Is Tiger Woods a cheat?

[HTL]

A while ago, Mark McGwire was hauled before a congressional hearing and lambasted as a cheater for using a legal, performance-enhancing steroid precursor when he broke baseball's single-season home run record.
Cyclist are often banned and abused for sleeping in altitude chambers and failing blood tests due to a higher than average red blood cell count
Tiger Woods was celebrated for winning golf's biggest tournament, the Masters, with the help of superior vision he acquired through laser eye surgery. (he use to wear contacts, but these did not make his eyesight perfect and irritated him)

All these athletes have 1 thing in common…………

They have all won by using performance enhancement, however, Tiger Woods is celebrated and the others punished? What’s the difference?

 

[ColinR]

Ridiculous accusation. Laser eye surgery is a surgical correction for something going wrong with a body part. No more enhancing than having keyhole surgery on a knee or having a hernia repaired.

You need to do better than that before accusing one of the worlds tops sports people of cheating.

 

[HTL]

Ay ay calm down calm down, I aint accusing him of anything, hence the question mark after the question.

To all the Tiger fans please don’t go nuts and have a go, it just a question to generate some discussion.

 

[Pinseeker]

Don't be silly! it can be compared to a footballer wearing an ankle support! is that cheating? no

 

[evita4]

I have to say I am firmly in ColinRs camp for this one. However, I do acknowledge HTLs intention to generate a debate on the subject. I personally think there is a huge difference in taking performance enhancing substances as compared to surgery to correct a defect within the body. If corrective eye surgery is questionable, then what about wearing sunglasses. Could they not loosely be described as performance enhancing. Even more extreme could be clothing manufacturers who spend vast sums of money developing "moisture wicking" materials. These are designed to keep a golfer comfortable and hence may give an advantage over someone in a traditional material. Performance enhancing? I think we would all agree that this is no more performance enhancing than wearing a golf glove

 

[HTL]

Don't be silly! it can be compared to a footballer wearing an ankle support! is that cheating? no

All athletes can strap their ankles, not all athletes can afford laser eye surgery, thats hardly fair is it? And sport is suppose to be a fair competition?

Can see this post is going down as well as a fart in a space shuttle

 

[Pinseeker]

Can see this post is going down as well as a fart in a space shuttle

haha you started it! and as for

not all athletes can afford laser eye surgery, thats hardly fair is it

oh boo hoo! they should try harder then!

 

[ColinR]

Don't be silly! it can be compared to a footballer wearing an ankle support! is that cheating? no

All athletes can strap their ankles, not all athletes can afford laser eye surgery, thats hardly fair is it? And sport is suppose to be a fair competition?

Can see this post is going down as well as a fart in a space shuttle

So other players on the tour cant afford corrective eye surgery ?

What are you going to come up with next ??

 

[HTL]

You in a bad mood today ColinR?

And no not all golfers can afford laser eye surgery, think of all the players in Q school for example.

 

[OldWindy]

I don't think you can say it's cheating until the PGA (or perhaps an over litigious competitor sues and sets a legal precedent) decides otherwise. Let common sense prevail.

Intersting and thought provoking post, tho.

 

[HTL]

It is one of those "well its not really cheating but it is unfair" Its like the new second skin swimming costumes.

 

[Pinseeker]

Intersting and thought provoking post, tho

No its not

 

[HTL]

Thanks Pinseeker. True gent.

Over and out....................

 

[brendy]

Having 20/20 vision isnt an advantage, its a natural right, if hes been playing with gammy eyes and a bad left side I cant wait to see what he can do fully operational! haha.

 

[Pinseeker]

Thanks Pinseeker. True gent.

Over and out....................

lol... your welcome

 

[ColinR]

htl, not in a bad mood really & my posts are not meant to be overly aggressive

I think you went off a little half cocked on this one. Perhaps you could have talked about gaining an advantage etc, but I think it is a stretch to potentially accuse Tiger of being a cheat for this action.

Cheers, Colin.

 

[USER1999]

The interesting thing to me about this subject is that Tiger had this done to correct rubbish eye sight, but that it actually made his eyesight better than what would be considered normal for some one who didn't wear glasses. Hence it is more 'vision enhancement'. So much so, that other players who have never needed glasses have also had it done to gain better than 20/20 eyesight. (bear in mind the bottom line in an eyesight test is not meant to be read with 'normal' vision).

Now this is could be likened to a sprinter having a surgical op to make his legs longer. Good eye sight in any sport is an advantage.

Maybe vision needs to be capped at a certain level, if it isn't natural.

 

[HTL]

Thanks Pinseeker. True gent.

Over and out....................

lol... your welcome

Why bother being on a forum just to piss people off?

Thank you murth etc for you sensible responce.

Yes I should have spent more time explaining the post. It is a fault of mine, I often rush ahead with my students.

At no time have I called Tiger a cheat hence the use of a question mark, it was just to get a debate / talking point not to get abuse from a select minority of new members on here.

I ask you all with respect to please treat this like you would your club house and treat other members with respect otherwise we would just turn this great online hide away into a advertising board / insult other people forum.

 

[haplesshacker]

IMHO, it's an interesting one. Essentially Tigers had his vision 'corrected' permanently through the use of modern technology. Which anyone can have done, and lots have.

So if I was to surgicaly improve my very weak and busted right shoulder, which is painful whilst playing golf, and increase it's strength, would that be cheating?

If Steve Austin (the Bionic Man) played golf, is that cheating or just making use of modern technology.

This is something that will become an ever more present threat to sport in the future. Especially with the way that bio-mechanics is moving. Or have I just been watching to many Robocop type films?

This is a huge topic.

 

[viscount17]

actually it is interesting, if somewhat provocatively titled.

since I've just broken my glasses the subject of laser correction did arise - no good in my case as I need to fix both ends and the middle!

so in that sense yes it is cheating as it is NOT available to everybody. (still I'll now always have that as an excuse. )

even the Snellen charts (see I did learn something) aren't standard and the 20/20 line (6/6 in UK as eye tests have gome metric) can be either the 3rd or 4th from bottom. (and the little number above the line is the distance from which someone with 6/6 vision should be able to read it.)