Paige Spiranac, known for her influence in the world of golf and social media, is not just a style icon but also a passionate advocate for the sport.
While she’s often celebrated for her eye-catching outfits and social media presence, Spiranac has a deep connection to the game, having played for San Diego State before transitioning into the world of influencers. During her college career, she earned all-conference honors twice and even captured the Mountain West Championship in 2015.
Though her career as a professional golfer was brief, Spiranac continues to stay involved in the sport and is using her platform to push for positive changes-especially when it comes to improving the pace of play.
Spiranac’s proposal to speed up the game
Recently, a video of Brian Harman taking a long approach shot at the Sony Open went viral on social media, sparking a debate over the slow pace of play in golf. It was a familiar discussion in the sport, and one that Spiranac believes could be addressed with a simple solution.
Drawing inspiration from the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), Spiranac proposed the idea of a card system to penalize slow play. In the AJGA, players are given red, yellow, or green cards based on their pace of play over three holes. Green indicates they’re ahead of schedule, yellow means they’re on time, and red means they’re behind. If a group accumulates two red cards, they’re timed, and penalties are assessed.
Spiranac believes that a similar system could work on the PGA Tour to ensure faster play and hold players accountable for violating the rules of the game.
“You should be punished for slow play. It’s against the rules of the game,” she said in a social media post.
Spiranac’s suggestion generated plenty of conversation among golf fans, with many chiming in with their own proposals for speeding up the game.
One fan suggested a shot clock visible on every hole, with volunteers resetting the clock for each contestant and cameras monitoring compliance. The idea would be similar to the 3-minute rule for finding a lost ball, with a 45-second shot clock and a one-stroke penalty for each violation.
Others expressed concern about penalizing groups where one player might be causing the delay.
“Maybe a shot clock like they’ve adopted in TGL,” one fan suggested, referencing the Technology Golf League’s approach.
A third fan commented on the PGA Tour’s existing rules but emphasized that the real issue lies in enforcement.
“They have slow pace of play rules already; problem is they are too afraid to enforce them. Until players start losing strokes, nothing will change.”