“Why don’t we dress like athletes?”

Golf personality Paige Spiranac had grown a huge following on social media, but along the way her outfits have turned heads. She even accused TikTok of shadowbanning her content earlier this year because of her body and clothing choices, while some detractors have said some of her athleisure outfits aren’t appropriate for the links.

In a new interview with Sports Illustrated, Spiranac defended her fashion choices, saying they comes from her own background in athletics.

“I was a gymnast before I switched into golf,” Spiranac, a former childhood gymnast, said. “I was so comfortable wearing spandex and very little of it because that’s just what you wear when you’re wearing a leotard and you’re competing. When I switched into golf, we were struggling a little bit financially and so I didn’t have the luxury to go out and buy a whole new golf-appropriate wardrobe. So I wore what was in my closet which was workout clothes. That’s just how I learned to play the game.”

She went on to explain that she chooses to dress how she does because she considers golfers to be athletes.

“Why don’t we dress like athletes? They’re out there, poor Lucas Glover, in these unbreathable pants sweating like crazy. I’m like, ‘Let’s dress like athletes,'” she said, referencing the golfer who was seen drenched in sweat at the recent FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Spiranac finished by poking fun at the stuffy rules that govern golf and how she’s looking to challenge them.

“That was always my mindset when I got into golf, and it really rubs people the wrong way which is shocking,” she said. “They’ll have really intense discussions over if they should wear shorts or pants or a blade collar or a real collar and I’m just out here just in tank tops or spandex and people are like ‘What are you doing?’ But we’re starting to see that change and fashion is a big part of growing the game. We’re moving in the right direction.”