‘The Audacity’: Fed-Up Paige Spiranac Shuts Down Haters as Her Golf Skills Face Heavy Scrutiny

One of Golf Twitter’s most searched queries is answered. Paige Spiranac, the celebrity golf influencer, has finally disclosed her handicap. But not without a little bit of controversy. Spiranac carries a handicap of +3.4.

That means she has to add strokes to her scorecard if she plays against a regular golfer with, say, a handicap of 7 or 8. Per a report on Golf Compendium, Plus Handicap golfers are a dwindling tribe. Only 0.69 percent of female golfers are scratch or better. 

Spiranac didn’t reveal whether the lessons from Bryson DeChambeau had something to do with her spectacular handicap index. Nevertheless, the ‘plus’ is where most people were lost. Her +3.4 handicap means she is better than a scratch  (zero-handicapper) golfer, which is a goal for many of us amateurs.

Prior to becoming an influencer, Spiranac represented San Diego State University and the University of Arizona, winning the All-Mountain West Conference title in 2012–13 and 2013–14. She teed off in the 2015 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters but failed to make the cut, shooting 12-over. Per Sun, Spiranac played in another LET event later on in her brief career as a pro. 

After failing to earn an LPGA Tour card, she picked being a social media influencer as a full-time career. Her stint in the virtual world made many skeptical about her actual skill on the course. Although she appeased the demand for her handicap, netizens still questioned the legitimacy of it. 

Paige Spiranac schools netizens who questioned her skill

The significance of the ‘+’ sign before 3.4 was lost on many. Furthermore, many questioned why is it now that Paige Spiranac is revealing her handicap. The 30-year-old was a bit frustrated at the relative unfamiliarity of most with the handicapping system. Nevertheless, she chose to answer many questions. 

Most on the Internet confused the +3.4 with a regular 3 handicap. One of them wrote, “3 handicap?? I thought you were supposed to be good.” Another tweeted, “Mine is 3.9 as of yesterday, let’s play for who buys lunch.” Spiranac responded to both. To the former, she wrote, “I love when people try to roast me but they have no clue what they are talking about lol I’m a +3, not a 3.” She reminded the second person that she might have to give six strokes to make it fair.

Pro golfers don’t generally keep handicaps. And, only if you apply for a handicap as an amateur do you get one. Still, one user wondered, “[H]ow is it that you’re just now getting an official handi?” Spiranac clarified that she gave up the handicap when she turned pro after college and didn’t feel the necessity of getting it back until she was bombarded with requests from netizens.

The Golf Mommy, though, found support from peers in the industry. Samantha Marks called the entire fiasco “embarrassing.” To which Spiranac replied, “And then they have the audacity to say we don’t know anything about golf.” The Golf Unfiltered podcast tweeted from their official handle, “The number of people not noticing the + is both staggering and hilarious.”

Some still doubted that Paige Spiranac played off +3.4, calling it a lie. By an estimate, the LPGA Pros carries a handicap of around +7. So, the Golf Mommy is not far off the mark. But she did have a hard time convincing everyone.