The company behind Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's new indoor golf league has raised a new round of funding that values the company at $500 million. I think this is going to be a massive success. Here's why 👇 Overview TGL is a new golf league started by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Mike McCarley of TMRW Sports. • 6 teams (4 PGA Tour players each) • 18-hole golf matches every Monday night Each match has a 2-hour time limit and takes place inside a 135,000-square-foot arena in Palm Beach, Florida. The golfers will hit long-distance shots into a simulator the size of an IMAX screen before moving to a short-game area for chipping, bunker shots, and putting. The venue will hold 1,500 to 2,000 people — and some of the world's best golfers have committed to play: • Tiger Woods • Rory McIlroy • Collin Morikawa • Xander Schauffele • Max Homa But here's why it could actually work... 1. Equity alignment: TGL will be owned by four different groups: TMRW Sports (54%), the PGA TOUR (18%), the individual teams (18%), and the players (10%). This structure aligns incentives across all major stakeholders and forces everyone to focus on growth. 2. Celebrity investors: TMRW Sports & TGL have raised money from 50+ of the world's most popular athletes and celebrities. • Josh Allen • Steph Curry • Shohei Ohtani • Arthur Blank • David Blitzer • John Henry • Shaquille O’Neal • Lewis Hamilton • Sidney Crosby • Justin Bieber All of these investors have huge audiences and can make a meaningful difference in the growth of TGL. 3. Primetime Golf: TGL's season will run for 15 weeks from January to April. This is a perfect time because 1) they are only competing with NBA and NHL regular season games, 2) US sports fans are already trained to watch sports on Monday nights because of Monday Night Football, and 3) it will be the only golf event played in primetime (not midday). 4. Social & Gambling Content: TGL players will be mic'd up during the matches, which has already proven successful with "The Match" Series. Plus, TGL matches will have a gambling component, creating friendly banter that performs well on social media (Social impressions —> TV viewership). 4. TV Rights: TGL was able to sign a deal with ESPN before launch because 1) Tiger Woods is involved, 2) there is a lack of premium sports rights up for grabs, and 3) it's a valuable audience for advertisers. TGL matches will take over ESPN's Monday Night Football window after the football season ends, giving them instant distribution (+ $$$). So the only question is whether traditional golf fans will enjoy indoor golf content enough to tune in every week. But with TGL’s impressive list of owners (Woods & McIlroy), players (Woods, McIlroy, Morikawa, etc.), and investors (50+ celebrities with huge audiences), I certainly wouldn’t bet against them. P.S. If you enjoy learning about the business and money behind sports, join 120,000+ others who read my 3x weekly newsletter: http://readhuddleup.com/
notch it up and go LIV vs PGA head to head - just kidding
Mike Aldrich
1mo
Half a billion dollar valuation with no revenue yet? It’s an interesting concept, but in a world where 10x Revenue / Valuation is expected from a startup, this project is anticipating at $50M in annual revenue?
Michael Canfield
1mo
This looks awesome. We are building the grassroots version of this at your local driving range via Golf Ranch & Blue Jeans Golf. Needless to say, we will have a nationwide viewing party for TGL when it premieres!
Adam Nelson
1mo
Seems like it would enhance the fan experience, increase the pace of play to position it for prime time, and offer a lot new ways for players, brands and fans to engage with each other. I'm sure the traditionalist will resist, but I like how it could expand golf's audience. Only a matter of time before they have virtual pro-ams.
Elana Gold
1mo
Happen to be able to make an intro?
more cool things coming to golf entertainment space that TGL seems to align with...
Dean Spooner
1mo
This is the sort of competition that would make people who aren't golf fans tune in and watch, just because it's entertaining and innovative.
David Sargeant
1mo
Love this concept. Can play the same course no matter where you are in the world. Just a shame the teams aren't mixed. The format could easily support teams of two men and one woman for example...
Fiona Birch
1mo
Strikes me as attractive to non-sports fans. Almost a bridge between live sport and eSport for the following reasons: - technical sport’s skills versus physical prowess. - video game like, in the way a platform replicates and replaces the play environment. - reaches out to an audience of non-participant observers, versus traditional sport (where the audience often has a connection to either having played or been at a game). Great potential to grow the traditional game of golf - both players and fans, although more likely to initially drive to the simulator experience version. With a percentage knock-on to golf course experience. Merchandise opportunities for TGL audience only, and/or TGL audience and simulator/course knock-on participants. Overall I see the desire most pro athletes I’ve worked with have, of wanting to build a legacy around growing the sport. And knowing to capture the next gen, it’s essential to create an experience that bridges traditional with tech.
Founder & CEO at Untapt Industries
1moThat all makes a lot of sense. But as a potential viewer/customer, I'm still skeptical about how much I'll enjoy watching players hit into a simulator for long-distance shots. It's one thing to watch players on tv. It's another thing to watch them on tv hitting onto a tv.