Five Things You May Not Know about Drug Testing in Golf

Will 2008 be remembered as the year of the sample cup?

Trap Five LogoGolf has long prided itself on being the sport where players are expected to call penalties on themselves and rules officials help players interpret the rules rather than calling fouls on them. This year, golf begins random drug testing. Will it change the game as we know it?

Hardly.

I know what you’re saying, “But what about the fact that others will now be policing the players? What about the integrity of the game?”

We have had reporters and home viewers calling out players for infractions for years. What other sport has had that kind of audience participation?

I don’t think that drug testing will have much impact on the game, because I don’t think it’s going to turn up many violations. Someone, maybe a few people, will probably get caught for marijuana (and we may not even know it), but I don’t expect anything like a Mitchell Report in golf.

The PGA Tour (and the LPGA before it) had to institute a drug policy because of the perceived drug problems created by other sports (bicycling and baseball, notably). In golf’s case, it certainly appears to be more of a PR crisis than an effort to “clean up” a troubled sport. As long as they don’t test the caddies (those guys have a certain reputation to uphold), I don’t think there will be many positive results.

I could be wrong, of course. Maybe some of those ripped players got that way with a little pharamceutical help. Maybe some of those ripped players enjoy getting ripped after a round. I suspect the latter is probably more likely, but I doubt that either are pervasive or excessive. The players have known of the impending testing for over six months, and still there haven’t been any leaks about visits to the Betty Ford Clinic. I’d wager that the habits that might exist out there are the kind that could probably be easily kicked in, oh, let’s say six months.

Which brings us to the first of five things you might not know about drug testing in golf.

Number Five: The LPGA Leads the Way
The LPGA’s testing program has been in effect since Jan. 1. The first official LPGA tournament starts Feb. 14. Does anyone really expect many violations to turn up among the women?

The PGA will begin testing in July 2008 at the earliest, following a period of player education. What do you think that entails? “Remember players, just say no.”

OK, it’s a little more complicated than that. It’s apparently possible to pick up banned substances through the use of other products that you might not suspect— over-the-counter cold medicines and the like. So some education is in order. But on the surface, the message to the players seems to be, “So if any of you guys are doing anything you shouldn’t… wink wink… maybe you should consider quitting over the next six months or so.”

The Champions Tour has said that it will simply adopt the program established by the PGA Tour. Whether they are going to move on the same time table is not yet clear.

Number Four: The No-Nos
Naturally, performance-enhancing drugs are at the top of the list of banned substances. Forbidden pharmaceuticals and other no-nos listed by the PGA Tour include anabolic agents (e.g., steroids), hormones and related substances (e.g., human growth hormone, testosterone, EPO), agents with anti-estrogenic activity (to artificially increase testosterone level), diuretics and other masking agents, stimulants (e.g., Ritalin), narcotics, cannabinoids, beta blockers, enhancement of oxygen transfer (blood doping), and chemical or physical manipulation (tampering with a sample). In other words, players can’t take anything to make them play better or feel too good. Nor can they try to cover up taking such substances.

Players taking a banned substance for a proven medical reason can apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption. The PGA Tour’s medical committee will grant TUEs based on the lack of an alternate treatment to the banned substance and whether the substance improves performance in the individual player’s case. Imagine a lawyer telling a career middle-of-the-road player, “Whatever you do, make sure you don’t win until we get this TUE approved.”

Number Three: Don’t Do the Crime if You Can’t Do the Time
A first offense will cost a PGA Tour pro up to a one-year suspension. On the LPGA, there’s no question. It’s a mandatory one-year layoff.

A second offense will cost the men up to five years of those massive tour earnings. The women get a little less time—a two-year suspension—but they also must make it through Q-school to rejoin the tour.

A third offense on either tour will result in permanent loss of eligibility.

While some might still argue that these punishments are not severe enough to deter everyone (and they might be right), the smarter players will realize that there are other costs to a positive test result. The PGA Tour also may impose fines of up to $500,000. In addition, the loss in sponsorship dollars could be huge. With the stigma currently associated with steroid use, sponsors are likely to abandon players who test positive. While big name players will likely still be able to earn appearance money for overseas tournaments even after getting caught, those outside of the top 25 or who lack strong fan appeal will find a suspension very costly indeed.

Number Two: Will the Results Carry an Asterisk?
This is where the details get a little sketchy.

Believe it or not, players on both tours who have tested positive will still be able to earn money while their appeals drag on. Money earned by a player during the appeals process will be held in an interest-bearing account until resolution of the matter.

This is the most troubling aspect of the program to me. Not that it’s going to happen, but imagine what it would be like if a number of top players had a positive test result at about the same time and appealed. How long would it take to resolve those appeals? There will be a lot of actual and potential earnings involved in any of these cases, so I’d expect appeals could drag on while the players’ lawyers explore all possible loopholes and appeals. If, in the weeks or months between testing positive and a final resolution of their cases, these players posted several wins or high finishes in tournaments, that would tie up a lot of money and a lot of FedEx Cup points. If the FedEx Cup began or even finished before the appeals were resolved, it could be a real mess. What happens when the players are eventually suspended? You can’t really call a do-over on the “Playoffs.”

I suspect these issues will be (or have been) resolved with an agreement between the Tour and the players, but I haven’t seen that information yet. We can only hope that in practice the appeals process will not be a long one.

Number One: Your Number Came Up… Here’s Your Sample Cup
Drug TestingBoth tours plan to test players randomly with no prior notice. There’s no word yet how many players will be tested or how often that testing will take place, but we do know that the tours do not plan to automatically test winners. Both tours, however, have reserved the right to “target test” individuals who are suspected of taking a banned substance.

Here’s where audience participation could come in again. “Yeah, hello Mr. Finchem. I was at OzzFest last night, and I saw [insert player name here] smoking a big old spleef. He sure was stoned, dude.”

I sincerely hope that doesn’t happen, but if it does, the player may well deserve his fate for being so dumb as to inhale a banned substance when millions of dollars are at stake on Tour, not to mention to do so in public.

As it turns out, we may not even know if a player tests positive for recreational drugs. The PGA Tour has reserved the right not to release the names of players found to have used these substances, presumably because they will be required to go through a rehabilitation program as part of their punishment. Players found to have used performance enhancing substances, however, will be publicly outed once all appeals have been denied.

8 thoughts on “Five Things You May Not Know about Drug Testing in Golf”

  1. I was diagnosed with a brain tumor in March and I take Concerta for ADD type stuff and I know it is on the list of banned items but if you have a serious medical condition won’t they cut you some slack?

  2. NOW…I’VE ONLY BEEN PLAYING GOLF FOR A FEW YEARS, SO CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG. WITH THE ENHANCING STUFF OUT THERE, AND THE PUMP YOU UP PILLS AND WHAT NOT, I CAN UNDERSTAND HAVING A SLIGHT EDGE COMING OFF THE TEE IN THE LONG GAME. BUT IT WOULD SEEM, TO HAVE THAT STUFF IN YOU, AND MAKING YOU FEEL A LOT MORE THAN YOU REALLY ARE, YOUR SHORT GAME WOULD BE WAY OUT OF WACK. THE SHORT GAME DOESN’T REQUIRE POWER AND MUSCLES, BUT TOUCH, CONTROL, AND FINESSE. AND THAT IS SOMETHING DRUGS WOULD MAKE YOU LESS AWARE OF. THE ADRENALINE IS ALREADY PUMPING AND FLOWING FROM JUST BEING OUT THERE. SO CAN YOU IMAGINE PUTTING DRUGS ON TOP OF THAT? I THINK YOUR TIMING WOULD BE QUITE THE CONTRARY. IN OTHER SPORTS, THAT ARE IN QUESTION, SPEED AND STRENGTH ARE TARGETED FOR DRUG USE, BUT TO ENHANCE SPEED AND STRENGTH IN GOLF’S SHORT GAME, WOULD BE A DISASTER 😯

  3. Al Anthony,

    First off, no one likes it when you type in ALL CAPS (sorry to be that guy).

    Second, what you mentioned is a big misconception of performance enhancing drugs. Yes, they do make you stronger, etc., but the biggest gain is that of confidence.

  4. Sorry about the caps….I also write in caps…it’s how I do it.
    Thanks for your reply.
    Now…are you saying that the drugs give you confidence, or are you saying that because you are stronger..you gain confidence?
    Because….strength and control…..when it comes to GOLF,
    will react differently when under the influence of drugs. :mrgreen:

  5. I was diagnosed with a brain tumor in March and I take Concerta for ADD type stuff and I know it is on the list of banned items but if you have a serious medical condition won’t they cut you some slack?

    Sorry to hear that JP. And you’re right. I’m pretty sure this would fall under the TUE exemption. The Tour medical board would review the case and try to determine if you were getting some unfair advantage. But barring that, you would most likely receive a Therapeutic Use Exemption.

  6. The value of steroids and some of the other drugs used in other sports is definitely debatable in golf. Sure, they make you stronger, but they also mess with your personality, which may not be helpful. However, confidence-building or concentration-enhancing drugs could certainly be advantageous. Other drugs that build stamina or help the healing process could benefit a player unfairly, as well.

  7. Geo P is correct. The big advantage in comes in giving a player the ability to practice longer and to recover much quicker from long practice sessions and other minor injuries. (“Every athlete gets injured, and those injuries interfere with training, which has to be progressive if you’re going to improve.” From article referenced below.) Being able to compete often, without injuries, is especially important when you consider the prize money. There was a very good article in Forbes Life (Dec 2007), “Pumping Irons”, on these issues. The author quoted a few Doctors. One of these Docs sees golfers on a weekly basis in Fla. He said 9 of the last 12 golfers he had seen had asked about HGH and/or asked for a scrip of Winstrol (HGH). This article is an eye-opener. Before reading this I thought there wasn’t a problem. There may be a one – and I wonder if they will get to the bottom of it because the use of HGH and some other drugs are very hard to detect. For the good of the game – let’s hope so.

  8. Thanks George P and MM,
    I find myself asking the question, “where will it all stop?” It’s no telling who has been duped up in the past, when no one really cared about what you personally did to yourself. Do you think those “great ones” and “powerfull ones” and “crazy guys” and “mad men” were on a little something? Do you think Jim T. hit the peace pipe first (just kidding). But with all the great athletes dropping out of sight like flies, and being called on the rug from our government, I just shake my head in disbelief. All I can say is…….watch out Tiger, Lions are on the prowl!!

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