I’m sick of this Tiger thing. Not sick about it—discovering that an idol has feet of clay—but sick of hearing it, reading it, and being asked about it.

It’s time to leave Tiger alone and let him try to solve his personal problems privately, just as any of us would want in a similar situation. Yes, he is a public figure, but that doesn’t give us the right to invade his privacy. He is not a politician, when his private actions could affect policy and how our tax dollars are spent. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think that Team Tiger’s long-standing policy of not talking (and not letting their man say much that isn’t scripted) has worked in his favor: It isn’t as if he’s been fulminating about ethical and moral issues or pretending to be a good church-goer while cavorting in the pews. Yeah, he has said some things about being a father that now look less than sincere, but that’s been about it. And he’s been pretty good for charity, which is worth something.

Now my question: Why is Tiger paying Rachel Uchitel (if in fact he is) one thin dime to shut up and keep emails and voicemails from public eyes and ears? We already know he’s been tom-catting around, and more important, Elin does, too. So why pay this woman—and leave himself open to more “greenmail”—to keep anything quiet? What more can we learn? That he likes Ambien sex? That he has other kinks? So what? The only potential harm could be to his endorsements, and I’m sure Tiger’s people have already spoken at length to the likes of Nike, AT&T, Gatorade, etc. (They all deal with athletes so they know what goes on once the games are over.)

If there are real secrets in Ms. Uchitel’s inbox, maybe the hush money makes sense. If not, he should derail the alleged million-plus-dollar gravy train.

Now the suggestion. Again, since Tiger isn’t a politician and really doesn’t depend on the public for much (does anyone think he plays golf for the adulation of fans?), and since his time would be well spent trying to fix his marriage, I think he should take the next year off from golf. That’s right. Stay home, play with the kids, prove to his wife that he’s done with the messing around (not going on the road would certainly help), and while he’s there, continue with couples therapy or sex therapy or whatever it is she wants from him.

Besides (theoretically) fixing things at home, this would have the added benefit of building up the public’s lust for his return to golf in 2011. We saw how the game did when he was out for nine months after the 2008 U.S. Open, and then the great interest in his return. So do it again. Make people forget the bad stuff and pine for the return of the greatest golfer of our time. (Fans and TV networks would suffer, as would the PGA Tour, but maybe that’s deserved punishment for our insatiable curiosity. We all flew too close to the fire, we’re all going to get burned.)

A little penance would be good for the soul, his as well as ours.

This would be a pretty big sacrifice for Tiger, but probably not financially. He could still do commercials and appearances, as long as he opens up a bit to the media (appearances on Oprah?) and does good at the same time. More charitable work, more First Tee, more Nike-endorsed campaigns (Tiger needs to launch his version of Lance Armstrong’s “LiveStrong”; how about “LiveClean”?), etc.

In the spirit of his Thai heritage, Tiger should become like a novice Buddhist monk for one year (without the saffron robes), devoting himself to good. President Obama can send him on goodwill missions (I’d like to see an exhibition match with North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il, who claims to have had something like a dozen holes-in-one in his first round of golf); General Motors might want to hire him back to inspire us to buy Buicks and other American-made cars (hell, he can buy us each one!); Nike can have him campaign for better phys-ed programs in schools and against childhood obesity. You get the idea. One year, free to America and the world, to repair his image and repair whatever problems he can.

My humble suggestion. Just Do It. Yes He Can.