ESPN’s Matt Barrie talks TGL, and golf fans should feel pumped

When ESPN’s Matt Barrie first arrived at the SoFi Center for broadcast rehearsals this fall, he could not help but let out an audible gasp in disbelief.

“Holy sh*t,” the SportsCenter anchor muttered to himself.

“This place is absolutely incredible.”

This new state-of-the-art facility in South Florida will host every Tomorrow Golf League (TGL) match, which begins on January 7th at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The matches will work like this: two TGL teams will square off against each other in a 15-hole match. The format is quite unique, too. Only three players per team will play in a given match. The first nine holes will feature a 3-man alternate shot, in which all participants rotate in and out depending on their sequence. It could prove difficult for some players, because having three players involved could make it hard for someone to get into a rhythm. Alternate shot with two players is already difficult. Oh, and there is a 40-second shot clock, thus enforcing pace of play and making things a little more challenging. Yes, shot clock violations have already happened during rehearsals.

The format then changes over the final six holes. Holes 10 through 15 are all individual matches, meaning three games within the game will occur at once. Each hole is worth one point, and whoever has the lowest score earns said point after putting out. Ties are not worth anything. Whoever has the most points at the end of the 15 hole match wins.

But the most impressive feature of this new venture is the SoFi Center itself. It’s a remarkable setting with a playing area comparable to the size of a football field. At one end, a massive screen stands 64 feet wide and 53 feet tall. Players will hit their drives and approaches off real grass, real rough, and real sand—depending on their lie—into this giant electronic wall. The screen then produces remarkable accuracy and ball shapes—so much so that these shots come close to resembling the real thing. Rory McIlroy even said so himself. Keegan Bradley could not believe how accurate everything was during a recent practice session.

Once a player’s approach finds the putting surface, their attention turns to the Green Zone, a nearly 23,000-square-foot short game area opposite the screen. A real-life bunker also sits beside the green so players can hit real-life sand shots. TGL even imported the sand from Augusta National.

“The green is unlike anything I’ve ever seen; it spins 360 degrees and is the size of a basketball court,” Barrie explained to SB Nation.

“The technology underneath the holes undulates the green in real-time, and you don’t even notice. You can’t even tell. They were rolling pretty fast the last time I was there, but the rolls are true.”

To make this futuristic gameplay even more realistic, a ‘Greenskeeper’ will maintain the green throughout the match and change the pin location as needed, like at any golf course around the country. Their tools are even similar too. But on some occasions, the green will rotate to cater to the architecture of the next hole. Even the slopes and undulations will sometimes conform, something that is difficult to visualize but is true. Regardless, this transformative process happens while the competitors tee off on their next hole at the other end of the playing area.

Mike Moran / ESPN Images

Speaking of the holes themselves, TGL and three design companies have created 30 holes for play. They all start in the virtual world through the screen and end in reality on the green inside the SoFi Center. If you have played simulator golf before, you know the one holdback to it is with the short game. Putting is impossible. Chipping even more so. There’s good reason why gimmes are awarded from inside of 15 feet on most simulators. But this will not be the case here thanks to the Green Zone.

During each match, 15 holes will be selected and the sequence order will be random. Some holes are realistic while others are not, but that’s a part of the allure of TGL.

“They’re a mixture of standard holes where you have tee-box, fairway, water on the right, and then there are holes where you gotta carry it over 300 yards to get over lava,” Barrie added.

“It goes from realistic golf to a fairway shaped like an hourglass, so that’s what I love about it. There are some golf holes you would see anywhere else, and then there are some holes where you think, ‘This cannot be realistic,’ and that’s what makes it beautiful.”

The electronic caddy is another dynamic that will be important to the TGL experience. It’s essentially a large touch screen that sits adjacent to the hole, and players will use their fingers to help align themselves. The caddy will provide players with accurate yardage—meters for the Europeans—for where they want their shots to go. Players will have complete freedom to use this feature to hit wherever and whatever shot they please. Viewers will be able to see players strategize and make a decision using this electronic caddy as well.

TGL

By the time the players return to the teeing ground, the caddy has calibrated the system to align with the desired shot. It’s a remarkable concept.

Better yet, every player will be mic’d up. Fans will hear each golfer and each team walk and talk through their processes, not unlike the conversations you hear between Jordan Spieth and caddy Michael Greller during major championships.

The television audience will hear everything else too, including trash talk, decision-making, and on when each team should call a timeout. Some teams will use them to ice a player who faces a putt, not unlike NFL coaches icing a kicker at the end of the game.

“I think that is going to be one of the more fascinating parts is to see how they match as teammates and how they decide to make decisions within the match,” Barrie said.

“You’re going to see who’s going to be the alpha on the team, who’s going to be making a lot of decisions, who’s going to be calling the time out, and will talk the most trash.”

Barrie expects Kevin Kisner to be the mouthiest, which comes as no surprise. Kisner, of course, just signed a deal with NBC Sports to be its new lead analyst. The South Carolinian made his broadcasting debut last year, which received critical acclaim. His sense of humor, cadence, and knowledge about the game itself are just a few reasons why so many fans—and network executives—loved Kisner on the mic.

As for the TGL broadcast, Barrie will serve as the play-by-play announcer for every match live from the SoFi Center. He is a well-versed announcer, having called college football games every week on ESPN for years. The Arizona State graduate has been on more college campuses than he can count over the past few years, often working six or seven days per week, a challenge in and of itself, but calling TGL will be a whole different ball game.

“I think the biggest challenge is going to be finding that balance to bring home to the viewer,” Barrie said.

“I have to let them talk amongst themselves and get into a cadence. I also need to understand what certain players like what certain players don’t like. We’ve already had some players say I want to hear everything, keep it open in my ear the whole time. Some players have said that they want to hear only their team or both sides. So I think it’s gonna be learning each player’s specifications on how they, they wanna deliver it. But ultimately the biggest challenge will be staying out of the way and still doing the job of delivering a good show to the audience.”

Barrie has experience calling golf, too. He has served as the lead announcer for featured coverage at both the PGA Championship and The Masters.

But this will be much different.

“Everyone hears play-by-play and asks, ‘So are you gonna be calling golf?’ Well, yes and no,” Barrie added.

“I’m almost going to be the ringmaster: weaving in and out of hearing the best players in the world compete. As I said, I just have to stay out of the way and that will hopefully bring out the best in these guys when their competitive juices are flowing.”

Who knows how competitive players will actually be when the league launches during the first full week of January. But this new venture at least presents something different, a unique concept that will cater to younger, newer golf fans. And considering all of the incredible technology involved, you will have to tune in to check it out yourself. Whether or not you like it is your decision, but you cannot toss aside all of the impressive nuances. It’s simply remarkable, especially considering the setback TGL faced a year ago, when the SoFi Center collapsed on itself in November 2023. But that bump in the road translated into an incredible comeback, one that ultimately has the golfing world feeling curious and intrigued. It should feel pumped too.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.