To the tunes of Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger", Tiger Woods entered the playing field for his debut in golf's new indoor venture TGL.
No further introduction was needed for the golf star, who, together with Rory McIlroy, is behind the new concept, which is played indoors and is a hybrid between simulated and real shots.
Are you ready for this? Woods shouted to the audience before putting on his "game face" and focusing on the match.
All eyes were, of course, on the 49-year-old world star, who, together with Kevin Kisner and Max Homa, made up the team Jupiter Links.
But it was the opposing team Los Angeles, consisting of Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa, and Sahith Theegala, that won the match with a crushing 12–1.
In the audience following the competition were, among others, tennis legend Serena Williams, who has been friends with Woods for a long time.
This is completely crazy. It's so much fun to see their personalities and see them shine as golfers. It's so cool to see a new aspect, she said in the TV broadcast.
The matches are decided indoors in a 23,000 square meter large indoor arena in Palm Beach with space for 1,500 spectators. The long shots are hit just like in regular simulator golf – except that the screen is over 320 square meters large. Moreover, the long shots are hit from real grass in different lengths for fairway and rough.
The players wear technical equipment. Before each shot, they receive information about distance and simulated wind conditions.
When the players have barely 50 meters left, they hit real shots against an artificial green that can rotate 360 degrees to create different angles and slopes. Even bunker shots – both short and long – take place in real sand. Of the same type as found in the bunkers at Augusta National, which hosts the major tournament Masters every year.
The indoor league ends on March 4. The playoffs take place on March 17-18 (semifinals) and March 24-25 (final).
