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We know Paige Spiranac as one of the most popular content creators in golf. Over the years, she has built a massive following for herself. But before she reached this stage, Spiranac was trying to carve a name for herself in professional golf. But her love for the game came with a hidden cost, one that eventually led her to step away from professional golf altogether.

Speaking on the We Need a Fourth podcast, Spiranac was asked by the hosts to reflect on her “having anxiety on the golf course” and if that ever affected her playing competitively.

“100%. I was such a headcase…” she began. “I would do a practice round, shoot a 64, and then a tournament round, I would shoot an 82 or a 78, and it’s like I don’t know what would happen. And I’ve seen multiple sports psychologists. I’ve been to so much therapy, and you either have it or you don’t have it. And I just didn’t have that second gear that was good under pressure…”

This was something similar she faced as a gymnast as well. She would do well during training, but falter in the main events.

Paige Spiranac had an incredible college golf career, earning the All-Mountain West honors while at San Diego State University. She turned professional in 2016 and made her debut on the Cactus Tour. At the end of that year, she took part in her first LPGA qualifier but failed to qualify. Then, she switched to modeling.

Part of the reason for that switch, Spiranac highlighted, was her people-pleaser personality. “I am a people pleaser, and I have all these traits that really helped me in my media career, but really held me back and playing at that high level… It’s just playing with new people and and people’s opinions of me were always like the biggest thing that held me back,” she confessed on the podcast.

But the hosts weren’t convinced of Spiranac downplaying her abilities.  They reminded her of the time in 2016 when she earned a win over Hannah O’Sullivan (then top-ranked amateur) during her debut on the Cactus Tour at the Las Colinas Club in Arizona. She even made the cut at the 2016 Scottish Open on the LET.

Paige Spiranac acknowledged the accomplishments but revealed why she often seemed to downplay them. She explained that it was easier for her to “make fun of myself and be self-deprecating instead of being confident because people don’t like that either.” And her explanation goes deeper than just humility. Her self-deprecation became a shield against judgment, a way to navigate things, as Paige Spiranac was constantly a victim of bullying and harassment.

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Bullying and Pressure Also Pushed Paige Spiranac Away from Golf

Beyond the pressures of competition, Paige Spiranac also faced an unrelenting storm off the course. Online harassment, cyberbullying, and harsh criticism magnified every mistake, turning her love for golf into a source of stress rather than joy. Things got so out of hand for her that at one point, she “stopped caring,” as she confessed earlier this year.

She was constantly criticized as her efforts weren’t materializing, with comments mocking her appearance. The breaking point for Spiranac came during a press conference in 2016 after Spiranac missed the cut at the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters. She was in tears when she spoke about the “extremely cruel” comments she was being subjected to.

The bullying didn’t just sting. It fed into the anxiety she already battled on the course, reinforcing a vicious cycle of fear and self-doubt. And over time, she developed a love-hate relationship with the game.

“So I have a really toxic love-hate relationship with the game of golf. And I have talked about this ad nauseam. It was one of the reasons why I stopped playing golf professionally,” Spiranac admitted in a video posted on X a few months ago. “I just could never get over the golf course anxiety. And I would just feel that my mind always won, and I was weak, and I could just never overcome that feeling…”

But recently, Spiranac confessed to being happier, that she “finally stopped beating myself up about not making it as a pro golfer.” In the end, the combination of public scrutiny and internal pressure made her step away from professional golf. Her struggle wasn’t about skill; it was about mental capacity.