If you’ve been playing golf over the past handful of years, you have surely seen nicotine tins popping up all over the place.
For the unaware, nicotine pouches are smoke-free, tobacco-free products you place in between your upper lip and gum. The pouches, which last for about an hour, give you a certain high that boosts your alertness while also increasing heart rate and blood pressure.
They are safer than smoking cigarettes but still addictive. And golfers love them.
I’m going to brutally honest with you. I am not a nicotine user in any form. Until a few weeks ago, I had never even tried it. I don’t have a good reason for that other than my vices being in other categories.
And, generally speaking, I just assumed that unserious golfers use nicotine as an alternative to drinking so they have an even better time on the course.
As Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend.”
Late last year, I read this Golf Digest article talking about pro golfers like Sam Ryder and Pat Perez using nicotine to help their focus, something I had never considered.
It felt like the start of nicotine-related stories finding their way to me.
So last month when a brand called Athletic Nicotine reached out to me with a claim that felt too good to be true—that using their slow-release nicotine pouches can improve your game—I felt compelled to try it for myself.
Still highly skeptical of any benefits, I agreed to try their product with no assurances that this would be a positive review.
Honestly, I had no idea how this one would turn out.
Can nicotine change your focus on the course?
For starters, this is not Zyn or heavier nicotine usage.
The marketing pitch for Athletic Nicotine is that it only comes in the low-dosage forms of 1.5mg and 3mg (the lowest dosage of Zyn in the U.S. is 3mg). It is designed to “slow-release”, has no harmful additives and is World Anti-Doping Association approved.
This is specifically made for athletic use. As noted, many Tour players pop in a pouch whenever needed.
“Athletic Nicotine was created to flip the script on how people perceive nicotine, separating its cognitive benefits from tobacco’s harmful legacy,” their press release reads. “Each pouch is formulated to deliver razor-sharp focus, steady energy and precise mental clarity, backed by research showing how low doses of nicotine can improve reaction time, executive function and short-term attention.”
Basically, you are meant to get the performance-enhancing elements of nicotine—alertness, motivation and dopamine rewards—without the drawbacks of traditional nicotine products, such as crashing after the high.
Still, it would be naive to avoid saying that any nicotine product, even in low doses, comes with potential risk. Chronic usage brings up concerns about cardiovascular and oral health, as well as addiction.
And, in terms of athletics, research on nicotine has been inconclusive in proving tangible increases in performance. It’s also possible some of the short-term benefits are countered by long-term consequences in the areas of endurance, strength and recovery.
Endurance, strength and recovery aren’t key elements of golf compared to other sports, so it stands to reason that golfers might be able to benefit more than other athletes. A lot of this is speculative.
If the Athletic Nicotine pitch is fully accurate, maybe the low-dosage usage of their product provides just enough mental stimulation without the same severity of drawbacks that other nicotine products have.
Using Athletic Nicotine on the course
There was only one way to find out if Athletic Nicotine actually works.
The company sent me a box of 1.5-mg tins coming in citrus, cinnamon and wintergreen flavors. This three-pack, which comes in a cool package, is $34.95 on their site.
It was recommended to me that I start with the 1.5-mg pouches (regular nicotine users might want to go with the 3mg).
Keep in mind that I’ve never tried any nicotine before. I had no expectation for what to feel.
I figured for my first attempt, I would not try anything too ambitious—a quick short-game session and playing a few holes at my local muni would be good enough to get started.
It takes about five minutes to start feeling effects, though the performance peak is around 30 minutes after you start. By about 45 minutes, the effects are pretty much finished and it’s time to reload.
I popped in the wintergreen flavored pouch—which had a flavor similar to gum—and started to chip around the practice green.
To my surprise, I didn’t really feel any different after 10 minutes. My chipping was also all over the map, though that isn’t necessarily uncommon for this nine-handicap hacker.
Around the 20-minute mark, my chipping got more consistent. This could have been because I shook out the cobwebs but I definitely felt more confident as the session continued.
Around the 30-minute mark, I hit some putts and noticed that my speed control was dialed. I also sensed that time had almost slowed down slightly as I got over the ball.
Now, did I feel completely changed? No, I was still the same mediocre golfer. And this wasn’t anything like being buzzed on alcohol or high from THC gummies.
But I will admit that there was a nearly imperceptible change in alertness.
When my short-game session concluded, I went for a new pouch and headed out to the course to see what a full swing would feel like.
The first drive was perfect. This sounds weird, but it felt like I could see the dimples on the ball as it took off from the tee box. And that feeling remained for the rest of the 45-minute loop.
My final tally was bogey-double bogey-birdie-par. But other than one bad swing that put me in the water on a par-3, my swing felt amazing. The bogey was a three-putt from 15 feet, and I nearly finished with two birdies after narrowly missing a putt on the last hole.
A few days later, I decided to try Athletic Nicotine during a putting drill and subsequent nine holes of golf at a course where I have a well-established baseline for average score.
To do the first part of this test, I mapped out nine “holes” of varying length on the practice green, including a few in the 40- to 60-foot range. I putt here all the time and already know the breaks, but it’s a fairly flat green anyway.
I started by going through this course without any nicotine. I used three balls and took my time, holing each one out until I had a final score. And, yes, I was trying hard.
My final tally was 61 putts.
Then I took the Athletic Nicotine, waited for some time to pass and tried the same course.
I improved by two strokes, down to 59 putts. My speed control seemed to be better, but it’s hard to draw any meaningful conclusions when the difference was so slight.
Next it was time for the course. My average on this par-34 layout is around 39.
This time, I shot 37 with two birdies and five bogeys.
I won’t bore you by going shot by shot through my round, but I did feel a little bit more focused, particularly on short game shots and wedge shots. With full swings outside of 100 yards, I didn’t see any difference at all.
There were no obvious negative effects either time I used Athletic Nicotine. The only thing I’ll say is that having a “lip pillow” (as some call them) in my mouth while playing golf is a little awkward for a guy like me who isn’t use to that.
Final conclusions
Does Athletic Nicotine help your game?
I think the answer is largely anecdotal from person to person.
I did feel slightly more alert after taking it, but I can’t say there was a seismic shift in my ability as a golfer. The most optimistic synopsis is that my scores and abilities improved by a slim margin. Which, to be fair, is better than seeing no improvements at all.
We are always searching for anything to help our games. It does feel like Athletic Nicotine can do that by improving alertness and concentration, leading to some golfers feeling more confident on the course.
Is it a sudden cure for your wicked slice? Will it immediately take a handful of strokes off your score?
No, I wouldn’t go that far.
The most honest and fair review I can offer is that Athletic Nicotine could be beneficial for some golfers.
It’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all approach here. If you are already a nicotine user or like experimenting with various supplements, this could be a great alternative that offers better benefits without the same severity of consequence.
Someone like me? I might continue to use it once in a blue moon if I’m feeling “out of it” but won’t be adding it into my golf routine on a round-by-round basis. It’s just a little too distracting and I don’t want to rely on it too heavily although that is purely a matter of personal preference.
If you have genuine interest, I would encourage you to try it and see what happens. And if you don’t have interest, I wouldn’t worry that you are missing out on something revolutionary.
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