Was TGL a success and what changes do players want next season?

Atlanta Drive GC have been crowned the inaugural SoFi Cup champions but what has the reaction been to the inaugural TGL season and how have the players found the new league?

The tech-infused indoor golf league ran alongside the first three months of the PGA Tour season, with six teams - representing six different cities - going head to head in a round-robin league format.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy were among the founders of the new league but both had teams who failed to reach the semi-finals, where Atlanta Drive progressed to face New York Golf Club in a best-of-three final series.

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Atlanta Drive edged the series opener 6-5 before Billy Horschel and Patrick Cantlay helped them to a dramatic comeback victory over New York Golf Club in match two, securing the season-long title with a game to spare.

Former world No 1 Justin Thomas and Lucas Glover completed the roster of the TGL champions, while Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick were New York Golf Club's squad for the 2025 season.

How has it fitted into players' schedules?

All matches have taken place on either a Monday or Tuesday evening in the purpose-built SoFi Center in Florida, with players able to balance competing in the TGL with their usual PGA Tour schedules.

Each of the six sides had a four-man roster, with only three selected for each match, while multiple teams gave players one-match contracts when two of their squad were unavailable.

"Obviously it is a little bit of a challenge with everything we've got going through the year with our own schedules, but I don't think anyone has ever walked away and said this felt like a burden," Horschel explained.

What did players make of the playing arena?

The indoor playing area is almost the size of a football pitch and has two zones where players take shots from, the 'Screenzone' for those hit into the simulator and the 'GreenZone' for short-game and putting, with around 1,500 fans in attendance to watch each match.

"I could never imagine what this was going to be," Horschel added. "I remember coming into the arena in November and walking out and I was just in awe. I couldn't imagine what I was seeing.

"I described it like a football player walking into Mercedes-Benz Stadium right about to play, a basketball player walking out - Steph Curry walking out at Oracle Arena, stuff like that.

"Never imagined we'd be playing golf in an arena with a big simulator and people and music and chanting. It has been really cool and has sort of exceeded all of our expectations."

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Did players enjoy the team format?

Each match saw 15 holes of golf divided into two sessions, with nine holes of triples - three against three playing alternate shot - and six holes of head-to-head singles involving one player from each side.

"It's a lot different than what we do week to week and the grind of the PGA Tour," Thomas said. "I didn't necessarily ever leave a match or a time where it was anything but exciting and fun and really enjoyed it."

Fowler said: "It was never a thing of, 'hey, we need to play better to win more money'. That's all guys playing for pride out there. The money and stuff is a bonus.

"Most of us live around here - it works out being somewhat convenient but it was just trying to beat up on your buddies."

Why did mid-season changes improve the TGL?

'The Hammer' gave a team the opportunity to double the value of a hole from one point to two, although the format used in early matches meant only one team were in possession of it and led to 'Hammer hoarding' when holding a lead.

A tweak introduced gave each team three Hammers to use in a match at their discretion, resulting in closer matches and more drama with its usage over the closing holes.

"I know the Hammer thing hurt us early on with how it started and then I think it made the matches and entertainment a lot better once the change was made there," Fowler said.

"There's been subtle tweaks other than that one throughout the season and it has been great. I think everyone has been open to that, to ultimately make the matches and the product better and us have as much fun as possible out there.

"I'm sure there will be plenty of thoughts going into how do we make 2.0 even better than this was."

What could be different next season?

The format and schedule for the 2026 campaign have yet to be finalised and announced, with players open to any changes put forward ahead of the TGL's second year.

"I'm sure a lot of fans and the producers and ESPN [host broadcasters in USA], everyone is going to have a little bit of input," Schauffele said. "I think just like us players sit down in our off-season with our team, they're going to sit down here and see how they can tweak everything.

"Whether it's shortening the season or having it end shorter. I was talking to someone earlier about that; having it end sort of just before The Players, that would be something that we'd be up for."

Watch every match of the 2026 TGL season exclusively live on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.