"Could have played on the LPGA" – When Paige Spiranac opened up about the biggest obstacle in her golf career
Paige Spiranac, a former professional golfer and golf instructor, talked about the biggest obstacle in her golf career. In a YouTube video, released on December 3 last year, Spiranac had a Q&A session with her fans, and one of the questions was about the Achilles' heel of her golf career.
In the video, a fan asked Spiranac,
“What is the Achilles' heel of your game?”
Spiranac replied:
"I think you guys know this already, but it's definitely mental for me. I have the physical ability to play at a very high level. I have all the shots. I feel like my short game is one of the best short games out there—I can pull off any shot. And I can do that because I never hit fairways or greens.
"That could also mean ball striking is a bit of a problem, but I think, again, ball striking comes down to my mental approach. I just get so nervous and so anxious on the golf course and in competition that my hands tighten up, my shoulders tighten up, my body is shaking—I'm just so nervous. Then I can't release the club properly, and I end up hitting those quick hooks or blocks.”
Paige Spiranac further explained that while standing on the first tee, she wasn’t able to decide in which direction she could hit the ball. She tried to work on it, met psychologists, and read a few books, but that didn’t help her. She then concluded her answer by saying:
"I still played at a high level, but I think I could have played on the LPGA if I just wasn't such a mental head case. And as you know, golf is like 90% mental."
Just recently, Spiranac revealed in a podcast that during last year's Creator Classic, she was 'terrified' on the first tee.
Paige Spiranac stays connected to golf in various ways
Paige Spiranac doesn’t earn everything from being a golf instructor; a major chunk of her earnings comes from her influence on social media. She has 4 million followers on Instagram, where she regularly shares personal life events and promotes various products.
Along with this, Spiranac also spends time on the golf course during some PGA Tour events. On March 1, she announced that she would be present at the 2025 Creator Classic at TPC Sawgrass as an on-course analyst. Last year, at the inaugural Creator Classic, she was one of 16 golf content creators who participated in the tournament, finishing in ninth place.
Paige Spiranac is also part of the third season of Netflix’s documentary series Full Swing. In the fifth episode of the season, she interviewed former U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark, and they talked about playing golf together at the junior level.