There was a lot of anticipation before TGL officially hit the market. The community was not sure how a tech-based league, completely different from traditional golf would perform. But it is Tiger Woods, after all, and how can he go wrong when it comes to golf? The debut match was a huge success. No backstage blunders or live TV hiccups, just an energetic crowd. Topped with resounding thumbs-ups from the players, except Rickie Fowler. The television ratings for TGL’s debut were promising.
The two-hour telecast averaged 919,000 viewers, peaking at 1.1 million between 9:15 and 9:30 PM. Compared to the PGA Tour’s 2024 Sunday final round average of 2.8 million viewers (2.2 million excluding majors), TGL’s debut showed potential. According to Zoomph, it was the most-watched sporting event, beating the NBA and College Hoops, racking up an incredible 3.2M views. While the credit does lie with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, Gary Williams, a reputed insider of the golf community has someone else to credit.
Paige Spiranac and others paved the way for new things in golf
TGL has done its marketing in the best way possible. They have collaborated with some of the biggest names in the influencer world. Tiger Woods paired with Grant Horvat for a YouTube video. Roger Steele gave a shoutout too. Paige Spiranac, however, excluded from the initial promotions, shared her exceptional experience of watching the first match between New York GC and the Bay Golf Club.
“Watching the launch of TGL and I have to say it’s fun to see the guys more relaxed! I think we will really get to see their personalities shine in this format,” wrote Spiranac. She alone has more than $4 million in subscriptions, and according to Gary Williams, TGL has reached success because of how the new-age influencers paved the way for something so new in the golf world. Golf is known to be a traditional sport, with the community not so welcoming of new aspects. Take LIV for instance.
In the latest video of the 5 Clubs, he said, “Golf is challenging but those particular outlets and then the creation and the proliferation of New Media and people that have come together to create smart funny clever irreverent cerebral content like no laying up and the four Pod and support podcast and Friday Golf and good good golf Bob does Golf and dude perfect and Paige Spiranac. all of those in the aggregate have created this current that now allows this giant shiny vessel TGL to enter the space you know what it’s got”.
Reaching out to top golf creators for collaboration to make people aware of TGL was not all the marketing that the league did. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy made sure that the golf world knew what they were to expect by keeping up the buzz of the golf world, and well, what you sow, you reap.
TGL’s successful marketing strategy
Tech influencer Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) gave fans a tour of the Center and also showed them behind the scenes of the function Ming through his video. He displayed all the high-tech tools that made TGL as special as it is. “It’s exciting to see how Best Buy and TGL are using technology at SoFi Center to bring golf to new levels for sports fans.” He said, “With technology at the center of the league, I can’t wait to see how it brings people a new way to watch and experience the game—whether they’re watching in person or at home.”
Even DJ Khaled did an entire display of how the league will unfold. Then there’s Roger Steele, who’s bringing his signature energy. His style is the perfect match for TGL’s vibe, adding a whole new level of excitement to the experience. That was not all to attract the audience.
The league had a DJ, and that too one of the best on board. DJ Irie, who was nominated for the 2007 BET Award and voted 2005’s Best Club DJ by the Miami New Times, was there to play with the beats. Additionally, former NBA referee, Derrick Stafford too was there to call out the shots. That was exactly how star-studded their league was.
TGL by TMRW Sports worth $500 M is surely new-age golf, that the creators made the way for. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section below!
