I have a hard time believing that, for many reasons.
First, performance enhancers would have negligible benefit in golf. It’s simply not that physically demanding of a sport.
Second, while Tiger has increased significantly in size since he turned pro, he hasn’t really gained all that much in distance (nor is he the longest hitter on tour, or close to it). What distance he has gained, if any, can largely be explained by his swing changes. But these swing changes weren’t undertaken to give him an edge in distance, he did them to make him more consistent and so his swing wouldn’t hurt his back (now legs) as much.
Third, Tiger is the richest athlete in the world. As such, he has some of the best trainers/nutritionists in the world advising him on what to eat. Tiger’s workout and diet are very regulated. Under these circumstances, most people with average to above-average genes could look like Tiger. And I say this as someone who lifts weights four times a week and keeps in pretty good shape.
Fourth, even before the PGA implemented a drug-testing program, Tiger voluntarily did drug testing because people raised suspicions like yours.
I’m not saying it’s impossible, just that it’s hard to believe. The benefits a golfer would get from drugs are not enough to outweigh the risk of getting caught. If you think it’s bad with the adultery right now, drugs would destroy his career.
I’ll answer you point by point.
1. Practicing and hitting up to 1000 balls a day is VERY demanding, I’ve done it. PED’s allow you to do it all the time and recover much quicker than you normally would. These drugs have a very beneficial effect in any sport/activity you apply them to. To say they’re not effective is to deny reality, like the lame argument that they didn’t help Bonds/Sosa/McGwire hit a baseball, they sure as hell did. Bonds for instance instead of the natural decline in his later years, he became Superman. He lived the dream of having the brain loaded with all the experience and the fast twitch muscle response he had at 25, even better. Better muscles than ever, combined with his experience and skill instead of a guy who hit 30-35 homers he hits 73 in his late 30’s.
2. You say he’s increased significantly in size, key word SIGNIFICANT, he changed his whole body structure, just like Bonds. Both beanpoles, both turned into monsters. It’s not just about distance, it’s about having better muscles, being able to practice and train longer, etc. It’s also about being able to swing at 80% and get the same distance you had when swinging 90%, being stronger is better, all day, every time, it’s an advantage. I don’t recall him having back problems, I don’t recall that being the reason for the swing change, regardless carrying around all that extra mass and doing all that extra work can lead to other injuries, oh I don’t know like a knee injury.
3. Everything you typed in number 3 is largely MYTH, old wives tales and common excuses for drug users. There are millions of guys who do everything right training wise, nutrition wise, supplement wise, rest wise. There’s plenty of guys, including myself who have worked just as hard or harder than Tiger Woods. The guys whose “supplements” include HGH and/or steroids look like Tiger Woods and Barry Bonds, guys can work twice as hard as those guys and not use drugs and never get the “results” those 2 got.
4. These drug tests are called “IQ Tests” for a reason, you have to be an idiot to get caught. Any pro athlete with the “best” trainers, etc., will always say TEST ME!, that’s why they have the “best”. If not for the BALCO scandal we would still have a bunch of these obvious dopers lying about it. The drug makers are ALWAYS ahead of the drug testers, dummies or guys who make a mistake get caught. The NFL has had “comprehensive” testing for years, the only “list” that would shock me would be the guys NOT using.
5. It’s not hard to believe if you know what to look for. I’m lucky that I know people involved in this area of study, people who regularly show up on TV, are consulted by the NFL and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Tiger doesn’t even pass the eyeball test, way, way, way, too much mass on his former stick-figure frame, Large, thick, rounded muscles on a beanpole frame that would never support those large, thick, rounded muscles without drugs even if he never played golf and spent every moment working on his body, which with his very busy social schedule he obviously does not do, lol.
Eventually this will play out like Bonds, watch. The “it’s not true unless I see him injecting a Wile E. Coyote sized syringe with ACME STEROIDS on it” will always defend the users. What I’m saying isn’t something that’s shocking, plenty of guys in the know think he’s a user. Tiger is so arrogant he got a little carried away, just like in his personal life. He could have cheated (with the drugs) a lot less and had more plausible denial. He got so jacked and enjoyed showing it off so much and used it as intimidation that it was obvious. He may be fooling a lot of people, but he’s not fooling me. If we had a magic truth serum I would bet everything I own on it, and never break a sweat waiting for the results.
No American professional sport (and I believe college as well) tests for hGH. Not one. Only sports that are under the umbrella of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) test for HGH, principally because for an accurate and reliable hGH test, blood must be drawn on multiple days, possibly at different times throughout the year.
I read several months ago that a simpler test with equal reliability is in the testing stages, but has yet to be mass-produced. If such a test will be adopted by America's professional sports, remains to be seen, FWIW.
I haven’t seen anything about PE drugs yet, but one of the skanks said she and Tige used Ambien together (for recreational purposes);
Tige told the police who responded to the accident that he had had a “pain pill” beforehand;
Tige’s pinball trajectory driving was more akin to DUI driving than anger-driving;
The neighbors observed Tige lying in the road after the accident and he was, um, SNORING;
One of the skanks said Tige had her hire bunches of prostitutes to fly on Tige’s private jet and party — implying, at the least, drug use.
And if the potential drug use allegations, and their criminal and sport sequelae, don’t materialize, there are still the matters of potential criminal conduct in transporting prostitutes across state lines, owning (in effect) a brothel or other criminal enterprise, etc.
Ole Tige is not paying these women to shut up about the nasty. There’s much more here, I’d say. Whether it will be revealed, depends.