Welcome back, Weekend Warriors!

This week, we touch on TGL with a month left to go in the league. With big playoff moves happening yesterday, it’s going to be a close race to the finish line. The Cognizant Classic kicks off this week, and Weekenders Weekly will be on the grounds to check on the kicks, talk to some golfers, and find some cool stories to share with you all. The spotlight turns to some golf apparel mainstays, while some golf gurus are making an appearance here on Weekenders Weekly soon! Things are ramping up in the golf world, and as the PGA Tour touches down in Florida, the road to The Players, The Masters and the Ryder Cup truly begins.

I hope you enjoy!

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Cognizant Classic

The PGA Tour returns stateside (and close to home) for the Cognizant Classic, the first stop of the Florida swing, which is a favorite for a lot of the locals, fans and golfer alike. Situated in Palm Beach, chock full of golf courses and golfers to fill them, the tournament is a hit every year in the area. PGA National is a nationally revered course, and it’s always fun watching pros adapt to playing off the tricky Florida staple Bermuda grass. When it gets grown out, the way it grabs onto a golf club is so aggressive, it forces the pros to create shots that the average golfer just does not possess the technique and coordination to pull off. It also adds that extra edge to putting, as it’s much more grainy than other grasses. The course itself is no joke, possessing the famous Bear Trap, holes 15-17. The field is strong and gets stronger every year, with it being so close to home for so many golfers, more and more continue to sign up. This has caused the prowess of the tournament to grow, adding new venues, activations, and fan experiences that will allow for larger and younger crowds than ever before. With notables like Min Woo Lee, Luke Clanton, Rickie Fowler, and Shane Lowry teeing it up this year, it’s sure to be a fun test of golfing skill at one of most beautiful, yet scary courses in Florida.

TGL: One Month Left

As of today, February 25, the absolute latest TGL could possibly go this season is March 25, marking one month to go before the incipient league’s first season comes to a close. A few things stand out to me regarding TGL and its journey after only a month and a half of existence.

• Much of what was problem at the beginning of the season is either fixed or completely unfixable

  Most of my complaints regarding TGL had to do with the in-person experience, and focused moreso on things that were new and had yet to be improved. This included the playlist, the in-stadium audio, the replays, the videoboards on the side, the overall energy of the audience, and fan familiarity. As I’ve mentioned, TGL was very quick to identify and change a lot of the outstanding inefficiencies from one week to the next, hiring cheerleaders, increasing branding and broadcasting for fans in-arena, upgrading the playlist, increasing audio/video connection and communication, as well as smaller changes like light upgrades, changing the sideboards, among others. The really long-lasting complaints are things that will be tougher to tackle; the level of competitiveness in matches, TV compatibility, and access for fans in person. These are things that are longer solves, but also not expected to be solved so early in the life of the league. It will be interesting to see where we end up a month from now.

• If you’re a part of TGL, you have to enjoy it

  One thing that I was surprised to notice so early on is that everyone who is a part of TGL seems to genuinely enjoy the matches. For some of the bigger names, there’s always a chance that it’s their TV training kicking in, but as a whole, TGL is usually full of smiles, fist pumps, and friendly back and forth chatter. As of now, the only golfer I can remember seeing who seemed to have genuinely no enjoyment while playing was Xander, who suited up in the inaugural match for NYGC and has been absent since due to injury. He was in the stadium last night, and it looked like he enjoyed his time in the stands a lot more than his time on the turf,

• Strategy makes the difference

  I mean this twofold. Strategy, mainly by usage of the Hammer, has been the defining factor for a lot of matches this season. Even though it’s been a week since, we’ve already seen every team play a match with the new Hammer rules, and it’s no debate that as a whole, it made the matches a lot more interesting. This idea of implementing strategy into TGL doesn’t just make the matches better, but makes the product better as a whole. TGL should look to do similar ideas to the Hammer, “gimmicks” that bring an entirely new element to the game of golf, with the added bonus (like the Hammer) that it can be something marketable and exciting for fans.

• Fans want close matches

  Across the world of sport, fans buy tickets for many reasons, but as a whole, it comes down to the ability to witness something spectacular in person, and fandom. With TGL, there are pluses and minuses to this fact. Firstly, the draw of being able to watch the players live and right in front of you is palpable from start to finish, as well as the ability to see all the amazing technology firsthand. But, there is a lack of fandom in the league, which is expected for a a start-up and emerging league like TGL, but there is also the fact that all TGL matches are played in the same arena. This has led to a lack of fandom throughout, with many people treating TGL with the same way they treat a PGA Tour event, where only a few golfers have throngs of fans, and many are there to just quietly witness good golf shots. In TGL, when the matches aren’t close, the lack of fandom shows, as there are not people cheering on their team to fire back up, or booing the opposing side. As the league grows, this problem will naturally lessen, but until then, more than other sports, people are really hoping for a close match.

• A perfect blend of novelty and familiarity is key for long term growth

  Although it uses one of the oldest sports in existence as the basis for it’s matches, other than the actual swinging of the club, most of TGL is completely new and foreign to the audience, in person and broadcast. This has helped the brand draw fans in on the spectacle alone. But, novelty wears off, and TGL needs to find a way to blend its novel aspects better with the more traditional golfing aspects. This way, the onboarding process for new fans is smoother than ever and allows people to be eager to learn more instead of overwhelmed with all the new information.

Weekly Advisors

I’ve heard this tip before, but I’ve never thought of it in this way, and it really made a world of a difference for me in my last few rounds. Many times, the club would get stuck behind me, resulting in me coming over too steep and either slicing or pulling the ball badly, a two way miss that was costing me stroke after stroke. After trying for weeks to imagine the club head where I wanted it to be to no avail, I switched my thinking around and tried to imagine it in a different way. Instead of thinking of the clubbed in my head, I thought of the butt of the club. On my misses, it was pointing away from me, when in reality, in a perfect golf swing, it should always be pointing towards you throughout the swing. I realized this through my chipping, and as chipping is just a shorter version of the golf swing as a whole, the switch in thought immediately lessened my slice. Whether you use this tip specifically or not, using the butt of the club or the grip as the visual in your head other than the club face can switch up your thinking and make a difference in your swing thoughts.

Course of the Week

PGA National is a course of legendary proportions, a snaking yet capacious test of golfing aptitude and mental toughness. With bunkers and water at almost every turn, a golfer needs to make sure his aim is true and his line is dedicated. Many a golfer, amateur and professional, has fallen to the infamous Bear Trap, a par 3, 4, 3 stretch of holes (15-17) that force carry over water, create treacherous falling putts, and an island green of nightmarish proportions. A true championship level Florida resort course, it is as alluring as it is daunting, with resort guests and homeowners having as much of a test as the most seasoned Tour veteran. With top of the line greenskeeping and hospitality, it is a bucket list course for golfers of all skill levels. Just make sure you know what you’re up against.

Brand of the Week

This week’s Brand of the Week is Puttwell, which featured in our newsletter last week in a different section. Puttwell has been a favorite of mine for years, I’ve always noted how the brand is able to take comedic originality and intricate design and blend it together with their own unique hip hop inspired takes. From “Know your Roll” to “Only Built 4 Golf Links” to ironic logoing of the Girls Skateboard collaboration, Puttwell has been serving up bangers for on and off the green for years. After a bit of a hiatus, they’ve made a return in full form with the Sig Zane collection, which touched down in Hawaii last week. In it was a selection of t’s and polos featuring some classic Puttwell slogans as well as some beautiful Hawaiian imagery, with some accessories to boot. After the success of that collection, the golf world is waiting with bated breath to see where the cheeky, visionary, stylistic mind of Puttwell will go next.

Sneak of the Week

Today I want to show love to a shoe that I don’t think gets enough of it. Yes, it may be very specialized, and chunky, but with as much style as it has protection, the Malbon Ruddy is one of Malbon Golf’s most unique footwear creations. With shoes that represent both the classic and modern styles of golf, the Ruddy stands out as something wholly it’s own, a made for bad weather shoe with a build that has you believing it’s a boot until the very last second, where it suddenly tapers off into a sleek mid ankle cut. The shoe is spikeless yet packed with traction, giving it a life outside of golf wherever else the trail may take you, while ensuring your swing stance is as stable as can be. And, with the bevy of outdoors inspired Malbon clothing available, the versatility these bring into the fold can bring any outfit to another level. Constantly raising the bar, the intricate stitching around the laces, detailing around the toe, and mix of materials are inherently pretty and aesthetically pleasing, but protective at the same time. Made with rain and dirt proof materials, it’s unique slopes and stitching is more than a statement but also methods of moving water off to the side, and strong stitching to ensure the shoe can endure even the toughest of paths. In four different colorways, there’s a style for each type of golfer (or adventurer), just don’t complain about the white getting dirty. It’s made to.

I hope you enjoyed today’s edition of Weekenders Weekly. We have two big interviews dropping in the coming weeks, the interviewees will be announced soon! A giveaway will be announced next week as well, so keep your eyes peeled. There will be some awesome PGA Tour related content releasing this week, I’m really excited to show it all to you! Enjoy the Weekly Rotation, get some Chica Chida, and go play some golf!