TGL Goes Bigger With New Green, New Holes, New Designs In 2026 (Forbes)
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Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL) has announced new holes, a new architect, and significant changes to its movable and manipulatable green heading into the 2026 season.
Beau Welling of Beau Welling Design is the golf architect behind the massive synthetic putting, chipping, and pitching surface inside the SoFi Dome. The green has been increased by 38%, spanning 5,270 square feet and will feature 12 pinnable locations, up from seven last year.
The updated green also includes the removal of a bunker, refined sod-stacking in the two remaining bunkers, and a softened front slope. When rotated, the new slope will allow for run-up shots, which are expected to play a larger role on longer par fives.
“For us, we start to work backward from a decided-upon orientation. We are trying to have risk elements and choices for the players to force strategic elements. In the virtual world, we can have these settings that aren’t quite realistic type settings. We have one they would usually use at the end called Quick Draw that you can either play around the rim of the canyon or the middle of the canyon or shorten the hole dramatically,” Welling said about one of his designs.
Welling’s Quick Draw is a channel-style hole inspired by Dr. Alister MacKenzie’s design at the Lido. His version is set in a Grand Canyon–style landscape, with a sweeping, easier-to-hit left fairway and a slender island fairway that provides a chance to reach the green in two shots.
This year’s TGL will also introduce several new holes themed around the home team’s city or region. One early example is a design by architect Gil Hanse. Stone & Steeple, a 590-yard par five set in a New England autumn landscape, features a major hazard separating the landing-area fairway from the approach fairway and green.
“In our mind, the best par 5s ask really compelling questions with the second shot for players. We feel like the way this hole is set up makes you have to make choices with the second shot. A lot of the players will go at it and take it on in two shots, but if they can’t quite get home, we’ve created a boundary with the stone wall that they need to get close to in order to get the proper angle for their third shot into the green,” Hanse said.
In its inaugural season, TGL averaged 513,000 viewers, and league executives hope to increase those numbers with the addition of a new team in Detroit—The Motor City Golf Club—joining in 2027.
“After a successful inaugural season, we conducted a comprehensive review of data and learnings from all aspects of competition with players, teams and our broadcast partners to elevate the fan experience, enhance gameplay and create even more excitement for Season 2 of TGL presented by SoFi,” Chief Technology Officer of TMRW Sports Andrew Macaulay said in a statement. “These updates are part of our continued effort to increase drama, intrigue and dynamic moments while further challenging TGL’s teams within SoFi Center’s one-of-a-kind environment.”
The 2026 season begins on December 28, 2025, with a match between New York Golf Club and Atlanta Drive GC. Atlanta Drive enters as the defending champion, having defeated New York in last year’s finals, setting up an immediate rematch with grudge-match energy.
(This article by Forbes contributor Tim Corlett first appeared in Forbes on December 5, 2025.)