What does it actually cost to chase an LPGA dream — and what happens when the math doesn’t work? Paige Spiranac answered that question with disarming honesty during a recent appearance on the Spittin’ Chiclets Sandbagger Scramble. The conversation, filmed during a casual round alongside Biznasty, Ryan Whitney, and Keith Yandle, turned serious when Spiranac was asked if she would ever consider returning to professional golf.

“I would never do it again,” she told fellow golfers. “LPGA, you get to never, ever. It’s just so hard. When I was playing at my best, I was probably a plus-five handicap. I wasn’t even close to being good enough to play. They’re that good.”

The finality was striking. But her explanation revealed something deeper than personal preference — it exposed the economic and emotional machinery that grinds down aspiring professionals before they ever reach the tour.

“I’m also just like a headcase on the golf course,” she admitted. “I didn’t like playing. I didn’t like competing. I didn’t like the pressure.”

As she revealed in a recent podcast appearance, Spiranac could shoot a 64 in a practice round and then card an 82 in tournament play, a disparity rooted in anxiety she never fully overcame despite working with multiple sports psychologists. Beyond the mental toll, the financial reality was equally punishing.

“My first year playing, I played around 25 events, made money in all of them but two, and barely broke even for the year after covering all your travel,” Spiranac said, revealing she handled everything herself. “Are you the one who has to book all your flights and hotels?” Whitney asked. “Yeah, you’re doing everything yourself,” she replied.

The assumption has always been that Spiranac pivoted from golf to modeling. The reality was the reverse.

“It was all through like my media work,” she said. “So I was doing modeling and media work to pay for my golf career. And so it was really hard because I couldn’t even focus on golf because I was having to do all of the stuff just to finance my golf career.”

The irony is sharp. The very work that would eventually make her golf’s most-followed social media personality began as a survival mechanism — a way to fund a dream that was slipping further out of reach. Spiranac’s story, however, is far from unique. It reflects a systemic reality across women’s developmental golf.

Top Stories

LIV Golf CEO Goes Into Damage Control Mode After Jon Rahm Declined to Pay DP World Tour Fines

Rickie Fowler Announces PGA Tour Return After Injury Left Him Winless in 2025 Season

Amanda Balionis Joins Fans in Celebrating Ben Griffin’s Wedding to Longtime Partner Dana Myeroff

Fact Check: Is Brooks Koepka Rejoining PGA Tour? Inside His LIV Golf Contract & Other Details

How Good Is Charlie Woods at Golf? John Daly, Phil Mickelson & More Give Their Verdicts

The financial grind facing LPGA hopefuls

On the Epson Tour — the LPGA’s primary developmental circuit — the average purse sits around $250,000 per event, with winners taking home approximately $37,500. But players face estimated annual expenses of $50,000 or more for entry fees, flights, hotels, food, and caddies.

The math rarely works. Under the tour’s “no cut, no pay” model, players who miss the weekend earn nothing. One player reportedly made just $8,000 in a season where she made six cuts in 15 events — nowhere near enough to cover basic costs.

Many talented players leave the tour not because they lack ability, but because they cannot afford to continue. The LPGA has acknowledged this gap, increasing prize money through the Epson sponsorship and designing more drivable tour routes to reduce travel costs. But the structural challenge remains: the dream demands financial endurance alongside competitive excellence.

The average LPGA professional plays at a skill level equivalent to a plus-five or plus-six handicap, posting scoring averages of 71-72 per round. A scratch golfer — already elite by amateur standards — sits a full shot or more behind the 100th-ranked LPGA player. For aspiring pros, reaching that standard while absorbing five-figure annual losses is a calculus few can sustain.

Today, Spiranac commands an audience of over four million Instagram followers and holds a front-office role with the Grass League. The career she built from necessity has become something larger than the one she originally pursued.

But her words carry weight for anyone chasing a tour card. The dream is real. So is the cost.