Like many professional golfers, Jon Rahm has a simulator in his home. It’s a 14-foot screen and you stand about 12 feet away when you swing. Nice standard.
Rahm and the 11 other players signed up for the TGL — a new “tech-infused league” to partner with the PGA Tour — are in for a big change of pace (and scenery) when the The first event will begin in January 2024.
“From what I’ve heard we’re going to be 35 yards from the screen and the screen is going to be 60 feet wide and 40 feet tall,” Rahm said ahead of this week’s 2023 BMW Championship at Olympia Fields near Chicago. “I can’t even imagine how big it is.”
“I saw a little virtual reality video of it. I didn’t see it in person. It’s different from what I expected,” he continued. “I didn’t know how big it was, which makes it even better.”
Six teams of three players on the PGA Tour will compete in 15 regular season Monday night matches, followed by semifinals and finals matches, starting next January. Games will be played in a tech-infused, short-game complex. Fans can see every shot live in a 2-hour primetime television broadcast.
Monday Night Football ends on Christmas, December 25, meaning the new league won’t compete with the NFL when it kicks off in a few months.
Of 18 players, so far 12 were announced. The committed players include several fan favorites who have combined for 28 major championships and 190 wins on the PGA Tour. Two of the team’s six ownership groups, based in Los Angeles and Bostonwas also announced.
TGL also recently announced Full Swing as the official technology partnerwhich shouldn’t be surprising since Full Swing is the PGA Tour’s official partner for golf simulators and counts TGL participants Tiger Woods, Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele among its endorsers.
MORE: Meet the 12 players who signed up for TGL
Committed players don’t know many details yet, but that doesn’t stop Rahm’s excitement for the new league. From the type of golf played to when and where it is played, Rahm is optimistic that TGL will bring a new audience of fans.
“Like a lot of sports today, I think it will allow for more live gambling, which is what a lot of people are trying to do now when they’re watching sports,” he explained. “I think we can attract a different audience, and I’m looking forward to that too. I’ve heard a lot of great reviews and thoughts from my friends who watched it before they knew I was invested in it and want to play.
“I think we have an opportunity to do something very special.”