Have You Ever Been Influenced by Paige Spiranac

View From The Fairway by Derek Clements

The articles we have recently produced on how YouTube is changing the face of our sport got me thinking about a breed known as "influencers".

I know that "influencers" are a big thing now and that many of them make huge amounts of money. There is a child who has made millions from reviewing toys, for goodness sake. It seems that no subject is out of bounds - and that includes golf!

OMG! I always thought that a prerequisite for making a living from golf is a requirement to, at the very least, be a top former player.

It turns out that nothing could be further from the truth.

A quick Google search for "golf influencers" left me utterly speechless.

Why? A combination of the names it produced and the number of people who follow them on assorted forms of social media.

Have you ever heard of Grace Charis? Or Bri Teresi? Or Tisha Alyn?

Me neither.

But check this out…

Charis has 7,434,900 followers on her various platforms, Teresi has 2,845,500 and Alyn boasts 1,823,900 followers. And by the time you read this, these numbers will almost certainly have increased.

With almost 7.5m followers, you can be sure that Charis is doing very nicely for herself. 

Then there is Paige Spiranac. You may actually have heard of her, although I wonder how many of you know why you know the name. She has 6,777,500 followers. 

(Paige Spiranac on YouTube)

Spiranac tried to make a go of it as a professional golfer but came up short and quickly realised that her looks were probably her biggest asset. So she decided that she was going to cash in.

In July 2023, she launched a subscription-based website called OnlyPaige, which features golf instructional videos, livestreams, and vlogs. She has now moved onto a new platform called Passes.

Spiranac has discussed being cyberbullied for "sexualising women's golf". When appearing in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, she said that she wanted to use the platform to speak out about cyberbullying and to send a message of self-love. But the very fact that she was modelling in a swimsuit may well tell you everything you need to know.

The LPGA Tour introduced a stricter dress code in 2017, restricting plunging necklines, leggings, and short skirts. This triggered immediate widespread criticism and at the forefront of it was Sprianic.

Charis is something of a mystery. Her rise was meteoric. She only hit the social media scene in 2019 and by March 2024 had built a following of 7.4m. It has to be said that although there was golf content, she seemed to delight in wearing skimpy outfits that left nothing to the imagination. But I guess that 7.4m can’t all be wrong.

A number of brands and agencies have employed Teresi to model for them, including high-street chain Guess.

But it is her golf following that has racked up the numbers and brought in the money. 

The numbers are truly mind-blowing. More than 1.3 million accounts follow her on Instagram, 564,000 follow her on X and more than 80,000 keep up to date with her antics on Facebook. 

And she has a podcast, named Tag Team and an online shop, selling a calendar and merchandise that bears slogans such as 'kiss my putt' and 'back nine beauties'.

She once told the New York Post: "I definitely noticed a big increase in engagement after I started posting golf content. When I started posting golf videos people were much more inclined to watch and comment as opposed to the typical bikini post.

"I have probably gained 200k-300k followers since and millions of views. It gives me an edge. I’ve booked hosting jobs in the Dominican Republic and met so many different people because of golf."

It all started when Taylor Funk, son of eight-time PGA Tour winner Fred Funk, recommended she try out posting a golf shot online while wearing next to nothing. The clip went viral.

If I tell you that Teresi purports to play golf in high heels that is probably everything you need to know. And her skirts leave NOTHING to the imagination. 

What any of the above has to do with golf I really don’t know but these women have clearly found some kind of gap in the market. I am just not sure that I get it.

Alyn is a different kettle of fish altogether. She says that she is determined to use her position as a golf influencer to effect positive change and challenge stereotypes. A passionate advocate for junior golf, women’s sport and the LGBTQ+ community, Alyn actively works to break down barriers and inspire the next generation of athletes. She aims to change the perception of golf, making it more inclusive and accessible to all. And for that she is to be commended.

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