Well...that was fun. Seriously, I had a blast refreshing my timelines and jumping between group chats gauging people's reactions to TGL's opening night. Something about it felt very vintage Twitter. Like back in the day when everyone would just plop in front of a screen, live-tweeting award shows like there's no tomorrow (I vividly remember where I was during the 2013 VMAs) Perhaps it was the time slot? 9pm on a Tuesday is practically the witching hour for doom-scrollers. It felt like everyone (at least who I follow) caught a case of the Twitter fingers and the reactions and memes were pure gold. So much so, we've chronicled a few favorites that stood out from TGL Night 1.
Regardless of how you, or the general internet felt about the overall product (which we will get into very shortly), TGL was successful in drawing in plenty of attention. With more reps to work out some kinks, combined with Tiger and Rory's debuts, TGL will continue to be a trending topic.
The night started off hot, with golf's first true dose of a "tunnel walk". The NFL, NBA, and WNBA have shown us in recent years that what you stroll in wearing pre-game matters just as much as your in-game stats.
Nothing we saw the guys roll up in was groundbreaking or all that moving really, but I appreciated the attempt to be a little bit daring—I'm looking at you Wyndham Clark. The track suit is a tough sell on just about anyone without any meaningful styling. You really have to hammer (haha, get it?) in on the accessories and footwear especially. Clark doesn't earn any aura points, but I'll throw him a brownie point or two for boldness.
Shane Lowry on the other hand, earns the crown of best-dressed. It's a simple fit, but those reflective kicks were a nice touch.
It was cool to see other PGA TOUR guys jumping in and adding their two-cents. JT was poking fun at the NYGC guys after they quickly found themselves in a hole to their opponents. (It seriously wasn't even close, not even for a second.)
Personally, I'm going to need them to explain the hammer rule at least two more times before I fully comprehend it.
Billy Horschel gave the most insightful and meaningful post ahead of the match—saying all the things golf fans have been dying to hear for quite some time.
Players not only need to utilize this new format to showcase another side of themselves (preferably a cool/more relatable one), but lean in to it. TGL is around for the next two months, take advantage of it and embrace the new experience.
And of course, Max Homa was Max Homa-ing.
At some point during the broadcast, ESPN cut over to do an in-show crowd interview with DJ Khaled, who has been scattered across the golf world in recent years. From Golf Digest covers to throwing extravagant, other-worldly golf tournaments, Khaled has made quite the impression on golf fans...but the verdict is still out on if it's a good one.
You be the judge. (Spoiler: this was a tough watch, lol.)
The real star of the show was undoubtedly the shot clock. Players had 40 seconds to hit their shots, and when time winds down to 15 seconds, a heartbeat would start playing throughout the stadium to build tension.
It was shocking to see just how fast the teams were playing. The pace was kind of perfect, in my opinion. Traditionally, golf's achilles heel is how long it takes to play or watch—but what TGL eliminated was the opportunity to say the flow was too slow. If anything, the biggest compliant I saw from folks was they felt like the pace was perhaps too fast—they couldn't enjoy the good shots at times.
Poor Cantlay caught a stray.
The New York Golf Club got their asses beat. Plain and simple. The Bay looked GOOD. But I'll let the people do the talking.
My personal fav:
TGL's debut certainly did not disappoint, and I for one am excited to continue to see the underlaying comedic work of golf fans everywhere throughout the inaugural season.
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