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You're way out of line!

When i was 19 i had Tiger's physique and now after 15 yrs of lifting weights i have a lot more muscle, like 40lbs more.

Metabolism slows down for a lot of men as they age, and i do not think tiger is an exception.

Moreover, he has a bit of a paunch that is not muscle.

You made a real cheap shot.

I'll say one thing concerning steroids then I won't comment on it anymore....... Like a lot of other things, there is A LOT of misconceptions, turned media fuel, surrounding them.

IE. The FDA approved them in the 60's only to have congress ban the substance anyways. (read: against the findings and recommendations of the scientist and professionals they appointed to evaluate food and drugs........) The U.S. is the only country in the world with a zero tolerance policy concerning them. I could go on for days....

Let me put it this way, like your momma told you when you were 5, don't believe everything someone tells you.

I have this same feeling for marijuana. I have never smoked the stuff in my life, and arrest (yes, I'm a law enforcement officer) people on a nightly basis for the stuff. However, I have NEVER had a single person high on weed fight me. I have had people trying to hide their stash from me fight me etc. But no one under the influence of the stuff has ever given me any trouble. Furthermore, on a weekly basis it seems, I'm in a fight with someone fueled by the legal and oft abused substance, alcohol.... Go figure. I'm not one of those proponents for legalizing drugs, especially marijuana as I believe it could be a gateway drug, but I'm also not blind to the realization that our government has no clue about the REAL dangers of certain substances. (this coming from a right wing southern republican.)

Just thought I would share my insight and opinion. (stepping off soapbox)

P.S. I read that article about Gary Players allegations, and knowing a little about the man (which I do like by the way) It sounded like he was talking for the camera/reporter/etc. Very little indication, in my assessment of the piece, points towards truth or validation on Gary's part.

The symptoms have been tougher to spot in recent history though. The advancements in drug design have drastically changed the effect that the substance has on the body. The older drugs like Winstrol (Jose Canseco's drug of choice; Ben Johnson's as well) made you pretty bulky and really limited your flexibility, so I doubt that golfers would be interested in this. However when Dianabol and the other BALCO drugs were developed, they were designed for Olympic athletes, such as sprinters, who sought to gain strength and lean muscle while still maintaining a slender body.

Look at the way Pro Baseball players are using steroids. There is a strong indication that relief pitchers are the most common users, and this is because they want to increase their stamina while limiting the time that their muscles require to recover from overuse. Unless you are working out like a savage in the gym, you can still maintain an athletic looking physique and remain a very flexible athlete. A lot of speedsters in baseball have been caught using steroids as well. Look at Alex Sanchez, a guy who has only 6 career home runs in 5 MLB seasons, but was a speed demon on the bases. He was caught using steroids in 2005, but was one of the last peple you'd suspect just based on his appearance.

Also, the acne that users sometimes develop is seen on their back, not their face, so unless you are in the locker room with the guy it is a tough one to catch.

I would suspect that the preferred substance on the PGA tour would be the ephedrine based endurance supplements, which are readily available at your local GNC. A telltale sign for these supplements is a rapid weight loss and profuse sweating when the average person would only be sweating lightly. I don't watch a lot of PGA events, but if you notice a guy who is a real sweat hog and is consuming abnormal amounts of fluids, I'd be more likely to point to him as a user of ephedrine products than I would John Daley

The truly amazing thing is he's gained 40 pounds in the last 18 days.



From cub to man: Tiger reveals demanding workout regimen

Let the reader decide.

...I don't know a lot about steroids other than what I read in the papers or hear in the news but many of the posts have been very informative..

That being said a few thoughts

I think the Gary Player interview was not believable...and why now?...even Goosen (who must idolize Player as a fellow countryman) came down pretty hard on Player's remarks..

If steroids are to enhance performance where is the evidence on the Tour......driving distance from 2003 - 2006 has only increased about 1 yard per year...and from 2000 to 2005 the gain in distance by those with the shortest average driving distance (Corey Pavin) was almost the same as the gain in distance by those with the longest average driving distance...

I never thought about stamina being a motivator for steroid use but how would that be relevant to a Tour player...I know travel can wear a person out but the game itself (at the Tour level) is more mentally taxing than physically taxing...

The career life of a decent professional golfer can be 35 years (20 - 55) which is different than a lot of sports where you career is on the downside once you hit 30...why would a Tour player take a chance on something that could kill them at an early age when there is an opportunity for a long career....

To me (and I am in my 50's to give some perspective) sometimes common sense has to prevail. Steroids are the topic du jour so everyone jumps on the bandwagon to institute some kind of testing. It just doesn't seem relevant in professional golf...

gosh tiger is not on steroids just because he's the most fit one on tour, the guy clearly works hard for his sport

Also, unless Tiger is 6 foot 6 there is no way he weighs more than 225.

In fact he is listed as 188, which looks to be about right.

40 pounds in the last 18 days?

I wanna have the steroids that he's having!

It's refreshing to hear such an open analysis from a self-professed conservative...I don't like labels but if I had to don one I suppose centrist/libertarian would be most accurate. I've had friends in law enforcement my whole life and it surprises me sometimes how much more practical a view towards substance abuse the man on the street takes than do our sage politicos. I agree with you about the relative harmlessness of mj compared to other substances such as alcohol, cocaine, meth, heroine, etc. and I also agree that it shouldn't be legalized, at least not until it can be readily controlled and detected by law enforcement officers on traffic stops (don't drive high...on anything). I have to take issue, however, with the implication that steriods may be getting a bum rap from the gov. while our scientists say some of them are safe. I admit that I'm not well-educated about the severity and variety of side effects of the various performance-enhancing drugs but even in my ignorance I can see that steroids have shortened many more lives than marijuana ever has...the list of pro wrestlers is formidable and I don't have a clue how many football players have fallen victim...I just keep remembering what it did to John Matuszak...of course I'm sure that today's steroids are more refined and relatively safer than their predecessors, but safe? Benoit's roid rage comes to mind. I'm guessing that someone with roids coursing through their veins would come closer to resisting arrest than any pot head. I can't imagine any pro golfer taking them but if Player says that someone confessed to him to taking them then I believe him...at his age and legendary status he shouldn't be motivated for cheap publicity so there must be, in my mind, some validity to his claim but maybe I'm being naïve. I'm all for testing...for ANY illicit substances.

I would think that focus-enhancing substances would appeal to golfers more than performance-enhancing ones...anybody know anything about that? Also, are there any natural (not derived/"controlled") performance-enhancing substances?

Shade

Concerning steroids effects: Abuse is abuse. If you drink to much water you will die. (see hyponatremia) At one point someone told us sweeten low was cancerous. Well, if you pump a lab rat full of 100,000,000 mg of anything, cellular mutation and negative side effects are bound to happen.

My bone of contention comes from the fact that LE departments will hire guys who have not smoked pot in 6 mths but lump steroids, cocaine, and meth all in the same class. Total garbage in my opinion. I have had plenty of exposure to steroids in my time body building including running one 8 week cycle myself. (pre-Law enforcement). I saw many guys take them with little/no side effects. (The most common being BACKNE, and testicular atrophy all of which ceases after use). There were however plenty of guys that OD the stuff and messed up their hormonal levels for life.

Again, I'm not on the forefront of any campaign to legalize steroids or any other drug, however I find it off putting that LE agencies take this stance. So in essence what they are telling me is, the punk dope head I arrest tonight for possession, can apply and be accepted based on that qualification in 6mths. However my friend that was a competitive bodybuilder and now a emergency room doctor has to wait 3 years from his last injection.....................Lunacy. Period. Not one single cop that I know has EVER come into contact with steroids on the street in terms of possession.

The regulatory commission that handles these things are about as blind as they come. The media's headline the other day on that wrestlers killing his family was "STEROIDS FOUND IN WRESTLERS BODY!!!" If you read 2 paragraphs in you will find that the M.E. stated "steroids were not responsible for these acts. Anti-depressants and other drugs found in his body are more likely the culprit"

Ultimately the issue remains, the law/study/science is incorrect and wrong. Such is life however, and I am not going to take away from my personal time with my family, friends and golf to fight an uphill battle thats of little consequence in the grand scheme of things anyway. I'm simply sharing opinion here.

On Gary Player: I like the guy. However, I have seen him get to talking on camera and just feed from it till he makes a bit of a fool out of himself more than once.

Always nice to read your thoughts Shade.

I wish the public and the media would understand that just because you use steroids doesn't mean that you will be super huge and suffer from extreme roid rage. If you use high quality steroids in moderation you will have a lot of the benefits (strength, faster recovery time, less soreness, etc.) without much side effects (acne, roid rage, reproduction problems, etc.). Abuse of steroids and using low quality steroids are the biggest causes of side effects. Please keep in mind that doctors prescribe them everyday. It's a very useful drug, but like most drugs if abused you will suffer negative consequences.

Assuming a player was using steroids in moderation, he would still be able to putt. Remember this is a performance enhancing drug. He will not loose his touch on short putts. Do you think that someone using steroids could not make a putt? I guess they would be so strong that they would hit it past the hole every time.

Assuming a player was using steroids in moderation, he would still be able to keep his emotions in check. It might be something that the player has to focus on (not getting angry), but he could overcome it.

I hate to hear people dismiss the use on steroids on tour. The players are rich enough to afford high quality steroids. And the steroids can help them swing faster which makes the ball go further. Makes sense to me. So would you be upset if players were using steroids? They are not currently breaking the rules of golf.

In a word, yes.

Shade

I thought it a rather bizarre comment. Of all sports that could probably least be affected by steriods, it'd be golf. Steroids don't help with coordination and touch.

I'm saying that steroids would not hurt coordination and touch. So coordination (and touch) says the same, but swing speed goes up. And you would get the benefits of faster muscle recovery.

I guess just to summarize:

IMO, every athlete (including golfers) would see performance benefits from the use of steroids.

The most overlooked and completely missed point when talking about steroids and their impact on athletes, is the workout regime. If someone "body builds" like I used to, then the assumption that it would limit performance and flexibility is correct. HOWEVER, if one were to supplement steroids with a power/olympic lifting, gymnastics inspired regime (read military, MMA, cops, firefighting) then it would be accurate to say that they could become the ultimate athlete, if the person already obtained some skill in the area.

When I used to lift for looks, I was big and strong, but I was NOT fit. If you got with in 2 feet of me I could do some serious damage but if you ran from me, I could not chase. Now, on the other hand, I have changed my routine and focus to incorporate "fitness" as my goal. It still stands, don't get close to me, however if you run, you're going to be hurting as well. (this is from a law enforcement POV. I don't wish to paint a tough guy, jerk picture of myself) I try to maintain cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. If one is lacking in any of those areas then they are not "fit" in my view. I'm constantly working on respiratory endurance, speed, and flexibility as my weak points. When I was using steroids I only possessed strength and power. A horrible failure in an attempt to be an athlete or "fit".

Steroids alone make you nothing but fat. An excess of testosterone with no outlet will convert it self naturally in your body to estrogen. This is counterproductive in attempting to become more "fit". Ultimately what I'm getting at is, the substance is no miracle worker. The work put into becoming "fit" or more athletic is more important than any substance. I do have an opinion on the use of the substance in sports, but I'll keep that to myself for now. lol.

I'll reiterate the point that, MOST peoples knowledge, or what they consider to be knowledge on the subject of steroids, is almost always media fed fodder. This is true for most things in life though so I take no greater personal issue with this than any other subject. ie The Iraq war, Bush, Paris Hilton, Taxes, Immigration, etc.

I just want to encourage (futile I'm sure) people to go out and research things in this world for themselves and stop relying on the local news broadcast, magazine article, or newspaper to give them their information.

Mizuno.