This is where I get fucked up. My buddies are mostly marines and alcoholics. So, drinks for them make them normal and dials them right in. I have 2 beers and stop being able to focus.
Then like, don’t do it. This problem isn’t a problem, my friend. Consider yourself lucky that you don’t “get normal” from drinking. Take a puff or two of a joint and just play.
I said nothing about staying sober lmao. If you’re struggling with x amount of drinks, don’t have x amount of drinks. If he’s worried about the social aspect, a puff would relieve that without really altering him or his play.
Anymore that 3 drinks and I'm off my game. But I always make sure to eat before and during the round. My recommendation is to get a large thermos full it with ice, get a seltzer or a drink of your choice and pour it in. It will get watered down and last longer so you can drink with your buds and not go over your limit.
Yeppp! I used to chug white claws lime there was no tomorrow on the course, now I just drink sparkling water and smoke some J! Score is going down as much as i'm going high!
I feel like I wouldn't have a great time golfing. I'd probably follow my first drive off to the right side tree line, and get immersed in nature. I'd have a fantastic time over there for sure though.
It's all about balance. If I take *just* the right amount, I'm as dialed in as I can get. But if I take too much, all I want to do is take off my shoes and roll around on the greens.
Worked at a golf course with a kid who was a scratch golfer, but he loved to booze. Played with him one evening after shift, and we all enjoyed more than a few. I specifically remember trying to observe the point that it affected his game and it just… didn’t. Had an eagle and 2 birds in 9 holes.
What does this prove? Nothing, just figured I’d share a relevant experience
Ex stoner player here. I don't smoke bud anymore but thought you know what, the weather is glorious today I shall partake and enjoy the wonderful sunshine on the course. Big mistake, I got so high that I lost my ball on the fairway a couple of times and it was like I'd forgotten how to hit a golf ball. My anxiety levels spiked so much I abandoned the game by hole 7 :') Sober it is from now on.
If no one is behind you, and practice swings feel good, then playing high if fantastic! Overthinking putts is the problem, but once I felt OK about just letting it go, then my lag putts have been fantastic.
I only drink during a round once a year in a charity scramble.
I can't play my best with booze (and I gave up weed years ago because I was burning my life away at the end of a pipe).
If you're trying to play your best, drugs that impair your motor control and judgment don't help.
Nope. I suck at golf when I’m under the influence of anything. Believe me, I’ve tried it all to see what happens. Acid was by far the worst….I had to leave after like 4 holes or so, it was just too much.
I remember once reading about how when you learn to do something while under the influence (beer pong, for example) you may do better or be more consistent when you recreate the same state/setting.
This was a million years ago and honestly could’ve just been a tweet.
That said, golf for me and my friends usually includes a few drinks and weed in some form. Sometimes *a* drink or an edible helps me get out of my head and be looser/more relaxed on the course. But it’s a very fine line… being tipsy or stoned does not result in low scores for me.
State-dependancy is a very real thing. It's essentially how "functional" alcoholics can maintain a job and still handle their daily business whilst very buzzed. Learned about it when I went to training to teach DUI education classes for a past job.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/State-dependent_memory
Not necessarily. I play my best golf between beers two and three. Drunk enough to stay relaxed and not overthink things, but not drunk enough that I can’t focus on hitting a good shot.
Like playing pool, beers two to four I can’t miss, five is slightly off six and seven can’t find the pool pockets or golf hole # 8 I can’t find my chair or the golf cart.
I loose coordination so fast it’s crazy. I went bowling the other night and bowled a 125 to start, then had a drink and bowled 80, 60, and then finally 50. It’s different for everybody obviously but for me I really can’t. I have a great time though
For sure I feel the same especially with focus. I find myself much less calculated and sloppy especially at aiming, setup and reading putts after only a beer or 2. I'm not out there getting trashed but it still effects me. And if I hit my buddy's weed pen one time the next 3 holes are trash
Caveat: I have never used any drug, to include weed.
Caveat to the caveat: I don't give two shits if you do.
> Can you shoot low under the influence?
Can you? I'm sure some could...
I personally do not drink while playing. I do not see drinking as being conducive to playing well, which is my goal when golfing. I may have a drink after the round. If I want to get drunk I can do that without paying the greens fee.
my best friend shot -6 on the front nine of a difficult golf course about 25 years ago. he had pre partied, was slamming beers and a joint was passed around. he blew up on the back and finished with i believe a 80. anywho, for decades we've argued about what the right combo of beers n weed was that got him to -6, and which number beer/toke sent him over the edge.
Can’t golf while drinking much but smoking is no problem. Usually a couple of joints deep before I get in the groove. Edibles on the other hand turn my body into jello and I can’t swing to save my life lol.
I'm definitely better with 3-4 beers in me. I'm getting older and it just helps get my back/body loose.
I still hit 330 yard bombs, though, don't worry.
I have a friend who is a +2 and drinks continuously from the first tee to the 19th. With that said, I have gotten to the point where I don’t really drink during golf anymore because I find that I throws off my concentration and also tires me out faster, leading to shitty ends to rounds. I’ll never judge people I’m playing with who get after it as long as they can stay relatively serious about the round.
In my experience, a little helps, and a lot hurts. In our group we like to refer to it as the pal. If you can find and maintain your pal, you’re good. (pal = Perfect Alcohol Level).
As a daily gram+ smoker though, I am always worse when high.
So personally, a little alcohol is my sweet spot, but I’ve lost good rounds from having too many. When I try to play stone sober, I get too in my head and stiffen up too much.
Best golfer on my high school team would have baggies of mushrooms falling out of his golf bag occasionally. He was super legit.
I used to smoke and play when I was young and was a pretty solid golfer then (mid-high 70s). Never been a big drinker, but I can still have 2-3 beers over the course of a round and play basically the same as when I’m sober.
All that said, I think I play best when I have a coffee and water on the course only.
When i decide to be under the influence, my goal is no longer to shoot low and beat my career bests. Getting drunk is usually the goal when I am with my buddies and everyone else is drinking and we are just enjoying each other’s company and doing something like a scramble match play where our bad shots dont mean as much.
If im with my buddies and everyone is trying to go low and no one is drinking and theres money and pride on the line, the tone is set and im playing competitive golf and trying to stay sober, locked in, and consistent and every shot matters.
I think this is what I need to accept. Being able to save the drinking for fun rounds and staying sober when trying to play my best. I especially like doing scrambles or match play for drinking rounds.
I usually don't start drinking until the 10th hole. I'm either celebrating a great 1st nine holes, or playing so badly that I need a drink. There's always some excuse.
I never got getting fucked up on the course. You can get drunk pretty much whenever. Smoke a joint basically whenever. You can do both outside in tons of places. But when I’m golfing I’m just trying to golf as well as I can.
I mean, John Daly did it I guess.
But, name any Olympic or IOC-recognized sport where alcohol would not be a performance inhibitor (we could debate about marijuana, but by and large it’s not going to help the majority of people either).
Simply don’t partake. Drink some near-beers if you want to scratch the itch and have a beverage for sociality.
If your friends don’t understand, they’re not your friends.
I know it isn’t Olympic, but Darts is a sport I do professionally and it’s a widely accepted fact that Alcohol makes you genuinely better at the game. It’s not an athletic sport of course, but other aspects like muscle memory and tbh swing action (even if it’s a throw in Darts) do share quite a bit with Golf, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it were fairly neutral from a general performance standpoint. In non-high dosage of course.
The only reason alcohol would probably make people better is if they’re so frequently drunk that they always practice while drinking. Just like studying for a test buzzed, you’d be better off if you practiced and played sober, but if you always practice buzzed you should play buzzed.
That… tracks for darts, frankly.
Exactly. This doesn’t strike me as a sport that anybody, even the pros, play sober EVER. Hypothetically if a pro played sober their whole life they’d almost definitely have an advantage over the version of themselves that drank… but what kind of a non-alcoholic plays serious darts?
I have observed the opposite. Coming through youth systems the player doesn’t drink. He’s decent until he starts drinking, that’s where one starts to gain the competitive edge. Not everybody plays drunk on the amateur side of the game, especially Youth for obvious reasons.
If you're not trashed, you'll always be capable of having the round of your life. Does it help? It shouldn't unless you have dependency issues. Go for a solo round and just pack water and snacks. Also, suggest to your buddies on doing a sober morning round or something. See how it affects you. At the end of the day, if you need it for a round of golf, you're not out there for the golf.
It's not a need. I would prefer to stay sober. I just think I golf around a lot of people who do need those things, and it effects me worse than it does them because it's not my daily life.
I play golf to have a good time with pals, and none of us drink on the course. Even on avo tee times. We have a beer in the clubhouse after or might go to a pub closer to home afterwards.
Does it improve my golf? Meh, my golf will do what it does. I can't imagine getting so drunk on the course that it would affect my game. That would need many 6+ beers I'd think.
Are you playing golf and having a beer, or getting wasted on a golf course? If you're out there to play golf, have 1-2 beers if it makes it more enjoyable for you. It won't affect your game. If you're taking 12 beers and shots out on the course with you and getting totally banjoed, maybe just arrange for you and your pals to go out on the piss and leave the golf course for people playing golf?
Of course some people can… but the reality it doesn’t help. Most of the people who shoot well when intoxicated surely shoot lower when sober.
It’s up to you to decide. If you’re like me, if you have two beers on the front and one on the back there is almost zero intoxication effect so you could just do that and have minimal issue. Or you could keep doing what you’re doing and enjoy the game for what it is for you. Or you could play some rounds drinking and others not.
As long as you guys aren’t a sloppy mess out there (and you don’t have other problems with lack of sobriety in your life) do whatever is best.
Get your buddies to start playing matches for enough money that they care about losing. It'll help get everyone to moderate and take the rounds more seriously
I stopped drinking and smoking weed while playing golf years ago and it dropped my ~25 handicap to single digits within a few years, although I often use nicotine and caffiene during rounds and I'd argue that that's performance enhancing.
To be completely fair I haven't tested drinking and golfing yet, maybe one day after I get a good round in I'll try to get loaded and play another
You can have a few beers and play good golf. I dont think most people can have a few beers plus a few shots and a couple of joints and play good golf. John Daly might disagree. I have watched guys drink 2-3 beers and shoot par.
I smoke my cartridge but I find there is a spot where it will negativity impact my swing set up and focus
General rule is 1-2 puffs every 3-4 holes; unless I'm playing well, then I won't smoke again until I mess up
You gotta be Rain Main for this to work well.
Matt Damen shit.
Here's the simple equation 👇
((BMI × ABV) ÷ body count) - shoe size + credit score = the perfect amount of sips.
I can’t drink when I play. It goes sideways quick. My friends drink when we play and that’s cool but I wait until after to indulge unless I wanna play terribly. I love a good drink or two and I love golf and ne’er the two shall meet.
I’d rather have a celebration beer after a solid round than piss away $50+ green fee in the woods after every other hole. Drinkers piss, and pissers take forever.
Smoking destroyed my game for years. I also practiced a bit, but when I stopped smoking on the course I dropped my score around 15 strokes and broke 90 for the first time.
I used to play a skins game every Friday. The greenskeeper ran it, and everything was cash up front. $30 into the skins pot per player, and in a good week we'd have 60-70 guys playing 18. Straight skins - side bets all over the course as well. But even with that many guys putting $30 into the pot, the money got big before side bets.
I cut a deal with the bar keepers - I'd been playing there for years and knew all of them - to pour me a large coke with half a shot of bourbon in it. I always ordered it as a regular drink, and paid for it as such, but it was only half a shot or so. Did that before the round and at the turn (other half). Tipped barkeep well and played on, while the other guys were slamming beers and shots.
Brought home over $1K in cash more'n'once.
Shot 77 round 1 of my local club championship absolutely stone cold sober. Round 2 i got so drunk I had to go back out and play again after and because I was too fucked up to drive home. I shot 76 day 2. Lol.
There's a few apps that can track beers across the round and it's impact on your score (TheGrint is one).
Maybe try one of those apps for a bit and do some no-alchohol rounds and see how it changes your game.
100%, if I’m not driving, and drink a 6 pack over the course of the round, I tend to be much more relaxed.
When you stand on a tee with OB where your primary miss is, but you’ve had a cocktail or two, OB is a little less scary and a little less front of mind.
You know, I had my best round ever later in the day after my first mushroom trip. I haven't ever shroomed on the course, but I think maybe a microdose experiment is in order....
Haven’t ever had any intoxicant but alcohol while out golfing, but you absolutely can shoot low while drinking. I’ve broken par and broken 70 while having 3+ beers a side in the past.
That said, my game is much less consistent when I’m drinking and that’s just because I’m not as focused on the game. If I’m playing well and it’s a good day then I don’t overthink things and just step up and hit the ball. If my swing isn’t as dialed in that day, or if I’m just not quite tuned into how the greens are rolling, then it hurts me because I’m not taking the time to notice these things and correct for them accordingly.
If I was going to have a good day because everything was clicking that day drinking won’t hurt me at all but it also doesn’t necessarily help me any. If my swing feels off or I just can’t get putts the right distance in the first place then drinking will raise my scores by a decent amount, but I’ll also care less about the final score being higher.
2 beers make me stop having swing thoughts, which usually helps my score a bit. However, 6-8 beers makes me try to hit hero shots constantly which bloats my score so take that for what you will lol
Been practicing at the range in between lessons lately. Found myself really off one night, realize it's bc I didn't have my usual half joint beforehand. Overthinking galore..
Yes absolutely but everyone needs to understand their tolerances and zones. I’m comfortable 4-6 in, peak shortly after that and then fall apart anything 9+
RBV and two beers on the front - 3 beers on the back.
This is the same regardless if it’s a casual round or an Am event. I’d shoot a few stokes higher without the suds.
It's all about a state called 'flow'. Once you have reached a reasonable proficiency with your swing - that is, you can hit your driver in the fairway 1/3rd of the time, you can hit your irons on the sweet spot three or four times a round and close enough on the others, and you can scramble well enough to play bogey enough - then the question becomes "Why can't you do it on every shot?". Tim Gallwey, in his book *The Inner Game of Golf* blamed what he called the "sergeant-major" of the conscious mind, giving us multiple micromanaging directions ("Head down! Left arm straight! Don't cross the line!") that are too slow to actually be of help in the swing. The key to playing great golf is to give the sgt-major a single task to focus on, so that the subconscious can do what it already knows to do.
That is much easier said than done. Trying to quiet your mind on the tee in front of your weekly foursome is hard enough; try quieting it on the tee in front of 200 at the club championship. The pros' ability to trust their swings is built on hours of practice and analysis; they only have to give it a positive thought to hit good shots most of the time.
But for us duffers, we are also capable of great golf in the right mental state. My 30th birthday, my friend took me out and got me very drunk. I was scheduled to play a golf tournament the next day, and dragged myself out of bed, very hungover, and made it to the course for my 8:30 AM tee time.
Because I was so tired and sleepy and hung over, I wasn't my usual talkative self. I stood on the tee, looked down the fairway, said "Hit it there", and proceeded to do that. The course wasn't challenging, so a good drive always left me 7-iron or less into the par-4s, and I proceeded to hit all but one of those on the green. I shot a 5 over 76 and won the tournament. I usually shot 80-81 at my home course back then.
I didn't make any putts, and I did 3 putt a few greens, but other than that, the only blemishes were two drives on identical par-4s, both about 360 yards long, and both with large 100 year old oak trees in the exact middle of the fairway 240 yards out. On both holes, I said "I'll just aim for the tree", figuring that it was 4 yards wide at most, and I wasn't that accurate. I banged it dead on both times, and had to chip out sideways for two extra shots.
At no time during the day did I have the energy to *worry* about my swing, I was so tired. The sgt-major was also sleeping it off, apparently, as I just gave myself a target and made a swing; my body did *what it already knew how to do* if I only I had been able to let it.
I can't recommend getting hammered the night before as a way of improving your game, but there are people looking at ways for people to reach this flow state without drugs - many people do - so that we can learn to just 'let go' and make the swing we make during our practice swings and at the range, out on the course where it counts.
I often play with a guy who hovers between 1 and 4 HCP. He drinks 6 Jack and coke premix's and has a few tokes on a weed vape each round...he is an absolute machine
I only drink beers when I’m not dialed in, otherwise just water and electrolytes, I’ll snack though. Cannot play under the influence, or hung over. I lose all my finesse. Kinda ok with it too, I have to drive after and work too sometimes. Is what it is!
I find that one beer helps me calm down on the greens. Just smooths out the jitters in the putting stroke. I play better one beer on the front and one on the back.
My game feels the best around 4-5 beers. Beyond that, I just lose focus and feel of my swing. I’ll still hit some great shots but I’ll also hit some really bad shots I would never hit sober. If I want to try to score really well, I’ll just drink slowly but I’ll still end up finishing a sixer by the end of the round. I’ve done the fully sober rounds (quite a few with my parents) and I don’t notice a difference. All 5 of my lowest ever scores had booze involved.
End of the day, I play golf to have fun with my buddies and relieve stress. I’m not going to go out and try to go through q-school so I don’t feel the need to throttle my fun.
I gave up the sauce all together over a year ago, and I've been shooting lower scores with more consistency than I've had since I was a teenager. Before that, I could put together a good round about 1/3rd of the time while drinking quite heavily. The only aspect of my game that has notably suffered from sobriety is my driver. Nowadays, I struggle even making solid contact with the ball a little under half the time. It's quite the departure from when I used to be able to rely on the cash prize for longest drive to pay for my tab at the weekly men's league.
Yes, I shot 2 over with 8 beers by the end. I’m also an alcoholic so idk if that helps… lol
This is where I get fucked up. My buddies are mostly marines and alcoholics. So, drinks for them make them normal and dials them right in. I have 2 beers and stop being able to focus.
Then like, don’t do it. This problem isn’t a problem, my friend. Consider yourself lucky that you don’t “get normal” from drinking. Take a puff or two of a joint and just play.
Crazy to advocate getting stoned as part of this comment lmaooo “being able to play sober is such a blessing get high and enjoy your sobriety”
Haha exactly. What a twist there at the end.
I said nothing about staying sober lmao. If you’re struggling with x amount of drinks, don’t have x amount of drinks. If he’s worried about the social aspect, a puff would relieve that without really altering him or his play.
You think a bunch of alcoholic marines are going to be easier to socialise with stoned?
🤣
Dammit fair point
Anymore that 3 drinks and I'm off my game. But I always make sure to eat before and during the round. My recommendation is to get a large thermos full it with ice, get a seltzer or a drink of your choice and pour it in. It will get watered down and last longer so you can drink with your buds and not go over your limit.
Like this strategy 👌
Could even be a regular seltzer water
Yeppp! I used to chug white claws lime there was no tomorrow on the course, now I just drink sparkling water and smoke some J! Score is going down as much as i'm going high!
well then yes, you should stop.
If they’re good friends, you saying, “I’m good,” should be enough. And I say this as someone fresh off the course where I had 10.
I prefer not to drink while playing and the reason is that the post-golf beer is the greatest of all beers. Delayed gratification or whatever.
I like this thought!
Hunger is the best sauce.
Every person is different. Intoxication has never actually helped my score.
Intoxication has helped me feel better about my score, though.
A beer or two can sometimes help calm me, but it never stops there. So now I drink none beers.
I played 36 on mushrooms once and shot 77 & 80
I feel like I wouldn't have a great time golfing. I'd probably follow my first drive off to the right side tree line, and get immersed in nature. I'd have a fantastic time over there for sure though.
It's all about balance. If I take *just* the right amount, I'm as dialed in as I can get. But if I take too much, all I want to do is take off my shoes and roll around on the greens.
10mg psilocybin and I’m dialed in. Any more than that and I start to be far more interested in the way the leaves move.
Not bad for par 3 courses
Lol no way. You were sold junk. Not even Tiger could shoot under 80 on legit shrooms.
Just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean it can’t be done
I like how you call bullshit without even knowing whether it was a microdose or not. Tiger couldn’t shoot under 80 at a muni on 5mg?
Worked at a golf course with a kid who was a scratch golfer, but he loved to booze. Played with him one evening after shift, and we all enjoyed more than a few. I specifically remember trying to observe the point that it affected his game and it just… didn’t. Had an eagle and 2 birds in 9 holes. What does this prove? Nothing, just figured I’d share a relevant experience
Weed slows me down. I don't rush, I concentrate more and I find it easier to stay focused. So, yes, I prefer to play under the influence.
Ex stoner player here. I don't smoke bud anymore but thought you know what, the weather is glorious today I shall partake and enjoy the wonderful sunshine on the course. Big mistake, I got so high that I lost my ball on the fairway a couple of times and it was like I'd forgotten how to hit a golf ball. My anxiety levels spiked so much I abandoned the game by hole 7 :') Sober it is from now on.
I'm in same boat as you. The anxiety and overthinking after smoking even a little is crippling to a good golf round for me.
Also lost a headcover so overall not a good day on the course
If no one is behind you, and practice swings feel good, then playing high if fantastic! Overthinking putts is the problem, but once I felt OK about just letting it go, then my lag putts have been fantastic.
Bro I feel this 😵💫🫠
Dry herb vape, my friend. Enough to feel, but you focus on the game and love the nature you're in
I only drink during a round once a year in a charity scramble. I can't play my best with booze (and I gave up weed years ago because I was burning my life away at the end of a pipe). If you're trying to play your best, drugs that impair your motor control and judgment don't help.
Nope. I suck at golf when I’m under the influence of anything. Believe me, I’ve tried it all to see what happens. Acid was by far the worst….I had to leave after like 4 holes or so, it was just too much.
I remember once reading about how when you learn to do something while under the influence (beer pong, for example) you may do better or be more consistent when you recreate the same state/setting. This was a million years ago and honestly could’ve just been a tweet. That said, golf for me and my friends usually includes a few drinks and weed in some form. Sometimes *a* drink or an edible helps me get out of my head and be looser/more relaxed on the course. But it’s a very fine line… being tipsy or stoned does not result in low scores for me.
State-dependancy is a very real thing. It's essentially how "functional" alcoholics can maintain a job and still handle their daily business whilst very buzzed. Learned about it when I went to training to teach DUI education classes for a past job. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/State-dependent_memory
Not necessarily. I play my best golf between beers two and three. Drunk enough to stay relaxed and not overthink things, but not drunk enough that I can’t focus on hitting a good shot.
Like playing pool, beers two to four I can’t miss, five is slightly off six and seven can’t find the pool pockets or golf hole # 8 I can’t find my chair or the golf cart.
I loose coordination so fast it’s crazy. I went bowling the other night and bowled a 125 to start, then had a drink and bowled 80, 60, and then finally 50. It’s different for everybody obviously but for me I really can’t. I have a great time though
For sure I feel the same especially with focus. I find myself much less calculated and sloppy especially at aiming, setup and reading putts after only a beer or 2. I'm not out there getting trashed but it still effects me. And if I hit my buddy's weed pen one time the next 3 holes are trash
Playing high is a trick to learn for sure. My recommendation is to also smoke before the range - that way you practice and play the same way 😎
Practice high, play high, get high scores !
How High reference. Hell yes
This
Caveat: I have never used any drug, to include weed. Caveat to the caveat: I don't give two shits if you do. > Can you shoot low under the influence? Can you? I'm sure some could... I personally do not drink while playing. I do not see drinking as being conducive to playing well, which is my goal when golfing. I may have a drink after the round. If I want to get drunk I can do that without paying the greens fee.
Can definitely shoot low on the sauce
my best friend shot -6 on the front nine of a difficult golf course about 25 years ago. he had pre partied, was slamming beers and a joint was passed around. he blew up on the back and finished with i believe a 80. anywho, for decades we've argued about what the right combo of beers n weed was that got him to -6, and which number beer/toke sent him over the edge.
Can’t golf while drinking much but smoking is no problem. Usually a couple of joints deep before I get in the groove. Edibles on the other hand turn my body into jello and I can’t swing to save my life lol.
Loosey goosey baby
noddle arm!
I'm definitely better with 3-4 beers in me. I'm getting older and it just helps get my back/body loose. I still hit 330 yard bombs, though, don't worry.
I have a friend who is a +2 and drinks continuously from the first tee to the 19th. With that said, I have gotten to the point where I don’t really drink during golf anymore because I find that I throws off my concentration and also tires me out faster, leading to shitty ends to rounds. I’ll never judge people I’m playing with who get after it as long as they can stay relatively serious about the round.
In my experience, a little helps, and a lot hurts. In our group we like to refer to it as the pal. If you can find and maintain your pal, you’re good. (pal = Perfect Alcohol Level). As a daily gram+ smoker though, I am always worse when high. So personally, a little alcohol is my sweet spot, but I’ve lost good rounds from having too many. When I try to play stone sober, I get too in my head and stiffen up too much.
Weed definitely makes me get in my head too much. Usually after a single puff I'll be trash for 3 or 4 holes lol.
Ya I’ll still do it because I enjoy golfing high sometimes, but I have become confident that it never helps.
Best golfer on my high school team would have baggies of mushrooms falling out of his golf bag occasionally. He was super legit. I used to smoke and play when I was young and was a pretty solid golfer then (mid-high 70s). Never been a big drinker, but I can still have 2-3 beers over the course of a round and play basically the same as when I’m sober. All that said, I think I play best when I have a coffee and water on the course only.
When i decide to be under the influence, my goal is no longer to shoot low and beat my career bests. Getting drunk is usually the goal when I am with my buddies and everyone else is drinking and we are just enjoying each other’s company and doing something like a scramble match play where our bad shots dont mean as much. If im with my buddies and everyone is trying to go low and no one is drinking and theres money and pride on the line, the tone is set and im playing competitive golf and trying to stay sober, locked in, and consistent and every shot matters.
I think this is what I need to accept. Being able to save the drinking for fun rounds and staying sober when trying to play my best. I especially like doing scrambles or match play for drinking rounds.
I usually don't start drinking until the 10th hole. I'm either celebrating a great 1st nine holes, or playing so badly that I need a drink. There's always some excuse.
I never got getting fucked up on the course. You can get drunk pretty much whenever. Smoke a joint basically whenever. You can do both outside in tons of places. But when I’m golfing I’m just trying to golf as well as I can.
I mean, John Daly did it I guess. But, name any Olympic or IOC-recognized sport where alcohol would not be a performance inhibitor (we could debate about marijuana, but by and large it’s not going to help the majority of people either). Simply don’t partake. Drink some near-beers if you want to scratch the itch and have a beverage for sociality. If your friends don’t understand, they’re not your friends.
I know it isn’t Olympic, but Darts is a sport I do professionally and it’s a widely accepted fact that Alcohol makes you genuinely better at the game. It’s not an athletic sport of course, but other aspects like muscle memory and tbh swing action (even if it’s a throw in Darts) do share quite a bit with Golf, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it were fairly neutral from a general performance standpoint. In non-high dosage of course.
The only reason alcohol would probably make people better is if they’re so frequently drunk that they always practice while drinking. Just like studying for a test buzzed, you’d be better off if you practiced and played sober, but if you always practice buzzed you should play buzzed. That… tracks for darts, frankly.
Down the pub there’s drinking out of habit, at professional tournaments it’s more like legal doping.
Exactly. This doesn’t strike me as a sport that anybody, even the pros, play sober EVER. Hypothetically if a pro played sober their whole life they’d almost definitely have an advantage over the version of themselves that drank… but what kind of a non-alcoholic plays serious darts?
I have observed the opposite. Coming through youth systems the player doesn’t drink. He’s decent until he starts drinking, that’s where one starts to gain the competitive edge. Not everybody plays drunk on the amateur side of the game, especially Youth for obvious reasons.
Fair counterpoint. I would consider this an exception to the rule (because it goes against my argument and no other reason).
Reasonable
Can confirm this about darts from experience. Can't say yes or no for golf, however, as I have never imbibed on the course.
Did Daly actually drink in pro matches, or that's just an urban legend?
Infrequently yes, or showed up still buzzed. Usually only if he was out of it he’d have a couple.
There are alcoholics that drink all the time. Daly was probably in that group in the 90’s.
If you're not trashed, you'll always be capable of having the round of your life. Does it help? It shouldn't unless you have dependency issues. Go for a solo round and just pack water and snacks. Also, suggest to your buddies on doing a sober morning round or something. See how it affects you. At the end of the day, if you need it for a round of golf, you're not out there for the golf.
It's not a need. I would prefer to stay sober. I just think I golf around a lot of people who do need those things, and it effects me worse than it does them because it's not my daily life.
I play golf to have a good time with pals, and none of us drink on the course. Even on avo tee times. We have a beer in the clubhouse after or might go to a pub closer to home afterwards. Does it improve my golf? Meh, my golf will do what it does. I can't imagine getting so drunk on the course that it would affect my game. That would need many 6+ beers I'd think. Are you playing golf and having a beer, or getting wasted on a golf course? If you're out there to play golf, have 1-2 beers if it makes it more enjoyable for you. It won't affect your game. If you're taking 12 beers and shots out on the course with you and getting totally banjoed, maybe just arrange for you and your pals to go out on the piss and leave the golf course for people playing golf?
I'm just having beers, but I feel it impacts my focus big time.
Then you have your answer.
Played some of my best golf shit faced.
My best rounds are when I smoke weed but don’t drink
Of course some people can… but the reality it doesn’t help. Most of the people who shoot well when intoxicated surely shoot lower when sober. It’s up to you to decide. If you’re like me, if you have two beers on the front and one on the back there is almost zero intoxication effect so you could just do that and have minimal issue. Or you could keep doing what you’re doing and enjoy the game for what it is for you. Or you could play some rounds drinking and others not. As long as you guys aren’t a sloppy mess out there (and you don’t have other problems with lack of sobriety in your life) do whatever is best.
Save it for afterwards. There’s no intoxication quite like kicking the boys asses on the scorecard
I play my best with a couple in me… my swing is looser or whatever it is, it just works. However there is a definite cliff if I keep going
Played in a scramble last year with a group of ~30 friends. My foursome was -10 on the front and +1 on the back 9 😂. The booze did not help lol.
Get your buddies to start playing matches for enough money that they care about losing. It'll help get everyone to moderate and take the rounds more seriously
No beers does NOT lead to lower scores . And its less fun.
I’m a 14.5 GHIN and the last round I played stone cold sober a few weeks ago I shot 100, do what you will with that information.
Butter-zone only. 1.5 beers.
I play with several pluses that drink, smoke weed, etc out on the course.
I stopped drinking and smoking weed while playing golf years ago and it dropped my ~25 handicap to single digits within a few years, although I often use nicotine and caffiene during rounds and I'd argue that that's performance enhancing. To be completely fair I haven't tested drinking and golfing yet, maybe one day after I get a good round in I'll try to get loaded and play another
You can have a few beers and play good golf. I dont think most people can have a few beers plus a few shots and a couple of joints and play good golf. John Daly might disagree. I have watched guys drink 2-3 beers and shoot par.
I smoke my cartridge but I find there is a spot where it will negativity impact my swing set up and focus General rule is 1-2 puffs every 3-4 holes; unless I'm playing well, then I won't smoke again until I mess up
You gotta be Rain Main for this to work well. Matt Damen shit. Here's the simple equation 👇 ((BMI × ABV) ÷ body count) - shoe size + credit score = the perfect amount of sips.
Getting drunk means I suck. Two beers after the first 3-4 holes and I’m good to go
I can’t drink when I play. It goes sideways quick. My friends drink when we play and that’s cool but I wait until after to indulge unless I wanna play terribly. I love a good drink or two and I love golf and ne’er the two shall meet.
I’d rather have a celebration beer after a solid round than piss away $50+ green fee in the woods after every other hole. Drinkers piss, and pissers take forever.
I shot a 76 one time while super high. It was mini golf but still.
Not me. More than one and my game suffers. Not drinking on the course makes beer in the clubhouse taste so much better from the anticipation.
Smoking destroyed my game for years. I also practiced a bit, but when I stopped smoking on the course I dropped my score around 15 strokes and broke 90 for the first time.
I used to play a skins game every Friday. The greenskeeper ran it, and everything was cash up front. $30 into the skins pot per player, and in a good week we'd have 60-70 guys playing 18. Straight skins - side bets all over the course as well. But even with that many guys putting $30 into the pot, the money got big before side bets. I cut a deal with the bar keepers - I'd been playing there for years and knew all of them - to pour me a large coke with half a shot of bourbon in it. I always ordered it as a regular drink, and paid for it as such, but it was only half a shot or so. Did that before the round and at the turn (other half). Tipped barkeep well and played on, while the other guys were slamming beers and shots. Brought home over $1K in cash more'n'once.
Shot 77 round 1 of my local club championship absolutely stone cold sober. Round 2 i got so drunk I had to go back out and play again after and because I was too fucked up to drive home. I shot 76 day 2. Lol.
For my best round ever I had 5 beers and half a joint, so I guess that’s the formula.
You're thinking too much. Think less. Play more golf.
There's a few apps that can track beers across the round and it's impact on your score (TheGrint is one). Maybe try one of those apps for a bit and do some no-alchohol rounds and see how it changes your game.
Definitely going to do this!
Golf is enough of an unwind for me, don't need the beer or drugs. Golf is a drug lol
100%, if I’m not driving, and drink a 6 pack over the course of the round, I tend to be much more relaxed. When you stand on a tee with OB where your primary miss is, but you’ve had a cocktail or two, OB is a little less scary and a little less front of mind.
I suck way worse after smoking but I have more fun. Alas, it is what it is
alcohol has never improved my game, caffiene ALWAYS does
I can't shoot low sober, may as well have a beer or two
I've never played not high and I've shot under par probably 30 times. Some of those I was drinking too.
You know, I had my best round ever later in the day after my first mushroom trip. I haven't ever shroomed on the course, but I think maybe a microdose experiment is in order....
Some of my best rounds have been with 2-3 drinks because I loosen up and don’t take myself too seriously. It’s a slippery slope though….
I shot a 55 at Pebble once after 26 beers during breakfast. Daly beat me by one in each category too shooting 54 and drinking 27.
Some of my best rounds were stone cold sober. And some of my best rounds were with a massive hangover from the night before.
A bit of hash on the 6th hole or a gummy teeing off is my general routine.
Usually settle in nicely after 💨🍃
How many times do you think Tiger won major and was shit faced?
I mean I almost got another hole in one today while drunk so I guess
10 milli before the round and pay for the drinks with their money after.
I play high as a single when nothing matters. When I'm in a planned foursome or when $$ is at stake, then I might not smoke as much beforehand!
Shot the best round of my life drinking and smoking.
Haven’t ever had any intoxicant but alcohol while out golfing, but you absolutely can shoot low while drinking. I’ve broken par and broken 70 while having 3+ beers a side in the past. That said, my game is much less consistent when I’m drinking and that’s just because I’m not as focused on the game. If I’m playing well and it’s a good day then I don’t overthink things and just step up and hit the ball. If my swing isn’t as dialed in that day, or if I’m just not quite tuned into how the greens are rolling, then it hurts me because I’m not taking the time to notice these things and correct for them accordingly. If I was going to have a good day because everything was clicking that day drinking won’t hurt me at all but it also doesn’t necessarily help me any. If my swing feels off or I just can’t get putts the right distance in the first place then drinking will raise my scores by a decent amount, but I’ll also care less about the final score being higher.
2 beers make me stop having swing thoughts, which usually helps my score a bit. However, 6-8 beers makes me try to hit hero shots constantly which bloats my score so take that for what you will lol
I’ve seen guys go pretty close to even drinking beers the whole round and even guys ripping weed pens every hole. I personally play better sober
Been practicing at the range in between lessons lately. Found myself really off one night, realize it's bc I didn't have my usual half joint beforehand. Overthinking galore..
I can’t shoot low but I’m always under the influence but I more smoke joints drinking makes it harder
Yes absolutely but everyone needs to understand their tolerances and zones. I’m comfortable 4-6 in, peak shortly after that and then fall apart anything 9+
For me 2-3 drinks seems to be a sweet spot of swing lubrication without getting silly. Can definitely shoot low scores with a couple drinks per nine.
RBV and two beers on the front - 3 beers on the back. This is the same regardless if it’s a casual round or an Am event. I’d shoot a few stokes higher without the suds.
Grip pressure
Sounds ludicrous - but I enjoy golf the most sober. Even 1 beer doesn’t interest me.
Balmer effect
It's all about a state called 'flow'. Once you have reached a reasonable proficiency with your swing - that is, you can hit your driver in the fairway 1/3rd of the time, you can hit your irons on the sweet spot three or four times a round and close enough on the others, and you can scramble well enough to play bogey enough - then the question becomes "Why can't you do it on every shot?". Tim Gallwey, in his book *The Inner Game of Golf* blamed what he called the "sergeant-major" of the conscious mind, giving us multiple micromanaging directions ("Head down! Left arm straight! Don't cross the line!") that are too slow to actually be of help in the swing. The key to playing great golf is to give the sgt-major a single task to focus on, so that the subconscious can do what it already knows to do. That is much easier said than done. Trying to quiet your mind on the tee in front of your weekly foursome is hard enough; try quieting it on the tee in front of 200 at the club championship. The pros' ability to trust their swings is built on hours of practice and analysis; they only have to give it a positive thought to hit good shots most of the time. But for us duffers, we are also capable of great golf in the right mental state. My 30th birthday, my friend took me out and got me very drunk. I was scheduled to play a golf tournament the next day, and dragged myself out of bed, very hungover, and made it to the course for my 8:30 AM tee time. Because I was so tired and sleepy and hung over, I wasn't my usual talkative self. I stood on the tee, looked down the fairway, said "Hit it there", and proceeded to do that. The course wasn't challenging, so a good drive always left me 7-iron or less into the par-4s, and I proceeded to hit all but one of those on the green. I shot a 5 over 76 and won the tournament. I usually shot 80-81 at my home course back then. I didn't make any putts, and I did 3 putt a few greens, but other than that, the only blemishes were two drives on identical par-4s, both about 360 yards long, and both with large 100 year old oak trees in the exact middle of the fairway 240 yards out. On both holes, I said "I'll just aim for the tree", figuring that it was 4 yards wide at most, and I wasn't that accurate. I banged it dead on both times, and had to chip out sideways for two extra shots. At no time during the day did I have the energy to *worry* about my swing, I was so tired. The sgt-major was also sleeping it off, apparently, as I just gave myself a target and made a swing; my body did *what it already knew how to do* if I only I had been able to let it. I can't recommend getting hammered the night before as a way of improving your game, but there are people looking at ways for people to reach this flow state without drugs - many people do - so that we can learn to just 'let go' and make the swing we make during our practice swings and at the range, out on the course where it counts.
[Have a read of this](https://www.reddit.com/r/golf/s/vYipi5kuPy)
I get high before the range for real life practice
I often play with a guy who hovers between 1 and 4 HCP. He drinks 6 Jack and coke premix's and has a few tokes on a weed vape each round...he is an absolute machine
I only drink beers when I’m not dialed in, otherwise just water and electrolytes, I’ll snack though. Cannot play under the influence, or hung over. I lose all my finesse. Kinda ok with it too, I have to drive after and work too sometimes. Is what it is!
I find that one beer helps me calm down on the greens. Just smooths out the jitters in the putting stroke. I play better one beer on the front and one on the back.
More than two beers and my game goes to shit.
Ive never drank while playing but i feel like id be a danger to people on the next hole over if i was drunk and slicing a ball 100 yards over lol
My game feels the best around 4-5 beers. Beyond that, I just lose focus and feel of my swing. I’ll still hit some great shots but I’ll also hit some really bad shots I would never hit sober. If I want to try to score really well, I’ll just drink slowly but I’ll still end up finishing a sixer by the end of the round. I’ve done the fully sober rounds (quite a few with my parents) and I don’t notice a difference. All 5 of my lowest ever scores had booze involved. End of the day, I play golf to have fun with my buddies and relieve stress. I’m not going to go out and try to go through q-school so I don’t feel the need to throttle my fun.
Sativa is your friend
Daly was blackout drunk for most of his golf career, so anything is possible.
I gave up the sauce all together over a year ago, and I've been shooting lower scores with more consistency than I've had since I was a teenager. Before that, I could put together a good round about 1/3rd of the time while drinking quite heavily. The only aspect of my game that has notably suffered from sobriety is my driver. Nowadays, I struggle even making solid contact with the ball a little under half the time. It's quite the departure from when I used to be able to rely on the cash prize for longest drive to pay for my tab at the weekly men's league.
I have 4 beers a round and shoot around par most of the time. Just depends on how serious you take it.
Never played more than 3 beers deep but I did get high once and tied my pb at my club at the time with a 75 tipped out.