Once again, a cultural icon is brought down from his pedestal. Unsurprisingly, this Tiger is behaving just like the animal he is, pursuing multiple erotic opportunities as they arise. Availing himself of the many willing females in heat is par for the mammalian course.

It’s not really his libido that’s the root of the problem (nor is the problem what he does with his root!). The issue isn’t that he’s mating with multiples. The real problem is that he’s not doing it with integrity. In other words, when he plays the intimacy game, he’s cheating.

And why would we expect any different? In golf, there are clear rules about how to behave on the course, what you can do with your clubs and how you handle your balls. For a high level professional like Tiger Woods, cheating is out of the question. And no one would expect anything different.

In relationships, we are not so fortunate. While the official rules seem to require mandatory monogamy for all (one game, on one course, with one partner), on the unofficial side of the fence, cheating is tacitly condoned (at least until you get caught).

For most people, these are the only games in town. Monogamy, or “cheating.”

These are not the only options, though. If you want to have more than one playmate, there’s a third way—engage in honest consensual multiple partner relationships, also known as polyamory.

This offers a whole new mating game for humans with one basic ground rule—no cheating! After that, it’s up to you. You get to decide what game you want to play and who and how many you want to play it with. Then you find other people who want to play the same game. Whether you decide to play with no partners, one partner, or many players, on one course, two courses or all over the world – it doesn’t matter as long as you’re all playing the same game and following the same explicit rules.

Whether you choose to be sexual with only one or to have more erotic playmates doesn’t in and of itself determine your moral integrity or worth. There are no rights or wrongs in your (consensual) sex life. One partner, threesomes, foursomes, whatever: none are good or bad, better or worse. What’s important is that you tell the truth, have mutual agreements and then play by the rules you agree to. No trickery, no lying or misleading allowed.

Just to be clear, polyamory does not mean you recklessly swing your clubs at any ball and aim for any hole. It means that if you choose to be in multiple intimate and/or sexual relationships, all parties are aware of and in agreement with the plan. This requires a very high level of relationship skills as it takes an ongoing commitment to clear communication and the ability to negotiate to discover win-win solutions, often including compromises. Conscious relationships are not for cowards. To do it well takes balls! (And great skill if you’re going to use your putter properly and safely.)

We all could use lessons in relationship skills, instructions in how to navigate the course and handle a woodie with passion and power. Conscious relationships, especially consensual non-monogamy, can provide a whole new way to be in relationship that includes more freedom, opportunities for connection, pleasure and sex—but only if everyone in the game is playing at a very high level of ability and integrity.

Despite the animal desires that may fuel the game, wild animals need not apply! Untamed tigers may have ferocious desires, big appetites that crave diverse erotic encounters. But having multiple sexual partners requires a high level of emotional maturity to manage to simultaneously play on numerous greens and handle your putter in the complex sport of open relationships.

If you want to be wild and free, you can be, but only within the context of the no-cheating ground-rule. Create the agreements that really work for you. Resolve that lying, stealing and sneaking around the rules, in any way, shape or form is not an option. Find others who want to play the same course at the same skill level … and then have all the fun you want.

Whether mono or poly, consensual honest relationships will circumvent the embarrassing dramas that regularly erupt at home and in the media as real-life humans behave like the randy animals we all are. Just imagine if Tiger had had a polyamorous relationship with his wife! There’d be no fodder for the scandal rags. In fact, he wouldn’t even be a cheetah!

If you want to rut like an animal, it’s best to do it at a conscious, human level. Wouldn’t it be nice if we lived in a world where all those cheating tigers were an endangered species!