stay motivated for decades on end. And, I am sure it is difficult for Tiger to do so, although, if anyone can, he can.

If I were Tiger, I would take a European vacation next year. Introduce the kids to their Swedish relatives and travel that gorgeous continent playing a handful of select tournaments. Throw in the majors, the WGC events and his new one in Philly and call it a year. 2008 was brutal. First half suffering with the pain of a bad knee, second half suffering the pain of a re-constructed knee. 2009 wasn’t much better.

A lot of people would have become un-motivated for a lot less.

Regenerate your batteries, Tiger. Get away from the American sports media. Have fun. Dealing with idiots like Feinstein, Reilly, et al., sucks…

The idea holds a lot of water. The same sort of thing happened to Roger Federer after basically 5 years of dominance. (sure sounds a lot better than my thoughts lately – that Tiger was turning into golf’s version of Barry Bonds…minus the ’roids…with his behavior and comments)

Careful wih that European Vacation idea – it got Chevy Chase in a lot of trouble. :-)

and thinking Tiger is wanting to quit is one that will garner some hits

I always root for Tiger, but I think his recent behavior is simply ‘roid rage’. Look at it:
New personality featuring:
 A: constant temper flareups
 B: emotional outbersts unfiiting of even Tiger
 C: Larger upper body, smaller waist
 D: Close friendship to known steroids user, A-Rod.
I hope with everything I’m wrong, but it’s possible in his rush back from such a serious injury he did what so many athletes before him have done…

wrong about things like this, but I think cheating is more of an anathema to Tiger than losing the lead on Sunday at a major. I think in his mind he would not risk it because of the memory of his father. People do amazing things to try to win, but I do not think Tiger is juicing it…

I agree. I just don’t see Tiger using steroids except under a doctor’s supervision… which means the Tour is aware of it and would step in if they felt things were getting out of hand.

Think about it:

1) Tiger started working out over ten years ago. His shoulders are certainly wider than his waist but after a decade of working out, combined with all the running he does (I’ve heard he runs 4 miles a day in about 22 minutes), I’d be shocked if his shoulders weren’t broader than his waist.

2) Tiger has been one of the main players advocating drug testing on the PGA. It doesn’t make sense for him to start using them. (Granted, athletes haven’t always shown the most intelligence when it comes to this, but Tiger has generally stood out from the rest in this department.)

3) Since I originally posted this, I’ve heard Tiger actually tell two reporters that he was tired. Tiger never says he’s tired, so I think it’s probably bad enough to affect his temperament.

I think we need to give Tiger the benefit of the doubt on this one. We’ve all had sports heroes that let us down, and it’s given us a sceptical attitude about them. That’s probably a good thing, since we need to remember that money and fame don’t stop you from being human. But that doesn’t automatically mean that every sports star will fall from grace. After all the surgery and rehab, I think he deserves a pass for now.

So you guys are saying that anabolic steroids do not affect the body the same way under a doctor’s supervision as they do when NOT under a doctor’s supervision ? Now that’s nonsense.

I don’t think the suggestion was that he is or would consider using steroids illegally…except may be the A-Rod line…but if the Tour is excusing the use during his rehab and recovery, it is possible that the side effects mentioned could come out.

The argument over steroids and golf was always that steroids would get you stronger, but only half of the game is about strength. Pure strength doesn’t help with the short game and putting. IF you are taking steroids and feeling the side effects, his short game would be off.

Personally, I agree 100% that Tiger would be the last person on Tour to cheat in any way – but if he is being treated with anabolics, it is possible that these side effects would affect his putting.

It’s not just his putting, by the way. When Tiger is playing well, he isn’t leaving himself long putts for par.

The argument against this sort of thing is in most of his 5 wins and his other good finishes this year. He chipped and putted like a machine at The Memorial and nearly as well at Bay Hill.

I think he’s probably tired physically since coming back from majoring knee surgery.

But I really think that Tiger is frustrated that he doesn’t have a real “rival” on tour. It’s kinda like Jordan “retiring” for two years (conspiracy theorist believe MJ was suspended for those two years for his involvement in that whole gambling thing): there wasn’t any real competition out there. No one has challenged Tiger like Tom Watson challenged Jack Nicklaus.

No, Court, I didn’t mean that the effects are different under a doctor’s supervision; I meant that if the Tour is aware that he’s using them for rehab, they would be watching for those very kinds of abuse. But Old Man Par is right too; if he’s being treated with steroids, the dosages should be much smaller than an abuser would use, so the side effects should be far less dramatic.

My point is that, unlike so many of the athletes who have been caught abusing drugs, Tiger was already at the top of his game and had nothing to gain from using steroids, beyond rehab. Except for the recent emotional swings, which I think can be adequately explained by a long tiring rehab / return to golf, the other “symptoms” are nothing new. (Even the temper tantrums – go look at some old footage of Tiger hitting bad shots, and you’ll see him slamming clubs and hear him cursing a blue streak.)

As for his friendship with A-Rod… well, Vijay Singh got raked over the coals for his friendship with R. Allen Stanford, who was accused of $8 billion in fraud. Does that make Vijay an accomplice? I think we have to be careful of this kind of thinking; it can come back to haunt us.

Personally, I think you’re right on about the limited value of steroids in golf. A certain amount of strength is necessary, certainly, but I think Tom Watson proved that flexibility and smarts is just as important. And if Tiger reacted badly to his treatments, even limited side effects could certainly affect his game.

I just think Train may be overly worried about a temporary state of affairs. Tiger won’t abuse steroids, and if this is a bad reaction to a therapeutic dose, the Tour and his doctors will catch it.

T. Pain the same person?

..I’ve felt that when Tiger is tired of playing, he will simply walk away.

I just don’t get the idea that there’s something “wrong” with Tiger beyond just trying to get back from a long layoff. And even that’s not that big a deal. Consider the fact that he has finished outside the top ten this year exactly three times, and he’s finished outside the top 20 once. He won five times and finished in the top-five eight times.

No this isn’t one of Tiger’s killer season, but come on, this isn’t exactly a terrible year either. He maybe hasn’t won at the “right” times (majors), but he’s still the best player out there.

It’s like the media and fans built a pedestal so high for Tiger to sit on that they can’t understand it when he doesn’t have a 2000-like season every single year. This season has been better than 2003, another of his “off” years.

If anything, like OMP said, he’s not putting great week in and week out. That’s got nothing to do with his knee, and I’m doubting fatigue is too much of a factor, given the shape he’s in. Even after the major injury (which I’ve also had and know what it takes to come back from), his fitness is miles ahead of almost everyone else on tour. I could see if he’s a little fatigued lately from the travel and the kids or whatever, but I’d be surprised if it’s the knee since he’s now over the one-year mark.

I firmly believe that 18+ majors is still driving him.