Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy TGL tech league adds Toptracer as ball-tracing partner

08/13/2024 07:00 AM

TGL’s unique format attracted interest from different companies with innovative technology and shot-tracking capabilities.

The league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy and owned by TMRW Sports Group then evaluated all candidates and came up with the one that claims the “No. 1 range technology in golf.”

Toptracer, whose technology has been tested for nearly two years at TGL performance labs, was announced Monday as TGL’s official ball-tracing partner. Several of the 24 PGA Tour players who have joined the league have visited the lab outside of West Palm Beach, Florida, to test the technology they will be using when the league debuts early next year. Full Swing Golf is joining Toptracer as part of TGL’s technology mix.

“Toptracer is the tech that allows us to have things at this massive scale,” TGL Chief Technology Officer Andrew Macaulay said. “To see it work at this scale … No one else was really able to figure out exactly how to do this large version.”

Toptracer boasts to have “traced more balls in more bays at more driving ranges in more countries than any other range technology on the planet. And it's not even close.”

“Whenever there is such a cool opportunity to showcase tech in golf that’s really where we want to be,” said Toptracer executive Ludvig Jansson. “TGL is a perfect example of that. It is enabling golf experiences like no others through the infusion of golf. That’s really what we’re all about.”

TGL will debut Jan. 7 in the 250,000-square foot SoFi Center being built in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on the Palm Beach State College Campus. Toptracer will be used to track ball flights on tee and approach shots.

Toptracer prototype in Stockholm seals TGL deal

If you’ve watched the PGA Tour, a major championship or the Ryder Cup; or followed your own shot being tracked at a Topgolf venue or a driving range, you’ve seen Toptracer.

That blue line that (hopefully) curves nicely onto the fairway is Toptracer technology.

But this project — in an indoor setting — is unlike any other the company has taken on.

The Toptracer team made its pitch two years ago, constructing an indoor driving range in Stockholm, Sweden, to simulate what TGL envisioned. TGL executives spent 10 days there to check out Toptracer’s technology.

“When we heard about it the first time, we’re like, ‘Hey, this is supercool. Let’s build out a showcase to show these guys what our tech could do (for them),’ ” Jansson said.

“It’s been a fun challenge. We’ve had great collaboration to find these best solutions from where and how to mount the sensors, what the data flow should be like, where the optimal hitting positions would be, can the tech work from multiple positions in the outfield from different surfaces.”

Jansson admitted his emotions will be part excitement and part nerves come opening night.

“With every large delivery, especially live broadcast, there are elements of nervousness,” he said. “That’s life. You don’t have the luxury of fixing things off line and have it ready by next day. It is a fixed time slot.”

How TGL will be played

Each TGL match will start with world class golfers like Woods, McIlroy, Xander Shauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas and others hitting their tee shot off a platform into a giant screen 35 yards away. Approach shots will be hit from and area 21 yards from the screen. That forward platform is used once the ball is 140 yards from the green on the simulator.

The screen will sit at one end of the venue that will seat 1,500 spectators and stretch 64 x 53 feet, nearly 24 times the size of a standard golf simulator.  The original design of 64 x 46 feet was enlarged following the redesign of the SoFi Center from a domed roof to a traditional steel building.

The platforms consist of real fairway grass and sand. Each tee box is 23 x 11 feet and contains three hitting areas of fairway grass, rough grass and sand, each 7 x 7 feet.

Once the ball has reached the green area a spotlight shines on the spot where the ball must be placed. The players then chip and putt as if playing on a regular course. Under the green are 600 actuators that will alter the undulations for each hole, and a turntable that changes the position of the green and the three real bunkers that surround the green.

The green area is behind the tee box and approach shot platforms, the opposite end of the arena from the screen.

TGL will incorporate 30 different holes designed by renowned golf course designers from the U.S. and Mexico. The holes are inspired by different authentic landscapes such as links, canyon holes, holes surrounded by water, desert holes and tropical locations.

Each team will play alternate shot. While one team is hitting, the three members of the other team will gather around a simulator or ‘digital caddie’ to look at distance, hazards, slopes and any other features to plan the next shot. Players will be mic’d up for those conversations.

Every shot will be tracked by eight sensors attached to four poles, two on either side. The number of sensors allows for the most accurate trajectory and most accurate shot from the fairway, rough and sand.

“What Toptracer allowed us to do was place the tee box anywhere we wanted to put them, allowed us to have different lies, real sand, real fairway grass, real rough,” Macaulay said.

“With the flexibility, accuracy, and reliability of Toptracer's ball-tracing technology, we're gathering an extensive amount of data on each shot to help accurately transition into the virtual landscapes of our custom-designed holes.”

The league will feature six teams comprised of four PGA Tour stars each. Two teams will competed in 15-hole two-hour matches consisting of three players each week during the regular season. The primetime matches will be televised by ESPN.