Micro Golf

Microdosing psychedelics is thought to have potential benefits for anxiety and depression. Could it help golfers on the greens, too?

When a golfer dies, they hope to wake up in a place like Juniper Preserve. Nestled within a centuries-old forest in the state of Oregon, US, the site features two lush green golf courses, as well as a clubhouse, wellness centre and heated pools. And if wellness projector Melissa Sanchez gets her way, soon it’ll be a place where golfers come to test the effects of psychedelic drugs. After psilocybin was legalised in Oregon – providing users are over 21 and in a supervised setting – she suggested allowing players to alter their minds.

Sanchez doesn’t envision Juniper Preserve as a place where golfers are tripping on the greens and driving balls while high. The drugs, she explains, will be distributed under the watchful eye of state-licensed facilitators.

She’s already working alongside neuroscientist Robin Carhartt-Harris on a study that would test the effect of microdosing on performance.

Psilocybin has been shown to distort our perceptions and senses; several studies have shown its usefulness in treating depression, anxiety and addictions. Since he opened his mind to the use of psychedelics, two-time PGA Tour winner DJ Trahan has said he’s seen ‘healing on levels you can’t even imagine’. Sanchez hopes others will be equally receptive to the idea.

She points to the psychedelics’ positive effect on neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to adapt and change. ‘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,’ she says. But by improving neuroplasticity, psilocybin could help golfers change their playing style or break through mental barriers.