TGL’s format is interesting, but could use some thinking to keep it entertaining.
A core belief of mine is that we should all be allowed to change our minds on things.
Too often somebody tries to “Gotcha!” someone else and it offers a thought or opinion that they previously held when said person in question is offering one that contradicts it. I get that.
Obviously, there are exceptions to this idea. There are important things you should not be allowed to change your mind on. If you say that ranch is better than bleu cheese then I trust you, but you are never allowed to switch sides. Mostly because bleu cheese is bad.
I’ve rambled for a bit now to let you all know that I have changed my mind on something and that is okay!
TGL needs to start incorporating holes from the upcoming PGA Tour events
After the inaugural TGL match a couple of weeks ago I noted that the league and its powers at hand needed to do something about the holes involved. I agree with that idea still (it was mine after all).
Something I mentioned was how the league should be capitalizing on the simulator-ness of its format and creating holes that were not possible in real life. Play one on Tatooine! Things like that.
While I maintain that this idea still holds some water… we are three matches in and I — someone who loves golf and absorbs as much golf content as possible — am sort of losing interest. This bums me out.
Some of the lost steam can be attributed to the fact that it is really hard to start a brand new league of anything. We live in a time where our attention drifts easily, and if you aren’t holding it, then you have lost it. Consider that I just watched Interstellar for the first time ever a few days ago (seriously… turns out it is pretty good!) and that it took me three sittings to do so. Part of this is because the movie is so long and my wife and I have a 3-year old, but some of it is also the way things go nowadays.
I’m willing to give TGL my time because I love golf, but consider the names of the holes that the Atlanta Drive beat the New York Golf Club throughout… in a sleepy sort of manner by the way:
- Temple
- Bonnie Link
- On The Rock (also the name of a great Sara Bareilles song)
- Serpent
- Oh Chute
- Loot On The Line
- Craic On
- Bluebonnet
- Riptide
- Quick Draw
- Straight Up
- Set in Stone
- Alpine (ESPN’s Matt Barrie called this one of the “most famous holes in the TGL league,” and while I respect the effort… what!?)
- Cliffhanger
- Pinery
What are these? What do they mean? Why did someone force the “Oh Chute” pun?
The simulator element of this league is certainly interesting, but the coolness of that has dissipated. Part of what makes golf tournaments so interesting is our relationships with the courses and holes that they offer. We remember how certain players did here, what mistakes were costly for them there, so on and so forth.
Let me say that I understand there are probably rights issues that prohibit what I am about to suggest… but why not have each TGL match be the players playing the upcoming course for the PGA Tour event that is about to happen? TGL is obviously its own separate thing from the PGA Tour, but consider this week as just an example.
Wednesday will kick off the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, of all places. Think about how cool it would be to see these six players (Atlanta was Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel, and Patrick Cantlay, while New York was Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Young, and Rickie Fowler) playing the course that we are about to see in real life for four days. We would remember the shots they hit and start to get excited about the holes/course/tournament at large. Bake it all together!
Now another problem lies in the game of golf at large right now in that the best players aren’t even playing the actual Tour events on a consistent basis. Consider that literally no players from Tuesday night’s TGL match are in the field for the Farmers. That is a problem given that they are some of the best and most popular players in the game, but that is an entirely different discussion.
You would think though that because these specific players won’t be playing this week that they would have no problem playing a simulator version of Torrey. They would not be tipping their hand on any kind of strategy and could serve as the opening act for the event, so to speak.
I recognize that relegating TGL to an opening act for a struggling PGA Tour does not sound great to the people who invested so much in it. But it feels not unfair to say that even just three matches in… something has to change.
Please.
