Paige Spiranac Talks About Losing Her Passion for Golf — Then Finding It Again

Paige Spiranac is one of the most talked-about figures outside of professional golf, but even someone as successful as her has struggled with her love for the game.

Any athlete at any capacity, whether it would be something as simple as Little League or as serious as the PGA Tour, can relate to losing the fire and passion they once had for the sport they play.

Spiranac is no different.

When you work extremely hard to improve, and the results do not necessarily come to fruition, things can get tough. Mentally, it is debilitating. 

Spiranac talked about it in a post on X:

“I played junior golf, college golf, and a year professionally. After that stretch I mentally couldn’t handle playing golf and especially keeping score. I equated my score to my self-worth. I know it sounds silly, but competitive golf really beat me up emotionally.”

I played junior golf, college golf and a year professionally. After that stretch I mentally couldn’t handle playing golf and especially keeping score. I equated my score to my self worth. I know it sounds silly but competitive golf really beat me up emotionally. But I’ve found… pic.twitter.com/xnDU9XxEPv

— Paige Spiranac (@PaigeSpiranac) April 28, 2024

Golf is a hard sport, and sometimes, the best players in the world go through extremely tough stretches when their game simply is not there.

Take Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, or even Rory McIlroy as an example. All three have incredible amounts of talent, but they have struggled with slumps in their careers.

After a while, it gets discouraging, and it can be extremely difficult to find the passion again.

Spiranac said that she has (luckily) found her fire:

“But I’ve found that passion again! I’ve started tracking my scores and grinding on my game. I’ll keep you posted here on my journey!”

Next time you struggle with your game, remember you’re not alone. Even the best players in the world struggle with their game. When you see someone on the course who makes you say, “What a swing, I wish I had that game,” remember it took them a long time to get there.

Cover Image via Marca