Paige Spiranac

Turns out, the enjoyment I receive from growing the game through content creation and collaborations, and the work I do with the Cybersmile Foundation around cyberbullying, is leaps and bounds above what I got out of playing competitively.

It wasn't until last year that I figured out the problem: I just don't love competitive golf. What I love is the game itself. I love being outdoors, practicing, and smelling the freshly cut grass at 6:00 a.m. as the sun rises. But I didn't love travel, or pressure, or the mean-spiritedness of my competitors.

I started playing golf after a broken knee led me to quit my career as an elite gymnast. It wasn't long before I became one of the world's top-ranked amateur players.

I'm not ashamed of my social media following, my Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoot, or the tough time I had in my LPGA debut, but these small facets of my life are easily manipulated by the Internet to get views, and they don't define me as a person.

It's easy to get swayed by advertisements or the latest new gear, but what you think you want could actually rob you of yards and add strokes to your score, based on your personal swing and playing style.

You may not even realize how much your off-the-rack clubs are affecting your game.