Imagine Luke Littler, a 17-year-old darts prodigy, being referred to as the “Tiger Woods of darts.” It is undoubtedly a bold assertion. What makes Littler so unique, though, and why are these parallels being drawn?

To begin with, his recent ascent to prominence in the PDC World Darts Championship, to become the youngest-ever champion, has captivated the sports world. Like Tiger Woods’ enthralling golf fans in the late 1990s, Littler’s moment seemed like a seismic shift in the world of sports entertainment, with 3.1 million viewers turning in for his spectacular success. The crucial question is whether darts’ fast-paced excitement can truly compete with golf’s attraction on a worldwide scale. Let’s see what golf and sports experts felt about darts taking over golf as the world’s most popular sport, with a focus on Littler’s potential and Barry Hearn’s bold claims.

Podcast analysis: A contentious discussion on Barry Hearn’s vision

In “Biggler than McIlroy,” the 96th episode of The Chipping Forecast, professional golfer Eddie Pepperell, sports analyst Andrew Cotter, and golf journalist Iain Carter engaged in a lively debate. The three discussed the former chairperson of the Professional Darts Corporation, Barry Hearn’s audacious assertion that darts, driven by rising ace Luke Littler and a $163 million investment, might overtake golf as the most popular sport in the world. Hearn’s claim was pointedly brought up at the start of the discussion: “Why would a sponsor pay $10 million for a golfer and only $1 million for a darts player?…. Golf is the target.”

Despite acknowledging Littler’s extraordinary talent, Cotter, who is renowned for his incisive analysis, questioned whether darts could compete with golf’s widespread popularity. “Golfers earn more because the sport is a massive global business. Darts is a brilliant game that I love, but it’s unlikely to ever achieve worldwide status on the same scale,” Cotter said, adding that it may not be fair to compare it to other sports. Providing views as an experienced player, Pepperell emphasized darts’ potential to flourish as a spectator sport because of its accessible nature and lively atmosphere.

He did, however, also voice concerns about the young prodigy’s welfare in light of Hearn’s lofty intentions. “In golf, Tiger Woods enjoyed a high level of autonomy over his career as he had the freedom to choose when and where he would play, and how he played. That autonomy created a good symbiotic relationship. If I were part of Luke’s family or close circle, I’d be worried about the risk of him being exploited,” Pepperell advised. As the show came to a close, they agreed that although darts are clearly on the rise, it would need consistent work overtime to overtake golf as the most popular sport in the world. In addition to the podcast’s observations, Let’s dig deeper to find out how Woods dominated his stardom.

This has come as a surprise but some clarity has been provided

As it prepares for a takeover of golf, recent revelations about the use of paid actors in the Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL) sparked a wave of speculation and debate within the sports community. However, TGL officials have firmly clarified the matter.

The company formed by sports executive Mike McCarley and professional golfers Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in partnership with the PGA Tour, has assured fans and critics alike that these actors are part of a specific operational strategy, not a regular feature of live events.

The clarification serves to reassure fans who are eagerly awaiting this new chapter in golf. With a focus on innovation, the league promises to deliver excitement and accessibility to a broader audience, all while maintaining the core values of the sport.

Anticipation for what’s next whit an explanation

The upcoming events are set to be a showcase of not just athletic prowess, but also the seamless integration of entertainment, technology, and fan engagement. The decision to use actors in preliminary stages is seen as a strategic move to ensure a flawless execution when the curtains rise on live broadcasts.

The innovative golf league aims to revolutionize the sport by blending traditional elements with modern entertainment. As part of their preparations, TGL has employed paid actors during dress rehearsals and for additional filmed content. This approach is akin to the use of seat fillers at high-profile award shows, ensuring a visually appealing and engaging presentation for viewers.

During the initial rollout, rumors surfaced suggesting that actors might be present at actual live events, potentially diminishing the authenticity of the audience experience. TGL responded swiftly, emphasizing that actors are used solely in controlled environments to fine-tune logistics and create supplementary content.

Watching the debut of the new TGL—that’s “Tomorrow’s Golf League”—on ESPN on Tuesday, I kept wondering: Why does this exist?

It may be best to answer a different question first: What is TGL? It’s an indoor golf league. The course is a domed practice area in Palm Beach, with a 60-foot screen that players hit shots into. A launch monitor simulates where the shot would go in the real world, only the holes here are a bit of golf science fiction. If your shot lands in virtual sand, you will hit your next one out of real sand in the arena. Squads of three players go against each other in a mix of team competition and one-on-one matches. The whole thing takes two hours or so, a nice improvement on a five-hour round (or a 10-hour broadcast) on the PGA Tour. The players all come from that tour. Most are prime-aged stars, but the league’s centerpieces are Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, whose joint business got this whole thing started.

Watching the debut of the new TGL—that’s “Tomorrow’s Golf League”—on ESPN on Tuesday, I kept wondering: Why does this exist?

It may be best to answer a different question first: What is TGL? It’s an indoor golf league. The course is a domed practice area in Palm Beach, with a 60-foot screen that players hit shots into. A launch monitor simulates where the shot would go in the real world, only the holes here are a bit of golf science fiction. If your shot lands in virtual sand, you will hit your next one out of real sand in the arena. Squads of three players go against each other in a mix of team competition and one-on-one matches. The whole thing takes two hours or so, a nice improvement on a five-hour round (or a 10-hour broadcast) on the PGA Tour. The players all come from that tour. Most are prime-aged stars, but the league’s centerpieces are Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, whose joint business got this whole thing started.

Those are answers for people who have a piece of the action. For a sports league to really work, some reason for existing needs to filter down to fans, too. It needs to differentiate itself from everything else. Fake golf has its uses; a simulator is great for practice, and it can be a nice fallback when an actual golf course is too far or too busy. But it turns out that fake golf is not quite as useful to watch as it can be to play. The technology on display at TGL is incredible, but once you have seen it, you have seen it. You might call this golf a diet version of the real thing, but that’s not right, because it is clear why diet drinks might appeal to the masses. The same cannot be said for TGL.

Cool things are happening here. The arena that hosts the matches is a tech marvel, surely the finest golf simulation man has ever invented. The putting green is “tech-infused,” as the league says, and is adjusted to create different sloping for different holes. The grass in the venue is real, and a crane replaces pieces of it when it gets worn down. Obsessives who dream about putting a golf sim in their basement will tune in for the same reason they might scroll through Instagram Reels of home-build simulators. Who’s projecting about this? Certainly not me.

In at least one way, this brand of half-virtual golf differentiates itself from the real thing in a way that adds value. The holes are all fictional—not better than real golf holes, but weirder, more tricked out, and less constrained by practical considerations. The holes are in a mixture of settings and often not thematically connected to one another in the way holes on a real course are. Any golf architecture dweeb will tell you (correctly) that a great course is full of complementary holes, but here, at least TGL offers a change of pace. You will see some strategic challenges that do not exist on real tour-level courses. My favorite was the hole that asked players to hit the ball 300 yards in the air over an active volcano.

The medium has major limits, though, because of the nature of simulation golf. The digital courses create fresh dilemmas for players, but they are still swinging the club in a perfectly manicured, state-of-the-art, indoor facility. Nothing on Tuesday was as fraught as the time Jordan Spieth almost killed himself hitting a shot from a cliffside or the time he almost launched himself into a Great Lake so he could hit a flop shot at the Ryder Cup. The virtual world of TGL is imaginative, but the physical one is as sterile as golf gets. There are no live alligators roaming the arena to mimic a proper Floridian course.