When you see Paige Spiranac‘s Instagram, you see a confident woman with a glowing face, carrying dresses that make headlines. Spiranac, in hindsight, has changed how people perceive golf, bringing the fun aspect of it and making it more appealing to a wider segment of online viewers. But what many fail to notice at times is how Spiranac built such a relationship with a sport that once took such a heavy toll on her mental health.
Taking to Instagram, a platform that has catapulted her success, Spiranac dropped an emotional reel with the words “You look happier” flashed across the screen. A short reply was below that which said, “Thanks, I finally stopped beating myself up about not making it as a pro golfer.” To those who have followed Spiranac for years, they must be aware of her “love-hate” relationship with golf. But to those who aren’t, Spiranac explained it all through a “sappy” caption. She talks about how, from a very early age, she’d wanted to play golf professionally, which she achieved briefly during her college days. But the mental pressure of the game got to her, and she cracked beneath it. “…I felt like a loser and a quitter at the time,” she explains.
That mental voice was in her head for several reasons. Spiranac was born in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, in a family of talented achievers. Her father played football at the University of Pittsburgh and was part of the 1976 national championship team. Her mother, Annette, on the other hand, was a professional ballerina. And if all this wasn’t too much, her sister Lexie was a spectacular athlete who earned a Stanford scholarship. In a household like this, it is understood that the pressure a young Spiranac must have felt to prove her worth.
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And she ran towards it too. She held a dream of becoming an Olympic gymnast, but that was cut short. At the age of 12, a twice-broken kneecap ended that hope. Later on, she chose to be homeschooled, reportedly for reasons such as bullying and anxiety. It was during this time that golf became her outlet, and she thrived quickly. As she grew, her passion for the sport blossomed. She played NCAA Division I golf for the University of Arizona and San Diego State University and helped lead the latter’s team to its first Mountain West Conference Championship in 2015. When she turned pro, she bounced around on mini tours, even notching a win and making the cut at the Scottish Open. But things did not seem to align with her somehow.
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“I played junior golf, college golf, and a year professionally. After that stretch, I mentally couldn’t handle playing golf and especially keeping score. I equated my score to my self-worth. I know it sounds silly, but competitive golf really beat me up emotionally,” Spiranac said once. All this led her to develop a ‘golf-course anxiety’. Her mind took over her, making her feel weak, and she could not overcome those feelings. Golf was addictive to her, but at the same time, poor results made her feel like “the most worthless human being ever.”
And that’s why she decided to take a detour in her career. “I always knew I wasn’t cut out for professional sports and was able to find a path better suited for my personality,” she says in her caption. Today, Spiranac has reinvented herself as a content creator, golf influencer, and mental health advocate. In fact, she has been credited for her role in the growth of the LPGA Tour! She often talks about the pressure of mental health on players, especially young golfers and women. “I love creating, the game of golf, and connecting with you all.”
She hasn’t completely left competitiveness behind her. Just last year, she teed it up at the PGA Tour’s Creator Classic at East Lake Golf Club, finishing 9th out of 16. And earlier this month, she played in Good Good Golf’s King of the Mountain tournament at Kemper Lakes, where she partnered with Garrett Clark, but was unfortunately eliminated in the quarterfinals.
And not just all this, but Paige Spiranac has been bang on with her predictions for golf’s wins this season.
Paige Spiranac’s prediction comes true
Paige Spiranac’s bold prediction for the 2025 golf season came jarringly close to perfection; it was almost ridiculous. Speaking to the Irish Star on Radio Row before the Super Bowl back in February, Spiranac revealed what she thinks will happen this year. Rory McIlroy would finally conquer Augusta, and Scottie Scheffler would sweep the remaining three majors. “He’s going to get it done. Every year, I say Rory’s gonna win the Masters, and this is the year. [It’s going to be] Rory, Scottie, Scottie, Scottie,” she said.
We all know what happened. Really impressive, Paige!
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Her claim hit the bullseye at the Masters. McIlroy ended his ten-year drought and slipped on the Green Jacket for the first time. And from there, the prediction kept following the script, almost perfectly. Scheffler, galvanized by McIlroy’s triumph, emerged victorious at both the PGA Championship and the Open Championship, acquiring the world No. 1 position on the leaderboard. The only stumble in Spiranac’s near-perfect call came at the US Open, where the brutal test of Oakmont and grim final-round weather opened the door for JJ Spaun to claim his first major title. Scheffler finished T7 there.
So, even though Paige Spiranac might have left professional golf, it can be said that her passion for the sport and her knowledge about everything is nearly unmatched.