Paige Spiranac has long been one of the loudest voices calling out hypocrisy in golf. Be it about dress codes, double standards, or the sport’s old-school culture. In fact, she said that it was this hypocrisy that drove her to abandon her professional golf career and turn into a social media influencer. According to her, some golf fans want to make the game elitist, stuffy, and exclusive, values she doesn’t share. Now, she has raised another concern on a similar topic.
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“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,” Paige Spiranac wrote on X. “I’m so tired of hearing “shrink [the game]” and hating on this new culture of golf fans. This condescending and belittling behavior of [traditional fans toward] new golfers is gross to me.”
The 33-year-old is referring to the attitude among some traditional golf fans who want the game to stay small, quiet, and protected from outsiders. This “Shrink the Game” tagline has gained a lot of momentum in recent years. It became a movement as golf grew increasingly popular, with many players and influencers taking up the sport. As a result, the courses have become overcrowded. Besides that, green fees have skyrocketed, and there’s a perceived decline in etiquette. Not to mention, recurring incidents of heckling has only lent credibility to it. But Spiranac clapped back at those who espoused the idea that shrinking the game is the solution.
“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. Part of the growth is educating and helping new players learn. Stop gatekeeping golf.”
Paige Spiranac, who played collegiate golf at the University of Arizona, argues that “gatekeeping” curbs inclusivity. This kind of thinking can affect the sport in multiple ways.
For instance, newcomers may feel unwelcome or hesitate to book tee times. In fact, they might avoid public courses altogether if they think they are being judged before they even learn the basics. This means that fewer people stick with the game long enough to become lifelong players or fans.
Some fans want this “shrink” culture, as many long-time golfers have seen their tee times disappear. To add to that, prices at local courses have increased significantly. While this has attracted more people to the game, it has also made playing golf a little more inaccessible, which in turn means that newcomers are the ones who bear the brunt of it.
However, Spiranac’s comment was not in support of hecklers who ruin the enjoyment of the sport. Rather, she hates hecklers as much as you do.
“I don’t think the behavior at the U.S. Open has anything to do with New York or the growth of golf. There has been a shift in recent years where people have become downright nasty,” the social media influencer wrote after Wyndham Clark’s heckling incident raised calls for boycotting Long Island.
Many professional golfers, including Rory McIlroy, share this view of Paige Spiranac. When ESPN asked Jason Kelce to be part of the Masters Par-3 Contest, many fans were against his appearance there. Many critics said that Kelce’s addition affected the contest’s tradition. However, the Northern Irishman said that it actually encouraged more participation.
“I think when people say ‘grow the game,’ they mean different things. To me, the real thing about growing the game is growing the participation in the sport. Getting more people to play the game. If what ESPN did, for example, at the Masters encourages people to go and play the game, I think that’s amazing.”
According to the National Golf Foundation, 48.1 million Americans played golf last year, up from 34.2 million in 2019. By the end of 2026, the number of participants will eclipse 50 million for the first time in history. However, as more high-profile voices like Paige Spiranac continue to support efforts to make golf more accessible, the debate over tradition versus inclusivity is unlikely to fade anytime soon.