PGA shouldn't be worried about steroids in golf

	Does this look like a man on steroids? Sam Greenwood/WireImage.com

When I read the golf news Wednesday, I had to double check to make sure I wasn't reading an Onion article. Or a legitimate news story written by a reporter who had been duped by an Onion article -- like the time a Beijing newspaper journalist, after seeing the Onion and not recognizing it as a parody, wrote that the American government was moving from Washington D.C. to Memphis in an effort to attract better talent.

But it's true: the PGA is cracking down on performance enhancing drugs.

"It's unfortunate that these realities are with us, but they are," commissioner Tim Finchem said Wednesday at the Travelers Championship. He added, "And we have to deal with them, and I think it's important that golf deal with them collectively." We don't have a rule on performance-enhancing drugs; we never have had. We're getting close on that. I suspect we'll be done with that certainly this year."

I think that is supposed to be an applause line, but it's really more of confused, scrunch-the-eyebrows line.

Does he, or anyone else out there, really think golf has a steroid problem?

I mean, look at golf's No. 2 player. More specifically, look at his body. If Phil Mickelson is taking hormones, they're the wrong kind.

I don't think anyone's looking at golfers strolling the course -- while someone else carries their clubs -- and saying, "they've got to be juicing." The only top golfer who looks like he works out regularly is Tiger Woods. His muscled physique was perhaps on display a little too much at the US Open, with that form-fitting fuscia shirt. But Woods has been vocal in supporting drug testing. He says he welcomes testing, and he's ready tomorrow.

The LPGA Tour is already on record as starting drug testing in 2008. So will the European Tour.

I'm just curious -- have any of these commissioners ever played golf?

If so, they'd know that steroids in golf would be rather beside the point.

Length is certainly a virtue, but not the way it is in baseball. In that sport you just have to get the stupid ball over the wall. In golf you have to get the stupid ball into the stupid hole. It's all about control and accuracy. The ability to drive the ball 320 yards certainly helps, but what really matters is if you can hit the ball 140 yards when you need to hit it 140 yards -- rather than 10 yards more or less.