Why Do Golfers Take CBD Oil?

This isn't the first time that professional sportspeople have touted CBD as a beneficial aid. Major league football stars, basketball players, and even strongmen have slowly but surely come out in support of the cannabinoid. This rise in interest from professional athletes is not by coincidence either. As of 2018, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) removed CBD from its prohibited substances list. However, CBD’s psychotropic cousin THC is still banned in competition. Thankfully, the drug testing threshold for THC means athletes can take advantage of full spectrum CBD oils. Full spectrum products benefit from the entourage effect, potentially increasing CBD's therapeutic value.

Heading back to the green, not only do you have players showing support for CBD, but leading CBD companies are now sponsoring major tours. Seasoned pro golfer Scott McCarron is forthcoming about his relationship with CBD oil, claiming it has helped improve his sleep and overall well-being.

"I went and tried it about two weeks later when I went home. I measure my sleep with a device called WHOOP. That's a sleep and strain device. Major League Baseball, NFL and Olympic athletes use the device. For the first time in about two years that I'd been wearing the device, I was taking the CBD oil, started on Monday and had sleep in the green, which is fantastic sleep, for seven days straight the first time I took this CBD oil at night to help me sleep".

Scott also goes on to highlight an important issue—taboo. The misconceptions about CBD's affiliation with cannabis has led some athletes to keep quiet or avoid the cannabinoid entirely. The truth is that CBD extracted from hemp contains trace amounts of THC, thus lacking any intoxicating side effects. Their cautionary approach is not without reason, though. While CBD is accepted on the PGA Tour Champions, official guidance from the tournament's administration states that CBD oil is taken at a player’s own risk.

You see, the global CBD industry is mostly unregulated, effectively giving companies free rein to produce inferior-quality oils. Unless players can be confident that CBD has been extracted to the correct legal standard, they risk testing positive for prohibited levels of THC.

The good news is, there are CBD companies that take product quality seriously, investing in independent third-party testing. This provides some assurance for athletes, many of whom wouldn't be without CBD oil now that they have started taking it. Dad of two and highly skilled golfer Bubba Watson is one of the most prominent players to not only use CBD, but also partner with a CBD company. He claims that his decision to take CBD was "all about sleep and trying to get the body right".

Even if you aren't quite up to the standard of Bubba or Scott, their reasons for taking CBD are bound to resonate with golfers the world over. The key is choosing a CBD producer who can verify their products, something Cibdol prides itself on. Not only do we offer independent testing on all of our CBD oils, but we are incredibly excited to sponsor this year's Dutch Golf Open.

Although we are still some way from seeing CBD certified as a licensed product in professional sports, testimonials from high-profile players are worth their weight in gold—golden-grade CBD oil, that is!