Golf needs to move away from its elitist mentality and focus on appealing to a younger audience, according to the sport's rising star Paris Hilinski.
At just 19, Hilinski has bold plans for golf, both in terms of her own aspirations and how she wants to see the sport grow in the future.
Hilinski, a native of California, USA, started playing golf at just 12 years old before quickly going on to win her first amateur tournament at the 2018 LoneStar Girls Invitational.
In 2019, she qualified for the U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball Championship before participating in sectional qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open in Pittsburgh, where she finished as the first alternate.
She focuses on brand exposure and social media as avenues to grow her brand and her golf, while working on her own game to achieve her dream of being the best in the world.
"Not against anyone"
"I'm not against anyone, but I'm trying to grow the game," Hilinski said, speaking to the Par 3 Podcast.
"I think a lot of times these organisations are very focused on trying to preserve this tight-knit group of elitism that has existed in the game for so long.
"They act like they're against it, but from my point of view they're not.
I'm trying to see other ways for the game to grow that you guys aren't trying."
Paris Hilinski admires Paige Spiranac and defends her in the face of so much 'hate' against her
Hilinski has amassed more than 82,000 followers on Instagram and more than 164,000 on TikTok.
This figure is dwarfed by another prominent golf figure: Paige Spiranac, who has 3.7 million followers on Instagram alone.
Spiranac is often criticised for the racy content she posts.
However, Hilinski believes golf influencers like Paige are 'cool' and criticised those who try to belittle the scene.
"I'm not really in the same lane (content style) as Paige, but I don't understand all the hate towards her," she explained.
"Paige played college golf at San Diego State, almost won a national title.
"I don't know where this misconception comes from that these girls all of a sudden can't play golf because they're in a different lane than professional golf.
"I like a lot of them, they're really cool people. They're in their own world.
"They're not trying to play professional golf, they're just doing their own thing, which is great."
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