When Tiger Woods finally emerged from his trip through the wilderness of marital infidelity, he vowed to make some life changes. One of them was to reconnect to Buddhism, the religion of his youth.

It's fair to say Buddhism could make him a better person. But here's a scary notion for the rest of the PGA Tour: There's a reasonable chance it could make him a better golfer, too.

A growing number of golfers and golf coaches all over the world are warming up to the idea that the ancient religion, which teaches followers to let go of their egos, attachments and desires in order to attain enlightenment, could be the faith most suited to making somebody a holy terror on the links.

Thanks to the growing ranks of players from Asia, new Asian tour events and a handful of coaches who have been introducing elements of Eastern philosophy to Western players, golfers from a range of religious backgrounds are tinkering with everything from daily meditation and Buddhist breathing techniques to pilgrimages to Buddhist monasteries in Thailand.

The basic idea: to alleviate suffering on the golf course by cultivating inner peace, self-awareness and a sense of responsibility for one's actions. "It puts you in a peaceful plane," Vijay Singh told reporters while visiting a Buddhist abbot in a Thai temple several years ago. "It's pretty rough out there on the PGA Tour."