TGL's second season kicks off on Sunday with a rematch of last year's SoFi Cup final, which Atlanta Drive GC defeated New York Golf Club in a pair of one-point matches on the final hole to claim the first title in the high-tech indoor golf league.
The lineups of the six teams remained unchanged from the first season, although the 15-time major champion Tiger Woods and two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas will not compete for at least the beginning of the TGL season while they continue to recover from back surgeries.
Woods, who turns 50 on Dec. 30, is expected to attend Jupiter Links GC matches and wear a microphone while interacting with teammates and competitors. All matches will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and/or ESPN+.
Last season Jupiter Links GC and Rory McIlroyBoston Common Golf were the only teams not to make the playoffs. In fact, these teams together won only one match out of 10.
“I think we’re all ready to not suck anymore,” said Tom Kimmember of GC Jupiter Links. “We're ready to win, especially for a guy who's not used to losing that much. And he's trying his best to make the playoffs.”
So what's new in a six-team league that will each play five games in the regular season, which begins Sunday and ends March 3?
Enlarged GreenZone putting green
The GreenZone golf course is bigger and badder, up 38% from last season, according to TGL. It has increased in size from 3,800 square feet to 5,270 and now has 12 holes (previously there were seven).
TGL said 608 drives will be used to resurface the course, and the two large full virtual greens under the turf are now 1,250 square feet, up 60 square feet from last season.
“Obviously the green is almost twice as big,” the 2023 US Open winner said. Wyndham ClarkMember of The Bay Golf Club. “I've heard that he'll be easier to read and a little more consistent, which I think is great for any of us, but especially for guys who pride themselves on being good players.”
According to Andrew Macaulay, technical director at TMRW Sports, the top tier of the green has a fixed topography and does not move. The large mound in the middle of the upper tier was lowered about 1.5 feet to give fans in the arena a better view of the action. A small bunker was also removed to increase the putting area.
“We enlarged the other two bunkers and riveted the edges around them, so the transition from the sand to the fairway around them is a lot nicer and easier,” Macaulay said.
Another big change is that the turf has been laid with grain all the way down the middle, eliminating the tricky shots into the grain that confused players last season. Long shots on par-5 holes that might have been stopped last season are now more likely to bounce from green to hole.
“Everything is now more detailed, which I think will create more excitement for spectators because we'll be able to do whatever we want with the golf ball,” Clark said.
Branded holes for each team
Among several new holes from golf course architects Gil Hanse, Beau Welling Design, Pizá Golf and Nicklaus Design, there are six that have been updated to become signature holes for each team.
For example, The Bay Golf Club's Bay Breaker hole features towering redwood trees and mist. Alcatraz and the San Francisco skyline are visible in the distance. Macaulay said the hole was inspired by the Pebble Beach Golf Links, TPC Harding Park and Lincoln Park golf courses in the Bay Area.
“Each team has its own hole and of course in any match between two teams those two holes will be played,” Macaulay said. “It’s an advantage for the team because they can play their hole every match, whereas their regular season opponent can only play it when they play against The Bay, for example.”
In addition to the signature holes, a number of other new holes have been added.
Hans' first hole for TGL is a par-5 called “Stone & Steeple,” which features Sahara-style cross bunkers off the tee and a stone wall on the left side that separates the playing area from a cemetery next to a New England-style church.
“Players must be precise in their approaches—the church serves as a grim reminder that any blows taken too far to the left are short-lived for this world,” the TGL description reads.
The par-4 hole, called “The Stinger”, was modeled after Tiger's signature putts. The natural rock formation encourages golfers to hit stinger shots off the tee, no higher than 50 feet or so.
“Those brave and skilled who can successfully complete this challenge will be rewarded with an extra roll beyond 260 yards to the A position on this double dogleg hole,” the TGL description reads. “The alternative is short, medium and high take off the tee to get around the rock. But what's so interesting about that?
The new par-3 hole takes its name from the natural limestone sinkholes of the Yucatan Peninsula that were sacred to the Mayans.
“We can still have traditional holes, but we can also have holes that you would see in video games,” said a member of Atlanta Drive GC. Billy Horschel. “Because in a way [of way]this is the video game we play. In a sense, we're playing a high-tech video game.”
New graphics and technologies
TGL is promoting its new shot comparison graphics, which will use Virtual Eye technology to track golfers' shots on fairways and greens. The league said that “data-rich augmented reality graphics overlaid on the green will also illustrate the quality of shots in crucial moments by comparing them to team averages and the best approach on that hole.”
“[L]The iveshot tracking system will track balls in flight before they hit the huge screen of TGL, the largest simulator in all of golf,” TGL said in a press release.
In addition, SoFi Center now has 79 cameras to capture the match from all angles, “including the return of the award-winning SmartPin Cam, which provides a 360-degree direct view from the pinpoint” and “new camera angles such as a reverse shot from the fairway back to the tee or a soaring perspective over the green.”
Who's on which teams?
Atlanta Drive GC
Justin Thomas
Patrick Cantlay
Billy Horschel
Lucas Glover
Boston Common Golf
Rory McIlroy
Keegan Bradley
Adam Scott
Hideki Matsuyama
Jupiter Links GC
Tiger Woods
Max Homa
Tom Kim
Kevin Kisner
Los Angeles Golf Club
Colleen Morikawa
Tommy Fleetwood
Justin Rose
Sahit Thigala
New York Golf Club
Matt Fitzpatrick
Rickie Fowler
Xander Schauffele
Cameron Young
Bay Golf Club
Ludwig Oberg
Wyndham Clark
hard
Shane Lowry
SCHEDULE FOR 2025-26.
Sunday, December 28: New York Golf Club vs. Atlanta Drive, 3:00 pm ET, ABC/ESPN+
Friday, January 2: Boston Common Golf vs. Los Angeles Golf Club, 7:00 pm ET, ESPN2/ESPN+
Tuesday, January 6: Bay Golf Club vs. Atlanta Drive GC, 5:00 pm ET, ESPN/ESPN+
Tuesday, January 13: Jupiter Links GC vs. New York Golf Club, 7:00 pm ET, ESPN/ESPN+
Tuesday, January 20: Jupiter Lynx GC vs. Los Angeles Golf Club, 7:00 pm ET, ESPN/ESPN+
Monday, January 26: Boston Common Golf vs. The Bay Golf Club, 7:00 pm ET, ESPN2/ESPN+
Monday, February 2: Atlanta Drive GC vs. Jupiter Links GC, 5:00 pm ET, ESPN/ESPN+
Monday, February 9: Bay Golf Club vs. Los Angeles Golf Club, 7:00 pm ET, ESPN2/ESPN+
Monday, February 23: Atlanta Drive GC vs. Boston Common Golf, 5:00 pm ET, ESPN/ESPN+
Monday, February 23: Los Angeles Golf Club vs. Atlanta Drive GC, 9:00 pm ET, ESPN2/ESPN+
Tuesday, February 24: New York Golf Club vs. Bay Golf Club, 5:00 pm ET, ESPN/ESPN+
Tuesday, February 24: Boston Common Golf vs. New York Golf Club, 9:00 pm ET, ESPN/ESPN+
Sunday, March 1: Jupiter Lynx GC vs. Boston Common Golf, 9:00 pm ET, ESPN/ESPN+
Monday, March 2: Los Angeles Golf Club vs. New York Golf Club, 7:00 pm ET, ESPN2/ESPN+
Tuesday, March 3: Bay Golf Club vs. Jupiter Links GC, 9:00 pm ET, ESPN/ESPN+
SoFi Cup Playoffs
March 17: Semifinal matchup, 6:30 pm ET, ESPN.
March 17: Semifinal matchup, 9:00 pm ET, ESPN.
Final episode
Match 1: Monday, March 23, 9:00 pm ET, ESPN2.
Match 2: Tuesday, March 24, 7:00 pm ET, ESPN.
Match 3 (if applicable): Tuesday, March 24, 9:00 pm ET, ESPN.
