run on ESPN, with digital media coming to Barstool Sports, Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated, a spokesperson said. There will also be social media and radio ads.

“Keep up, it’s golf” will be a theme of additional work for TGL, said Michelle Scallate, senior VP, client experience for BarkleyOKRP. When the season begins, for example, BarkleyOKRP is looking to develop game recaps and previews from the same frenetic point of view.

“We really tried to tap into the nature of how quick it is going to move, which is a little bit in juxtaposition against the perception of golf being a little bit of a slower sport,” Scallate said. “So that was really something from a creative strategy standpoint.”

TGL matches will air weekly on Mondays or Tuesdays on ESPN and ESPN2 until a best-of-three final series set for March 24 and 25, 2025.

In the months leading up the the league’s debut, TGL’s social channels have hosted a series starring golf influencer Roger Steele. He addresses fan questions about the league, such as a myth that there will be no real grass, and doubts about the legitimacy of teams of players who don’t reside in the cities they represent.

Big names

Brand partners and well-heeled investors have thrown their support behind the league. TGL has 11 commercial partnerships including founding partners SoFi, Best Buy, Businessolver and Genesis. The sport has been attractive to tech companies, O’Brien said; and Best Buy is new to golf advertising.

TGL’s six teams represent Atlanta, New York, Boston, San Francisco (called the Bay), Los Angeles and Jupiter, Florida (Tiger Woods’ team, located near the Palm Beach Gardens, Florida home of the SoFi Center where the games will take place). Three players from the four-player team rosters will participate in each match.

Team owners, who include Serena and Venus Williams (Los Angeles), Stephen Curry (The Bay) and Steve Cohen (New York) reportedly paid between $25 million to $100 million for their franchises. TGL has the backing of the PGA Tour.

TGL has been a long time coming. It was announced in 2022 and was scheduled to debut in January 2024. However, the SoFi Center’s air-supported roof collapsed last November, forcing a decision to delay its debut for a year. That facility now has a steel structure supporting its roof.

Upstart golf tour LIV Golf has also embraced a team concept. That group faced strong opposition from the PGA Tour before a stalled merger between the groups. Some have framed the creation of TGL as a response to competition from LIV.