Sep
20
2007

The Steroid “Issue” in Golf

Posted by Double Eagle in Fitness

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This summer, Gary Player sparked a huge controversy when he claimed that he knows of steroid use in professional golf. His quote:

“One guy told me — I took an oath prior to him telling me — but he told me what he did and I could see this massive change in him. And somebody else told me something I also promised I wouldn’t tell, that verified others had done it.”

Other than that, I don’t know of any other evidence that a professional golfer on any of the major tours has taken any performance enhancing drugs.

Has it ever happened? Probably. But it’s certainly not turned the sport into an embarrassment like Major League Baseball.

Regardless of that, the PGA Tour stepped up today and created an anti-doping policy. It seems clear that the policy was more a result of the scandals in other sports like baseball and bicycling than a result of whispers about problems on the Tour.

The thing many people don’t realize is that these performance enhancing drugs don’t just create musclebound maniacs.

I think that we kind of had our perceptions shaped, at least in the United States, starting in the 1980’s with steroids in football (the American kind) and in other sports. We were imprinted with the vision of a huge ‘roid rage fueled maniac, frothing at the mouth.

Since then, we’ve seen it in several players, most recently Barry Bonds (allegedly), who looks like he accidentally sat on an air hose.

I’ve read and heard a lot of people saying that steroids won’t help a player make putts or keep the ball in the fairway. That’s true. Steroids are not going to turn an inferior player into a Tour player.

However, there are many performance enhancing drugs that simply allow players to benefit from longer workouts and faster recovery times.

For golfers who, as a whole, are starting to work out more and more each year, it means that they could work out more frequently. More importantly, it also would mean that players could practice more and get less fatigued (or recover faster) from grueling four-day tournaments and long practice sessions.

What kind of advantage would it be to be able to recover faster and not be as worn down on Sunday or even in the latter stages of the season?

The bottom line is, huge muscles aren’t the only symptom.

I applaud the PGA Tour for being proactive in this matter. Golf is supposed to be a game of honor, and in general it is.

At the same time, there’s a lot of money on the line in professional golf. Enough for an up and comer or a player on the bubble to be tempted to cheat. Clearly, the negative long-term health effects alone aren’t enough to stop this kind of cheating in other sports. Maybe this policy will help head off any future scandals that could be harmful to the game.

What are your thoughts?

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There are currently 7 responses to “The Steroid “Issue” in Golf”

  1. 1

    Mike Pedersen said:

    Great post Mike! It seems funny to think steroids in golf…but I guess maybe a few might dabble in them. The tour has become so competitive and the young guys coming out are like robots. They have trained their body and mind to perform. Tiger has also raised the bar yet again, after his FedEx Cup blowout!

    Posted on September 20th, 2007 at 11:39 pm

  2. 2

    Double Eagle said:

    Thanks, Mike.

    It does seem funny to think about steroids in golf. Especially when you look at some of the characters in golf over the last couple of decades: Stadler, Daly, Herron, etc.

    Like you said, things are so competitive, now. It’s not enough anymore just to learn how to play golf in the back yard with a rock and a tree branch and eventually become a great player.

    Fitness is so huge now. Tiger broke the mold, then became the mold himself. It’s only going to get more prevalent when out of shape guys realize they can’t compete anymore.

    Posted on September 20th, 2007 at 11:47 pm

  3. 3

    Mike Pedersen said:

    Calc was quoted saying he was gone physically when he had a shot at Tiger a couple weeks back. That’s a perfect example of an out of shape golfer going against a fitness machine. The machine one yet again!

    Posted on September 21st, 2007 at 7:15 am

  4. 4

    Thecpa said:

    Very insightful and thoughtful post. The Barry Bonds comment was a gem. My thoughts after reading your post is to never tell Gary Player anything in confidence.

    Posted on September 21st, 2007 at 6:41 pm

  5. 5

    Patrick said:

    We live in a society of cheating in every facet of life, why should golf be any different?

    Posted on September 21st, 2007 at 10:07 pm

  6. 6

    Double Eagle said:

    I suppose that’s why I support the policy, Patrick. Deep down I don’t expect it to be different.

    Maybe we live in a society of cheating because we tolerate it.

    Posted on September 21st, 2007 at 10:21 pm

  7. 7

    Subconscious Mind said:

    who would have thought, steroids in golf! i cant really see how they would give you an advantage.

    Posted on September 24th, 2007 at 10:47 pm

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