TGL's The Hammer: What is it, why was the rule tweaked in first season

The "Hammer" will be invoked during today's TGL Season 2 opener between Atlanta and New York. That is as sure as Tiger Woods turning 50 on Dec. 30.

Initially, the Hammer - a unique concept of the indoor golf league that has Woods and Rory McIlroy have been involved with since its inception - became a popular topic on social media but it was often ignored by the players. Then, the indoor golf league's competition committee tweaked the rules, hoping the yellow flag that challenges a team to double down on the hole, thus providing more opportunity for the trailing team to come back, would be thrown more often.

And it worked and will be in use this season. Bottom line: at the start of a match, each team will have three Hammers to use at their discretion, but only once per hole. The maximum a hole can be worth is three points if both teams throw a Hammer on the same hole and each is accepted. As previously defined, a Hammer thrown prior to the start of a hole, must be accepted.

Previously, only the team that possessed the Hammer could throw it and then it would transfer to the other team.

The league's competition committee comprises representatives from each of the six TGL teams in the league created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, along with a member from the PGA Tour and TGL leadership. The committee examined multiple simulations from matches already played to come up with different iterations of the Hammer rule.

In two of the three matches before the change, the Hammer was never thrown, remaining in the pocket of the team that jumped to an early start. The strategy had become if you have the lead, do not give the trailing team the opportunity to win 2 points on one hole and then possess the Hammer.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Will we see Hammer thrown during TGL's Atlanta-New York season opener?