The Big Lead

Is the TGL shot clock the future of professional golf?

Even PGA Tour stars like Matt Fitzpatrick have expressed how much they like the idea.

By Matt Reed

Golfer Matt Fitzpatrick watches his tee shot during the inaugural golf match at SoFi Center, the home of TGL, the interactive golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy on January 7, 2025 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Golfer Matt Fitzpatrick watches his tee shot during the inaugural golf match at SoFi Center, the home of TGL, the interactive golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy on January 7, 2025 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. / GREG LOVETT/PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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TGL's debut was nothing short of a massive success in Week 1, but one of the most surprising outcomes from Tuesday's first match was how much fans and players seemed to like one particular aspect.

With all the impressive technology and data that TGL is implementing for its coverage, it was a relatively simple concept that's existed for many years in other sports that stole the show.

The shot clock. During TGL matches, players have 40 seconds to hit each shot and their teams are allowed to take two timeouts throughout the evening.

PGA Tour players like Matt Fitzpatrick believed it was an overwhelming success on Night 1, and the Englishman even suggested that it could be something that would improve regular tour golf if they explored the idea.

"Shot clock," Fitzpatrick said. "I just wish this was in regular golf."

It's clear that TGL has intentions of really thinking outside the box, between its unique 15-hole format and matchplay being the focal point of each meeting, but the early results suggest that there's a strong demand for the changes.

Although the shot clock isn't a novel concept because of its use in other sports like the NBA or even in tennis on serves, it comes back to putting pressure on players to be great and creating less downtime in between shots.

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods watch golfers warm up at TGL event in Florida
Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods watch golfers warm up for the inaugural match at SoFi Center, the home of TGL, the interactive golf league founded by Woods and McIlroy on January 7, 2025 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. / GREG LOVETT/PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There are many instances during PGA Tour or other tour events where players take several minutes planning out every possible outcome of their approaches or putts, and while it's understandable to push themselves towards greatness that's not what fans want to see.

RELATED: A bracket-style Tour Championship is exactly what the PGA Tour needs

We finally got a taste of what primetime golf could look like on Tuesday, and that resulted in over 3 million viewers tuning into the ESPN coverage. Those numbers certainly have to be a good indicator that golf could benefit from leaning into more winter events due to less competition on weeknights.

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