IGF Responds To Golf's Not-So-Positive Test Results

Nothing like a little diuretics chatter to liven up the week!

Will Gray at GolfChannel.com reports on Ty Votaw's response to recent WADA-inspired stories about failed tests in golf exceeding the numbers in other sports. Most interesting here is that Votaw points out the failed test results are from non-PGA Tour testing.

“I think in a vacuum, these are just lab-level analysis. It doesn’t give you the circumstances,” Votaw told GolfChannel.com. “If most of the drugs are cortico-steroids or diuretics, there is a very real possibility that those have TUEs associated with them. We don’t consider them to be performance-enhancing in the first place. Now diuretics, I suppose, can be used as a masking agent of some sort to someone else, but we aren’t seeing a lot of diuretics in our testing.”

Votaw added that WADA does not have access to the test results or samples from the lab through which the Tour conducts its regular testing, meaning the 507 samples in question came from other corners of the game.

Comments

[PA PLAYA]

Doug Barron, and now Scott Stallings. How much of this is "quality of life" medical necessity is there versus unfair advantage?

I'm not pretending to know the answer to that question. But I do believe it is a very slippery slope that has to be weighed accurately from all angles, otherwise careers are tainted. And unnecessarily.

The real problem is that athletes today can find/hire doctors to vouch that they need said banned substances. Therapeutic-use-only exemptions don't seem to be overly popular, but that doesn't mean that guys like Doug Barron shouldn't qualify.

More questions than answers, and I don't think that's going to change.

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[DTF]

"Doug Barron, and now Scott Stallings. How much of this is "quality of life" medical necessity is there versus unfair advantage?"

Hilarious! Alarmists are citing incredible clubhead speed increases and superhuman concentration powers and Caitlyn Jenner like workout capabilities...

...but the folks getting nailed are either kinda sloppy or predisposed to the bigtime nightlife...LOL.

[PA PLAYA]

I'm pretty sure Barron had a legit medical condition that warranted Beta Blockers and Testosterone. He certainly wasn't playing like a player gaining an advantage, although the Tour-certified doctors who examined him disagreed with his personal physician who had years of expert documentation referencing his health condition.

I don't know the specifics pertaining to Stallings, but referenced him simply because he's the 2nd player (that we know of) who's been suspended because of a failed drug test.

[Ryan]

Votaws defense brings up a far more important discussion: Why aren't records of the PGA Tour tests pubically available like those in the report?

[Brad Ford]

Because of rampant cheating in sports like cycling and track, the WADA has expanded the list of banned substances enormously. While that might be a sane response in those sports, applying them to golf is simply idiotic.

Cyclists and runners who are bastions of fitness and generally very young. If they had High Blood Pressure, even with medicine, it is unlikely that they could compete.

Basically this test confirmed that a 1% of competitive golfers have High Blood Pressure.

Does anyone seriously think:
1) Golfers are blood doping or taking EPO in large numbers;
2) Golfers are taking amphetamines or huge doses of caffeine to keep them going; or
3) Golfers are using steroids to add bulk

At most, there are golfers who use steroids to recover from injuries faster and who use testosterone to feel better as they age.

If there is any real steroid use going on in golf, it is probably by bad golfers who can't compete looking for an edge. Anyone who uses steroids looking to become a better golfer is an idiot. Great golf swings are built on flexibility. Steroids build bulk and bulk kills swing speed.

[KG]

Brad Ford.
Why are sprinters using steroids? Bulk slowing them down?
What are baseball players using steroids. I mean hitting a 90mph curveball is one of the hardest feats in sports, if bulking up slows you down it theoretically would slow your swing speed, yes? Did that happen with Bonds and Sosa? Bonds gained at least 40lbs of muscle over his career. How did his swing speed actually increase?
You can add strength and speed with the right training plan.

[Brad Ford]

KG -

1) if you look at sprinters, they are bulking up with steroids and other substances. They want power.
2) Look at Sosa, Bonds, and McGuire. They bulked up with muscle because they needed power.

Neither need to worry about the accuracy that golf demands.

The source of power in golf is not big muscles. Primarily, power (accurate enough to hit the fairway) comes from the creation of speed built from flexibity, perfect timing, and precision. That is why 155lb guys like Charles Howell III are competitive in long driving statistics.

[KG]

In biomechanics or training jargon:
Power = Force x Distance/Time
Force essentially equals strength.
Long drive champions have a long association with adding strength to improve overall power and speed.
I don't disagree flexibility is a key. But it sounds like you don't believe working out to increase strength with speed will add yards to your drive when all testimony from those who actually do that says it does.
And dismissing the "accuracy" needed to hit a 90mph baseball while it is NOT resting on a tee seems odd to me.