Anyone who respects golf knows best that cheating is not part of the game. Why do they need a drug test??

Question

if Tiger is clean, why test anyone else? They can't beat him anyway. Your thoughts?

Answer 1

For a combination of reasons, none of which is more important than another. First, it's one of, if not the only, professional sport without it. Second, while the game is self-policing by definition, it's to discourage those tempted or uninformed about what they put in their body to seek assistance before accepting whatever it is, just like a ruling out on the course. Even though the sport leans heavily (understandably, but arguably, to a fault) on its inherent integrity, the competitors are human beings. How many times have you read or heard about TV viewers calling in a rules infraction that the golfers inadvertently overlooked? And on a larger scale, how can golf avoid the corruption with which other sports deal on a daily basis? While purists will support golf as the last bastion of honor and integrity in all of sport, it is an obtuse viewpoint. However, the innocent will remain that way until proven guilty.

There are many who believe that if there is no rule against using illegal drugs on tour, then no rule is being broken. Chances are a few of those opinions will change once the rule and testing is in effect. It's the same thing in Major League Baseball. Barry Bonds didn't break any rules at the time he was suspected of using what are now banned substances. Public opinion will villify him forever but there are still many who believe that he didn't break any rules, simply because there weren't any to break. (That he hasn't defended this very point concerns me quite a bit. But that's another forum.) And most people equate the use of banned substances with committing a crime. But in competition, if you don't get caught, there's no foul. In life, if you don't get caught, you've still committed the crime and can still face real consequences. It's a fine line, perhaps, but there is separation tucked in there.

You know, there's already precedent to a professional golfer getting suspended. This past summer, Italian tour pro Alessandro Pissilli tested positive for Finasteride that he was taking for a prostate problem. His local golf club in Florence said that he admitted taking the drug for two years. Still, because the drug can mask steroid use, he's facing a two-year ban.

PGA Tour pros have said that they're going to get independent testing done early just to make sure they're not taking something that could test positive when the tests tee off in July. The tour firmly believes that no one will be "caught" but it must take this step to uphold its integrity. And the psychology of how the competitors address this should also change.

Stepping back from all of this, I think it's a statement on society that we all accept drug testing in other sports, as if we "expect" some athletes to get caught. Shame on us. Shame on them, too. Our standards should be much higher but the athletes dictate where are standards sit in reality. Right now, our expectations are at an all-time high with professional golfers. But I have a feeling we'll all be shocked if they stay up there even one year from now. We all want to shoot 65 but in reality we're pleased if we go home with a 79.

Answer 2

After Tiger, everyone else is usually playing for 2nd place. The difference in the payout for 2nd place vs. 3rd place might be enough for a player to be tempted to use performance enhancing drugs. I believe that's the thought process behind the testing. Steriods might give a player some more power, but "it don't mean a thing, if you ain't got the swing".

Answer 3

I think it is just a sign of the times. When there is speculation it is probably just as easy to drug test. I doubt the players are all that upset about it. I believe very few if any will fail the test for any of the drugs on the list.

Answer 4

What you don't want in sports is guilt by association,asterisks after names who hold records,or blurbs from has beens in the sport who never were outstanding. Everyone wants to write a book cooauthored by some flunky who is looking for the fast buck. Smearing a sport is vogue today. So Fincham figures test everyone so no one can point fingers at golf. This is a difficult game at best and one has to have all his wits and extreme talent to excel in the sport.

Answer 5

Anyone who respects any sort of sport knows that cheating is not part of the game, but yet it happens everyday, in just about every sport. So just drug test every sport to try an eradicate it.

Answer 6

People cheat at golf at all levels, therefore, cheating IS part of the game.

Answer 7

I think lots of people are using drugs like beta blockers to combat nervousness.

Not steroids like most people think.

I think it will come to light that lots of players have been using them, and that's what Gary Player was getting at...

Answer 8

It is because of Tiger. He is so much better than everyone els, they are all trying to find a way to catch him.

Answer 9

The saying goes, "If you ain't cheatin....you ain't tryin!"

BTW - Good answer Clubhouse...