TGL announces Motor City Golf Club as first expansion team – an intriguing sign for league’s growth potential
4 Min Read
TGL announces Motor City Golf Club as first expansion team
Written by Staff, PGATOUR.COM
The inaugural season of TGL was a curiosity. How would the tech-infused golf league translate to television? Would players buy into the team concept? Did they care?
Television ratings indicated a successful first year, as did the confident words from co-founders Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Mike McCarley: “There’s nowhere that I can go that people aren’t talking to me about it,” McIlroy said earlier this year.
Tuesday’s news validated that belief: TGL is headed for expansion.
Motor City Golf Club will become the league’s first expansion franchise, beginning play in 2027 as TGL’s seventh team, the league announced Tuesday in a release. The franchise ownership group is led by Middle West Partners, led by principals Michael Hamp, Peter Hamp and Kevin Kelleher. The Hamp family has been longtime co-owners of the NFL’s Detroit Lions, whose principal owner, Sheila Hamp and husband Steve will also be co-owners of Motor City Golf Club.
“This is a great moment for Detroit sports and a proud moment for me personally,” said Michael Hamp, a co-owner of Middle West Partners and Motor City Golf Club’s new team governor. "My grandfather, William Clay Ford Sr., was an avid golfer, and I believe bringing a new format of the game he loved would make him really proud.”
Throughout TGL’s inaugural season, rumors had swirled regarding potential TGL expansion, with various reports indicating interest from new markets. The founding concept for TGL, which uses simulator golf for tee-to-green play and a real putting surface, was rooted in offering a faster-paced product that fits in a two-hour primetime ESPN window and ideally appeals to a more diverse audience than the traditional golf demographic. It also taps into the star power of Woods – who has played a limited PGA TOUR schedule in recent years as he battles various injuries – and McIlroy, who recently completed the career Grand Slam at the Masters, among other prominent TOUR pros.
From a long-term perspective, TGL’s success will likely correlate with its ability to build and sustain fan bases. As more markets introduce TGL teams, the pool of fans who could potentially develop genuine fandom will grow. For now, this might be limited by the fact that all teams play in the same venue in South Florida – but as Tuesday’s expansion news indicates, the league’s makeup isn’t set in stone. Could we someday see additional TGL venues and increased connections between teams and their accompanying cities? Don’t rule it out.
Billy Horschel holes clutch birdie putt on the Hammer, leading to ATL victory at TGL Finals
Also working for TGL is its ability to highlight player personalities through its non-traditional format – like when team members strategize for using the “Hammer” to double a hole’s score value.
“As an overall big picture of this, we're trying to grow the game into different demographics, and I think we have,” Woods said after his Jupiter Links Golf Club completed its inaugural season. “These guys have bought into the concept, bought into the clubs, the teams they play for, and you see the teamwork on each team, how the players communicate. They're really enjoying it.
“I've watched every match that I wasn't playing in, and it was neat to see – these are the guys that I know. These are the personalities that I've seen on TOUR. But I think the fans are going to be able to see them in a different way.”
Rarely does a sports league gain immediate traction and fan appeal – the strongest sports affinities are developed across generations, as fandom is passed from parent to child. But in most major American pro sports, expansion has been a consistent indicator of a league’s strength and long-term growth potential. TGL is by no means there, but the expansion to Motor City Golf Club – and perhaps beyond? – is an intriguing sign.
TGL’s original six teams are Atlanta Drive GC, Boston Common Golf, Jupiter Links Golf Club, Los Angeles Golf Club, New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club. All TGL matches are contested in the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Atlanta Drive GC – composed of Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel, Patrick Cantlay and Lucas Glover – won the inaugural title in 2025. Horschel authored the championship match’s signature moment with a 20-foot birdie on the penultimate hole against New York Golf Club, punctuated by a raucous celebration in the SoFi Center.