TERRE HAUTE — Tim Finchem, commissioner of the PGA tour, said recently that the tour is getting close to instituting a drug-testing policy. This is a change of tune from what he said in March of 2006.
“We see no reason to jump into the testing arena at this point without having any credible information that we have issues,” Finchem was quoted in a recent column by espn.com’s Jason Sobel. “In golf, a player is charged with following the rules. He can’t kick his ball in the rough, and he can’t take steroids. We rely on the players to call rules on themselves, and if you look at out tour over the years, many players have, to their significant financial detriment. That’s the culture of the sport.”
With more emphasis on power in golf now, pro golf would be naive to think that no golfer would try using steroids to get that extra 20 yards. Both the LPGA and the European tours have instituted drug testing in an attempt to curtail a potential problem before it could affect scoring on the course. The PGA, though slower on the uptake, also wants to prevent any problems before they happen, but the main reason for the about-face on the issue is because of the support of the players. Joe Durant, who is one of four players on the tour’s policy board has a realistic outlook: “It’s obviously permeated every other sport. Right now, I don’t think it’s an issue, but you can’t just bury your head in the sand and pretend it’s going to go away.”
Stewart Cink wants to initiate testing in order to make sure that his sport keeps up with other professional leagues. “If other sports are testing and we want to consider ourselves to be one of the top professional leagues, which we are, then we have to test,” he said.
J.J. Henry, who serves on the 16-player Advisory Committee, said, “Personally, I could care less. It doesn’t affect me. A lot of people have talked about that integrity and honesty of golf is what makes it so special. I’m not saying one way or the other whether guys are doing it or not doing it. But personally I never have and never will.”
If you saw Tiger Woods in the U.S. Open, you might have the thought that maybe he’s doing steroids. Forget it. Tiger’s too good for that. The new buff look has more to do with his weight training regimen and the fact that Nike is now supplying him with medium sized shirts instead of large, or shirts with the sleeves hemmed an inch for added comfort (and maybe a little bit of showing off).
Part of the reason I question the need to test for steroids on the pro golf tour is that using steroids wouldn’t entirely be an advantage. Yes, it might add some distance off the tee, but power is only one part of the game.
This past week I watched some very talented juniors playing golf at Honeywell Golf Course at Wabash in the Westfield Junior Open. It was a two-day tournament, with only the winner moving on to the national event. Who was the winner? A 15-year old boy named Eric Ong from Carmel, who was one-over par for the two days. He was smaller than 90 percent of the players there, but he had a short game like nobody’s business. His drives were not very long, but his short game was always right on the money. Any time he missed a green, he got down in two. Even when he hit a tee ball into a sand trap on a par three, and barely made it out of the trap, he saved par by chipping in with his next shot.
Chipping and putting are the parts of the game that make for low scoring, and I can’t see where taking steroids would be of any use there. As a matter of fact, it seems that steroids would be detrimental to chipping and putting.
That’s not to say that golfers are immune from cheating! Most of us probably know somebody who is known for cheating, either by miscounting strokes, making up their own rules, or “sandbagging” by not turning in all of their scores. Steroid use is another form of cheating, but it’s one that can be tested for, so the golf tours have a means at their disposal, or will very soon, to prevent that type of cheating.
In other areas of golf there has been drug testing, and there is evidence of drug use by golfers. The Bloomberg News Service reported that the French Ministry for Youth and Sport, which administers national drug testing, found that 12 of 100 golfers tested from 2000 to 2004 had positive results for banned substances. In Italy, six of 350 golfers test positive. Closer to home, an NCAA survey of a sampling of golfers indicated steroid use by 1.3 percent of golfers. Another 3.5 percent used amphetamines and 2.7 percent used crack or cocaine. Marijuana use was a whopping 25 percent! I doubt marijuana would be considered a “performance-enhancing” drug, though, except in the mind of the user!
Jennifer Myers can be reached by e-mail at jfmyers@xsthe.net.
On & Off the Course
On and off the course: Golf close to instituting a drug-testing policy
- On & Off the Course
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Death Notice: Feb. 7, 2013
• Gary R. Wright
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Donna Lynn Strahla Bown
Donna Lynn Strahla Bown passed away early Friday morning, Jan. 25, 2013, with her children by her side.
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‘The Match’ pitting amateurs vs. pros recalled 62 years later
Quote of the Day: “I play golf with friends sometimes, but there are never friendly games.” — Ben Hogan.
Bubba Watson has had a busy fall. Not only did he play all the way to the final round of the FedEx Championships, and in the Ryder Cup, he also played in an event commemorating a very famous match played at Cypress Point in 1956, pitting two of the greatest golf pros at the time against two of the best amateurs.
Come to think of it, all four were some of the best golfers of all time. This year’s event was celebrating The First Tee’s exceeding $100 million in pledges to reach 10 million new young people. It wasn’t televised and kept very quiet; only 225 people were in the gallery.
One of the people in the gallery was Mark Frost, the author of a book titled “The Match,” which is about that match played 62 years ago that was re-enacted in modern terms last week. The pros in 1956 were Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson and the amateurs were Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward. It was supposed to have been a private affair, built around a wager by two millionaires, George Coleman and Eddie Lowery. -
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf from the wrong side of the brain
Imagine this scenario: a woman, small in stature (possibly freckled), walks into a hospital emergency room and says, “I have an emergency, I need a doctor quickly!” The admitting nurse, ever trying to be helpful, asks what the emergency is.
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Farmers looking at widely varying yields
Combines will roll through fields this weekend, bringing in the harvest from a summer with nearly no rain.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf debut in London would have been nice
As the Olympics get underway in London this weekend, I was thinking it’s too bad that the Olympic committee decided too late to add golf as one of the sports for this event; instead it will be added to the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Getting to Hoosier country’s best golfing venue part of the fun
If you are looking for Indiana’s premier golfing destination, then you should look no further than French Lick.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Indiana's Pete Dye courses worth the drive
You’ve probably heard of the Robert Trent Jones Golf trail throughout Alabama, but you might not be aware that Indiana has its own “Pete Dye Golf Trail” comprised of seven courses.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fathers typically a big influence on golfing sons
Some events fall naturally into place around holidays. The Fourth of July always falls somewhere during Wimbledon, giving all of the Yanks in attendance something to be boisterous about, to the chagrin of their hosts; The Masters often, but not always, ends on Easter Sunday, which is fitting since golfers find it such a reverent occasion.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Memorial just one of many visions of Jack Nicklaus
When Jack Nicklaus was a young man, the golfer he most admired was Bob Jones.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: With some tricky rules, golf is not a walk in the park
Golf is not a casual sport, even though it has a term called “casual water.”
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On and off the course: Sycamores seeded sixth heading into MVC golf tourney
It wasn’t too long ago that Indiana State University didn’t even have a women’s golf team.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: A hard ticket to come by
This is the weekend of the Masters Tournament, the first of the four major tournaments.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Some things on golf course are worse than steep putts
It’s not often that anything gets more scary on a golf course than a steep downhill putt, but on some courses around the world, things a little more on the supernatural side might give you a bigger fright!
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The shot heard round the world
I don’t know if the Golf Channel will show a “Best Shots of 2011” highlight reel, much like ESPN does for baseball or football.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Red, White and Blue visits the Isle of Green
In 2006, the Ryder Cup was held in Ireland at The K Club in County Kildare.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fall may be coming but golf season is far from over
Once the major tournaments are over with, what’s there to look forward to in the world of golf?
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf… simplified!
Golf is not a simple game. A golf course is made up of 18 holes, all different. There are par-3s, par-4s and par-5s; they all vary in length and elevation, and each has its own challenges. There can be water hazards, trees, sand bunkers, tall grass, hills, valleys — and then, if that’s not enough, there’s probably wind too.
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On and Off the Course: Northern Ireland builds on golf history
Northern Ireland is only about 5,452 square miles in area and has a population about the same as West Virginia, which is about 1,880,344.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Women’s Open at the Broadmoor
This is the weekend of the U.S. Women’s Open, and this year it’s being played at The Broadmoor, East Course, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Fort Golf Course: A Walk in the Park…
Indiana has some pretty spectacular state parks, but one of them gives you the ability to “spoil a good walk” by chasing a little white ball.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Father’s Day is a good day for golfers
Most people consider the time around Christmas to be the gift-buying season.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Playing with lead a difficult task
As exciting as last week’s Masters was, with six players being tied for the lead at one point on Sunday, it was very difficult watching Rory McIlroy fall apart to shoot an 80.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Masters a rite of spring
This is Masters weekend, the grand kickoff to the golf season for a lot of golfers. Sure, there have been tournaments on TV, because the professionals have been playing in Hawaii, California, Texas, Dubai, and other areas not so affected by winter as we are here in the Midwest, but to me, watching The Masters is a rite of spring.
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ON THE OFF THE COURSE: Some history on the Ryder Cup
I fell asleep in way too many history classes to ever qualify as a history buff. However, since I have grown up a bit (not much), I enjoy learning about all kinds of history. I often have questions about how something began, or how something came to be.
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On and Off the Course: Purdue's Kampen Course a gem in Indiana's rough
About a month ago, Indiana was still heavily mired in heat and humidity, making outdoor activities such as golf less appealing than usual. At that time it felt like the repressive heat would never go away, it would never rain again, and all of the grass was just going to continue to wither and die. And the month prior to that we kept getting rained out of golf events!
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On and Off the Course: Successful golfers know ... focus is the key
I have a good friend who coached his daughter’s basketball team for a number of years, and told me that his theme with the girls was always “focus”, until it was ingrained in their brains. Now when they play high school ball, if they hear “focus” yelled from the stands, they know the source.
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On and Off the Course: Technology adds even more fun to the course
You’ve hit a drive into some brush in an area marked as a hazard, but you can’t find the ball to prove it is there. And no one actually witnessed it go in the hazard. You just think that’s where it probably is. What is the rule for this situation?
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On and Off the Course: Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic a worthwhile charity event
On Monday, I worked as a volunteer for the Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic, Golf Tournament and Auction at Eagle Creek Golf Course in Indianapolis. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with clear blue skies, just a few wispy clouds here and there and a high temperature of about 76 degrees.
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On and Off the Course: Trends show golf in decline
You don’t have to watch the news or read the paper to understand that America is struggling on the economic front. The evidence can be witnessed at the local golf course.
- More On & Off the Course Headlines
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Death Notice: Feb. 7, 2013
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
Raw: Widespread Destruction in Moore, Okla.
Raw: Aerials Show Path of Oklahoma Destruction
Raw: Rescue Workers Search Oklahoma School
Active Search for Utah Missing Mom Ends
Raw: Aftermath of Massive Tornado in Oklahoma
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
Raw: Japan's WWII Atrocities Under Fire in Seoul
Huge Tornado Kills Dozens Near Oklahoma City
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
Voters Could Elect LA's First Female Mayor
Raw: Aussie Zoo Shows Off White Rhino Calf
Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims
Raw: Rescuers Pull Tornado Survivors to Safety
AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out
Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado
OKC Hospital Describes Treating Tornado Wounded
Horse Saved From Slaughter, Goes on to Win Big
MLB Hoping for Large Replay Expansion in 2014
Moore, Okla. City of Reunions, Tears After Storm
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
Olivia Munn Flaunts Her Bikini Bod
Britney Spears Under Fire Once Again For Being A Bad Mom
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
Arias Tells Jury What She'd Do if She Gets Life
The all-new Xbox One
RAW: Massive tornado strikes Oklahoma
Nidal Hasan paid $278K while awaiting trial
VIDEO: Teacher reunites mother and son after tornado levels elementary school in Oklahoma City
Okla. tornado survivor finds dog buried alive under rubble
Jennifer Lawrence Gets Naked and Painted Blue as X-Men's Mystique
Pickler's Dance Moves Cause A Stir
Obama to tornado survivors: The country stands beside you
Reporter Cries Over Devastation
Sneak Peek: 'Modern Family' Says Good Bye
Trailer: 'The Last Stand' Available on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, Digital Download
IWitness Look at Moore, OK Tornado
RAW: Moore, OK tornado touches down near school
Robert Pattinson Moves Out
RAW: Russian dash cam catches car 20 feet in the air
