Opinion & Analysis
True or False: PEDs Cannot Improve a Golfer’s Game
Rory McIlroy said recently that pro golfers should be blood-tested for illegal substances, but that he didn’t see how Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) could improve one’s game, specifically eye-hand coordination, that factor so important to high level golf.
“I don’t really know of any drug that can give you an advantage all the way across the board,” McIlroy said at The Open Championship. “There are obviously drugs that can make you stronger. There are drugs that can help your concentration. But whether there’s something out there where it can make you an overall better player, I’m not sure. Physically, obviously, you can get stronger, recover faster. So, I mean, for example, HGH is only … you can’t really pick it up in a urine test. I could use HGH and get away with it. So I think blood testing is something that needs to happen in golf just to make sure that it is a clean sport going forward.
Well, I agree with him around blood testing as opposed to the present urine testing where some key substances cannot be detected. But whether such substances can make you a better overall player, I beg to differ with Rors.
It’s generally agreed that PEDs can improve performance in baseball, football, swimming, soccer, tennis, cycling, and track and field, improving strength and endurance, and recovery time from injury. Those sports, like golf, also require so much more than those advantages I just listed. For example, eye-hand coordination is an important factor in most of those sports, as are mental aspects like motivation, attitude, determination, body flexibility, inspiration, feel, touch, day-to-day physical health (like flu or cutting your finger preparing breakfast), distressing news from family or friends (Henrik Stenson, at The Open Championship, was mourning the death of a close friend), and current events, like the horrendous terrorist attack in Nice, France, during The Open. PEDs have absolutely no effect on those vital factors in golf, or any other sport. But what they do effect in all sports, including golf, are strength, endurance and time recovering from injury; factors that help pave the way to improvement in performance.
So how can a professional golfer, or any golfer for that matter, benefit from banned substances such as Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and others from the PGA’s official list such as anabolic agents, peptide hormones, diuretics and other masking agents, drugs of abuse, stimulants, and beta blockers? Faced with the likes of longer hitters like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, Gary Player was one of the first pros to emphasize exercise to increase strength, endurance, conditioning and flexibility in order to keep pace with those bigger fellows and improve his performance. He did this without the use of PEDs. And with nine majors and dozens of worldwide wins, he did quite well with this exercise regime. He achieved added strength, endurance, flexibility and recovery time via hard work, will power, and the integrity to not supplement his regime with any drug that could have today been construed as illegal.
“If you don’t test,” wrote Don H. Catlin, MD, Founder and CEO of Anti-Doping Research, in a 2004 article titled “The Steroid Detective, published in US News and World Report, “sport is gone. People will start getting really sick. All these things are toxic.”
If Player had instead used PEDs back in his day, as is suspected some are using today, he could have increased his strength, which definitely does help with club head speed, and therefore distance, for all tee-to-green clubs; his endurance, which improves the ability to maintain skills over a four-day tournament; and speed up recovery time from injury, which quite importantly allows one to return to the course sooner. For tour players, this of course translates to possible success and money in the bank to support the family.
Dr. David Geier, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist in Charleston, South Carolina, in commenting on human growth hormone, wrote that “many athletes claim to use it to recover from injury more quickly, allowing them to train harder.”
To resurrect or maintain skills, top players may hit 300-500 balls a day at the range, honing and grooving techniques their instructors have gone over. Golf takes that kind of practice and preparation, especially at professional levels. That’s been the case since Ben Hogan dug his game “out of the dirt” to overcome a near fatal car accident, and go on to win six more majors. We don’t know how many balls The Hawk hit per day, but you can bet it was hundreds. I get achy hitting a small bucket a few times a week, so I can imagine how driven and how well conditioned Hogan was.
Tiger Woods took practice to an even higher level, by not only hitting many, many balls each day, but working out intensely in the gym under the eye of a personal trainer. In his prime, Tiger won some tournaments, including majors, via his ability to endure hot summer temperatures because of his conditioning. Later, after surgeries, Woods would often try to come back too soon, and has become unable to sustain the rigors of intensive practice. Some have theorized that Woods may have turned to PEDs to hasten his return to practice and preparation in order to regain the form necessary to perform at before unreachable levels, but those allegations have never been proven. We can only assume, based on negative urine tests, that an impatient Tiger simply did not giving himself enough recuperation time.
And that’s true of many of us amateurs, as well. I was out for almost a year with golfer’s elbow, champing at the bit to return to the game I love. I’d try to hit some balls at times, crossing the boundary of pain, and preceded to re-injure that elbow, adding to the time I eventually was able to return to the fray. Sometimes the ego that says, “I’m ready” or “Just do it” is like a runaway stagecoach, out of control… and intelligence.
But pros are playing this game for a living, and might be tempted to give PEDs a try if they suspect they could help — not improve their skills directly, but speed up the recuperation process to allow them to hone their skills and help get back to work faster. The same could be true around minimizing fatigue over a four-day tournament grind. What a challenge that must be! To play at that level over four days in weather that can include heat, cold, rain, wind, you name it. PEDs represent a potential shortcut in dealing with the kinds of obstacles that make earning a living as a touring pro the challenge it is. Golf, though, is a game of integrity, as it has been since its inception. Still, with the kind of money involved in this modern era, the temptations are there.
Russell Meldrum, MD, Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine, wrote in a 2002 article published in Sport Journal: “Drug use is a serious concern, not only for the concepts of integrity and fair play in competitive sports, but because of the health threats to the athletes. Certainly drug testing programs should continue with increasing numbers of athletes being tested and increasing penalties for detection, since these are most likely means of deterrence.”
So can PEDs, such as HGH, improve a golfer’s game? No, as far as swing mechanics, course management, feel, touch, green reading, etc. are concerned. But they can boost the capacity for the golfer to endure more, get stronger, and recuperate faster from injury to allow him or her to gain an edge to hit more practice balls and improve one’s ability to feel more in control of their physical and mental condition.
I vote for random blood testing to definitively keep these substances out of professional golf.
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19th Hole
Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again
After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.
Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.
Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”
Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.
“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.
Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.
“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”
“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”
As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.
In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.
“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”
Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.
Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:
Fairways Hit
1.) Louis Oosthuizen
2.) Anirban Lahiri
3.) Jon Rahm
4.) Brendan Steele
5.) Cameron Tringale
Greens in Regulation
1.) Brooks Koepka
2.) Brendan Steele
3.) Dean Burmester
4.) Cameron Tringale
5.) Anirban Lahiri
Birdies Made
1.) Brendan Steele
2.) Dean Burmester
3.) Thomas Pieters
4.) Patrick Reed
5.) Carlos Ortiz
LIV Golf Individual Standings:
1.) Joaquin Niemann
2.) Jon Rahm
3.) Dean Burmester
4.) Louis Oosthuizen
5.) Abraham Ancer
LIV Golf Team Standings:
1.) Crushers
2.) Legion XIII
3.) Torque
4.) Stinger GC
5.) Ripper GC
LIV Golf Singapore Picks
Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)
Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.
This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.
Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)
Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.
This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.
It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.
Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)
Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.
Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.
Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.
Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)
Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.
Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.
If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.
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In Tampa, there is a golf course that boasts carts that do not work, a water range, and a group of players none of which have any chance to break 80. The course is overseen by a staff of crusty men who have succeeded at nothing in life but ending up at the worst-run course in America. However, this place is no failure. With several other local courses going out of business — and boasting outstanding greens — the place is booked full.
While I came for the great greens, I stayed to watch our resident instructor; a poor-tempered, method teacher who caters to the hopeless. At first, it was simply hilarious. However, after months of listening and watching, something clicked. I realized I had a front-row seat to the worst golf instructor in America.
Here are some of my key takeaways.
Method Teacher
It is widely accepted that there are three types of golf instructors: system teachers, non-system teachers, and method teachers. Method teachers prescribe the same antidote for each student based on a preamble which teachers can learn in a couple day certification.
Method teaching allows anyone to be certified. This process caters to the lowest caliber instructor, creating the illusion of competency. This empowers these underqualified instructors with the moniker of “certified” to prey on the innocent and uninformed.
The Cult of Stack and Jilt
The Stack and Tilt website proudly boasts, “A golfer swings his hands inward in the backswing as opposed to straight back to 1) create power, similar to a field goal kicker moving his leg in an arc and 2) to promote a swing that is in-to-out, which produces a draw (and eliminates a slice).”
Now, let me tell you something, there is this law of the universe which says “energy can either be created or destroyed,” so either these guys are defying physics or they have no idea what they are taking about. Further, the idea that the first move of the backswing determines impact is conjecture with a splash of utter fantasy.
These are the pontifications of a method — a set of prescriptions applied to everyone with the hope of some success through the placebo effect. It is one thing for a naive student to believe, for a golf instructor to drink and then dispel this Kool-Aid is malpractice.
Fooled by Randomness
In flipping a coin, or even a March Madness bet, there is a 50-50 chance of success. In golf, especially for new players, results are asymmetric. Simply put: Anything can happen. The problem is that when bad instructors work with high handicappers, each and every shot gets its own diagnosis and prescription. Soon the student is overwhelmed.
Now here’s the sinister thing: The overwhelming information is by design. In this case, the coach is not trying to make you better, they are trying to make you reliant on them for information. A quasi Stockholm syndrome of codependency.
Practice
One of the most important scientists of the 20th century was Ivan Pavlov. As you might recall, he found that animals, including humans, could be conditioned into biological responses. In golf, the idea of practice has made millions of hackers salivate that they are one lesson or practice session from “the secret.”
Sunk Cost
The idea for the worst golf instructor is to create control and dependency so that clients ignore the sunk cost of not getting better. Instead, they are held hostage by the idea that they are one lesson or tip away from unlocking their potential.
Cliches
Cliches have the effect of terminating thoughts. However, they are the weapon of choice for this instructor. Add some hyperbole and students actually get no information. As a result, these players couldn’t play golf. When they did, they had no real scheme. With no idea what they are doing, they would descend into a spiral of no idea what to do, bad results, lower confidence, and running back to the lesson tee from more cliches.
The fact is that poor instruction is about conditioning players to become reliant members of your cult. To take away autonomy. To use practice as a form of control. To sell more golf lessons not by making people better but through the guise that without the teacher, the student can never reach their full potential. All under the umbrella of being “certified” (in a 2-day course!) and a melee of cliches.
This of course is not just happening at my muni but is a systemic problem around the country and around the world, the consequences of which are giving people a great reason to stop playing golf. But hey, at least it’s selling a lot of golf balls…
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The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.
TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.
Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.
However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.
Past Winners at TPC Louisiana
- 2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
- 2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
- 2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
- 2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
- 2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
- 2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)
2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks
Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)
Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.
This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.
McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.
Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)
Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.
Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.
Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)
Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.
NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.
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Pingback: PEDs in the MLB – Sports
mannyv
Aug 14, 2016 at 8:39 pm
To the first poster. TW has always been an athletic freak. When he was at Stanford he was the strongest athlete pound for pound football team included.
Remember when he won the Masters in 1997 as a skinny kid he was hitting pitching wedge into to 500+ yard par four while other players were using 4 irons.
Justin
Aug 16, 2016 at 11:34 am
“He was the strongest athlete pound for pound football team included”
There’s not a chance in hell that’s true!! Have you seen pictures of him when he was at Stanford? Everyone on the Stanford Football team is laughing at you right now. What a ridiculous comment!
CW
Aug 19, 2016 at 10:10 pm
Really,i heard he used his putter.
Also,i heard he used to flap his arms really really fast and was able to fly over the course before playing it..
Dave
Jun 2, 2018 at 1:15 pm
LOL- That’s a good one…
AllBOdoesisgolf
Aug 11, 2016 at 1:34 pm
look what happened when Tiger was on them and then look what happened when he stopped because they started testing…..
Tom
Aug 11, 2016 at 2:56 pm
You could walk onto a highschool football field and find five kids who are in just as good of shape as Tiger ever was. He was in great shape, but he wasn’t anything spectacular in terms of the fitness world. Compared to other golfers, yes, he looked like a powerhouse, but you wouldn’t have to look far in the closest Golds Gym to find someone warming up with Tigers max weights, all while doing it drug free. On top of that, PED’s would have nothing to do with Tiger’s injuries. If he were doing them, I would assume he would have proper council, and would have gotten certain ones that would’ve helped him feel much better through the latter few years of his career.
CCshop
Aug 12, 2016 at 5:16 pm
So your saying I could go into any high school and find 5 kids that could go through the rigorous Navy Seal training that Tiger was doing. Doubt it. He ruined his body during that training and with how much he lifted outside of golf. Not sure 5 kids I went to high school with could have done the same.
Tom
Aug 11, 2016 at 9:20 am
Depends what PED’s people are talking about…
General PED’s in the sense of steriods and muscle growth… Very debate-able. You could argue that they enhance athletic performance and that’s better for just about anyone and anything you do that’s sports related, but let’s remember: Furyk shot the lowest round in golf history this weekend, and if that man takes PED’s, someone will have to scoop my jaw off the floor for me.
I propose looking at it from a completely different angle: Are steroids necessary to perform at a high level in golf? No.
If you took them, would they help you perform to that high level? NO.
Golf is a game of accuracy, not just distance. If you look at the guys with the most strokes gained putting, you’ll generally find them around the top of the leader board.
Now, if you bring in things like amphetamines, beta blockers, etc.. that could be, and IMO is an entirely different story. It’s been said at minimum a million times: “Golf is a mental game.”
If hitting the ball further was all that the game required, then yes, the PED’s which enhance athletic ability may give you an edge, but even then, it’s doubtful. Jamie Sadlowski is a prime example: Trains hard, athletic, sound mechanics, but does not possess a skillset that can be obtained by PED’s, nor would he be helped by them. If anything, MOST PED’s would hinder what gives him the ability to hit the ball like he does.
However, on the course, the drugs that give an advantage to the mind.. Something to help you focus on the 18th tee when you’re T1. Something that kills the nerves for the 10′ down hill putt for a +$1M purse and a major title. Those are what will help golfers.
I’ve played my best golf when I’m focused and relaxed, not when I’ve been in the best shape of my life.
Side note: People look at Tiger and Rory like they’re freaks. Compared to the golfing world, they are freaks. But put them in a gym with a group of guys who truly know how to train, and they’re mediocre in size, at best.
KK
Aug 14, 2016 at 12:41 pm
It’s farther, not further. And Furyk with the power of DJ would’ve shot 54.
Amp
Aug 11, 2016 at 3:23 am
Adderall helps me a lot. I get a lot of focus and concentration from that stuff. If I didn’t get it, I’d go lazy and my mind will wander. I don’t play serious competitions, just play recreationally, so don’t put the evil label on me, I am responsible, I wouldn’t ever try to cheat this way.
It’s crazy to think how old this drug really is. Makes you wonder who was using it back in the day without the kind of detection methods we now have in the modern world. But then again, you can ask that about so many drugs, including drugs of abuse, some of which weren’t even considered as such until somewhat recently.
The world is changing rapidly now, and nobody will be able to cheat this way. And it’s good that everybody will have to submit to testing.
KK
Aug 10, 2016 at 11:07 pm
No question it’s true. Golf is easier with more athletic ability and PEDs increase athletic ability. Faster recovery is also an underrated benefit. This is an exaggeration but imagine Tiger with the healing power of Wolverine. He’d have 30 majors by now. HGH is much less than being Wolverine but it’s measurably better than no HGH.
BSGolf
Aug 10, 2016 at 12:18 pm
I vote do whatever you want to do to your own body…God made it for humans to use…Drugs are good and professional golf is entertainment…let the syringes fly and lets see someone on Beta Blockers shoot 54
Justin
Aug 10, 2016 at 2:24 pm
One man’s demise is often at the detriment of many
Justin
Aug 10, 2016 at 12:12 pm
If you don’t think PEDs (specifically anabolic steroids, peptides, and hgh) can help improve a golfers game, then you probably don’t know much about PEDs. Unlike most other sports, there is such a thing as being too “big” for golf. You can be fat and golf just fine, but it becomes increasingly difficult to repeat a swing when muscles that are huge get in the way. Tiger, at his physical peak, never had muscle size that approached the size of many other athletes in many other sports. Yet, some still argued his size was holding him back and decreased his flexibility (which may have lead to some injury issues he has and is now dealing with).
What most people don’t realize is steroids alone will not grow huge muscles. Steroids are simply a “booster” for the incoming nutrients. If you continue to eat a normal diet, you likely won’t get much bigger. The guys and gals that gain tons of weight through the use of steroids are eating far more calories than normal. The steroids allow your body to use more of these incoming nutrients and convert them into muscle whereas they would normally be wasted or converted into fat. Think of steroid use as a time travel device…they’re simply speeding up the process (and in some cases pushing you past your physical limitations). What you could accomplish in 2 years of hard work can likely be accomplished in 6 months or less.
As for practical use in golf, you can still eat a “light and healthy” diet while on steroids and increase strength. Your muscles will certainly grow a bit, especially if you jump right in without a ton of prior history of intense weight training. But the main benefit here for golfers is recovery time, and because they are not worried about gaining muscle all that fast, they can use some of the lighter drugs that the body builders don’t even bother with. Instead of “bigger, stronger, faster” you get “stronger, leaner, fresher.”
ALL YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HGH….
Most people know it can help accelerate injury recovery. Some scientists will debate that it has any effect on injury recovery, but I’ve seen it first hand and can tell you the results are unbelievable. In just the first week on HGH, your body will “force” you to catch up on the sleep you’ve been missing out on. You’ll be very tired during the day for most of the first week and may be forced to nap occasionally. After that, you’ll notice you are sleeping much better at night and wake up feeling looser and more refreshed. I would think that right there would help to heighten focus indirectly if nothing else. Like most of these drugs, at a certain point you get diminishing returns because the body builds up a tolerance. Users are forced to cycle them to give their receptors a chance to refresh (again, this is debated, but it works time and time again in real life). But now, with the introduction of peptides, you don’t even have to cycle off. HGH is an exogenous hormone that both suppresses and replaces your natural GH production. Most people believe that steroids and HGH “add” to your natural levels, when in fact they completely flat line your natural production. This is the main reason why they are viewed as dangerous or risky, and rightfully so. Now athletes are using HGH in conjunction with peptides such as GHRH and GHRP to benefit from both natural and exogenous production. This is achievable because of the short half life of these items. GHRH and GHRP work together to increase both the number of receptors producing natural GH in the hypotahlamus and increase the output of those receptors. So, you can cycle peptides and HGH at intervals throughout the day to achieve maximum results without ever having to come off (theoretically).
Now you know that it sounds like a pain in the ass (literally and metaphorically) to use steroids and HGH… would you do it if you know you wouldn’t be caught and it would increase the chance of financial success in your life? This is what these guys are faced with and I really hope that golf is enough of a gentleman’s game to simply weed out the users who shouldn’t be there. Physical fitness is more important in the game now than ever. Even Andrew “Beef” Johnston works out hard so he can have a consistent swing (even though his body may not show it!). I think long term we’ll be seeing more and more instructors teaching a swing that stresses preservation of the body. I can’t help but think guys like Rory McIlroy and Jason Day will have injury issues in the future because of the torque they create in their swings. I really hope they play forever and never get injured, but it seems like a high probability that they will. Remember, chicks dig the long ball… but you can only hit the long ball if you are able to walk out onto the course!
LT
Aug 10, 2016 at 1:00 pm
You know nothing. Got all that from Google, didja?
Justin
Aug 10, 2016 at 2:22 pm
Because I’d love to spend my time regurgitating info from Google…
There is so much misinformation out there and most people refuse to listen to the things I have to say, but that’s not my problem. Take from this what you will but it should be very informative for the 7 people that will actually read the entire comment
LT
Aug 10, 2016 at 10:12 pm
Everybody already knows everything you said. It makes you sound like an idiot for repeating it over and over
Justin
Aug 11, 2016 at 11:31 am
Since when do you refer to yourself as Everybody
snowexcuse
Aug 15, 2016 at 2:02 pm
I thought your post was great, thank for the write-up. I did not know the specifics of PED use.
Justin
Aug 16, 2016 at 11:36 am
Thank you! Finally someone that shows LT is the real idiot!
Jim
Aug 11, 2016 at 3:06 am
I have a ‘broken back’ and have been teaching a biomechanically more correct swing for 20 years. It works, it’s powerful, the derotational shear forces are dispersed over a greater ROM. Increased emphasis on hand speed, maintaining spine angle during winding up & shifting well before unwinding front hip and speeding up the hands. I turned pro in 95 after breaking my back in 1990…from 97-2001 I was averaging 298 off the tee and 150 was a 9 iron.
The only time I ever hurt my back moving this way was when I slipped on a tee shot with those shitty 1st gen soft spikes! I’ve taught over 100 students with back injuries who saught me out and have had success with everyone. (No one’s back ‘fixed itself’ and some with degenerative or arthritic conditions continued to deteriorate, but no one ‘hurt their back’ swinging this way. Most played more often, hit bigger buckets at the range with less or no pain than ever before.
ps…tell Tiger to see me 😉
Jim
Aug 11, 2016 at 9:03 am
I had a few broken bones and from the usual foorball, rugby stuff, my service, but it was a fall at the WTC pile during the ‘rescue phase’ after
9/11 when everything held together with spit n duct tape finally broke. I had 3 lower back surgeries in 01-02 and 2 C Spine surgeries in 03. 2004 was mostly all rehab, strengthening and relearning another ‘bad back’ swing…2005 was
my first year back fully employed on green
grass teaching and playing with members daily.
I have pain everyday – some days worse than
others, and in 2014 I finally had my shoulder rebuilt
This was by far the most painful surgery I ever had and the 16 week recovery was brutal.
If taking some kind of steroid or HGH or whatever MEDICINE my doctor could have given
would’ve helped speed the recovery time – I
would’ve taken it. I’m still working to strengthen it and may end up with a 20-30% loss. Balls definitely aren’t goin as far anymore.
So, if say I’m playing in a section event or a Monday 4 spot and by some miracle get in, am I cheating taking my pain pills (without which I can’t play 18 holes or work a full active day) or some Medicine helping my torn up miscles heal?
There was a thread about what Jimmy Walker was thinking on that last putt…If he was taking Ritalin – I’M NOT EVEN suggesting he was, the hole would’ve looked 3 times bigger and all he woulda been thinkin is ‘back of cup’…
THAT’S a PED drug for golf
Tom
Aug 11, 2016 at 2:52 pm
HGH is a little different than you’re making it out to be in your post.. It heals and actually creates more cells, but isn’t one of the drugs that has direct strength or endurance properties. It enhances size, burns fat, and helps your tendons and ligaments heal significantly faster by creating more cells. That being said, your head, hands, heart, and other internal organs will grow. If you look at a body builder who seems to have a big gut, even though he’s sitting there with 3% body fat, that’s because HGH caused his intestines to grow. Pretty nasty.
Before you reply, I do happen to know quite a bit about PED’s.
Golfers don’t need PED’s. It’s not a game of strength. Endurance is necessary, but as long as you can swing as fast on the 18th tee as you did on the 1st tee, you’re pretty much set.
As said in a post before, Furyk just shot the lowest round in professional golf history, and although I can’t be certain, I’d be pretty dang surprised to hear he did any kind of drugs to get there.
Justin
Aug 16, 2016 at 11:56 am
You say HGH doesn’t have direct strength properties and then immediately after you say it enhances size. Don’t you think it’s highly probable (if not absolute) that when your muscle size increases that your strength would also increase? It goes along with the common misconception that Steroids alone increase muscle size, without caloric intake increase or resistance training… which is simply not true.
It’s actually debatable whether HGH actually enhances muscle size at all. The only direct way it could enhance muscle size would be through Hyperplasia, which hasn’t been proven to take place within the human body yet. To effectively “gain” muscle size on HGH, you have to use so much of it that you start to run into problems like acromegaly (unnatural growth), which is normally caused by a pituitary tumor but in this case is caused by an “overload” of sorts.
The distended guts of bodybuilders are likely not the result of overuse of HGH. The reason they look that way is a visceral layer of fat has formed underneath their abs and to me and many others, the only logical explanation for this is the rampant use of insulin. It’s likely that not many people know about the use of insulin to increase muscle mass, but the effects can be more dramatic than steroids. I won’t go into it in detail because the topic here is golf, but just look at a pic of Ronnie Coleman at any Olympia he won vs a pic of Arnold at any Olympia he won. One will look much bigger and the other will look much better.
I don’t doubt that there could already be PGA Tour players using HGH. The routine to use it effectively is very “needle intensive” because of the very short half life of the drug and I would think this would be inconvenient for the schedule of a golfer when compared to other sports. Golfers do not need PED’s, but I’m certain that they help give an unfair advantage when used properly. Recovery time is something that is rarely discussed because you can’t see it compared to the bulging muscles, but it’s more important than the actual strength gains.
If Jim Furyk is on Steroids then we should suspend the entire sport, haha.
Ken
Aug 11, 2016 at 7:10 pm
Can agree with you as in early 70″s had two fiends both win some middle level body building contests (both were good enough to get some face time with Joe Weider, and in his magazines several times) We talked about steroid use a lot and it was very clear it gave them the ability to work out longer and add weight faster, and the eating was key…. 2 year gains in 6 months sounds very fair for top body builders like them.
SV
Aug 10, 2016 at 12:10 pm
I have found beer helps tremendously, or at least it takes the sting out of playing badly.
LT
Aug 10, 2016 at 10:12 pm
Yeah, the original swing juice
Robert
Aug 10, 2016 at 12:04 pm
Some PED’s can improve eye sight as well, which can improve hand eye coordination. If you don’t believe PED’s can help you in golf, you are just sticking your head in the sand. It helps in everything. And I don’t blame any player that is just trying to survive out there for doing them if they end up being a steady member on the tour. It’s their livelyhood. I do whatever I can to be better at my job. Why wouldn’t they?
joe
Aug 10, 2016 at 7:29 pm
Because it is CHEATING!!!!!
Christosterone
Aug 10, 2016 at 11:51 am
The same discussions took place back in the 80s regarding baseball…we all know how that turned out…
NEWSFLASH: steroids are super helpful in every single sport….with absolutely no exceptions.
-Christosterone
Messico Smizzle
Aug 10, 2016 at 12:09 pm
agreed
alexdub
Aug 10, 2016 at 11:42 am
Obviously, no one believes that taking PEDs are going to fix your swing flaws. However, PEDs can have a substantial effect on endurance and recovery. Every one of us—including pro golfers— has been at that 4 hour mark of a round when your body starts to give in a little. Mental lapses in concentration often follow physical lapses in strength. I don’t think PEDs are a cure-all, but I do think that they could help. The PGA should have an open and regular testing process.
ta
Aug 10, 2016 at 11:33 am
PEDs includes so many drugs. The list is huge. Some simple drugs, other than Steroids or HGH, can have instantaneous benefits, and that is why it is on the list. Just because people see the label as PED doesn’t mean it’s some kind of mega drug that only wealthy athletes can buy from a specialized source. You are neglecting to mention basic drugs that you can buy over the counter, such as some ingredients found in cold and allergy medications.
ooffa
Aug 10, 2016 at 10:17 am
They may not improve ones game, but they sure can hasten the end of ones career. It happened to Tiger. Now it’s happening to Rory.
Tom
Aug 11, 2016 at 9:24 am
Tiger and Rory have very aesthetic, and athletic physiques. They’re in great shape, but they don’t have anything that isn’t attainable naturally.
They have the build of dang near everybody I ever played sports with and lifted with. It’s impressive to the golf world because we are used to looking at John Daily-esque guys walking around the course. However, comparing them to others in the fitness world, they’re just in great shape. It’s very impressive, but it’s honestly nothing crazy..