Golf Trip? Pro-Golfers Are Taking Psychedelics to Improve Their Game

To the outsider golf may seem like a walk in the park (literally!) but in reality, the elite professionals of this sport are under a great deal of pressure. Traditionally, golfers have dealt with the stressors of the game using pharmaceuticals. Now they are discovering that not only can psychedelics like psilocybin and ayahuasca do the same job, they can even improve their game-play. 

“A Freedom Like No Other”

One player from the PGA Tour, who had just achieved a streak of top finishes, told Golf Digest;

“Psilocybin allows me to get a deep breath on the course that I haven’t been able to get in years,”

 “Being able to authentically assess each and every shot without judgment or fear has created a freedom like no other.” 

He also explained that during the most recent golf season, after beginning a microdosing practice, he had improved his metrics to his highest standards. 

A Microdosing Mix For Pro-Golfers

Taylor Massay, a four-time club champion at both The Country Club of Virginia and the La Costa Country Club, has become a sort of unofficial “psychedelic advisor” to dozens of pro golfers, as well as veterans as part of the Coming Home Project. Massey was instrumental in helping a company called Medterra CBD launch its golf division, but as well as CBD (cannabidiol) Massey advises players about psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms.

He assembles microdoses of psilocybin mixed with several other legal ingredients. Like the Stamets Stack, they include lion’s mane, a fungus that has been used for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is known for anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective qualities, as well as protecting the lining of the stomach.

“It’s a way to manage stress and the grind of golf without taking Zoloft or Wellbutrin or any pharmaceutical drugs,” Massey explains. “This is just a natural remedy in tiny doses.”

Ayahuasca Helps Golfers Return to the Game

Massey also has a recommendation for those who are after a more intensive experience — ayahuasca. DJ Trahan, two-time PGA Tour winner who followed Massey’s advice says the DMT-containing psychedelic brew changed his life. 

“I was like, ‘You know, Taylor, I’ve been struggling for a long time. My golf had been struggling, and I felt completely lost. I never understood that the answers were within me.” Trahan says. He believes that plant medicine — most notably ayahuasca — has significantly improved his mental health. “Plant medicine gets an unfortunate reputation because people look at it as drugs. They’re not honoring it for what it is.”

Currently, neither psilocybin not DMT (which is the psychedelic compound in ayahuasca) are prohibited by world golfing anti-doping rules. The usage of psychedelics is still a pretty ‘out there’ in the broader golfing world, but it’s certainly growing in popularity. 

Sports and Scientific Research Collaborate

Its growth in popularity is such that the operators of Oregon’s Juniper Reserve, which houses two world-renowned golf courses, have started working with esteemed psychedelics researcher Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris. With Dr. Carhart-Harris on board, they are working on a study investigating the efficacy of psilocybin on golf performance. Golfers will be given their first microdose, and will then have to wait an hour before teeing off. 

In an interview with Men’s Health, Melissa Snachez, Juniper Reserve’s wellness projector enthused; 

“This is as cutting-edge as health and wellness can be,”

 “In golf, there’s this idea that once you’ve been playing for long enough, you develop specific habits that are hard to break out of.”

(After using psychedelics)  “They are able to make these small modifications within their own practices that benefit them, big time.”

A Wider Understanding of the Power of Psychedelics

This tallies with the research that has found psychedelics, like psilocybin, to be effective in helping those with certain mental health conditions to relearn behaviors. For example, those who suffer from depression are often caught in negative thought and behavioral loops. Psilocybin has been shown to ‘reset’ the brain, by increasing neuroplasticity, thus helping the sufferer move forward and make a fresh start. There is no reason why these powers could not transfer into relearning habits in the sports world too. 

Pros and Hobbyists Alike Love Psilocybin

Zooming out from the pro-golf world, the hobby golfers are also in on the act. On the golf subreddit (r/golf) people share their experiences of adding some psychedelic spice to their game. For example u/Neverendingmuthrfuk writes;

“I’ve always been a bit of a psychonaut and I love to play golf so naturally I wanted to try them together. I’ve done it a total of three times now, ate .4 and played last week with no obvious effect. Upped the dose to .8 and played again the other day it it didn’t really count since it was low 40s* with 20 MPH winds. I tried again yesterday, perfect weather and I ate 1g, ended up shooting a 78 with three birdies. One of the birdies was a 90’ putt, which is the longest putt I’ve ever made.

 It was a great day. Nothing psychedelic happened but I was really feeling myself out there. As a 12ish handicap my previous best score was an 85. The only thing I really learned yesterday is I’m ok at golf but I’m really good at eating mushrooms. Has anyone else had a similar experience?”

It seems that from hobbyists to professionals, psychedelics can make the green sparkle. Maybe all sports that require a level of zen, a level of concentration, could benefit from a sprinkle of psilocybin?

Darts? Pool? Bowling?

Let’s play.