For some of you reading this, you may have already heard some of the media talk about steroids in golf. For the rest you, it may come as shock that the words “steroids” and “golf” would be used in the same sentence together. Over the last year professional sports has been tainted by steroid use among our heroes. As Barry Bonds chased probably the most sought after record in sports, many have become apathetic due to the claims of Bond’s steroid use. This year’s Tour de France’s overall leader was comfortably in the lead deep into the race when he was removed for lying and suspected steroid use. Yet I never thought I would read headlines that equated steroids with golf. However, this is where I found myself a couple weeks ago.

Steroids in golf? You’re kidding me? I had to check out a couple different news publications and slap myself once to make sure I was reading it right. Yet much to my dismay, leading up to last weekend’s British Open, golf great Gary Player stated that he knew of at least one golfer who had used steroids. I commend Gary Player for stepping up to comment on it, but his comments were quite untimely leading up to one of the biggest tournaments of the year.

As a golfer myself, it hurts that the sport I’m most passionate about is now under the radar for drug use. Nobody wants to hear about their heroes being suspected for drug use, yet we’ve found ourselves in a place of constantly asking a champion these days: “I wonder if they used steroids”?

I don’t fault Gary Player for his words; however I do fault someone else. I fault no other than Dick Pound, chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency. Dick Pound for years has been the lead horse on stomping out steroids in sports. Whenever stories of steroid use have surfaced, Pound has been right there sharply rebuking those who have been suspected of steroids, as well as advocating for more drug testing. He’s stood toe to toe with the likes of Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong. Many have criticized Pound for his often slanderous comments toward specific athletes and his unprofessionalism.

Shortly after Gary Player’s comments, Dick Pound responded by commending Player, but then went further by stating that these comments bring a needed “wake up” call to the golf community.

Up until now, I’ve been rather neutral in my feelings for Dick Pound. I recognized the bluntness of his character, but knew that someone had to play the bad guy to weed out steroid use in sports. However, I’ve moved from being neutral toward Dick Pound to being disgusted with him. Who is Dick Pound to say that in essence golf needs to wake up to steroids? This is one small claim about one person using steroids. Pound has much bigger things to be worried about. There have been reports in past years where it was believed that up to 50% of baseball players were using steroids. Every year teams are dismantled in the Tour de France due to steroid use. And Dick Pound is concerned about one suspected golfer?
Has Dick Pound ever played golf? Has he even watched it? It makes no sense that a large number of golfers would be using steroids to elevate their game.

Do performance enhancers really help golfers perform better? Well to answer this question, let’s crunch some numbers. In 2006, Jim Furyk was second only to Tiger Woods on the money list and in the Official World Golf Rankings. In driving distance Jim Furyk was tied for 159th place. He was tied with Michael Connell (Following stats were taken from http://majors.golfweb.com/stats/leaders/r/2006/101). You know Michael Connell right? Right, I don’t know him either. Listen, I’ve lifted weights for a grand total of about 8 months throughout my whole life. If you put the right club in my hand I can give it a good whacking right down the middle of the fairway, often further than guys who are better and stronger than me. Now you put that sand wedge and putter in my hand and it’s a totally different ball game. Drives don’t win tournaments, chips and putts do.

Pump me up on steroids, give me a baseball bat and I’ll hit home runs, scoring runs for my team. Pump me up on steroids, give me a golf club and I’ll hit my first shot a mile and then my second shot to the next tee box, helping me none. If you want to take steroids and be a golfer, tour the world competing in driving contests. That’ll get you some fame on ESPN. Didn’t you see last year’s World Driving Championships?
If steroids are a problem in golf then human beings as a whole have dipped to a new level. In the meantime, World Series Poker Players beware; Dick Pound is coming after you next.

The issue of steroids has finally reached the golf world. On the same day that American Floyd Landis was banned for doping and stripped of his 2006 Tour de France Title, several golf organizations signed an anti-doping policy. The policy comes after weeks of speculation of when professional golf would start taking the same steps that other professional sports were taking in tackling the problem of steroids.

Organizations signing the policy included the PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour, U.S. Golf Association, Royal & Ancient Golf Club, Augusta National Golf Club and the PGA of America. Most of professional golf is represented with the PGA, European Tour, LPGA Tour, and U.S. Association signing the policy.

Of course this is but the first step in a long process of carrying out the drug policy. The LPGA has been the first to act by announcing drug testing beginning in 2008. It’ll only be a matter of time before others start following suit.

Discussion of drug testing within professional had been looming around for a couple months since the PGA’s British Open. It was at that time, that golf legend Gary Player discussed knowledge of at least one professional golfer who had used performance enhancing steroids. Gary Player’s comments brought up many questions, since golf doesn’t require the same power, strength, and endurance as sports such as cycling, baseball, and football who have struggled with the problem of steroids over the past several years.

Despite many people’s questions about the intelligence behind the use of steroids in golf as well as the intelligence behind drug testing in golf, many argue that it’s best to go ahead and initiate a plan of action to be on the safe side, whether professional golfers are in fact using steroids or not. Of course a major point amidst the discussion of the new steroid policy in golf, as well as any sports going through a similar process, is the importance of upholding the honor and integrity of the game.

For more articles and updates regarding the recent anti-doping policy, check out ESPN’s golf page.

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Doing some online shopping to help you find prices on things such as hunting and fishing equipment, as well as even bigger ticket items such as televisions, can help quite a bit. Not only will you find plenty of price shopping opportunities but hunting equipment and television reviews are generally easy to find online.

With all of the season’s majors completed and now the inaugural Fedex Cup completed, Tiger Woods is taking the rest of the season off. Who could blame him? After starting slowly this season, Tiger again proved why he is the best golfer in the world by winning four of his last five tournaments. Tiger cruised to victory in the Fedex Cup after skipping the opening event.

Many sports analysts questioned whether Tiger was in form at the beginning of the year, after having opportunities to win a couple majors but falling just short. If Tiger didn’t quiet the critics at his impressive performance at the WGC Bridgestone, then he certainly silenced them after winning the PGA Championship. Tiger has won almost half the tournaments he has played in over the last two years.

It seems as though Tiger brought some needed excitement to the PGA Tour with his dominance throughout the Fedex Cup. The PGA season often loses it’s momentum once the majors have concluded. Yet the newly incorporated Fedex Cup seems to have drawn more attention to late season PGA tournaments, with the help of Tiger.

There are still a few more tournaments remaining on the PGA Tour but they will feature more younger players.

With one tournament left in the Fedex Cup Playoffs, there are 5 people in contention to take home the $10 million Fedex Cup Title. Of course after this past weekend’s win, Tiger Woods sits in the driver’s seat in first place. Following Tiger is Steve Stricker, Phil Mickelson, Rory Sabbatini, and K.J. Choi. Although Mickelson and Tiger both won Fedex Cup tournaments while also skipping one tournament each, it is Tiger who is comfortably in first because he finished tied for second in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Sabbatini and Choi are long shots for winning the title. Even for Stricker and Mickelson, they would have to win the tournament to have a real chance of winning the title over Tiger.

Tiger of course is still comfortably number one on the money list at $9,742,706. Second behind Tiger is Mickelson at $6,364,185 and Vijay Singh at $4,826,823. Singh had been in second place, but had a string of low finishes to move him down to third. Despite Singh’s bad finishes over the last couple weeks, he has still qualified for the Tour Championship this weekend.

For the World Rankings, as you can imagine it’s Tiger and Mickelson at one and two, followed by Jim Furyk, Ernie Els, and surprise comeback golfer Steve Stricker. For complete rankings and stats, check out the PGA’s website.

Sony Open Hawaii 2007

Originally uploaded by 808Talk

The opening tournament of the PGA Fedex Cup will be opening up this weekend without it’s feature attraction: Tiger Woods. Tiger announced that he’ll miss the opening tournament of the Fedex Cup at The Barclays this weekend. After winning back to back tournaments, Tiger said that his body needs rest.

The Fedex Cup was introduced in the last year by the PGA as a points race throughout the season that concludes at the end of the season with 4 tournaments. The first begins this weekend at The Barclays Classic and concludes with the Tour Championship. Only the top 30 on the points list advance to the Tour Championship, with the points winner going home with a $10 million bonus.

Tiger’s abscence from this weekend’s tournament will be a disappointment to many, especially advocates of the Fedex Cup who were hoping that it would draw more interest to the end of the PGA season with the majors having concluded. Tiger will now have a much harder task ahead of him in order to win the Fedex Cup.

With or without Tiger, it should be interesting to see the response and outcome to the inaugural Fedex Cup.

It is no surprise that Tiger Woods has entered his 456th week at number one in the World Golf Rankings at 22.10. Tiger significantly added to his total points after winning the PGA Championship this past weekend, by gaining 529.23 points. Jim Furyk is quite a distance behind Tiger at 8.69. Furyk has struggled to gain points the last couple weeks after a back injury caused him to withdraw from the WGC Bridgestone Invitational and miss the cut of the PGA Championship. Phil Mickelson is close behind Furyk at 8.44.

The World Golf Rankings are issued every week. Point are issue based on what place the golfer finishes a tournament and the strength of the field. It could be comparable to college football’s BCS. The four majors of course allocate higher point because of the status of the tournament. For more information or current standings you can visit the World Golf Ranking website.

Of course after winning the PGA Championship, Tiger also increased his lead on the money list. Tiger is now at $7,824,385. Vijay Singh is second at $4,467,416. Vijay has played in 23 tournaments compared to Tiger’s 13. Coming in at third is Phil Mickelson at $4,199,838. For the full money list, go to the PGA’s website.

Well, well, well; look whose back in the sports headlines after being criticized for weeks: none other than yours truly Tiger Woods. Tiger once again showed how good he was with yet another dominating performance at the WGC Brigestone Invitational, a tournament he has owned, winning six titles at Firestone Country Club. I’m going to venture and say that Rory Sabbatini helped bring about these headlines for Tiger after stating that Tiger looked “beatable as ever” earlier in the year, and then getting destroyed by Tiger on Sunday. Tiger’s domination couldn’t have come at a better time with the PGA Championship beginning on Thursday at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

For you young, as well as seasoned, golfers; take note of Tiger’s victory on Sunday. Take note, not so much of the victory itself, but how he did it. Tiger has been in the top of the pack in many tournaments this year, but hasn’t made a run like he did on Sunday. Tiger was a couple strokes behind the entire Bridgestone Invitational leading up to the final round. He was one back going into Sunday. Yet hoisting up the trophy on Sunday, was yet again Tiger with a dominating performance, winning by 8 strokes.

Take note, furthermore of how Tiger dealt with Rory Sabbatini. Based on Sabbatini’s comments earlier in the year, he was begging for a pairing with Tiger. The worst thing Sabbatini could have done was to have finished as he did on Sunday. At least if Sabbatini would have lost by a couple strokes, people may have at least said that Sabbatini put up a valiant fight. Sabbatini’s words hopefully should teach golfers when it’s appropriate and inappropriate to trash talk. Sabbatini’s words weren’t coming from a seasoned veteren or up and coming rookie who threatened to pose a challenge to Tiger. It came from a 9 year PGA professional, who has 4 wins to show for it. By the way Tiger Woods has won 4 tournaments just this year.

Maybe this spectacle will cause us to be a little less critical of Tiger, but probably not.

South Korean PGA golfer K.J. Choi has announced what he’ll do if he wins the $10 million Fedex Cup. The Fedex Cup is the PGA’s points race that concludes with 4 tournaments at the end of the year. Choi is currently 12th in the World Rankings and is 5th on the Money List.

In an Associated Press article, Choi announced plans to give 100% of the $10 million to charity. Choi stated the following: “I want to help a lot of the unfortunate kids around the world. I want to set up my own foundation, like Tiger. Thinking about what I can do with that money, it just motivates me.”

Winning the Fedex Cup will be no easy task. Tiger Woods annouced plans to participate in the Fedex Cup touranments at the end of the year. Choi is currently ranked 5th in the Fedex Cup standings. You can read the article in it’s entirety at ESPN.

Choi recently sat down after the British Open to do an interview where he talked about giving money away to charity being connected with his christian faith. You can read the interview by clicking here.

Tiger Woods Winning The 2005 Open Chanpionship At St Andrews

Originally uploaded by golfswingsecretsrevealeddotcom

Ah St. Andrews! For many, St. Andrews could be said to be the Augusta National of Europe. Tourists and golfers alike come in droves to St. Andrews yearly. It’s landscape and history is so unique. The words St. Andrews bring pictures of tall grass blowing in the wind, the royal clubhouse, stone bridges, and the LPGA British Open. Hold on! L-PGA! As in women?! Yes that’s right. An LPGA event will be making it’s first trip to the historic grounds this weekend. For many this is a milestone not only for the LPGA but for all of women’s sports. Many golf clubs, including Augusta National, do not even allow women to be members, let alone hold a strictly women’s tournament.

As with the PGA British Open, the LPGA British Open brings with it much excitement and many questions. What will be the outcome of this being the first LPGA event at St. Andrews? Will Michelle Wie bounce back from her setbacks? Will Annika Sorenstam win another British Open? And how will Natalie Gulbis respond after her first title?

Elsewhere this weekend is the PGA’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. It should be interesting to keep an eye out for Tiger who defends his title there. Many critics are waiting to see if Tiger can make a strong title run to conclude the year as he did last year, and thus dismiss their recent criticism.

Check back for more updates.

Many times over a legend’s career the question is raised: “Are they in a slump”? This question has arisen this golf season with Tiger Woods, especially after the British Open, where although he lingered near the top of the leaderboard, he just never made a run of the lead. So is Tiger starting to drop off?

So often in professoional sports we want to quickly celebrate a legend’s victories, but we often just as quickly bury them in their defeats. Tiger Woods isn’t dropping off. He has 3 victories this year, two second place finishes, and is numbers one on the money list and the World Rankings. By the way, both of his second place finishes came in majors. He did have plently of opportunities to win both of those majors, but he didn’t. Tiger Woods isn’t a god and he’s not the best golfer of all time, yet. Let’s not forget that right at the time of the British Open last year, we watched in awe as Tiger put in a string of 7 consecutive victories.

Michael Jordan missed game winning shots, Babe Ruth struck out, and inevitbaly Tiger Woods is going to lose many majors. Although Tiger Woods seems to be rather quiet this year, he could have that breakout round at any moment that propells him through the season and brings us to a place of awe once again. Maybe we should be quick to offer a little encouragement, then be quick to offer a little criticism.