Professional golf has long demanded a specific kind of internal discipline—a sport that rewards quiet patience, unwavering control, and the ability to suppress emotion in pursuit of absolute technical execution. For much of her life, Lexi Thompson has lived by that exacting code. But her next major competitive endeavor is set to ask her to display a bit more of the personality she typically conceals between shots.
The stage is set for this transition with the launch of the WTGL, an innovative women’s team golf league created through a partnership between TMRW Sports and the LPGA. Debuting this fall on November 8, the league will play out inside the high-tech, immersive confines of the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. When the competition gets underway, Thompson will proudly represent the Motor City Golf Club, anchoring the Detroit-based roster as the sport steps into a bold new arena.
The decision to join the league required little deliberation for Thompson. Living only about 30 minutes away from the SoFi Center, she had the unique opportunity to experience the groundbreaking TGL format firsthand. What captured her attention wasn’t merely the state-of-the-art technology or the striking arena environment, but rather the human element—specifically, how much more authentic personality the dynamic format allowed fans to witness.
"It’s something different, and it brings out a different fan base that we need as well," Thompson reflected. "A lot of people don’t get to see our personalities. They only get to see what we do on the golf course."
This exciting career pivot arrives as Thompson navigates a transformative period in her personal and physical life. Expecting her first child, she maintains a daily training regimen that has evolved significantly over the years. Rather than leaning into the heavier lifting routines of her earlier career, her approach has shifted toward something far more deliberate, sustainable, and attuned to her body’s changing needs.
After decades at the highest level of professional golf, Thompson is no longer interested in proving what numbers she can put up in the weight room. Her focus has turned entirely toward ensuring that her fitness routine continues to foster power, mobility, and long-term health, keeping her continuously prepared for whatever chapter comes next.
WTGL Lets Lexi Thompson Compete Differently
Traditional professional golf can often feel like an isolating exercise in individual responsibility. Even with a caddie walking alongside a player, the number on the scorecard belongs to only one person. It is a solitary reality that Thompson has navigated since turning professional at the remarkably young age of 15.
Team golf, however, introduces an entirely different dynamic. Thompson is no stranger to the team format, having represented her country and her peers across prestigious international stages including the Solheim Cup, the International Crown, and the Olympic Games. Yet, the WTGL offers a fresh thrill: the opportunity to actively collaborate and make strategic decisions with teammates in real-time, lifting the heavy burden of competing entirely against her own internal thoughts for 18 holes.
"I love team events in general," she said. "Golf is so individual, so to be able to have teammates and talk strategy behind each and every shot, I think that’s what also is so great about this."
The WTGL format relies on mic’d-up players, real-time analytics, and strict shot-clock pressure—elements that might sound intimidating to traditionalists, but feel remarkably refreshing to a seasoned veteran. Standard tournament golf gives players ample time to gather information, deliberate over club selection, second-guess their strategy, and let a single thought multiply into hesitation. A rigid clock, by contrast, forces absolute clarity.
"The shot clock is definitely something that’s very different, and I actually think it would be good in normal golf, too," Thompson noted. "Sometimes we don’t really think about how much time we’re spending on each and every shot."
Beyond the strategic shifts, the innovative format promises to unveil a side of Thompson that conventional tournament broadcasts rarely capture. Away from the intense silence of championship fairways, she describes herself as bubbly and sarcastic around those who know her best—traits sharpened by growing up alongside two older brothers.
"I’ve learned to trash talk quite a bit," she said with a smile. "We’ll see if that gets brought out here, but I think it’s just great for the fans to see all our personalities."
A Change of Mindset When It Comes to the Gym
Fitness has not always been the central pillar of Thompson’s daily routine. Like many young prodigies, it took her the first couple of years on tour to confront a fundamental athletic truth: exceptional natural talent does not make an athlete immune to fatigue.
Noticing that her energy levels would wane during grueling multi-day tournaments, she decided to hire a trainer and take physical conditioning seriously. What began as a strategic solution quickly transformed into a genuine passion.
"I got addicted to it," Thompson said. "I love fitness and working out, and I plan my day around getting at least 30 to 45 minutes, if not longer, of a workout in."
While her workouts have naturally adapted as she prepares for the birth of her first child, movement remains a non-negotiable daily priority. Her current routine centers on spinning, incline walking, core stability work, flexibility drills, and resistance training, with the intensity thoughtfully calibrated toward lighter weights and higher repetitions.
Years of elite competition have taught her a vital lesson: strength must directly serve the swing. Thompson is renowned throughout the golf world for her extraordinary power off the tee, but generating elite clubhead speed requires far more than raw, all-around muscle.
"A lot of the golf swing power is from the core and lower body, so making sure that I do a lot of the exercises that build and strengthen that," Thompson explained. "But at the same time, you don’t want to lose the flexibility."
To maintain that crucial balance, her regimen heavily incorporates resistance bands and dynamic movements that mirror the rotational and explosive biomechanics of a golf swing. Speed, precision, and efficient energy transfer remain paramount.
This sophisticated, movement-focused mindset represents a major evolution from her earlier years on tour. There was a time when Thompson routinely sought out heavy lifting milestones simply to test her physical limits.
"I probably lifted a lot more weights than I do now," she recalled. "I went through spans where I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to try to hit the highest weight of my life,’ and it was just like, ‘I don’t know really why I’m doing this.’"
Today, cardiovascular health, core integrity, functional resistance training, and swing-specific exercises take precedence over chasing numbers on a barbell. This maturation reflects a deeper self-awareness. Thompson notes that the longer she has trained, the more intuitively she can read her own body and detect when something is out of alignment.
Early in her fitness journey, professional evaluations from trainers were necessary to uncover hidden physical imbalances and muscular weaknesses. Now, those diagnostic skills have become second nature.
"My body tells me a lot more," Thompson said. "’Oh, this is weaker. I’m not seeing this part of my body firing,’ or like, ‘This is sore. This is hurting. Something’s lacking.’"
Recovery and Longevity Are Now Part of the Workout
To the casual observer watching from a comfortable living room couch, golf can easily appear to be a leisurely pursuit rather than an elite athletic endeavor. Television broadcasts rarely capture the immense physical toll exacted by tournament golf over four grueling days.
"I think the normal viewer doesn’t realize how hard it is day in, day out," Thompson pointed out. "It’s a lot of time out practicing, a lot of hitting balls, rotating, putting our lower body and our backs through a lot of twisting and turning."
That immense strain is compounded by environmental factors and sheer endurance. "Walking seven miles of a golf course on top of that," she added. "Being in the Florida heat, going out there and practicing three to five hours a day. It’s pretty brutal in the summer."
Given the relentless volume of repetitions, recovery has transformed into an indispensable component of her professional career. Rather than leaning heavily on complex technological recovery devices, Thompson relies on consistent fundamentals: post-workout stretching, foam rolling, occasional sports massage, and ensuring her body is physically primed for the following day’s demands.
Quality sleep has likewise elevated in priority. Earlier in her career, Thompson believed she could function effectively on just four hours of rest. With years of championship experience behind her now, she insists on a minimum of seven hours nightly.
"Sometimes it’s just hard to really shut the brain off and get a good night’s sleep, especially with the quick turnarounds with tee times and everything," she admitted. "But I think it’s a huge priority because then your mind doesn’t function the way you need it to, and neither does your body."
Before stepping onto the course, Thompson incorporates targeted muscle activation and breathing exercises to wake up the specific kinetic chains required for her swing, alongside meditation practices designed to ground her mental state. Post-round routines serve the opposite, calming function.
"Being able to shut down your body and being able to let it recover is huge, because you don’t realize what you’re putting your body through for that amount of hours," Thompson said. "Meditation doesn’t hurt after, just to shut off the mind. That’s a part of the performance as well."
Ultimately, Thompson’s entire relationship with fitness has matured profoundly over the past several seasons. The days of measuring success purely through personal records in the weight room or aesthetic gains are firmly in the past. Today, the ultimate standard of success is entirely practical and deeply personal.
"Of course, waking up not having my body hurt helps," Thompson joked, smiling at the realities of longevity in professional sports. "Being out here for so many years and golfing since I was five, you feel it a little bit more."
