TGL Format And Rules: How Does The Tech-Infused League Work?

TGL is a golf league made for primetime TV that is held at the purpose-built SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

It features 24 players on six different teams, with each four-man roster attempting to try and reach the playoffs before toiling to lift the SoFi Cup.

Some of the PGA Tour's biggest names are involved, including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy plus Xander Schauffele and Tommy Fleetwood, with two teams going head-to-head every week in order to try and win two points for their season tally.

Games often take place on Monday or Tuesday nights and feature 15 holes of golf at a bespoke course which is displayed on the giant screen and completed on the adaptable short-game area at the other end of the arena.

After the 15-match regular season has concluded, the top four teams in the table will advance to the semi-finals.

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The winners of those matches reach the Championship Series, which will have a best-of-three structure, and the winner of that will be crowned the TGL champion.

So that's the overview of TGL. Below is the full breakdown of the format, rules and tactical tools available.

TGL FORMAT

Each week, two of the six teams compete over 15 holes in a format dubbed 'Modern Match Play.' Only three of the four players on each roster play on a week-by-week basis.

The 15 holes of action are divided into two distinct sessions – nine holes of Triples (3 vs 3 alternate shot) and six holes of Singles featuring a rotating head-to-head.

The triples session sees the three selected players on each team alternate who tees off on a hole, with players rotating who takes a shot thereafter.

So, Player A tees off for Team One followed by Player A from Team 2. Then Player B from each team goes next, followed by Player C and then back to Player A if necessary and so on until the hole is completed.

Player A tees off on holes 1, 4 and 7, Player B tees off on holes 2, 5 and 8 while Player C tees off on holes 3, 6 and 9. The order is predetermined and must be submitted by the Friday before each match.

After the nine holes of triples golf is over, six holes of singles golf takes place. Both Team One and Team Two send out their respective Player A to go head-to-head with their rival in Modern Match Play.

Player B takes the second hole of the session and Player C takes the third before Player A returns for hole four, Player B competes in the fifth hole and Player C steps up to the plate for the sixth and (potentially) final hole of the evening.

TGL SCORING SYSTEM

Similar to the traditional game, the team with the lowest number of strokes on each hole wins a point. If a hole is halved then neither team scores a point and no points are carried over.

A win in either regulation or overtime hands that team two points, while a loss in overtime sees that team win one point. However, any team losing in regulation walks away from the two hours of action empty handed.

TGL OVERTIME RULES

In the event of a tie between the two teams after the completion of the 15 holes, players compete in an overtime tiebreaker.

This involves closest-to-the-pin competition between all six players around the GreenZone which continues until one of the two teams hits two shots closer to the pin than their opponents.

TGL SHOT CLOCK

In TGL, there is a 40-second time limit over every shot. The timer, controlled by the referee and booth official, begins when it is a player's turn to hit and features prominently on the large screen at SoFi Center.

A heartbeat begins when there is less than 15 seconds to hit, and should a player not strike the ball before 0, a one-stroke penalty will be incurred and they must play again.

If they hit just after time has expired, the stroke counts but a one-stroke penalty is still assessed.

TGL TIMEOUTS

Helpfully, timeouts are available to teams who might be weighing up a tricky shot or need an extra few seconds to commit to a plan.

Each team has a maximum of four 20-second timeouts per match, but only two per session (two in triples and two in singles).

Timeouts cannot be carried over between sessions, so it's a case of use them or lose them. They also cannot be used back-to-back over the same shot.

In addition, teams can call a timeout to ice their opponents, but not after the player has addressed the ball with the intent to hit so as to avoid interference.

TGL HAMMER

For a full in-detail explanation of The Hammer in TGL, we've got you covered. But the basic principle is this; The Hammer is a tactical tool teams can use to literally up the ante on a hole.

Each side is granted three Hammers per match, and the tool increases the value of a hole by one point. Teams can only throw The Hammer once per hole but both teams can throw it on the same hole, so the maximum a hole can be worth is three points.

If a Hammer is thrown before a hole starts, it must be accepted by the opposing team, no matter what. If thrown after the hole begins, the opposing team can either accept or decline the Hammer.

But, if a Hammer is declined, the team that declines it gives up the points being played for on that hole.

Winning a hole ensures a team takes all of the points up for grabs on that hole while a tie leaves both teams with no points.

TGL TEAMS AND ROSTERS

Each team has four full-time players contracted to their roster, but sides are allowed to substitute as many players as necessary if their regular stars are unavailable for whatever reason. Below is the full-time line-up for all six teams.

• Atlanta Drive: Billy Horschel, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Lucas Glover
• Boston Common: Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott
• Jupiter Links: Tiger Woods, Kevin Kisner, Tom Kim, Max Homa
• Los Angeles: Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala
• New York: Xander Schauffele, Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler
• The Bay: Ludvig Aberg, Shane Lowry, Wyndham Clark, Min Woo Lee