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The last TGL match saw Tiger Woods and his Jupiter Links Golf Club suffer a crushing 12 to 1 loss against Los Angeles Golf Club. Following the result, several concerns regarding the league's format, courses, technology, and fan engagement sparked conversations from analysts and fans alike.
During Sirius XM's Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Law, the hosts talked about TGL's challenges while praising and pointing out critiques. One of the hosts pointed out that having Woods make his debut in the league's second match was a calculated risk that eventually led to a blowout. Here's what the analyst said (via Sirius XM):
"It was certainly a calculated risk by the league to send out Tiger. Not first in the debut match, but instead second, it resulted in a 12 to one blowout Jupiter Links that Tiger's team got blown out by LA Golf Club 12 to one. I will say there was a level of anticipation of how TGL would have taken what they did in the first week and improve on it."
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According to a TGL official, hundreds of test matches were held prior to the inaugural match on January 7. The podcasters noted that the insider was able to count the number of blowouts on one hand and that it always happened during the singles matches from holes 10 to 15.
The analysts noted a few differences in the spectator experience compared to the first match. TGL received a few complaints after their inauguration match between New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club regarding fans in the stadium being unable to hear the interaction between the players and announcers. However, the league solved the issue for Woods' debut in the match series.
TGL's solution was to have the spectators download a mobile app. While the app was a bit slow with the audio output, the Golf Channel Podcast hosts were optimistic that it would get better over time. Another improvement was the interaction between the players.
The Golf Channel Podcast also questioned TGL's highly-praised technology. Famed for his stellar wedge shots, Tiger Woods has never been known to miss the green. However, the 15-time major championship winner did so at the SoFi Center last week and sparked doubts about the accuracy of the technology. Rex and Law noted (via Sirius XM):
"I think the biggest differentiator week over week was, the poor shots that we saw. And it, it almost, it almost made you question the technology and whether it was working like Tiger Woods does not miss greens with wedges by 20 yards and hit it long."
As heard in the podcast episode, several other TGL players had also privately expressed doubts about the simulator's shot tracking, especially with wedge shots. They explained that when players come within 150 yards of the pin, they have a harder time measuring the depth.
Golf analysts suggest Tiger Woods' reserved nature challenges TGL's interactive format
During Tiger Woods' TGL debut last week, the Golf Channel Podcast noted that his reserved demeanor didn't naturally align with the league's interactive format. However, the PGA Tour legend's teammates Kevin Kisner and Max Homa brought a different dynamic to the table.
Rex and Law said (via Sirius XM):
"Tiger's not a trash talker and he's actually not a great talker when it comes to just being lively and insightful. That's not been his MO for his entire career. So that's not going to change. But when you put Kisner and you put Homa in his corner, he didn't have a lot of room to talk anyway. So that part was enjoyable. I felt like they took a good step forward when it came to actually laying out and hearing the interaction between the players."
Known for his stoic nature, Woods wasn't as interactive as his other teammates but still joined in on the friendly banter between his Jupiter Links teammates and Los Angeles GC and shared some laughs along the way.
