Tiger and Steroids

Smhockey · February 20, 2009

I heard some people the other day talking about steroids and pro athletes and someone mentioned Tiger. They said it funny that Tiger some how got injured right before the tour started testing for steroids. I thought a little about it and it kinda seems plausible. He did go from a skinny little kid to a huge muscular guy. All the other pro sports seem to be doing steroids. His leg and knee seemed fine when he was celebrating after some of his putts at the US Open ( 18th hole 4th round) and could he even play with a fractured leg? But I'm not sure what to think. He seems like he is smarter than that and it really wouldn't be worth risking his career. Did the tour even start testing for steroids? Would steroids even help in golf? I was just wondering what other people thought?

**Stacey_E** · February 20, 2009

He did go from a skinny little kid to a huge muscular guy.

Over a period of 10 years.

**picrig** · February 20, 2009

Are steroids a problem in sports? Sure, obviously it's a problem in baseball and it's a problem in football, too (more so than people probably think). Could Tiger have used steroids? Sure. Corey Pavin could've used them, too, and he's not exactly the biggest guy on tour. I feel like people often correlate muscle mass/size with steroid use. I don't know if the correlation is actually that strong.

Tiger as a "skinny little kid," was what, about 18-20? I went to college with a guy who came in at about 5'9", 125. By our junior year, he was a rock solid 150. He wasn't on steroids. He just put in a lot of hours in the gym.

So, sure, I think it's possible that Tiger (or any player) used. However, there has been no reason up to this point to speculate that a player has used (there has been no BALCO scandal and no other smoking gun). Show me some evidence to consider. Until then, though, it is a well known fact that Tiger works out harder than any other golfer on the planet (except maybe Camillo). There's no reason he couldn't have put on 20-30 pounds of muscle over a decade+. Golf is a game of integrity and that integrity has been tested and proven many times (DQ'ing yourself from Q school ring a bell?). I trust Tiger and all other golfer's to uphold that integrity until proven otherwise.

**birdiemachine** · February 20, 2009

You are rediculous, adrenaline can do amazing things, and Tiger was the strongest pound for pound athlete to go thru Stanford. He doesn't need steroids with what he has going for him. he has something much better than steroids.

RC · February 20, 2009

I think speculation is a risky endeavour. Maybe a safer thing to discuss is how hitting a drive 300 yards emits a touch more carbon dioxide because of all that extra metabolic activity.

**JonnyGolf** · February 20, 2009

Tiger has gained a couple of pounds a year since he was 18. He doesn't need steroids, he's got genetics. Barry Bonds gained like 20lbs in a single year on steroids.

RTGTrojan75 · February 20, 2009

Tiger has gained a couple of pounds a year since he was 18. He doesn't need steroids, he's got genetics. Barry Bonds gained like 20lbs in a single year on steroids.

..and his head grew 3 hat sizes..should talk to nike to see if Tiger has requested bigger hats

**Garthmo** · February 20, 2009

Wow I cant even believe people would make up these things about Tiger.

**Ben** · February 20, 2009

I don't want to touch the Tiger and steriods theories.

But to answer the testing on tour. Yeah, it started. I remember something at the season opener in Hawaii where DLIII was supposed to have his post-round interview but Rich Lerner or Steve Sands said he couldn't because he was picked for a random testing.

**misty_mountainhop** · February 20, 2009

He could have taken some but so could anyone else. His work ethic doesn't really suggest it's likely does it? To suggest any link between his knee and avoidance of testing is, frankly, daft. Are you actually serious? Think about it.

**denver_nuggs_15** · February 20, 2009

I heard some people the other day talking about steroids and pro athletes and someone mentioned Tiger. They said it funny that Tiger some how got injured right before the tour started testing for steroids. I thought a little about it and it kinda seems plausible. He did go from a skinny little kid to a huge muscular guy. All the other pro sports seem to be doing steroids. His leg and knee seemed fine when he was celebrating after some of his putts at the US Open ( 18th hole 4th round) and could he even play with a fractured leg? But I'm not sure what to think. He seems like he is smarter than that and it really wouldn't be worth risking his career. Did the tour even start testing for steroids? Would steroids even help in golf? I was just wondering what other people thought?

Yeah, he gained weight over the course of over 10 years. That usually happens with men. As you age, you generally get larger and put on more weight.

I heard that they asked him about a steroids test and he said he'd be more than willing to take one. If I'm the PGA, I would hold him to that. One player made a comment like, "If the test Tiger [for steroids] and it's negative, they shouldn't even bother testing anyone else. He's the only one that matters." It was something like that anyway. I think I saw it on SportsCenter. Steroids would probably help in any physical activity. They shorten recovery time allowing you to work out more frequently and get stronger. The problem is that you sacrifice flexibility for strength. I would think that a pro golfer would want to be as strong as possible without losing much flexibility, so it may not even be worth it to take steroids to get crazy big.

**starchuk** · February 20, 2009

Steroids have side effects that will do way more harm than good for a golfer so I can't see any of them taking anabolic. Villegas and Byrd are 2 of the stronger guys on tour and they aren't really That big when you see them up close.

Gary Player suggested that HGH was being used a few years ago during the British Open. He sounded fairly confident that he knew someone was using. It was around the same time VJ went into his slump. Coincidence? maybe... He did have the most rigorous training program out here, if you include how many balls he hits on the range.

Steroids and HGH aren't always about gaining muscle but more about faster recovery time and the ability to train for longer periods of time.

**Pat007** · February 20, 2009

... he has something much better than steroids.[/QUOTE]

Yeah! A hot wife!!

**Andrew Rice** · February 20, 2009

When Tiger got on tour in '97 he was already the longest hitter out there and it did not take him long to establish himself as the best player out there. Why would he need to take steroids? Does not make sense to me.
That being said, there are other 'big names' in the game that have recently exited the stage and I believe their timing is a little suspect......

***iacas*** · February 20, 2009

His leg and knee seemed fine when he was celebrating after some of his putts at the US Open (18th hole 4th round)

Pretty different move there than the one you make in the golf swing.

and could he even play with a fractured leg?

Unless you're calling him a liar, uhm, he did. So yeah?

Would steroids even help in golf?

Possibly: reduced recovery time after workouts.

**BASHERBAKER69** · February 20, 2009

I don't think Tiger takes steroids- it just takes a lot of work to get in to the shape he is in now. Golf is his life and i expect he has a gym at home and a personal trainer (no doubt) so it is not hard to see how he is in the shape he is in without steroids. I dont know that being too muscle bound is that useful in golf-it's much better to be flexible like Villegas (he is the fittest guy on tour).

So my point is that with hard work it is possible to get big without drugs- Arnold Schwarzenegger is another example of this.

**Smallville** · February 20, 2009

So my point is that with hard work it is possible to get big without drugs-

Are you high? Arnold didn't use steroids? Seriously?

***iacas*** · February 20, 2009

So my point is that with hard work it is possible to get big without drugs- Arnold Schwarzenegger is another example of this.

Uhm,

what ?

Source: Wikipedia Schwarzenegger has admitted to using performance-enhancing anabolic steroids while they were legal, writing in 1967 that "steroids were helpful to me in maintaining muscle size while on a strict diet in preparation for a contest. I did not use them for muscle growth, but rather for muscle maintenance when cutting up." He has called the drugs "tissue building."

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