- Stadium unveiling and play demonstration at media day; “24 players are gladiators in the arena”; ‘Transformer’ green with 600 devices hidden is the key; immersion on a 5-story high screen… opens on the 8th of next month
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“The moment players enter this stadium, they become gladiators in the arena.”
Mike McCarley, CEO of TMRW Sports Group, which operates the Tech-infused Golf League (TGL), a golf league that never existed before, said this on the 19th (Korean time). He explained, “Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy wanted to present the future while following the tradition of golf.” TMRW is a Woods-McIlroy joint venture.
On this day, the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA, the TGL stadium, was opened to the media. TGL, a special screen golf league in which PGA Tour players participate, began the countdown to its official opening (January 8, 2025) through the Media Day event.
As is well known, TGL is a ‘half and half golf’ that is different from ordinary screen golf. The tee shot and next shot are shot towards a large screen in the ‘screen zone’, and chip shots and putts are played in the ‘green zone’ rather than the screen. The green is artificial turf, but the three bunkers surrounding the green appear to have been copied from the PGA Tour course.
The core technology lies beneath the green. 600 actuators (driving devices) completely change the undulation (bending) of each hole. After moving to the next hole on the screen and sending the ball to the green, you will encounter a ‘transformer’ green zone that looks different from the previous hole. Even the bunker location is changed.
Rickie Fowler, Billy Horschel, and Wyndham Clark, who attended the event, spent the longest time on the green. Players who had been rolling the ball on natural grass under natural light felt somewhat awkward rolling the ball on artificial turf under strong lighting.
The sight of the media looking around the green as Fowler demonstrated a bunker shot was no different from the sight of a PGA Tour venue. However, it was indoors, not outdoors, and the ball’s trajectory was graphically displayed on the screen.
TGL promotes an interactive golf league. The size of the game course is similar to that of American football, and in the stands that can accommodate 1,500 people, strategic discussions between team members can be heard in real time through microphones worn by players. All shots are converted into data using tracking technology and displayed on a flashy scoreboard located on both sides of the screen. The sense of immersion provided by the ultra-large screen, which is as tall as a 5-story building (approximately 15m), is significant.
The stands are dark, and only the screen zone and green zone are brightly lit, creating a UFC stadium atmosphere, and the band-shaped electronic display on the railings of the stands is reminiscent of a major league baseball stadium. Fowler and others livened up the atmosphere with trash talk that playfully slandered their opponents. 24 players, including Woods, McIlroy, Justin Thomas, and Kim Joo-hyung, will compete in 6 teams of 4 people until March next year, and the game will be a 15-hole match play format. Like basketball, there is a timeout and a 40-second shot clock. It is reported that $50 million was invested in the construction of stadium facilities, and the season prize money is $21 million (about 30.4 billion won).
Reporter Yang Jun-ho [email protected]
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