The Starter no.1

Is TGL the future of golf?

November 15, 2023

We’d rather be golfing. Welcome to The Starter, the email newsletter curated by our team of mid-handicappers at DMPL. We understand that with so many great publications, journalists, and creators covering the sport that it can be difficult to keep up with all of the best insights. Every Sunday and Wednesday, we will save you the time of searching the web and deliver you stories around the world of golf that highlight topics such as business, technology, style, gambling, and everything in between. Full transparency, if you are simply seeking tips on how to fix your slice then this isn’t the newsletter for you..

What’s with the name DMPL? Just as dimples are integral to a golf ball, we are working to become an essential part of every golfers daily journey. Our mission is to cultivate a community of engaged golfers by amplifying the voices of every day players like ourselves. This newsletter is the first step towards that goal and we look forward to having everyone along for the ride! - Team DMPL

TGL Looks Towards the Future

Oisin Keniry/R&A/Getty Images

This won’t be your grandfather’s round of golf. TMRW Sports, a joint venture formed by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and sports executive Mike McCarley, in partnership with the PGA Tour are set to launch the tech driven TMRW Golf League (TGL) in January. The growing popularity of golf simulators coupled with the desire to cater to a younger, more tech savvy audience, has propelled this revolutionary new league that will offer a total purse of $21 million, with $9 million going to the winning team. Twenty-four of the world’s best players (sans Jon Rahm), will make up 6 teams from 6 different cities, with Tiger channeling the legendary Jackie Moon and serving as both a player and the owner for the team based out of Jupiter, FL.

TGL Teams

TGL recently revealed the format that will look to incorporate elements found in the traditional major American sports (shot clock, penalties, etc.) along with what is being dubbed “Modern Match Play”. All of this will take place at the new SoFi Center in West Palm Beach, FL in front of a massive 64’ x 46’ Full Swing technology simulator screen. The new venue is set to hold only 2,000 fans, but with ESPN set to broadcast the league in prime time, there will be plenty of opportunity for golf fans to tune in on a weekly basis.

Is TGL the future of golf? Time will only tell, but it should sure beat watching Shark Tank reruns on Monday nights….

More on TGL

A Champion Will Be Crowned

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

The LPGA Tour heads to Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, FL for their season ending CME Group Tour Championship. Lilia Vu (pictured) fresh off her fourth victory of the season at The Annika heads into the final week leading the Race to CME Globe Season points standings and as a favorite to capture the Tour Championship and a large share of the $7 million purse. 2022 champion Lydia Ko will not be in South Florida to defend her title as she failed to make it inside the top 60 in the season long points standings.

Betting Favorite: Atthaya Thitikul (+1100)

Davis Love III welcome’s the PGA Tour to Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, GA for the last regular season event in 2023, the RSM Classic. The cordial host will also join the field highlighted by 2023 Open Champion Brian Harman, future TGL stars Cameron Young and Kevin Kisner, and defending champion Adam Svensson. The final event of 2023 carries an $8.4 million purse and will help determine full-time status for 2024 as well as who will take part in early-season signature events.

Betting Favorite: Ludvig Aberg (+1400)

The strongest field in men’s golf this weekend will be found in Dubai competing at the DP World Tour Championship. Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Viktor Hovland highlight a stacked lineup of players that are set to take on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates and vie for the $10 million purse. Rory goes into the week having already secured the season long Race to Dubai title, his fifth time claiming the European Tour’s top crown.

Betting Favorite: Rory McIlroy (+450)

Around the Game

USGA

⛳️ Nine is fine. The USGA and The R&A announced a set of of significant revisions to the World Handicap System that will take effect on January 1, 2024. Per the release, the updates are a part of an an on ongoing review of the Rules of Handicapping and Course Rating system with a continued emphasis on accuracy, consistency and equity. All twilight golfers rejoice as chief among the changes is that standalone 9-hole scores will now count towards a golfers official Handicap Index.

⛳️ And Still. Pine Valley once again ranks as the best course in America in the eyes of the esteemed panelist at Golf.com, who unveiled their annual ranking of the Top 100 Courses in the US. 

⛳️ Show me the money. That’s what PGA TOUR officials are yelling into their smart phones as they engage potential private equity partners in their new for-profit entity. ESPN reports that a memo sent from commissioner Jay Monahan informed players that once an agreement is made with an outside partner, the Tour will offer its members direct ownership in the new corporation. Endeavor, owner of the UFC and WWE, is the only potential partner to have taken their interest public. Unfortunately, the agency’s president Mark Shapiro confirmed to Sportico that its bid had been rejected, costing a global audience the chance to see The Match featuring Rory & LA Knight vs. Tiger & Sean O’Malley.

⛳️ He’s a Richard. The content gift that keeps on giving as Rory shares some additional color on the tension at the Ryder Cup. This should lead to some extremely cold stares and strongly worded emails between both sides.

⛳️ Rory Resigns. Rory continues his takeover of the headlines by resigning from the PGA TOUR policy board.

⛳️ The Wishbone Brawl. Xander Schauffele showed off his skills with the persimmon woods and headlined the 6th edition of the exhibition event held at 4,500 yard Goat Hill Park Golf Club in Oceanside, California. A celebration of the game, all proceeds from the event benefited the North County Junior Golf Association and Goat Hill Park’s Junior Caddie and Leadership Academy.

Eastside Golf x Mercedes Benz

Mercedes USA

If you aren’t familiar with Eastside Golf, you will be soon. Co-founders Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper have been a disruptive force and at the forefront of growing the game since the brands inception in 2019. Strategic brand partnerships, such as their wildly successful collaboration with Jordan Brand, have led the Atlanta based company to burst onto the golf scene like few have in recent memory. With their recently announced partnership with Mercedes-Benz and the joint “Vehicle for Change” program, Eastside Golf continues to drive awareness and advance golf beyond traditionally exclusive environments. Morehouse College, alma mater of the Eastside founders, is a beneficiary of the most recent partnership as the HBCU received philanthropic support towards academic initiatives and programs for student-athletes.

Growing the Game

  • Twenty-eight emerging golf leaders attended the annual First Tee Innovators Forum hosted at the PGA TOUR Global home office in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

Fortune Favors the Brave

Warner Brothers

So who am I? That is an excellent question. I am an avid golfer, who rarely plays but loves the game, and a regular gambler, who considers himself dangerously streaky. To put it plainly, I’ve held a 7 handicap for nearly a decade and haven’t played a single round without at least one wager attached to it…

Allow me to be your caddie and let’s win some money! - BY

The RSM Classic

Coincidently, our sponsor this week specializes in none other than risk management, setting a serendipitous backdrop for the opening week of the Breakfast Ball.

In the movie Troy, when a young boy delivers the message to Achilles (Brad Pitt) that he was chosen to fight the opposing army's best warrior to decide the battle, the boy confesses that he wouldn’t want the unenviable task of facing the opposing warrior due to his tremendous size. Achilles responds calmly by saying, "that's why no one will remember your name." 

Are you inspired? Fantastic. Well consider me more Reuben Feffer and less Achilles this week as I start out conservative and lean on Brian Harman to secure a Top 10 finish at +200. If you have a few extra dollars and can handle some additional risk in a separate play, don’t be shy to push him to a Top 5 finish at +400. Harman should be well rested as he hasn’t played an event since the Ryder Cup. More importantly, he is a member at Sea Island and is coming off of a T2 finish at last year’s event. My second lean is towards a Top 20 finish at +500 for another Sea Island member, Patton Kizzire. He is fresh off solid showings in his two most recent starts and has finished in the Top 10 at The RSM Classic two out of the last five years. 

DraftKings DFS 3-Putt Pot

Each week I will also share my three strongest value buys for DraftKings daily fantasy play.  I am only getting you started though. Finishing your lineup will be up to you!

  • J.T. Poston: $9,300

  • Camilo Villegas: $7,700

  • Webb Simpson: $7,200

As always, please remember to gamble responsibly.

Is it time for the Mock Turtleneck to make another comeback?

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

🐢 I remember the first time I saw Tiger rock the mock turtleneck on a weekend. Striding down the fairway with the swagger of John Shaft and the confidence of Michael Jordan. I was blown away. Sure, other golf greats like Jack and Gary Player had a habit in their day of exchanging the traditional fly collars for the high neck on golf’s biggest stages, but this was different. Those guys would wear the turtleneck under a sweater, seemingly prepared to hit the bingo hall immediately after the round. Tiger, on the other hand, introduced the short sleeve, guns in your face variation that screamed “I’m a better athlete than you are!” He made it cool.

One of the best parts of Tiger’s historic return to glory at Augusta in 2019 was that he did it in the patented “Sunday Red” mock turtleneck that spurred guys of my era to scour the web in a quest to find that badass garment. A few years later, Brooks gave the mock a run at the Tour Championship introducing NOCTA Golf, a collaboration between rap superstar Drake and Nike. The public reviews were mixed and both NOCTA Golf’s popularity and Brooks’ desire to continue sporting the high neck were stymied.

Although it may not translate onto the tour, today, fashion forward golf brands such as Macade and Nation Golf are doing their part to make the mock turtleneck a course staple for the next generation of golfers. While Macade offers a more traditional mock style in their Heath Mock Tee line, Nation Golf has gone nostalgic with their vintage inspired Riviera Mock Neck. And of course, Nike still offers a variation of the OG mock that will help channel your inner Eldrick during your next round.

As fall golf turns to winter golf, don’t be surprised if you see your local sandbagger doing his part to help make mocks great again! -MM

Golf Fashion Collaborations

  • 🤝 PING and Hideoki Bespoke collab to elevate luxury golf fashion and create “The 19th Collection”.

  • 🤝 Malbon Golf and Budweiser introduce third installment of their successful collaboration.

  • 🤝 TaylorMade and Vessel drop super limited collection with only 50 sets of the luxury collaboration produced.

Worth the Follow: Fore The Ladies

Launched in 2019 by Abby Liebenthal, Fore the Ladies continues to open doors for women that are eager to learn the game and engage in the business, social and networking opportunities that take place on the course. Fore The Ladies is one of our favorite new follows.

ICYMI

🎯 Zeroed. Tiger gave us all our new favorite term and Adam Long set the record for most consecutive fairways hit on Tour, stripping 69 of them in a row. Coincidently, this is 68 more consecutive fairways hit than anyone on Team DMPL.

🕰️ Better late than never.  Kevin Durant get’s his first set of clubs and the Fresh Prince gives Joyner Lucas a few swing tips.

🦓 Swings and Safari’s. Justin Rose, Justin Thomas and Max Homa, and Hally Leadbetter all took the opportunity to enjoy the sights in South Africa. While at Skuza Golf Club, you’re guaranteed to play the wildest round of your life…

🍀 Feeling Lucky. Lucky Cruz put on a show to capture the 2023 Notah Begay III Junior National Championship, beating a certain spawn of the greatest golfer of all time in the process.

❤️ Love to see it. Two months post brain surgery, Gary Woodland shares heartfelt note and inspiring video of him getting back after it at the range.

🏎️ Need for Speed. As you can imagine, the social fodder is robust in reaction to The Netflix Cup that took place last night. The world is asking should Jim Nance be concerned by the emergence of the next great golf commentator, Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch? Only fitting that a chaotic night ends with winner Carlos Saenz breaking the cup at the podium 😲 .

Guess that Stache

Can you correctly identify these six pros by their facial hair?

Name that Golfer

Three clues. Can you name this player?

  1. 2x winner on the LPGA Tour

  2. Former SEC Player of the Year

  3. Made Solheim Cup debut in 2023

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