TGL has announced a handful of mid-season changes to its rules in relation to The Hammer following early feedback from fans and players.
Previously, one team began with possession of the aforementioned tactical tool, which was thrown down any time one of the six clubs competing felt they had an advantage or wanted to pile pressure on their rivals. Once used, it switched over to the other side.
Throughout a 15-hole match, The Hammer could be passed between the two golf clubs an infinite number of times in order to continue increasing the number of points a hole was worth.
However, this didn't happen as much as organizers had anticipated. In fact, the opposite was often true, with The Bay's Wyndham Clark the first to point out that if a team was leading they could quite easily keep hold of The Hammer until the end - therefore ensuring their opponents would never be able to score more than one point per hole. Two out of the first five matches were completed without seeing the little yellow flag.
Several ideas in terms of changes to the rules of TGL - and in particular to The Hammer's laws - were thrown around in addition to the key stakeholders' feedback, and ahead of a busy run of matches next week, officials have decided to take action now and roll out a couple of tweaks.
The new rules state that each team will begin the contest with three 'Hammers' each, to be used once per hole only at any stage during the nine triples and six singles matches.
The two competing outfits can both throw the yellow flag down on the same hole, but the maximum number of points each hole can be worth is three.
Otherwise, the rules remain similar in that if The Hammer is thrown down before the hole's first tee shot, it has to be accepted while any team that declines the tactic automatically loses the hole and the point or points being played for.
The first chance to see the changes in action will be during Monday's Presidents Day triple header (with a fourth game to come on Tuesday). Atlanta Drive will take on LA at 1pm ET before Atlanta plays The Bay at 4pm - both on ESPN. Rounding off the evening will be The Bay going head-to-head with Rory McIlroy's Boston Common at 7pm ET on ESPN 2.
