What’s new heading into second season of TGL

TGL’s second season begins Sunday with a rematch of last year’s SoFi Cup final, in which Atlanta Drive GC defeated New York Golf Club in two one-point matches on the final hole to win the inaugural title in the tech-infused indoor golf league.

The six teams remain unchanged from the inaugural season, although 15-time major champion Tiger Woods and two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas will not compete, at least at the start of the TGL season, while they continue to recover from back surgeries.

Woods, who turns 50 on Dec. 30, is expected to attend matches at Jupiter Links GC and wear a microphone when chatting with teammates and competitors. All matches will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and/or ESPN+.

Last season, Jupiter Links GC and Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf were the only teams not to make the playoffs. In fact, these teams have combined to win just one out of 10 games.

“I think we’re all ready to not suck anymore,” Jupiter Links GC member Tom Kim said. “We’re ready to win, especially for a guy who’s not used to losing this much. And he’s on our butt to make the playoffs.”

So what’s new in the six-team league that will play five games each during a regular season that begins Sunday and ends March 3?

GreenLarger area for putting green

There’s a bigger, badder GreenZone putting surface, which is 38 percent larger than last season, according to TGL. It has grown from 3,800 square feet to 5,270 and now has 12 hole locations (there were seven previously).

TGL said 608 actuators will be used to transform the putting surface and two larger virtual greens beneath the turf now measure 1,250 square feet, 60 square feet larger than last season.

“Obviously the green is almost twice as big,” said Wyndham Clark, 2023 U.S. Open winner and Bay Golf Club member. “I heard it would be easier to read and a little more consistent, which I think is great for all of us, but especially for guys who pride themselves on being good putters.”

The upper level of the green has a fixed topography and does not move, according to Andrew Macaulay, director of technology at TMRW Sports. The large mound in the middle of the upper tier was lowered about 1½ feet to give fans in the arena a better view of the action. A small bunker was also removed to increase the putting surface.

“We made the other two bunkers larger and riveted the edges around them, which makes for a much nicer and easier transition between the sand and the fairway around them,” Macaulay said.

Another big change is that the turf has been laid out right down the middle, eliminating the tricky shots into the grain that perplexed players last season. Long iron shots on par 5 holes that might have stopped last season are now more likely to bounce off the green and toward the hole.

“Now every grain is cut, which I think will create more excitement for the public because we can do anything we want with a golf ball,” Clark said.

Signature holes for each team

Among several new holes created by golf course architects Gil Hanse, Beau Welling Design, Pizá Golf and Nicklaus Design, six have been updated to become signature holes for each team.

For example, Bay Golf Club’s “Bay Breaker” hole features towering redwoods and fog. Alcatraz and the San Francisco skyline are visible in the distance. Macaulay said the hole was inspired by Pebble Beach Golf Links, TPC Harding Park and Lincoln Park golf courses in the Bay Area.

“Each team has their 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 it can play its hole in every game, whereas its opponent, in the regular season, can only play it when they play against La Baie, for example.”

Beyond the signature holes, a number of other new holes have been added.

Hanse’s 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 is a dark reminder that any shot too far left is not long for this world,” TGL’s description reads.

A par 4 hole called “Stinger” was inspired by Tiger’s iconic stinger shots. A natural rock formation encourages golfers to hit sharp shots from the tee, at a height no higher than about 50 feet.

“Those brave and skilled enough to succeed will be rewarded with an additional roll beyond 260 yards in the A position on this double dogleg hole,” the TGL description reads. “There is an alternative option: a short, medium to high draw off the tee to get around the rock formation. But where’s the fun in that?”

A new par 3 hole takes its name from the Yucatán Peninsula’s natural limestone sinkholes, sacred to the Mayans.

“We can still have the traditional holes, but we can have holes that you would see in a video game,” said Atlanta Drive GC member Billy Horschel. “Because one way or another [of way]It’s a 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 Charts, which will use Virtual Eye technology to track golfers’ shots on fairways and greens. The league said “data-rich augmented reality graphics overlaid on the green will also illustrate shot quality at crucial moments by comparing them to team averages and the best approach ever on that hole.”

“[L]“Live shot tracking will track balls in flight before they hit the giant screen in TGL, the largest golf simulator,” TGL said in a press release.

Additionally, SoFi Center now has 79 cameras to capture every angle of a match, “including the return of the award-winning SmartPin Cam, which offers live 360-degree views from the flagpole perspective” and “new camera angles, such as a reverse shot from a fairway to the tee or a perspective hovering over the green.”

Who is 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 GC Links

Tiger wood
Max Homa
Tom Kim
Kevin Kisner

Los Angeles Golf Club

Colin Morikawa
Tommy Fleetwood
Justin Rose
Sahith Theegala

New York Golf Club

Matt Fitzpatrick
Rickie Fowler
Xander Schauffele
Cameron Young

The Bay Golf Club

Ludvig Aberg
Wyndham Clark
Min Woo Lee
Shane Lowry

CALENDAR 2025-26

Sunday, December 28: New York Golf Club vs. Atlanta Drive GC, 3 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+

Friday, January 2: Boston Common Golf vs. Los Angeles Golf Club, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2/ESPN+

Tuesday, January 6: The Bay Golf Club vs. Atlanta Drive GC, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+

Tuesday, January 13: Jupiter Links GC vs. New York Golf Club, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+

Tuesday, January 20: Jupiter Links GC vs. Los Angeles Golf Club, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+

Monday, January 26: Boston Common Golf vs. The Bay Golf Club, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2/ESPN+

Monday, February 2: Atlanta Drive GC vs. Jupiter Links GC, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+

Monday, February 9: The Bay Golf Club vs. Los Angeles Golf Club, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2/ESPN+

Monday, February 23: Atlanta Drive GC vs. Boston Common Golf, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+

Monday, February 23: Los Angeles Golf Club vs. Atlanta Drive GC, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2/ESPN+

Tuesday, February 24: New York Golf Club vs. The Bay Golf Club, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+

Tuesday, February 24: Boston Common Golf vs. New York Golf Club, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+

Sunday, March 1: Jupiter Links GC vs. Boston Common Golf, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+

Monday, March 2: Los Angeles Golf Club vs. New York Golf Club, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2/ESPN+

Tuesday, March 3: The Bay Golf Club vs. Jupiter Links GC, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+

SoFi Cup Playoffs

March 17: Semifinal match, 6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
March 17: Semifinal match, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN

Final series

Game 1: Monday, March 23, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Game 2: Tuesday, March 24, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 3 (if necessary): Tuesday, March 24, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN