EDITORIAL – TGL TO INTRODUCE WOMEN’S COMPETITION NEXT WINNER

TGL Golf, the indoor league featuring prominent PGA Tour players, will expand next year to include the women of the LPGA Tour, bringing greater visibility to that circuit. Entering its second year for the men’s league, TGL has provided popular programming early in the week for ESPN.

TGL draws approximately 500,000 viewers each week, and reaches an audience that may not be regular viewers of PGA Tour events. Much like Topgolf appeals to non-golfers, TGL is also appealing to such individuals, and demographic studies show that the audience for TGL is also younger than that for PGA Tour events.

With the ladies coming on board next year, it is sure to bring greater interest to the product itself, as LPGA players overall are quite a bit younger than PGA Tour players. This should have a noticeable impact on driving players to the game and should also be good for the golf teaching industry. Even if such players never gravitate towards real courses, indoor simulator golf and Topgolf (and its competitors) are drawing many new people to the game, and it’s natural to want to improve. Most people recognize lessons are the best way of doing so, which should bode well for USGTF members in the future.