TGL golf league: Billy Horschel discusses big changes ahead of 2026 season and what fans can look forward to
TGL returns on December 28 with Billy Horschel playing for defending champions Atlanta Drive GC again this season; Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy also feature in the tech-infused golf league; watch every match of the 2026 TGL season exclusively live on Sky Sports
Monday 22 December 2025 18:16, UK
Billy Horschel believes PGA Tour stars will be able to showcase "how good they are" with exciting new changes to TGL ahead of the new season, live on Sky Sports.
Horschel features for defending champions Atlanta Drive GC in the tech-infused team league, where PGA Tour players compete inside a purpose-built indoor venue that blends virtual and real-time golf.
Matches were played on a mix of virtual links, canyon, desert and coastal holes during the inaugural season, replicating those traditionally used in conventional golf, but this year's edition will include a catalogue of new and unorthodox hole designs.
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Renowned golf course architect Gil Hanse has been brought in to support groups designing the new holes and said they will "step out of our comfort zone", which Horschel believes could result in video game-style golf being brought into real life.
"I understand why we really didn't want to go down that route yet, but we're doing that in season two, creating some holes that are maybe a little bit unrealistic in sense of the regular golf world," Horschel told the Sky Sports Golf podcast.
"There was going to be a stigma that TGL was just this high-tech golf league, that guys didn't really care and they were going to be gimmicky holes, so we wanted to show that it still had a lot of the similar forms of golf and style of golf that we play out on real grass.
"We created a lot of traditional golf holes but now we have created some holes that are going to showcase our shot-making ability, showcase who we are as players a little bit and how good we are."
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Several new holes have backdrops and locations that are free from traditional grass golf course construction, with unorthodox obstacles and penalty areas, with more to be introduced during the season.
"You're going to have some really low shots, you're going to have hit slices, high cuts, high draws, low draws, whatever it is," Horschel added.
"You're going to see some of these holes that may be unrealistic in the real world game of golf and it's more or less what you may see in some of a video game aspect type golf.
"There's going to be a great balance between real holes and some of these unique holes that are going to showcase our shot-making ability."
Horschel: TGL lets players 'show more personality'
Teams play 15 holes of golf each match, with nine holes of triples - three against three playing alternate shots - and six holes of head-to-head singles golf, with the top four sides at the end of the season progressing to the play-offs.
Other changes ahead of the 2026 season include a bigger putting green with different slopes, larger bunkers - in a different position - and more hole locations, as well as larger hitting boxes and improved camera towers.
Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry and Xander Schauffele are among the players to feature in the made-for-TV contest, with Horschel excited for season two to get under way.
"I had lot of fun last year, I think as everyone could tell," Horschel admitted. "People want to know what it was like being part of TGL, from players to fans to people watching.
"If I meet someone out of the blue randomly, they asked me about TGL. So obviously after a first season, it's got a great following, it's got a lot of support and I think - like a lot of players and a lot of fans - we're excited to get back in season two.
"[Fans like] seeing the players who they are from outside the regular golf course. There's a sense of ease where we can be ourselves. We can be who we are on a regular basis. We can have fun but also at the same time, we're ultra-competitive athletes - we don't like to lose.
"Obviously we do lose a lot in golf, but we hate it. The last thing we want to do is lose to our buddies, where at some point down the road they can give us a good ribbing that they beat us or something.
"I just think TGL did a really good job of showcasing who we are as players, as people outside the game of golf, where we can let our guard down a little bit and show a little bit more of our personalities."
Listen to the full Billy Horschel interview on the latest edition of the Sky Sports Golf podcast, hosted every week by Jamie Weir. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Spreaker, while vodcast editions can be found on the Sky Sports Golf YouTube channel.
