PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — In my first trip to SoFi Center back in December, before an official TGL shot had been hit, the arena was not quite finished and mostly empty save for the occasional thwaaap of a test golf ball hitting the 53-foot tall screen. Just two months later, and SoFi Center was electric.

I picked a good one to attend as the first multi-match day of the season unfolded, and all three matches were still in doubt going to the final hole. That has not always been the case throughout this season but a big rules shift over the last two weeks (which we’ll get into below) was a primary driver of the thrilling back-and-forth action on Monday.

After watching 45 holes of golf in SoFi Center, I have several thoughts about what the in-person experience is like. Let’s get right to them.

1. Normal Sport: One of the first things I noticed while exploring the nooks and crannies of the field of play on Monday morning was 15 little flags rolled up and stowed away next to the green alongside several tiny hole plugs that look like fancy sprinkler heads. This amused me. I have written about how golf is a strange, strange endeavor, and even though TGL moves it indoors with a roof over it, the oddities do not stop. Imagine having to change out the net every time a team scores in an NBA game. That is not exactly what’s happening with the flag changes but it’s also not that far away.

It made me chuckle.

The thing that made me laugh the most though — and I’m not totally sure why — is that players warm up on a digital driving range. I’m not sure what exactly I expected them to warm up on (perhaps one of the holes) but no, there were digital posts set at specific distances on a screen the size of, like, nine Sahith Theegalas. It was amazing.

2. Kid corner: One of the coolest parts about playing golf in an arena is how close kids can get to the stars they idolize. There were a lot of kids in attendance on Monday because it was a holiday and they were out of school, and the golfers recognized it. After nearly every hole, players ran over to the stands and tossed golf balls to kids of all ages. It was awesome to see and made the entire experience feel wholesome and enjoyable.

3. Owner boxes were dialed: Imagine telling yourself even three years ago that Matt Ryan’s elementary school aged kids wearing fake diamond chains entitled “Dirty Birds” would be a significant part of the professional golf experience. Well, here we are. One thing that does not always come through on television is how engaged the team owner boxes are throughout.

Serena Williams danced. Arthur Blank roared. Good Good was there. The dynamic of how players interact with their team boxes after a big shot or a won hole is fascinating and something reminiscent of a tennis grand slam. This creates intimacy and intrigue in terms of how players react that you sometimes get on the golf course but not as often and not with as much consistency.

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4. Clicking with fans: In addition to the kids in attendance losing their minds after, well, pretty much anything, there were older gentlemen arguing about the overtime format, one man in front of me texting to his buddy about Billy Horschel’s performance and a dad in an American flag hat screaming (I mean screaming!) at Justin Thomas every time he addressed his ball.

The takeaway here for me is that there’s nothing really like TGL in sports. Going to golf tournaments is wonderful and I love it, but it can be an exhausting experience. TGL golf in SoFi Center is the opposite. Fans milled about, participating in cornhole and ping poing in and around the arena and settling in with drinks, food and some great golf shots in the arena.

There is clearly an opportunity here to build out and expand. You could see it bubbling up as fans are still trying to figure out exactly how the format works and how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. But just as it’s beginning to click for the players, it seems to be starting to come into focus for the fans in attendance as well.

5. Hammer time: Moving from one Hammer that moves back and forth between teams to three Hammers for each team significantly transforms how the match is played. Simply having the threat that someone might throw a Hammer makes for a completely different strategy throughout the entire match. As soon as one team runs out of Hammers, this obviously changes, but as long as there is at least one Hammer in play for each team, I think it will aid in keeping the matches closer. It was not a coincidence that all three matches were as close as they were on Monday.

“I think it's a really good change,” said Rory McIlroy, despite a 5-4 loss to The Bay Golf Club in the third match. “You still have to be strategic with them … The Bay threw their Hammers early in the match and didn't have any for the last few holes, and we kept ours a little bit, and that enabled us to keep ourselves in the match.”

6. SoFi Center adds value: While SoFi Center is not the biggest sporting arena ever created, the value it creates is underrated. Keegan Bradley mentioned this regarding his chip-in in the final match against The Bay Golf Club.

“I picked out a little spot, landed right on top of it,” said Bradley. “I didn't expect it to go in. But what a fun feeling that was. That was nothing like I've ever felt. It was not better or worse, but we were indoors with a loud cheer. It's just different. I'll remember it forever. It was awesome.”

7. Players locked in: The team format works. Nearly every player who participated in Monday’s matches talked about how much they felt nerves toward the end of these close matches and how much they pinned that on having teammates they wanted to perform for. You could feel the pressure in SoFi Center throughout the day on Monday.

“I think your heart rate's elevated and you're trying to focus and you've got the responsibility of your teammates,” said Justin Rose, whose Los Angeles Golf Club lost a close one to Atlanta Drive Golf Club on Monday in the first match.

“And you've got guys like Billy Horschel, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay, who are three tough competitors that you don't want to lose to, as well. So it's got all the elements, all the ingredients that make championship golf. Everything is in place for us not to want to lose and to want to give our best account of ourselves, and that's all you can ask for.”

Kyle Porter wrote close to 3 million words about golf over 12 years for CBS Sports and covered 47 majors and five Ryder Cups in the process. He has written three books – Normal Sport 1, 2 and 3 – and built a newsletter of 15,000 golf fans at normalsport.com.