Bringing the Inaugural Season of TGL to Life

CapTech’s multi-year journey with TGL began with a strategic deep dive into gameplay, product, and technology needs. Leveraging our expertise in golf and data-driven sports, we hit the ground running, guiding TGL through key foundational decisions. In just 10 weeks, we defined the core product, technology architecture, and roadmap for TGL’s launch.

“Data and technology are shaping the future of sports, said Jon Bradway, CapTech Principal, Sports & Media. "We are expecting to see tremendous innovation over the next five years focused on new competition formats and personalized fan experiences."

With no playbook for TGL’s groundbreaking hybrid reality format, we drew inspiration from gaming, emerging sports trends, and digital creators. The result was an ambitious yet achievable roadmap that balances real competition with engaging storytelling to captivate today’s fans.

Bringing the Inaugural Season of TGL to Life

We began by examining what was possible for golf, considering that playing in a simulator enables unique course design and challenge, unconstrained by physics! We recommended that virtual courses have unique, creative features to encourage risk/reward scenarios and add drama to the competition.

“Building a tech-powered, fast-paced version of golf for the world’s best players was a wild ride. We tested multiple formats and rules, ultimately leading to a format that will be competitive for players, and fast-paced entertainment for fans,” noted CapTech Director Roberto Castro. In addition, we evaluated how competitive features and rules from other sports could be blended into golf to create drama, liven up the gameplay, and create fan interaction. We considered shot clocks, time outs, points multipliers, penalties, and weather conditions as potential features of TGL.

The transition from simulator play in the Screen Zone to in-arena play in the Green Zone also created a compelling new opportunity. With the intimate feel of the venue, we can leverage fan passion and excitement to create a different, more vocal greenside experience.

In the Green Zone, we focused on how to create a realistic playing field by looking at the turf, putting surface, and green complex to ensure player buy-in and consistent playing conditions. From there we sought to create a team dynamic by instituting a shot clock. With less time to read putts, determine shot strategy, and evaluate opponent’s chances, players will be forced to work together on every shot. Each player will be wearing a microphone, allowing player personalities, mindsets, and strategy to be in the limelight.

Next we needed to ensure that the matches would be compelling and fast-paced, clocking into a two-hour TV window. Through testing, tabletop exercises, and player interviews, we tuned the rules, format, and gamification levers to pace the game out, create an engaging match for players, and an exciting entertainment product for fans. We also used data science and machine learning to design the season schedule and match setups to balance player schedules and create competitiveness.

With TGL matches set, we focused on strategies to build and engage audience using analytics to enhance storytelling during and between matches. There is also big potential in creating play-along experiences in simulators and video games, letting fans compete alongside TGL stars like Tiger Woods. The tech-driven nature of TGL makes these exciting new fan engagement strategies possible - along with many more to come in the future.

With four weeks to go, we’re finalizing testing and can’t wait for TGL’s debut on January 7. Stay tuned for more updates!