We recently had the opportunity to hang out with PGA Tour Professional and Golf/Elite Performance Coach Gabriel Hjertstedt. Gabe, who played in The Master’s with Arnold Palmer and won several million dollars on the PGA Tour, shared his trick to stay calm and overcome nervousness when under tremendous pressure.

Gabe uses this technique to calm his nerves before an important shot or a put for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but he says it can be used to overcome nervousness in any stressful situation, including before speaking in public, a job interview, an engagement proposal, etc.

His trick is simple – smell your own forearm.

Sounds weird and a bit creepy, right? We tried it anyway – and it worked instantly.

Which made us wonder, why does this work so well?

Psychologists have studied the phenomenon and now call it “Comfort Smelling.”

Not only does your own scent work, but the scent of your partner or a loved one can also potentially work to overcome nervousness.

According to a recent study:

“Many people wear their partner’s shirt or sleep on their partner’s side of the bed when their partner is away, but may not realize why they engage in these behaviors,” said Marlise Hofer, the study’s lead author and a graduate student in the University of British Columbia Department of Psychology.

“Our findings suggest that a partner’s scent alone, even without their physical presence, can be a powerful tool to help reduce stress,” she says.

Check out Gabe on Instagram at @Gabegolf_ and on youtube.