Rickie Fowler’s claims that TGL is not ‘real golf’ have been dismissed by one of the innovative golf league’s founders – Boston Common captain Rory McIlroy.
Fowler is one of the 24 PGA Tour stars who will compete in the indoor league, which gets underway at the SoFi Stadium in Florida next month. The circuit will see six teams play week-in-week-out, with long-distance shots played into a screen simulator, before chipping and putting is played out in a short game area.
Rickie Fowler had his say on TGL (Image: Getty Images)
Fowler gave fans an insight into what they can expect when the league launches in January, and whilst he is excited, was quick to highlight the differences between the indoor stadium and outdoor golf.
“I’m looking forward to it,” the 36-year-old said during an appearance on The Smylie Show. “In a way, we don’t fully know what to expect until it gets going. It is not real golf, but it’s not, you know, hitting balls in your bedroom simulator or office simulator. It’s somewhere kind of in between.”
Despite the worry surrounding the ‘reality’ of indoor setup, McIlroy has played down any concerns when having his say on the playing conditions. “The playing surfaces are very realistic because they are real,” the four-time major champion explained.
“We’re playing off real Bermuda grass for the fairways, real Bermuda rough, if you do hit into the rough.” He did however confirm that the greens inside the SoFi Stadium are artificial. Once you get within 40 yards of the green, then you transition to the green zone where all of that is artificial turf.
Rory McIlroy is a TGL co-founder ( Image: Getty Images for The Showdown)
“But I still feel like the ball reacts very realistically on the green… We made the decision to go with artificial for the green because we want to make it interesting.” Another question mark hanging over the head of the TGL setup was potential similarities to LIV Golf, a circuit both McIlroy and Tiger Woods had been critical of.
The Northern Irishman however believes his league has one big plus over the LIV setup. “I think what TGL has done a good job of is trying to locate in the different teams in cities or geographies where you can really plug into the wider sports fans of that city,” said McIlroy.
“We have got Keegan (Bradley) as well. Keegan is from that area so he is so proud to be playing for a Boston sports team. But I think that is what TGL has done maybe a little bit better – to connect with certain fan bases than let’s say LIV for example. But I see this all being complementary.
“Obviously there are only so many weeks in the year, there is only so much golf we can all play, but I see this as being complementary to everything else going on in the game of golf.”
