Many of us at NGF were among those who watched the inaugural TGL season with great interest. And we weren’t alone.
About half a million viewers turned in for each broadcast of the indoor golf league, which mixes simulator play with real short game action on and around a rotating green (mind you, not during shots!). Our recent consumer survey showed nearly two-thirds of golfers watched at least one match.
Sure, most viewers (61% in our research) haven’t picked a favorite team to cheer for, yet TGL still delivered some viral moments that got the golf world talking. There was Tommy Fleetwood’s par 4 ace during practice, Tiger Woods’ yardage mix-up (or his shot clock violation, for that matter), Kevin Kisner’s bladed bunker shot that ricocheted off the flagstick, and Billy Horschel’s electric “This is my… house!” putt in the championship match.
TGL presented by SoFi promised to bring something fresh to golf and – as the league readies for the start of its sophomore season this month — it delivered on many levels.
Viewership is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to the upstart league’s success. We’ve been seeking to understand how TGL has affected the broader golf industry, particularly the growing connection between off-course and on-course engagement.
NGF’s golfer survey revealed a clear relation between watching TGL and being interested in tech-driven golf experiences.
Notably, TGL viewers were significantly more interested in tech-forward golf activities compared to those who didn’t watch.
The biggest differences? Interest in tech-enabled driving ranges was 14 percentage points higher among TGL watchers. The TGL crowd also saw greater interest in simulator facilities (+11 percentage points) – whether commercial, at green-grass facilities or the in-home variety – and golf-entertainment venues like TopGolf or PopStroke (+7 percentage points).
These tech-related differences were the largest gaps we found across all the golf activities we measured, and it confirms what many suspected – TGL holds a natural appeal to golfers who embrace technology. Of course, there’s that classic chicken-or-egg question: Were these folks already tech-forward golf before TGL, or did watching these matches spark their interest? It bears mentioning that golfers under the age of 50 are 40% more likely to be familiar with TGL.
Regardless of which came first – interest in tech or TGL – the league co-founded by Woods and Rory McIlroy has tapped into golf’s booming off-course industry.
When it comes to commercial implications, it raises the question whether simulator venues are capitalizing on this natural crossover. Were they offering special deals during matches? Leveraging any creative marketing tie-ins? Perhaps even hosting watch parties during TGL broadcasts? Those are questions we’re investigating in ongoing studies.
Think about it this way: what if Red Bull missed the connection between their energy drink customers and extreme sports fans? We might not see the company dominating Air Racing, Formula 1, or becoming the marketing powerhouse it is today. Red Bull spotted its audience’s overlapping interests and ran with it, all the way to the bank.
Perhaps the same opportunity is sitting in front of screen golf venues and the simulator tech companies in the space.
With limited “white space” on the green-grass side of the game – U.S. operators suggest there’s approximately 10% remaining tee sheet capacity – simulator golf represents one of the clearest opportunities for golf industry growth.
With limited “white space” on the green-grass side of the game – in terms of remaining tee sheet capacity – simulator golf represents one of the clearest opportunities for golf industry growth. The number of screen/simulator golf participants has more than doubled since 2020 to over 9 million.
And it’s not a zero-sum game. Our research shows those who play on- and off-course in different locations – from golf entertainment venues and driving ranges to simulators – give golf a greater share of their mind, money and time.