TGL’s Shot Clock Debut Speeds Up Golf: A Game-Changer for the Sport?

Golf isn’t exactly known as a fast-paced sport. 

But on Tuesday night, during the debut match of TGL, the new indoor league’s 40-second shot clock impressed golfers inside the building and out.

“I couldn’t believe how quickly everything happened,” said Shane Lowry, the 2019 Open Champion whose team, The Bay Golf Club, defeated New York Golf Club 9–2. 

There were no shot clock violations Tuesday night, but the pace of play is a major issue at men’s and women’s professional golf tournaments, with five-hour-plus rounds commonplace at most events. The first match of TGL, which was founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, took roughly two hours on ESPN.

Like an NBA game, fans inside the 1,500-seat SoFi Center counted down the shot clock under 10 seconds, with an accompanying heartbeat sound playing in the arena. “I’m always so jealous of basketball and football guys that they get to do this so much more than we do,” The Bay’s Ludvig Aberg said. “It’s cool playing in a stadium.”

New York’s Rickie Fowler, a six-time PGA Tour winner, is bullish on the innovation. “Shot clock, no question,” he said when asked what part of TGL traditional golf could adapt. His teammate Matt Fitzpatrick agreed. “It was much faster than I thought. … I just wish that was real golf as well,” the 2022 U.S. Open champion said.

Former U.S. Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup team member Max Homa, who will tee it up for Jupiter Links Golf Club alongside Woods next week, was envious of the “electric” pace he watched on TV. “It kept moving and moving,” he said on the No Laying Up podcast. “It felt a lot more like a normal sport where you see a bunch of action and then it goes to commercial, and it’s not that bad to go to commercial because you almost want to catch your breath.”

The presence of Woods in Match 2 should keep fans interested for another week, but it remains to be seen whether TGL will catch on as a staple of the already-busy golf calendar.