Do we not have a running 2017 golf thread?

How long was Lexi's putt? We talking about half inch on a 20 footer?

I've got more of an issue with illegal drops, bigger stuff like that.

 

Uhh, that guy denied he took PEDs. He never advocated for drug testing to my knowledge.

 

How naïve can you be Hondo?
When Tiger was advocating for testing he also knew what a joke the testing was. They weren't testing for HGH. Anthony Galea, who Tiger paid 76000 for 14 visits, was busted in 2011 for smuggling HGH to treat athletes.

An associate of Galea's, Mark Lindsay visited Tiger 49 times on tour and Woods paid 118 grand for those visits.

But I definitely believe the guy who goes on to have a pill addiction was not taking PED's. And you believe him because he stood up and advocated for testing that would not catch him. Tiger would never lie.

 

He who doth protest too much...

 

Hondo, I've always had much respect for your golf knowledge, but your stubborn insistence that Tiger could not have taken PEDs because he denied it and advocated for testing remains one of the truly baffling stances of SJ.com by a real journalist. No one cheated more than Lance Armstrong and no one was more righteous about denying it and saying others were guilty. I honestly don't really care if Tiger did dope, but adamantly insisting public statements mean anything from someone who lived other lies for a long time is such a naive hill to die on.

 

I prefer to judge people on evidence and the fact remains Tiger has never tested positive, nor, as in the case of Armstrong, has anyone come forward with credible information that he was juiced.
And the use of PEDs may not help golfers anyway. I did a story once on a competitive body builder who admitted taking steroids but got off the juice. Part of his therapy was to play golf, and he became very good, getting his handicap to scratch. He said he's been on steroids and he's played golf, but never both at the same time. But he said no one would be an effective golfer while juiced. Muscles too tight to get the necessary flexibility, nerves would be frayed, etc.
I don't think I'm being naive. I try not to convict people without proof.

 

There is a big difference between convicting people without proof, and not being open to the possibility that it may have happened. I'm not saying you should accuse Tiger of anything. I'm saying it's naive to insist he didn't. We don't know. I suspect when this Armen Keteyian book comes out, we're going to know a lot more than we've known previously.

I think your understanding of PEDs, and what they do, is also really naive. How "bulked" up was Lance Armstrong? How bulked up or riddled with frayed nerves was Alex Rodriguez when he hit 58 home runs in Texas? (And, for what it's worth, Tiger did absolutely bulk up compared to his peers.) PEDs aren't anabolic steroids in the mold of the German Olympic women's swim team. One of the major reasons athletes take them is they need help recovering from injuries. Did Andy Pettite look "bulked up" when he was taking HGH? Tiger had a lot of injuries. He certainly had tight tendons and a frame that broke down.

The idea that Anthony Galea was just doing blood spinning and platelet replacement and noting else for Tiger, that both men were totally willing to stop there and do nothing else (while Galea was prescribing PEDs to all his other clients) is interesting. It doesn't mean Tiger was taking PEDs, but you certainly can't say "Tiger denied it so that's the end of story." That's what's naive. PEDs weren't even against the rules in golf. What was stopping him? His personal moral code?

To be honest, if PEDs are what helped Tiger get healthy again, I'd be all for them.

 

Now you're are showing your ignorance in what PED's are, they aren't all anabolic steroids from the 80's. They are not all designed to make you a body builder. Do you know what HGH does for recovery?

What's naïve is thinking that Tiger must be clean because he's demanding testing. Knowing full well they aren't testing for HGH. The PGA's drug testing was a joke at this time

What do you make of Tiger's connection to Galea?

Edit: Or what @Double Down said. Much better than I, of course.

 

How do you know the drug testing policy was a joke? Has there been any reports it was?
And the blood test for HGH begins on Jan. 1.

 

I thought you covered golf? It’s universally know as a joke, do a little google search.

How does testing for HGH in 2018 have anything to do with Tiger 8 years ago?

 

Yeah ... google searches always give you stuff you can use in the paper. Just because you think it's a joke doesn't make it "universal."