Welcome back, Weekend Warriors!

This week, we’re checking in on TGL as we get down the season stretch, as well as taking a look into where LIV is headed this season. We’re also assessing a new golf league, The People’s League, and diving deep into what could be the best Jordan golf shoe to date. A huge shoutout to Brad’s deals for sponsoring this edition, click on the link below to check them out and at the same time, support WW!

I hope you enjoy!

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TGL 1/3 Check In

While there may less than a month left before the TGL playoffs, by no means is the league slowing down. The one match a week start is being pushed to the wayside for a wild 3-4 matches a week, 10 matches in 3 weeks, season ending push. With the playoffs on the horizon and a lot of teams with very similar records, there is definitely going to be some hot competition, especially in the back and forth multiple match days we have coming up. So far, we’ve seen some hilarious fails, great hot mics, clutch shots, and some of the most advanced sporting technology of all time pushed to the limits on a weekly basis. From an outsiders perspective, I would call TGL a success so far. The technology has been, for the most part, unproblematic, players seem more into it than not, and the fans in the stands always have a good time. There is some friction in trying to make all of the new lingo and rulings natural to the audience as a whole, but that is expected. I do think that all the information being served on a silver platter before the match is a good idea, the format and tech being used is all quite new and takes some integration with the fans. But, throughout the actual match and mainly in person, there is a kind of lack of cohesive information being sent around. This is usually due to a combination of broadcast timing, audio production, and the speed in which TGL moves throughout the night, which is fast (and rightfully so). For repeat watchers, this works well, but I still think TGL is having trouble reaching past an audience of people who will watch golf on TV no matter what into an audience of people they have to fight to put TGL on their screen. The worst is dealing with my generation, who barely even watch broadcast PGA rounds, and would rather watch clips of games on social media that actually sit down and watch them through.

For the rest of the season, I would focus mainly on the stakes of TGL and detail the matchups based on skill and ranking, instead of using the marketing to show what players are playing, or what holes are being played. We’ve shown off the technology, and the celebrities, and the star studded athletes who play every week. Now is the time to put TGL itself in the focus. Focus on team rivalries, focus on the playoff push, focus on what it means to fight for your season when you’re miked up in front of hundreds of thousands of people. We all know what TGL is capable of, both in front and behind of the company, and their compounded schedule tells us that. Now is the time to prove to the fans that TGL has stakes, and something to fight for. Other than the SoFi Cup, we barely hear about the winning prize, a $9 million purse to the winning team. That is insane money, and the fans should know it.

The last thing I’d say for TGL, although I don’t know how much can happen this season, is to embrace the limits of the chaos they can create. TGL exists in a completely controlled environment, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a chill environment. Seriously, why not have a giant fan blowing onto fans for really windy shots? Or, for all the hype they have tried to create around the hammer (which worked to an okay degree) why not introduce more fun power ups and match changing things? TGL is trying to exist in an interesting balance between “familiar” golf and the insane creations they can make. While I don’t think TGL should go balls to the wall insane, I do believe that if they leaned more into the fun, gimmicky side of the sport, it would become more of it’s own thing, and also have more unique actions and moments to look out for. But, at the end of the day, this is a completely experimental golf league that just so happens to have some of the biggest names in all of sport involved from playing to investing. For those who know the history, for it to have gotten off the ground at all is amazing, and to have the level of success it has already attained, that just speaks to the hard work of TMRW and TGL to bring something to life so quickly and expertly. I am still as excited as I was on the morning of January 7 to see where this league will go next.

Air Jordan 14

One of the most insane things I discovered when I started golfing 6 years ago was how naturally and frequently Air Jordan’s were being “golfified”, sometimes with spikes on the bottom, other times with a raised outsole, some with the original materials while others get Gore-Tex uppers. While only a few types of J’s were around back then, in that time, we’ve seen golfified versions of the 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, not to mention the many other Nike specific shoes brought to golf like the Air Max 97, Roshe, Jannoski, etc. Although some translate better than others, there is something about seeing a Jordan on the course that makes me smile as an athlete and as a lover of streetwear. So, the recent announcement of the Air Jordan 14 being ported over to golf is at the top of the list for me. One of the coolest and most underrated Jordan models in my opinion, I also think it has the potential to be the best Jordan for golf. Every model I’ve named before works well for golf, but they all have some kind of problems, whether it’s the material getting over creased from the foot pivot to the base being too flat to the shoe itself being on the heavy side. The shape, size, and height of the 14 lead me to believe that it’s combination of Nike technology, mix of ankle stability yet freedom, and rounded toe box, among other things, could make it the most golf ready Jordan model available. They also put spikes on the bottom, and while I usually am indifferent to how a shoe holds the ground as long as it holds the ground, when it come’s to Jordans, the spike really completes the golf look in my opinion, and it helps it stand out as unique and gives it a clearer purpose, although some J’s just would look trash with spikes (1s). The premium leather that most Jordan’s use is always good for the course, weather resistant and cleanable with the right method, but if you’re wearing golf shoes and getting uptight about them staying clean, stay in the simulators. All in all, the Jordan 14 has never been my favorite, although Solefly did an absolute number with them about 6 years ago. But, when it comes to golf, it seems like I may have found a new favorite, a perfect mix of form and function through the Jumpman lens. Oh, and I didn’t even mention that it releases in a stunning white and green coloraway. Look for these to drop on Feb 21 on Nike and other retailers.

The People’s League

Well, it finally happened, kind of. The years and years of growth in YouTube golf has led to the creation of a legitimate league for creators to play in, The People’s League, complete with a schedule, sponsors, teams, standings, and even betting. What’s missing, at least right now, is a lot of the creators. While a million people and their mother have created channels and accounts over the last few years, there is still a hierarchy of creators that exist above the rest, with most of those names already caught up in the PGA Tour’s burgeoning content creation avenues like the Creator Classic and the Creator Panel. The creators that have joined TPL, while big names in their own right, are all people who seem to have just been eclipsed by some of these larger creator directives. While I appreciate the idea this is bringing, I think TPL is thinking a little bit too big in what they are capable of.

First of all, the name is a bit ridiculous; it’s the People’s League because why? Do the people own it, or have say in it, or it is just made for the “people” and that is the most defining factor? I also think they are focusing on the wrong part of what makes YouTube golf so great, which is the added intimacy and character you get through YouTube, not the competition. The most popular YouTube content is the ability to watch your favorite players up close, your favorite courses as you’ve never seen them, and golf as a whole is shown in ways that are familiar to my generation through editing and lingo. While competition between YouTubers is obviously a popular format, it’s barely ever done in a way that is any similar to a legit tournament, where that access and temperament is sometimes lost. This is even truer now that the PGA Tour is letting their media team and affiliated companies use their players to record influencer style content.

Most YouTube forays into mainstream and/or competitive content has been done in a smaller scale, like one-off matches, or pre-recorded qualifiers. To try and unite all of YouTube golf under one league is heady and unbelievably complicated given the landscape of brand deals and sponsorships (Grant Horvat alone is signed to 5 different apparel or equipment brands), not to mention the many ownership companies for these YouTubers, league affiliations, location and travel, etc. But, I commend them for not just coming up with the idea, but obtaining finance and finding a roster of 12 golfers that almost everyone active on golf social media will know. They’ve gotten farther than most other people in history when it comes to starting sports leagues, but I think that to really cement themselves as something that can be around for a while, they can’t bank on famous faces playing golf against each other as the biggest draw. The PGA Tour is already coming along to snatch that all up, not to mention that again, competition between YouTubers is really not the main reason they are all popular in the first place. At the end of the day, I hope TPL is a success and will help set a blueprint for what is right and wrong for a creator focused sports league, which has never happened in any other league I’m aware of. But, I’m weary of their chances in this landscape, especially with the upcoming Creator Classic, which will now be a multi tournament series, just about a month away. Maybe the CC will actually draw more eyes towards creator competition golf, but if you get the same funky feeling reading “creator competition golf” that I did writing it out, than I think we both know that there are just certain areas that are not meant to mix.

LIV Under the Lights

In more familiar breakout golf league news, LIV is back for it’s third season, having just played their first match in Dubai, it being the highest level of competition golf to ever be played at night under the lights. While it did allow for a cool atmosphere, some great pre match shows, and unique camera angles, there was still some pushback from doing something so out there and new, even though that is the largest part of the entire LIV Golf M.O. While they’ve grown their size and legitimacy every season, this one comes with some pretty elevated milestones, like an actual sports network (sorry CW, I loved Arrow), higher quality courses, and an actual deal framework on the horizon. It’s been debated from the inception whether LIV was created to actually compete and exist long term or just disrupt and change pro golf forever, whether through the LIV name or not one day not mattering. I like how LIV has centered themselves as a more international league, very smart given the USA-centric hate it’s received over the last few years. I do think they will struggle to get a consistent TV audience as even the Tour has been struggling with that, but it is their first season on a new network, so I have no idea what their expectations are. I do think the LIV product itself is still trying to be more unique than it has to be while also staying too traditional when it doesn’t have to. Why are these players still playing three round tournaments? From the start it was weird, and now they have to jump through all these hoops and start all these special exemptions just to get them into majors because of the OWGR. This entire debacle was so caught up in the highest offices and farthest reaches of the professional golf world that so many of the actual golfing fans were just pushed to the wayside and forced to watch as tournaments, teams, brands, and more were broken up and forced apart without much input or control from the people who actually are the reason that any of this exists; the fans. Fortunately, it seems as if this chasm is closing, but there are still a lot of broken pieces to be picked up and put back in place. LIV, to it’s credit, is outwardly ignoring most of everything in golf other than itself, globetrotting from course to course, promoting their team competition and trying to cash in on the likes of Anthony Kim and Rick Shiels. To me, LIV was moving crazy fast in a direction for a few years and has finally steadied itself, finding a stable resting spot for at least this season where it can grow itself from the bottom up, not the other way around. I just can’t tell if they were falling fast or shooting up even faster.

Weekly Advisors

One of the intermediate golf methods that I don’t think enough people do is taking their glove off between shots. While it is one of those age old pieces of golf advice to take your glove off for chips and putts, that still comes down to feel and doing whatever is most comfortable for yourself as a golfer. But, taking your glove off after every shot doesn’t just help your glove’s health, but has some mental game benefits that could help influence your game. Although it is different when you are driving a golf cart, and the time between shots is significantly less, it is still important to remove your glove after every shot. It helps preserve your glove for even longer, helps ensure it stays clean especially for those weekenders with a beer or a dog in hand, and ensures it stays dry and you have the full grip potential. But, like how every golfer has a “trigger move” in their swing (if you don’t think you have one, you just haven’t noticed it yet), the glove can be that trigger move to help you in your pre shot routine. Try it in your next round; make the moment you put your glove on the moment you become fully locked into your pre shot routine and subsequent golf swing. An actual physical trigger to help switch yourself on will help make it an easier reminder and something that can be repeated easily. You’ll be shocked at what the smallest little mental changes can do to help your game.

Course of the Week

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of introducing myself to one half of the Jacaranda Golf and Country Club, a large 36 hole facility with as much of a penchant for good golf as there is for fun. Name me another course with that many holes, music playing from speakers by the clubhouse deck, a driving range off of grass, and a BBQ pit happening at the turn. We played the West course, the shorter of the two, but thinner, with a lot of curves and turns that made it one of the best movements in South Florida. The way the holes turned from one to the next, slinking through the palms and ponds, small hills that seemed to span multiple fairways going up and down from one to the next, gave the round character that is hard to come by in the largely flat and wide open Florida courses. Not saying that Florida courses don’t have character, which they do, but the character of Jacaranda is not one that you find frequently down here. Well priced at $140 for almost perfect fairways, mostly grass rough, and unbelievably pure greens, it is a club with a sense of community, even harder for a public course. But, when done right, it can become one of the most pleasant experiences in golf. The community of a golf course in a private setting is one curated through access and financial means, but to create a community at a public course means one cultivated through atmosphere and true dedication to the sport. Jacaranda is a hotbed for both of these.

I hope you enjoyed this long-form edition of Weekenders Weekly, as the golf season is about to get into swing, expect to see a lot more Tour adjacent coverage! We also have some cool interviews dropping soon both print and video, so be sure to stay tuned to Weekenders Weekly on all mediums! TGL returns next week, and WW will be there to give you guys more unique looks under the hood and up close and personal. Thanks for continuing to rock out with us, and go play some golf!