Just like that, TGL’s second regular season is in the books.

Tom Kim closed the door for Jupiter Links with a hole-in-one to send them (effectively) to the playoffs, and the league as a whole is absolutely on fire.

The playoffs await for four teams, more on that in a moment, but TGL is already in peak form as an overall entity. Year two brought more fun, more guests, and more intrigue as six teams (more to come) battled for four playoff spots. There were double-headers and most recently a triple-header that saw the regular season wind down.

It isn’t easy to launch a brand new league. These days you have to have proof of concept to get people to buy in. The folks at TGL have done an incredible job at leading with class and recently ESPN’s Matt Barrie, the host of TGL, sat down with SB Nation to discuss how the magic is made.

If you love golf you will love TGL. You may not know that yet, but you should.

Barrie had a great point in discussing how TGL is supposed to be fun in saying that he often labels it as eye candy. The golf of TGL takes place against a simulator before players reach the green, and then the innovative technology that restructures the greens takes place so viewers can watch the PGA Tour stars putt.

There is an admitted video game level of fun to TGL, but that is part of the allure to Barrie’s point. This isn’t supposed to be regular golf, as much as we all love it, but it has enough of it in general and with the Tour stars to make you feel like you have the best parts.

TGL also has iconic moments like regular on-course shots, too. Season two saw the first ace in the league’s short history, Neal Shipley recorded it while suiting up for The Bay Golf Club, and it was a moment that really put the league as a whole on the map. Tom Kim somehow upped the ante in the regular season finale.

It is one thing for moments like this to happen, but it is another for the TGL team to be prepared in every single sense. Neal’s shot echoed across the spectrum of sports and will live across the rest of this professional golf season.

TGL Playoff Teams and Schedule

Sports and their leagues need things that make them stand out. Everyone knows what the signal for a touchdown is. A basketball hoop’s swish is an iconic sound. You get the picture.

TGL has The Hammer. To be clear this is a strategy play within the league. Each team has Hammers they can throw at any given point in time and if they are accepted by the opposing team then the hole in question counts double. If a Hammer is denied then the declining team forfeits the hole. There is a strategy involved.

Watching players navigate the Hammer has been part of the fun. Like any league experiencing a renaissance with data study there been conversations about time, place, moments… but part of the lore with the Hammer is Barrie’s iconic “Hammer Thrown!’ when somebody offers it.

In the world of sports a Hammer now belongs to TGL. It is part of the leagues’ growing reputation and a way that it is standing out in the ecosystem at large.

Time will tell what the playoffs have to offer, but overall TGL has been a smashing success.

Here’s to the playoffs and how they shake out.