TGL finally debuts. Will it flourish or flop?
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Hello and welcome to this edition of the Golf Show Podcast with Rex and Lav. We are live from Palm Beach Garden, Florida for the debut of TGL, the simulator golf league that has gotten a lot of attention and thus we are double teaming the coverage. Rex, but first, and we have been teasing this now

for a couple of weeks, but we've got some big news that we wanted to get out on top of this podcast instead of burying it at the end like we typically do with these sorts of announcements. But beginning this coming Monday, it's January 13th, at 9 a.m. Eastern Time, our podcast, the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav, is going to appear on Golf Channel's airwaves. It is going to be the exact same show that we typically do on Sunday nights, just 52 minutes exactly,

for television so we may have a couple more segments than you guys are typically used to but we're very excited rex what are you planning to bring to the podcast now that's going to be on tv

Not the fanfare I wanted. I wanted the crowd behind us. I wanted to hear people cheering. I wanted to hear all. Yeah, that's what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear the DJ going off like we did all night long. 52 minutes. We did a dry run. Pull back the curtain just a little bit here. Did a dry run last Sunday. 52 minutes actually was not as difficult as we thought it was going to be. We'll see if that's the case going forward. Again, this is going to be Sunday nights. So there's going to be some fog. There's probably going to be some technical issues. Stay with us. But it's going to be awesome. Like,

Like, let's face it, you and I really enjoy doing this. This is something that we're both passionate about and having this opportunity to move sort of to the next level. And I can guarantee everybody, all of our loyal listeners who are such, you guys are a sticky group and that's what we love the most about you. We're not going to change. We're not going to turn into TV recs and TV lab.

We've done this in the past where we don't allow TV Todd Lewis onto the podcast. That's not what we want to do. We want to do the same podcast we've been doing the last couple of years. And I think you and I both agree that's what we're going to stick to. This is what we want.

Yeah, we've been assured that we don't have to change anything. Just as it's going to be on TV, we can still have our random tangents. We'll see. We can still talk about live golf. We can still get into sort of nitpicky arguments. Like that's what we're trying to do on this podcast. It would not be possible, this transition to TV, if not for you guys' support over the years. Really do appreciate it. And if you're new here, thank you for coming along for the ride. So again, that begins next Monday, January 13th, 9 a.m. Eastern time on Golf Channel.

All right. The reason we are here is

Rex, you were here just a couple of weeks ago for Media Day. Look, there's still some edges that need to be refined here, right? We don't have carpeting down in the concourse. You did a TV hit earlier with like a guy going up on a forklift behind you. It's basically an unfinished product, but I don't think anyone who is actually watching the TV product or those who are inside the arena, you know, inside the suites that we're sitting in here now would have noticed how

How have you sort of seen the transition over the past couple weeks to what we saw here on opening night? I wanted to talk about that hit earlier today for Golf Central because you and I were playing golf. I left golf early because I needed to get here early, and this is where I was sitting. This was my live shot. So what you guys see behind me, that's the field of play. Anyone who watched the first match on ESPN on Tuesday night, you got a good look at it. It's a good shot, right? Like it's not a professional shot. You and I don't pretend to be TV professionals,

But this is pretty good. At the last minute, right before I was about to go on air, all the lights in the house went down and all that was kind of left is you kind of see those purple lights. And I've never had a director tell me this. He flat out said, we're not putting you on TV looking like that. I mean, I've had that said to me when I have makeup on, when I don't do my hair, when I'm stumbling all over myself. But never, no, never for the actual live shot.

No, compared to where it was three weeks ago, I think when I was here for media day, you pointed out they've come night and day. And look, this was a scramble. Anyone who works for TGL will tell you that they have been scrambling trying to get to this finish line and everything inside this perimeter, everything you see behind us right now. That was perfect. It went off really, really well. I did a list.

And I think you and I both need to start doing this for our Sunday night. And let's do a list of the good and the bad of what we saw tonight. All right, let's both start with the good. That's fun. I wish we had actually graphic capabilities. We are going to have a producer for those Sunday night shows that can do some special things. But yeah, let's start with the good of what we saw on TGL opening night. What was it, Rex?

And I scribbled down a couple of things. One, I think you and I both agree, all the players that came through all agreed, the pace of play is magical. Chef's kiss. 40-second shot clocks. We need to get that worked into the game somehow. Like, look, there is no walking between shots, pretty much. I mean, this is just you stand up, you hit a shot, you wait for your next turn, you hit the very next shot. So it's going to be a pace of play you like. But it was the 40-second shot.

shot clock that I think really made this because it made guys think it made guys be decisive. It made guys do everything they need to do that they don't do on the PGA tour, which is why it takes five and a half hours for a round of golf. So I really liked that. I thought the technology really shined. Oh, are we bouncing this back and forth? We probably should talk about this. Yeah, I think we probably should sort of button up these words. To me, the pace of play was by far the biggest highlight.

of the night in 40 seconds. It seems like a long time, but when you actually are making the decision, selecting a club, walk into the area, going through your pre-shot routine, doing your pre-swing waggle, like you're probably getting down to that five to 10 second range, but it moves so briskly. It was so refreshing. Players were ready to hit. They were, they were not indecisive. They weren't going over all of the different

elements that a typical player caddy conversation has on the PGA Tour that really bogs it down and makes it such a drag to watch a couple of times. However, Rex, I also think that could potentially be

a bad thing with how quick the pace of play is, because at that point you're relying solely on the golf and there's actually very little time for banter. There was a, there was a fun exchange when you had a timeout that was called sort of late in the match and you could sort of give it to there, but I, but you're not exactly seeing the trash talking and,

or the needle giving that I think we were probably promised early on. Once we actually saw it in actuality, there's going to be very little of that. So I just wanted to put that out there that I think depending on your perspective and what you want to get out of those matches, you're not going to get as much banter because the time limit restrains that.

Oh, that's fair. And we'll get to the bad list shortly enough. My next good is going to be the technology. It's everything we were waiting for. You and I have talked about it now for a couple of weeks. You and I both know a lot of people at TGL. So we had an idea of what it was going to look like, but it turned out to be really cool. Like watching the guys hit drivers into the big screen and watching how they reacted and hearing the players talk about that. Yeah, the shot I hit is probably the shot that

ended up in the virtual world. And then seeing how they reacted on the putting green, which rotated, which we've talked a lot about that. I think all of the bells and whistles that everyone was looking forward to, they went off without a hitch. Now, and we also watched the television product and let's make no mistake about this. This is a television product. So I think on the technology end and on the moving the competition forward,

sort of sending that out to a mass public and the way they did it in a new, different, fresh way. I think that was very, very good.

Yeah, I cannot overstate just how amazing the technology is. They have like 25 cameras that are capturing all the data possible. Keep in mind, they did not have a single malfunction. I realized that you had two years to work in this. I realized you had practice matches and players coming to test it and to make sure that they are sort of well adjusted to what they're going to face here. But you did not have a single blip. You did not have a single shot that

that sort of came off and the player was taken by surprise where it was going to end up. I think that is a technological Marvel. I also Rex, like the screen that's behind me here, like it's five stories. It's, it's hard to sort of put it in perspective. I know you mentioned it during media day, but like seeing it in person, it is so impressive. The pistons in the rotating green, how it changes, how it's moving, how quickly it does. And here's the thing that I absolutely love that I was not necessarily anticipating. Um,

So let's say a player is hitting a pro shot from 150 yards, right? And Ludwig Oberg hits it to eight feet. Within two or three seconds, there is a spotlight that drops down onto the green to show exactly where Ludwig Oberg, or I guess his partner in this case, Shane Lowery, is going to be putting from. Within two or three seconds. I don't know how that's happening. I don't know what sort of technology they're capturing from shot link that's panning up to some lights and then it's

it's dropping down eight feet and he knows exactly where to place the ball. I thought that was amazing how quickly they're doing it. I think again, it goes to sort of the briskness of the pace that this is a two hour package show that everything is just moving quickly. It's really a refreshing way to watch golf.

And to that point, that adds to some strategy. And I don't think we necessarily saw it tonight because the winning score was not indicative, I think, of what we'll end up seeing the rest of the season, to be honest with you, 9-2. The Bay Club ended up winning. They won easily. I think what you're going to see in the future, though, and to your point about the lights, is you'll have a player who tees off or hits an approach shot. And the next player who should be playing will be

essentially looming around the green with a putter and probably a wedge or two just waiting. Because if you play your shot as fast as you possibly can, and as soon as that light shows up, you drop your ball and you play it. Now you put the pressure on the other team. I just think it's fascinating. It's a different sort of mindset for golf that we've never had. And then the last thing that I really, really liked, and I was very skeptical of this. I found it much more easy to digest the,

then I probably thought it was going to be. And by that, I mean... Triples is a great format. I'm a huge fan of triples. Triples is a really good... I think they should do everything triples, to be quite frank with you, instead of going to singles. But I thought triples was fun. I think it adds an interesting element to it. I thought the hammer, they didn't use it quite as much as I thought, but there was strategy to that as well. Like once the Bay Club got a lead and once they got the hammer, because it rotates back and forth, why would they? And Shane Lowry did a really good job of just describing that.

back in the media center about there's no reason for us to. We have a big lead. There's no reason for us to ever give this flag up and give them an opportunity to cut into that league. Everything about it was... And I would be curious to see what the public thinks in the next day or two as we start to hear more and more feedback from people. And like, look, you were on X and I saw you scrolling through Twitter earlier tonight. I don't think that's a very good form for if you're looking for feedback one way or the other. But I think...

what you were trying to get at is something that people can just watch on TV without spending a lot of time thinking about. And that's where they ended up.

Yeah, I would certainly agree with that. As it relates to the format, I thought this about the showdown a couple of months ago as well with Brooks Bryson, Rory, and Scotty. Alternate shot is the best way to have these sort of made-for-TV exhibitions. I actually don't like singles. I think that bogs it down, particularly in TGO when you have the intermission and then you get into singles, which is a little bit confusing to follow. For me, Rex, my last positive that I thought was really positive was that the players...

Most importantly, the players enjoyed it. That's half the battle. If these guys are disinterested, if these are just guys are just going through the motions, just trying to get paid, if they're doing it because they have some sort of contract obligation, that means that they have to show up here on Tuesday. Like they're not going to be into it instead. And I thought Shane Lowry was sort of the perfect person to be used in this scenario. He said that he's entering his 17th season as a professional golfer.

Life on the road is exactly the same. It can be very monotonous playing just 72 holes, stroke play competitions. He said that this was the most fun he's ever had in two hours on the golf course because it's new, because it's different, because it's with his friends, because he's got teammates, because it's made for TV, because there can be banter. Like he's looking for something at this stage of his career.

to be different and to be fun. And I think he's like the perfect avatar for what this thing can be. And player investment, I think, is such a huge component of that because we saw both Roy McIlroy and Tiger Woods in the ESPN booth helping to call some of the action for this opening night. That's not going to be the case moving forward. No.

Rory's not going into the booth every single week when he's not playing to sort of lend his perspective and his experience. The players are going to have to be the one who carries this. Yes, I know Tiger's playing next week and Rory a couple weeks down the line. But the players and how invested they are and how excited they are about the product. And I thought Shane Lowry was really smart where he said, look, we had this big lead.

over New York Golf Club late in the proceedings, he talked to his teammates about, hey, for this last half hour, we have to be more than just great golfers. We're already going to win this match. It's on us now. The onus is on us to be more entertaining. If there are more players like Shane Lowry who are involved with TGL, I think they're better off for it. How about you?

How about negatives? Yeah, perfect transition because what I would transition to as far as the bad list that I came up with, first and foremost, and this is a TV phrase and I'm going to get pushback from you and I both have friends that work for TGL that were involved in the broadcast tonight. Lay out, man.

Don't say anything. Like, I want to hear the players talk. No offense to Matt Berry or anyone else on the ESPN crew. They're all talented. They're all people I look up to. But I'm not tuning in to hear you talk. I'm tuning in to hear the players talk. And maybe it's because it was a blowout. There wasn't enough trash talk, as you pointed out. Maybe it just wasn't there for whatever reason. And I tend to agree with what you say, that the players were invested. And you and I both have sort of hammered

home the idea that the only way this is going to work, if they understand they're part of the show, that this has to be performative. I don't like the idea that Shane Lowry came to that conclusion after they'd already wrapped it up and they played 11 or 12 holes. They need to do that from the very start. There wasn't enough of that. And when there was, it seems like their announcers were talking over whatever interaction was going on between the players. And I just feel like if this is going to work,

That's got to be performative down on that arena. Yes, I want to see good shots. And we see that week in and week out on the PGA Tour. I want to hear Xander talking trash to Wyndham Clark. That's what I really want to hear. Yeah, and I think there are more elements on opening night than there will be.

Right. Like Tiger and Rory, who are co-founders of this league, had to show up for the first night. They had to be on TV. They had to be visible. They had to sort of speak through it. You had to have interviews with some of the various celebrities like DJ Khaled, who was who was in attendance. You had to kick it down to Marty Smith. Well, DJ Khaled.

during other segments. I don't think that'll be the case moving forward, but I do understand your point. One of my bads, and we need to come up with something better than good bad. It's like, this is going to be like a weekly staple. Can we please, for the love of God, have something that's better than, I like this and I don't like this as much. I would go, Rex, to the in-person experience because I thought it was very interesting. So it's a 1500...

capacity here. It's a 250,000 square foot facility. I do feel like you could put more people in here. Now that's probably something that TGL might not want to have if you're paying attention to some of the social media posts that were shown asking for seat fillers, which turned out to be a little bit of fake news, but it did feel a little bit empty. We're sitting in one right now. There's a number of hospitality suites. I'm thinking probably

20 to 25 hospitality suites we're looking around. So half of the audience is made up of corporate suits. We're probably not going to be all that engaged with the action. That's not sort of the vibe that you want to get when we're sitting there watching and we watch for five whole increments. And then we went back into the media center. We had these little headsets where we were able to tune in to the ESPN broadcast. And yes, it was, you know, five to seven,

five to 10 seconds delayed, but at least we could hear some of the banter. At least we could hear some of the setups. The folks who came in here as fans did not have headsets. So they could not hear essentially what was going on. They were, they were literally just witnesses to the action with very little context. And you had Roger Steele, who's a social media influencer who was sort of like the in,

in studio MC, I guess you would call them. But I think there's something lost for the in-person experience when you do have the long commercial breaks, when you don't necessarily tuning in to the headsets as well. I had someone with the organization tell me, well, you're not hearing Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey's interaction on the football field as well. And I understand that. With such an intimate setting, I feel like

there could probably be something down the line where you give them headsets and they're a little bit more cued in. And you did have some empty seats at the end. I thought the vibes were a little bit low. That's also probably because we're finishing at 1115 p.m. Eastern time on a school night on Tuesday night. But I thought that was notable as well. But also what else do you have in the quote unquote bad list?

No, no. I think I'm spitballing here. We can workshop this. We can throw some stuff. How about this? It can be a regular segment. It can be love or laugh. Since we established during your hit on Monday that you were the curmudgeon of the group, that you were going to be the Grinch in the group. So we can do love or laugh. Do we like this? Do we not like this? We can decide. Don't worry about it. That's great. I thought some of...

you like that uh i thought some of the holes i thought many of the holes i thought too many of the holes were contrived to be honest with you and you tried to make a comment earlier i think they were on the second or third hole that these look pretty good and right as you said it i think the fourth hole came up and they were playing over lava and into one of three different fairways and it's just no there was like some spear there's like some spear hole i was like oh okay

I'm sorry to see it now. I see it now. There was one with a diamond-shaped fairway, and so it's just kind of silly. I thought you actually had a really good idea. So my understanding is, and I could be wrong, so if I am, please call me out in the comment section, but you can dial down the simulator or up the simulator to play in wind.

And I think it would be really, really cool to play a Lynx course. And if you don't want to play the old course, if you don't want to play St. Andrews or rural County down or whatever, you can create your own. That's fine. I don't have a problem with you guys creating with them, creating their own golf course, but you don't have to contrive it. We don't need to be playing over lava. We don't need to play over the grand Canyon. There's plenty of other really, really good golf holes out there. There's plenty of interesting ways. Like I would have loved to have seen this group play the 10th hole at Riviera tonight.

And I know you probably want to save that for later in the season or whatever the case may be, but there's plenty of opportunities here for you to create holes that aren't silly. And too many of those holes were silly.

So I don't know. And I hear, I hear what you're saying. I, I don't know whether this is a negative or really, it really is just like a nuanced discussion point where it's, it's kind of an open question, but I think one of the challenges that TGL has compared to sort of fans who are traditionalists and they're used to PGA tour golf is that PGA tour golf is really unique in

in that you have different venues and different conditions and different locations. Kapalua's plantation course is wildly different from Wiley, where they are this week for the Sony Open, which is wildly different from PGA West, which is wildly different for Torrey Pines and Riviera and TPC Scottsdale and so on. That's what makes it a compelling watch from week to week. There is definitely going to be a level of sameness there.

to the TGL competition. Yes, there are 30 holes that renowned architects came and put their heads together, but there is going to be a little bit of sameness of, I hit the drive into the screen, I hit the approach off this turf, and then I go chip and putt onto this green. You're all, it's, it's all very, it's, it's all very similar in, in defined in a box. And I think they're going to struggle to, uh,

sort of separate one week from the other if there is not some sort of variation either with formats or conditions, whether you dial up a links course or turn the wind on or make it spitting at these guys like fake rain, however you want to do it. I think there needs to be some sort of variety to set each week apart from the other.

No, and I think they have the technology to do that. And I'm not even trying to be overly critical here. I know what they had to do. I don't understand why. Why wouldn't you just play Waialea this week, which is hosting the Sony Open? Why wouldn't next week you just play one of the three courses that host the American Express event? You can always shoehorn these things in. And I know you're kind of limited based on the playing field behind us. The green is...

a shape and you can't change that shape. You can rotate, you can add undulation to it, but I just felt like tonight was too silly. And that's not, I don't think that's what golf fans certainly don't want to see. And I know this is for a different audience, but by making it silly, you're turning off a portion of the audience that would probably have joined otherwise.

Could be, but I also think, especially when you listen to the players that we did tonight after this opening match, they don't want this to be PGA Tour golf. They want this to be... I don't either. They want this to be fast pace. But I think that's sort of the concern, that all of a sudden you are playing...

you know, holes that are more familiar to what you and I would play like we did today at Panther National or you are playing Wiley. Like I think, I think that would sort of become too PG tour-esque. And then that doesn't feel special either. Why would I watch them hit into a screen at Wiley when I can just wait two days and watch them do it during the Sony Open? You can make it special without playing over lava or the Grand Canyon or any of the other silly things that they did. I get what you're saying, but no, no.

What else do you have for a lav or a bad? I'm going to actually love this part about it. And you mentioned it, so I'm circling back around a little bit. Tiger and Rory in the booth together calling shots. They didn't call shots, but they were in the booth together. I'm here for that every single day. I haven't been on Twitter in a long time, and I actually had to send a tweet out about it. Because just the idea, imagine how cool that would actually be if they would have been in the booth the entire time. Actually, it's right here next to me.

It been in the booth the entire time and not necessarily calling shots, but walking people through. They've been in the simulator enough times. They understand it. I just thought that was a really cool element. And my understanding is, and this came out actually a few months ago. And I remember talking with someone from TGL about it, that they weren't going to have an analyst on the desk, that it was going to be Matt Barry by himself. That's by design because they weren't players up there. So it's not always going to be Tiger and Rory. And I love that sort of element.

to it where you're bringing new people into it all the time. And for someone that's in TV and you and I and folks in TV are always looking for the next big announcer. I think that's a great way to find out who could possibly do it. Rex, what do you think about the sustainability aspect?

of TGL. You had a lot of folks who were tuning in this week because of the curiosity factor, because of the novelty factor. They all wanted to see what all the hype was about. And look, I had probably more than 20 text messages come in from folks I sometimes haven't even talked

to in months who were sort of tangentially interested in golf who said, hey, you know, what do you think about that? My response was always, you know, I'm still formulating my ideas. I want to see it through. I want to talk to the players and sort of get a greater understanding of what this night meant. But

If TGL is to be a success, it obviously needs to have viewership numbers. The in-person experience can be great. And I think if you talk to the folks here, they probably enjoy their two hours that they spent in Palm Beach Gardens. However, it needs to translate for a three month TGL season. In what respect do you think this opening night accomplishes that? Or do you still think that there is a road that needs to be paved here?

I think to be fair, you take the result out of it. And that would be if you're going to be a prisoner of the moment, then yes, you're going to point out that it was nine to two and it was over. You know, I don't even I don't even pay attention to the result. I think that's almost secondary.

Take that out of it. Like clearly the team from New York just didn't play very well. We saw Xander struggle last week in Maui. So I don't think it was a huge surprise that those guys came out and didn't particularly have their best stuff. If you take them out of it. And I think I said this earlier in the week, the fans are going to come for a couple of different reasons. They're going to come for the bells and whistles, which we've already talked about all of the technology. They're going to come for the idea that, Oh,

This is golf condensed into two hours with a 40 second shot clock and things move fast. I think everybody, including the players, enjoyed that. Like that's a really cool way to take the game. And then finally, they're going to show up to see the banner. They want to see behind the curtain. They want to hear those guys going after each other, not just talking trash. But there's also like you and I just sat to the press conferences for both teams. And there's a strategy element to this that you don't have in golf, even at the Ryder Cup.

You don't have this level of, okay, I need to understand. Let's don't throw the hammer now because we're up and we don't want to give him an opportunity to come in the door. Or you go stand by the green. I'm going to hit this shot and you play your next shot as quick as possible. You know, take your time. I still want you to hit a good shot, but we're trying to put the pressure on them. And this factors into there's players in this league that aren't the fastest.

So I can imagine a scenario where you have two teams going against each other. And one of the team strategy is, Oh, we're going to try to exploit this guy. He doesn't play fast at all. So we're going to try to take advantage of that. I,

I love all of that. Again, this comes down to the idea that in, I asked Wyndham Clark point blank, because he was asked, what do you need to work on? And he said, it's, it's the trash talk part of it. And I said, are you good at it? And he goes, I wasn't good at it tonight. That that's kind of my, that was my takeaway from his answer that I think he realized and everyone else realized that, uh,

the interaction that the fans are here for and you're right half the battle was getting the players invested you made this comment early in the week and i really agreed with it the idea that the pnc is popular important now because it's important to the players it's important to tiger and bernard langer and and and uh chris demarco and everyone else who plays in that particular event i think the same thing here but now the other half of it is are the fans going to buy into it and

And they're only going to buy into it. Uh, I said, Chris DeMarco. I met Chris DeMarco. Does that, does that play? Thank you. Thank you for calling me on that one. I appreciate you being a good teammate on that. As soon as I said it, I was like, no, Chris DeMarco did not win a major championship. He lost that open championship at rural Liverpool to Tiger woods. Um,

But no, I think if you end up with a situation where the fans are given a reason beyond all of the bells and whistles that I just described to show up because, oh, it's fun. I actually jotted down a couple of fun lines. I actually thought Shane Lowry had the best line of the night. It's I'm going to be the Scotty Scheffler of indoor golf. That's fun. You don't hear that from players on the PGA Tour, but I needed more of it. I only jotted down two lines, one from Shane Lowry and one from DJ Khaled. Do you want to hear the DJ Khaled quote? Another one.

It wasn't that? Okay. He's talking about golf. Nope. He's talking about golf. Ready? Quote, it ain't easy, but it's beautiful.

That's certainly poetic. I'm with you. I think the technology can only take it so far. And I certainly had some people in the more than 20 text messages that I received who thought the technology was really cool and they tuned it for a little bit and then they flipped it off and they went on to something else. They were just there for the novelty to see how the technology worked. If this thing is going to be successful, it has to come down to the players. And I do think to that end, Rex, you are going to have

players who are stars every single week. I mean, you have it on the PGA tour or something that, or someone that, that, that sort of pops up and makes the week memorable. Um,

To me today, it was Ludwig Hoberg showing that he's one of the best players in the world, just hitting everything inside five feet. It was Shane Lowry, who's the affable Irishman who everybody absolutely loves. Next week, Tiger is going to be the star of the show. The week after that, it could be Billy Horschel, who I know you and I are so excited to see in competition in this sort of format where he can sort of give the needle. Then it's going to be Rory. Like you're going to have a player. Well, I think you're going to need, I should say, you're going to need to have a player step up

and be the star of what is a two-hour show because the technology can only take it so far. There's still going to be a sameness to what you see each and every week. If the players can carry it, then I do think it has potential. I was struck, Rex, I think it was both Ricky Fowler and Wyndham Clark who were already talking about the future of what TGL could be. And to paraphrase, they both thought that the future of TGL was endless.

You could have professional athletes come in and do team matches. You could have mixed teams with the LPGA. You could have home courses, a Bay golf club could all of a sudden have their home course where teams would be visiting them and having to play their golf course. You could have other arenas and other cities in which these franchises now exist. It does seem like this may just be sort of the beta model and this thing expands and explodes into something bigger, but you have to get to that point.

This thing cannot peter out as you get through February and March towards the end of the TGL season. I thought that this was a good start, but I still think there's still a little bit of headway, particularly as it comes to sort of eliminating some of that sameness and making it not just cool once, but cool for the entire season. I think that's still their biggest challenge ahead.

Well, and I think our friend Eamon Lynch did a really good job on golf week and a column that he wrote pointing out that if you look at the people that are behind this and, and Cohen was here tonight and you look at all of the big names that are behind Fenway sports and Steph Curry and everyone that seems to know things about sports and business got behind this league. And when you have something like that happen, you tend to think that, well, maybe they know something we don't in this particular case, uh,

I think they may be on to something. We've talked a lot about this over the last few weeks. I am still very, very optimistic after tonight that this could be successful. Again, it's all contingent, though, on the fans buying into it, because at this point, it's clear the players have bought into it. It's clear that the investors, based on what we see behind us, have clearly bought into it. So now it's just a matter is, is this something that's going to resonate with the fans?

Yeah, there's certainly some elements to it, isn't there, that this thing's too big to fail. There are too many smart people behind it, too much big money behind it. The arena itself is spectacular. This was a great opening night for us, and we look forward to seeing how TGO progresses. We'll certainly have more as we let our thoughts continue to marinate over the next couple of days. I'm sure we'll talk about it again on the Sunday Night Podcast, which, again, is going to appear on Golf Channel.

on January 13th at 9 a.m. Eastern time. It's going to be a weekly thing, unless they cancel us after a couple weeks because you guys aren't tuning in. God forbid that that's actually the case. But we thank you so much for the support. It would not have happened without you guys. Rex and I are also going to try and be

more fan friendly. We're certainly going to be immersing ourselves more among the fans. I'm going to be sort of putting on my hazmat suit and diving into the comments section of YouTube and interacting with you guys there. We're going to have some sort of fan segments during the show. So if you guys have questions,

I don't know, like throw like a hashtag ask lab to make sure that we see it. We'll have fan questions that appear on golf channel each and every Monday as well. All right. That's going to do it for this edition of going to a podcast with Rex and lab. You guys are the drill. NBC sports.com slash golf. In the meantime, we'll be back on Sunday night and in your inboxes and on your television screens. Thanks for listening.

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