Paige Spiranac Urges Golfers to Welcome New Fans, ‘Stop Gatekeeping Golf’

The content creator and former professional athlete took to X to remind everyone that the game is all about community.

Paige Spiranac | Hector Vivas/Getty Images

Content creator and former professional golfer Paige Spiranac is taking a stand against golfers who aren’t extending a warm welcome to new fans of the growing sport. In a lengthy post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) today, Thursday, July 23, Spiranac let her feelings be known while encouraging others to “stop gatekeeping golf.”

“I love golf,” Spiranac began. “I want everyone to play and I’m excited about all the new people getting into the game. I feel that should be the attitude everyone should have if you truly love the game.

“I’m so tired of hearing ‘shrink’ and hating on this new culture of golf fans. This condescending and belittling behavior of new golfers is gross to me. You’re not better than someone else or morally superior because you’ve played longer. Golf doesn’t need to be stuffy and exclusive to preserve what we all love about the game so much. It’s about community.”

While Spiranac played Division I golf at both the University of Arizona and San Diego State University, the 33-year-old Colorado native turned pro for about a year before she moved away from the game professionally to instead focus on content creation. She has built a massive following (including four million followers on Instagram and another 1.7 million on TikTok) of fans who tune in to her feeds for instructional golf content, as well as golf-related fashion and more. In addition to her YouTube channel, Spiranac also offers exclusive instructional golf content on Passes.

I love golf. I want everyone to play and I’m excited about all the new people getting into the game. I feel that should be the attitude everyone should have if you truly love the game.

I’m so tired of hearing “shrink” and hating on this new culture of golf fans. This…

— Paige Spiranac (@PaigeSpiranac) July 23, 2026

Spiranac concluded her social media post by writing “Part of the growth is educating and helping new players learn. Stop gatekeeping golf.” And as folks began chiming in to the comments section with their two cents, Spiranac made sure to create a conversation with fans. When one responder accused her of only playing “exclusive” courses, she replied “I play munis all the time. I’m a public golf girl through and through.”

Pro Shop founder Chad Mumm also shared Spiranac’s take on his Instagram feed, which drew in additional feedback from fans who appeared to be on both sides of the issue. “Grow the game while also having new players respect the game and the courses they play. Fix your divots and ball marks,” one person wrote in part.

“There has to be middle ground,” someone else added.

“Beautifully said!🙌👏,” another user applauded of Spiranac’s take.

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