Shot Clock And Referee Among New Elements Revealed By TGL

The upcoming TGL has announced three competitive elements from other sports will be brought into its match rules when the action begins at SoFi Centre early in 2024.

Keen to maintain the interest of regular golf fans - as well as attracting a new audience to the game - TGL has confirmed it will feature a shot clock, timeouts, and a referee in a bid to maintain excitement levels throughout its inaugural campaign.

Arguably the most called-for aspect in professional golf, Woods and McIlroy's introduction of a shot clock is perhaps unsurprising given how vocal the Northern Irishman has been in the past about pace of play on Tour.

McIlroy labelled the pace of play during the second round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in September "a complete s*** show" and has often spoken out about how long it takes to complete a round in the modern game.

TGL's shot clock will max out at 40 seconds, with the timeframe based on a current USGA recommendation on pace of play. If a team exceeds that period without having hit their shot, a one-stroke penalty will be incurred.

The referee and booth official will work together to start, manage and enforce the shot clock inside the purpose-built SoFi Center. Those familiar with American Football will recognise the similarities between the TGL and the NFL's use of the shot clock, with the watch resetting every time a player hits their ball or runs out of time.

Other instances of the clock stopping would involve a Rules of Golf penalty, either of the officials determining a reset to accommodate a special circumstance, or a timeout being called.

Speaking of tactical breaks, each team will be able to use a maximum of four timeouts in every game - two per session - but cannot carry any over into the subsequent period.

For the team that is playing their shot, timeouts can be signalled or visually called at any point by any of the team until the shot clock expires. But the opposing side only has until the player fully addresses the ball to make their decision. Should one team call for a break, they cannot go back-to-back and must wait until the next stroke has been made before asking again.

And the final new element to make its way into the TGL is the referee. Each official will have experience in "the dynamics of team sports" and will be with the players at SoFi Center to administer the tech-forward league’s rules during potentially unique situations. As well as an 'on-field referee,' a rules-expert booth official will help to ensure no one gains an unfair advantage.

TGL says its rules will follow those used in traditional golf played on the PGA Tour, as well as inherent local rules needed for the league’s unique competition format, technology, and venue.