I recently wrote about my experience attending a TGL event for the first time. I offered a perspective as merely a golf fan exploring an alternative way to watch the game that I enjoy playing.
The purpose of this piece, however, is in direct contrast to that one. Today, I want to explore what TGL looks like from a brand perspective. Is TGL really worth the gamble for the dozens of sponsors and founding partners?
I spent some time exploring what brand activation and sponsorship look like for Genesis, the first founding partner of TGL, and came away with a few astute observations.
TGL, SoFi Center and Genesis provide a luxury experience
As I wrote about in my first piece, the SoFi Center in Palm Beach, Fla., is one of the more impressive venues I’ve been to. It’s well thought out, well-constructed and very accommodating for the everyday fan.
The luxury suites, like the Genesis one I was in, as well as the team boxes, are surprisingly spacious and still provide a great view of the action despite being on the ground level.
A quick walk of the SoFi Center concourse leaves little room to wonder who the founding partner is. Genesis has brand activations all over the place including a fun Genesis challenge to play during the media timeouts/commercial breaks.
From a brand POV, why not capture all of the foot traffic going in and out of the concession lines and get them to explore your luxury vehicle? It definitely works for Genesis in this regard.
The tech is nuts
Again, one of my biggest observations was how cool the tech was inside the playing area. No, I’m not talking about the Full Swing and Toptracer setup. Instead, it was the massive rotating putting green I was able to walk on, the giant immersive screen I was able to beat a few balls into … heck, even the “bunkers” have movable lips to make a bunker shot more difficult.
I’m not sure what the actual professionals think of hitting inside the TGL playing area but I thought it was pretty darn cool.
Brands get plenty of “air time.”
You’d be hard-pressed to walk the SoFi Center without finding reference to Genesis on every turn, down every corridor.
The brand is heavily invested in TGL. Not because it’s a quick money grab (surely it isn’t, based on ratings) but what it has the chance to become.
If you had the chance to potentially reshape the future of golf, would you dive into that opportunity or let it pass you by?
That’s the question these brands are asking themselves. And it’s one that Genesis has clearly and defiantly answered by partnering in such a way with TGL.
I’m not saying TGL is the future of golf. I’m not smart enough to make that call.
But what I am smart enough to say is that brands like Genesis are leading the charge when it comes to making the game more accessible in ways that perhaps we’ve never imagined before.
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