An interesting conversation came up last night about performance enhancing drugs in the world of golf. I continued to think about it some and decided to publish.

PEDs in golf probably once seemed out of the question, but nowadays, not so much. With fitness and athleticism becoming an increasing fad in golf - see Villegas, Woods, and others - it's speculated that the use of PEDs in order to gain a competitive edge in the future will be a likely temptation for some players.

Gary Player, one of golf's greats, is convinced that at least 10% of the pro golf population is using. He has first hand knowlege of at least one case, though he is sworn to secrecy as to who. On the other hand, players like Tiger and Phil are not aware of the use of PEDs on tour.

In the middle of last summer (mid-PGA season) there was rumors and news of random drug testing on the PGA tour. Tiger encouraged it, Player too. Additionally, I heard amature rumors that one top golfer conveniently went down with a knee injury around the same time as random testing. Now, if Tiger's 9 month vacation was intended as a detox, I hope his recent return to form at Bay Hill might aid in dispelling that theory. Specualtions were also made that Vijay Singh could perhaps be using. Now, I don't pay very close attention to Vijay, other than knowing that he's a workhorse on the range and practice green, but given his natural size and frame, the effects of PEDs in the dosage size that would benefit golfers (they're not fighting 300 lb. linemen down the field - a golf club weighs 400 g, tops!) could easily hide in his structure.

Now I'm not here to point fingers, or to speculate who's guilty and who's clean. I'm a naturally trusting person to begin with...I give people the benefit of the doubt until they show me otherwise, and that goes here, too.
I do agree, though, that given the direction the sport is heading, with guys like Camillo taking up cycling andTiger being Tiger, it won't take much for someone to come along just slightly weaker-willed than they are and start injecting something in the locker room before a round to see if they can keep up til Sunday afternoon.

In the end, while I don't doubt that there is a temptation out there, I guess I just feel like golfers are made of better stuff. Who expects to find a golfer, who on one hand assesses his own penalties, tarnishing the valor and character of the game and gamesmen in his very midst with HGH, Testosterone, or Xanax (calms your nerves over that crucial putt, doesn't it?)

-T.J.

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