Dump the Alcohol: Marijuana-Smoking Golfers Could Become More Common

Now that marijuana is legalized for recreational use in Colorado and Washington - two great golfing venues in the United States - marijuana use on the golf course could become more frequent, and some golfers might benefit as a result.

Golf Digest writer David Courtney decided to take a trip out to Colorado and play a round at Denver's City Park Golf Course. This particular outing was higher than usual: the course is 5,250 feet above sea level, and the two cannabis-infused lemon drops along with the gingerbread cookie laced with 100 milligrams of THC didn't make it any lower.

Typically accustomed to a Blood Mary or an Irish Coffee at this hour, David found himself at times putting on his golf glove to putt shortly after he had just taken it off to putt. But despite the bouts of forgetfulness, David was having a relaxed afternoon with his three other golf buddies - who were also smoking and consuming marijuana throughout the round.

David and his group of fellow marijuana smokers finished their round just over four hours and David scored a 99 on the day, which he says is 10-15 strokes worse than his usual score, but was definitely not out of the ordinary. The marijuana didn't seem to affect their pace of play, and if David were to get used to the feeling of being high on the course, his scores are likely to improve. Some golfers have reported that marijuana provides them with a good competitive edge, a way to relax and tune out distractions, or a way to focus on each particular shot without thinking ahead.

With the law changing slowly throughout the United States, marijuana-toking golfers could become a larger sector of the country's golfing population. Especially since some don't see the difference between carrying a personal 12-pack of beer onto the course and smoking a joint in the woods in between shots. And if one does, that might change very soon. Justin Hartfield is the CEO of Weedmaps in California. He recalls being left out of a foursome at one of his golf clubs because of another "conservative" player's preference.

"It's funny because this guy will have a double [cocktail] at 9:30 a.m. and another double at the turn, but if I brought my torch out, he'd be like, 'What the f--- is this?!'," Hartfield said in this Golf Digest article.

Mr. Hartfield also has a California state-issued medical marijuana card, and he recommends that golfers smoke different strains of marijuana during different times of the golf round because of varying effects.

"So there's different types of weed for different times in the round," adds Hartfield in another Golf Digest article. If I had my druthers, I'd start with a strain that was very high in THC-v. For me, that's really energetic and really gets me going and excited on the first couple of holes. There's no sort of lethargy or anything like that. It's like the perfect, ultimate, morning, no-comedown kind of high. A strain that's high in THC-v is called Green Crack." You can read more about his marijuana suggestions here.

The scientific and medical knowledge of recreational marijuana use is probably the greatest it has ever been, and now it could be used (eventually) to remedy your golf game for any physical or mental issues you may experience throughout your round.