In this simulation golf league, daily players compete for $150,000

This article was produced in partnership with GOLFZON.

Intrigued by the concept of TGL – an indoor simulated golf league that will pit teams of PGA Tour players against each other in prime-time tournaments – and wish you could participate?

GOLFZON makes that dream come true.

The Korean golf simulator manufacturer kicked off a tour where 12 teams representing multiple cities from around the US compete in a series of games, reaching the finals in Orlando in January and awarding $150,000 to the winning team.

The concept is similar to the famous GTOUR in Korea, which GOLFZON has used for more than a decade. Some of the GTOUR’s best players have successfully made the transition from screen golf to traditional outdoor tour play. Due to GOLFZON’s global depth, with more than 9,400 simulation locations around the world, there is plenty of opportunity to host games in regionally-friendly locations – and teams don’t even have to be in the same location to play each other. GOLFZON simulators connect to each other over the Internet, so shots from anywhere can be streamed to competitors in real time.

So how exactly does the GOLFZON Tour work? Find out everything you need to know below.

GOLZON Tour: How it works

What is the GOLFZON Tour?

Regional teams of five players each from selected GOLFZON centers (nine in the US, London, Toronto and Mexico round out the field) compete against each other in a series of matches, with one team culminating in the $150,000 grand prize. .

Who can play the GOLFZON Tour?

In this first season, 12 selected centers have formed their own teams using open players. Each eligible candidate was awarded a $1,000 grant to cover travel expenses. GOLFZON expects to have more participation opportunities available in the coming seasons. The Tour is open to players 18 years of age and older, both professional and non-professional. Current regional hosting services are:

East Division

Detroit – Tee Times
London – Golf rooms
Louisville – Tee It Up Golf USA
New York City – Golfzon Social
Orlando – Golfzon Leadbetter
Toronto – The game of golf

West Division

Chicago – The green one
Houston – The Daly Round
Los Angeles – Golf Envy
Mexico – Mulligan’s Monterrey
Minneapolis – Element Indoor Golf
Tulsa – BirdieBay

What is the format of the GOLFZON Tour?

Sowing

The 12 regional teams were first seeded in division-robin play, where each host institution’s team played five games. Three out of five players from each team compete in a specific game. Each game produced a team score of three players per stroke play. Win = 2 points, tie = 1 point, loss = 0 points.

Overall seeding tiebreakers are determined by the lowest team score in all rounds of round robin play. The points earned in each Seeding Round match are determined by the seeding for the singles play bracket tournament.

The top two teams in each division received a first-round bye into the subsequent single-elimination bracket tournament.

Bracket play

Play for the single elimination bracket is now underway. Female competitors play 85 percent of their male counterparts’ yardage. Three teams compete head-to-head by linking their characters together online in a match-play format, with two of each team’s top three scorers tallied for each hole.

For example, if Team A gets 5, 4, 4 and Team B gets 5, 4, 3, the game organizers add up the two lowest scores of each team: Team A gets 8, and Team B gets 7. In this case, Team B he can win the hole and go 1 up.

If, after 18 holes, there is a tie, the match goes into a sudden death playoff where all three players count. The first team to get the lowest score on the hole wins.

The last game

The final game – and the grand prize of $150,000 – is scheduled to be played in Orlando in front of a live audience at the PGA Show in January. The format will be a 5 vs. 5, and 1 stroke play vs. 1 sudden start on the first hole of the championship course that is used as a shortcut if needed.

How can I follow the action?

You can watch the same on the GOLFZON YouTube page, where new episodes will be released every week. The tour is between single elimination rounds, so you can follow each week to see which team makes it to the finals.

For more information on the GOLFZON Tour, click here, or check out the video above.