Some elite golfers on the PGA Tour have admitted to using psychedelics and other substances in a bid to improve their game. A number of these substances do not feature on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list, meaning athletes will not be sanctioned for using them.
D.J. Trahan, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, is among those who believe psychedelics can bring huge benefits on and off the course. The 43-year-old credited ‘plant medicine’ for improving his mental health in an interview with Golf Digest last year.
“Plant medicine gets an unfortunate reputation because people look at it as drugs,” he said. “They’re not honouring it for what it is.”
Trahan also spoke about his experience with ayahuasca, a powerful psychedelic which is primarily used for spiritual purposes by indigenous cultures in South America. The active chemical is dimethyltryptamine, more commonly known as DMT.
Taylor Massey, who helped a company called Medterra CBD launch its golf division, introduced Trahan to ayahuasca in 2019. Massey is well-versed on the subject, given that he serves as a ‘psychedelic advisor’ to dozens of professional golfers.
He makes microdoses of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, mixed with several other legal ingredients. These include CBD, one of the psychoactive compounds found in cannabis, and lion’s mane, a fungus said to have various health benefits.
“It’s a way to manage stress and the grind of golf without taking Zoloft or Wellbutrin or any pharmaceutical drugs,” explained Massey. “This is just a natural remedy in tiny doses.”
Psilocybin, which is illegal in the UK, is another popular choice with golfers looking to improve their game. One unnamed player who racked up a streak of wins on the PGA Tour last year has credited his use of the substance for his resurgence.
He said: “Psilocybin allows me to get a deep breath on the course that I haven’t been able to get in years.”
Christopher Smith, a golf instructor who has taught a number of PGA Tour winners, has organised retreats in Mexico which use plant medicine to help players. According to Golf Digest, they are billed as ‘traditional medicines and therapies for your golf’.
Only time will tell if more PGA Tour golfers will begin to experiment with microdosing psychedelics in the future. For now, it remains a niche solution but it seems the movement is well and truly underway, with many said to be feeling the purported benefits.
