Drug Testing for Golf?! — Part 2

—– Note: When I’m wrong, I’ll admit it, unlike the person who is the central player in this rant. I’ve rewritten this piece after TBV pointed out some flaws in my logic. I’ve marked where the original comments used to be, and I’m including them at the end of this post, in the interest of (as Pat McQuaid would say) transparency. —–

Watching BBC News this morning while doing my back exercises, I saw and heard this tidbit:

WADA chief Dick Pound says there are ‘probably’ some golfers taking performance-enhancing drugs, and calls on the sport to show itself to be clean.

When asked by the interviewer what drugs professional golfers might be using, Pound said he suspects use of EPO, human growth hormone, steroids and beta blockers.

[Previous comments block used to be here]

What bothers me about Pound and his attitude is the fact that he says there are probably some pro golfers who are doping. OK, Mr. Pound, how do you know that? Do you have some information that the general public doesn’t? There’s never been a doping scandal in golf before — although there’s been a few golfers who’ve had alcohol problems or worse.

Maybe it’s just me, but the idea of golfers doping seems a tad bit ridiculous. I suppose, given the amount of money that’s on the line at the major tournaments, that it’s not out of the realm of possibility, but there hasn’t even been one scandal yet. So to say that there are probably golfers doping seems absurd, at least on the surface.

However, as TBV points out in a comment to this post, it is possible and the drugs Pound cites could be used in order to gain a certain advantage. But to impose the current anti-doping process and procedures on golf, when the system is so clearly broken would be wrong.

Athletes’ rights are poorly protected under the current system, and the appeals process is stacked against the accused. The current tests for various drugs are not as fail-safe as they should be. You only have to look into how many doping allegations have been dropped in the appeals process, or completely overturned in order to see that the system has a long way to go in terms of reliable results. Or, take a look at the apparent frequency of false positive tests. There’s too much at stake to allow poor testing procedure, imperfect science, and a flawed process to taint innocent people and destroy their careers and reputations.

So before we apply this process to other sports, let’s get it working right. That means a system that respects athletes’ rights to privacy and due process. And a system with a fair appeals process. And it also means further refining the testing methodologies so they are more “fool-proof” than they currently are.

Is it possible that there’s someone on the pro tour who’s doping? Sure, anything’s possible. It’s also possible that I’ll win the Powerball tomorrow and retire to some beautiful mountain resort.

Dick Pound says he wants golf to set a positive example for other sports, by addressing the issue of doping before it becomes a problem like in baseball or football. Perhaps. That’s certainly a laudable goal. But from my view, he sounds more like a publicity-seeking, self-aggrandizing jerk, fanning the flames of controversy where no controversy currently exists than someone with the best interests of sport at heart.

Get the system working right, Mr. Pound, before you impose it on other sports.

———-

The first drug he mentioned was EPO. Let me get this straight: EPO is a drug that’s used by endurance athletes to boost the number of red blood cells in order to carry more oxygen in the blood, thus enabling the athlete to maintain a higher level of performance. True?

So, when, Mr. Pound, did golf become an endurance sport? Have you watched any tournaments lately? When was the last time you saw the players doing more than swatting the golf ball or walking the course to where they will take their next shots? The players don’t carry their clubs, or pull a cart with the clubs, or jog. They walk. When they don’t ride golf carts, that is. This is not “speed golf” or “aerobic golf” or “Le Tour de Golf” we’re talking about. So what good would EPO do?

Now about human growth hormone: most of the men (and a few of the women, too) don’t look like they’ve spent much time in a gym. Besides making them feel younger or recover quicker from a long day walking the course, what is human growth hormone going to do for golfers?

And beta blockers? Perhaps you need to acquaint yourself with what they do. So, Mr. Pound, to further your education about medications, check out the Wikipedia entry for beta blockers. I don’t see what advantage they would give a golfer, except perhaps one who has hypertension and is one step away from a heart attack. Then again, that could be a whole lot of golfers (and other people, too), given what their general fitness levels appear to be. But medical treatment for those kinds of problems doesn’t amount to doping.

Now, steroids might be a possibility. In the interview, Pound expresses some skepticism about whether anyone can hit a golf ball 340 yards without using some form of performance-enhancing drug. Given the advances in clubs and golf balls, a reasonably strong golfer who has a very good stroke might actually be able to do so — without the use of drugs. Kind of like the people on the pro tour.

A few of them even work out. Like Tiger Woods, for example. But seriously, Mr. Pound, you really don’t understand the game if you think taking steroids is what it takes to perform at the professional level. Have you ever even tried to play golf? Brute strength isn’t what it takes. It’s a game of skill and finesse.

And tournaments are won or lost most often on the green, not on the approach. It’s the golfers who have the control to sink their putts with the fewest shots who win, not the ones with bulging muscles who can hit monster drives — unless, of course, they have the control and skill to lightly tap the ball in order to sink their putts. (And how many golfers resemble Arnold Schwarzenegger or Charles Atlas?)