Golfer's Embrace CBD
PGA and Champions Tour players have spoken about using CBD to treat injuries and things bothering them since CBD was removed from banned substances list in 2018. Billy Horschel, the 2014 FedEx Cup champion, is convinced that the CBD creams and powders that he used contributed to his comeback after struggling at the British Open. The CBD products increased his sleep quality and decreased inflammation in his knees and ankles. Tour members Bubba Watson and Scott McCarron are both paid endorsers for CBD products. Their advocacy signals a growing acceptance of CBD use in the conservative world of golf.
For players who traverse time zones regularly and routinely finish rounds at dinnertime on one day and then tee off early the next morning, subpar sleep is virtually an occupational hazard. Horschel said that when he had an afternoon tee time, followed the next day by an early-morning round, he might get only four hours of sleep because he would have so much adrenaline in his system after his late finish. “It would take me so long to calm down and to sort of shut my brain down,” Horschel said. Beam’s sleep product “has been a massive help for that,” he added.
The way McCarron sees it, the players are better off taking CBD products than a prescription drug. “Ambien, Xanax, any of those drugs are so bad for you,” McCarron said after last season’s season finale on the Champions Tour, where the players are more open about their CBD use, their chronic aches and pains caused by decades of wear and tear on their bodies perhaps emboldening them to speak. Referring to CBD, McCarron continued: “Why not promote it? I wish the tour would be a little more behind it.”
Just like when we choose our products, golfers have to be very selective when it comes to choosing their CBD products. THC is among the list of banned substances in golf, and some CBD products may contain small traces of THC. Typically companies should provide test results of their products, showing if there is any THC in their products. Whether you are a professional athlete, or anyone looking to buy CBD, it is important to look at test results to see what is in the product you’re buying.