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Indoor golf simulators have been around for quite a while, and are used by players to practice their game, particularly when playing outdoors is not possible. Indoor golf simulators are getting more realistic every day, and the top players in the world have combined to create a competition using this technology. The TGL is a new golf league, combining advanced technology with teams of top players from the PGA TOUR.

How Indoor Golf Simulators Work

Indoor golf simulators recreate the experience of playing golf indoors. They typically consist of a large screen or projection surface, a launch monitor, and software that tracks the ball's flight path. Players hit real golf balls into the screen, and sensors detect the impact and calculate the ball's trajectory, distance, and accuracy. The software then simulates the ball's flight and landing on a virtual representation of a golf course, allowing players to play rounds of golf or practice their swing in an indoor setting.

Elite Competition

There is a professional golf league planned using a large-scale Indoor Golf Simulator. The TGL ("Tomorrow’s Golf League") is backed by professional golfers Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy . Its launch was planned for 2024 but has been delayed to 2025 due to issues with the venue, the SoFi Center, in Palm Beach, Florida.

The format is for six teams of four PGA Tour players playing head-to-head match play. Generally, the players hit a ball toward a large screen which indicates the ball's flight and where it lands. The players then hit the next shot from an artificial rough, fairway, or sand bunker, depending on where it virtually landed. When they land on the green, the players move to an artificial putting surface to put as usual into a hole.

This is an example of a phygital sport, combining real-life play with the digital world.

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Similar Sports

• Golf — players use a club to hit balls into a series of holes on a course, using the fewest number of strokes.
• Target Golf — players hit a golf ball at a large net, scoring points based on where the ball lands.
• Mini-Golf — a putting only version of golf usually played on artificial surfaces.

Related Pages

• Phygital Sports — bridging the world of the sporting physical and digital world.
• Games of the Future — a phygital sports competition first held in 2024.
• Different types of golf sports
• Complete list of sports
• More about the sport of golf
• The Encyclopedia of Sports