How Tiger Woods Could Change the Public's View on Golf Forever

Gone are the days in which golf was viewed as one of the most honorable professional sports worldwide.

Gone are the days where golfers were the only athletes to be exempt from questions about performance-enhancing drugs and other such forms of cheating.

Most of all, gone are the days which golfers were viewed as the men who called penalties on themselves, who lost graciously and won with a tip of a hat to the crowd.

No flashy dances and no outrageous celebrations (unless you include Tiger's fist pump as flashy or outrageous). 

In the past month, golfers have gone from having a limited number of questions about the use of performance-enhancing drugs in their sport, to getting thrown into the lion's den because one man believed he was above it.

One man believed he was untouchable, for the simple fact he benefited his sport in ways that no other professional golfer could.

Because of this one man, golf has been the last thing professionals have been asked about, because it seems they have been asked more about their morals in regards to their peer's situation than the round they played earlier that day.

And, because of one man, professional golfers will forever be questioned as the honorable men they were once assumed to be.

Golf was viewed as the most honest sport to ever be played, with players having to call their own penalties and conform to the general etiquette, which were enforced only through a golfer's conscience.

If you step in another player's line, you will not be penalized, however, you will get a few dirty looks and some flack in the locker room.

It seems as though golf has become the same as any other of the big sports in the United States.

Since the now-infamous Friday morning episode at Tiger Woods' home, it has become public knowledge he will be getting divorced due to his countless affairs (I mean, who knows how many women he really slept with), and most recently, his one-time doctor getting caught smuggling in illegal PEDs from Canada.

Now, in no way am I saying Tiger Woods has participated in taking any illegal drugs to boost his talent.

But we have seen this type of story too many times in recent years—the doctor tied to many big-name athletes getting caught red-handed with illegal substances.

If it comes out that Tiger has used illegal PEDs, it will crush golf forever in the eyes of many Americans.

Gone forever will be the days which golfers were given the benefit of the doubt, due to the skill of the game and the integrity the game represents.

This past month has made many lose faith in the golf they once supported—the golf which Arnold Palmer helped rise in public approval, the sport which Tiger Wood's single handedly helped build to one of the most marketable in the United States.

For the sake of golf, I hope these Tiger storylines disappear and never see the light of day again.

Long gone are the days in which professional athletes had their personal life, and their life and image to the public. Many golfers of the past were known to have many lady friends in different places, not saying any names, of course. Now, there is no privacy to an athlete, their lives are very public, and they must walk the fine line.

Tiger has made golf what it is today.

Many of the professionals who have questioned him, and the ones who have taken no stance, owe most of their yearly salary to Tiger Woods.

He has drawn in sponsors dollars' for years, and the purse at each tournament is high due to Tiger's influence on golf and how golf its marketed.

But it is upsetting that because this one man has made some poor decisions after making great ones for many years, it seems the world of golf will have to endure a dark age in order to see the light again.