Golf personality Paige Spiranac holds a narrow lead over comedian Andrew Santino after the first nine holes of a match play showdown packed with jabs about plastic tees, slow greens, and each other’s swings.
Spiranac promoted the round in a social media post highlighting her new YouTube video, “Andrew Santino Roasted Me On The Course (pt.1),” which covers the front nine.
“Hey everyone, it’s Paige,” Spiranac said to open the video. “And this is Andrew Santino.”
“Hi, I’m Andrew Santino,” he replied.
The two agreed on stakes before teeing off. Santino demanded a dinner at a restaurant of his choosing, saying, “You have to pay for the most expensive meal that I want.”
Spiranac had a different prize in mind. “You have to have me as a guest on your show,” she said.
“That’s great. That’s fantastic,” Santino answered.
Plastic tees and trash talk
The ribbing began on the first tee, when Spiranac went searching for her tee.
“This is such an embarrassing moment for a golfer,” Santino said. “Let it go.”
“It’s a plastic tee, and I love it,” Spiranac said.
“Plastic tee. How old are you?” Santino shot back.
Spiranac later defended her choice. “Plastic tees are the best,” she said. “I like the way that they have the little prongs on it so it’s easier to put the ball on. So it props up.”
Santino was not convinced. “Plastics, by the way. Forever chemicals right here,” he said.
“Do you think I’m getting dumber because the plastics are seeping into my brain when I put the tees in my hair?” Spiranac asked.
“No. You’re dumb to begin with,” Santino said.
When Santino asked where her home course is, Spiranac declined to say. “I can’t tell you,” she said. “It’s a dirty little secret.”
Spiranac built a lead early, and by the middle of the front nine she was three holes up. Santino tried to rattle her before one birdie attempt. “Think about all the children that you were going to donate money to for my charity,” he said.
Chicago roots and a comedy career
Between shots, the conversation turned to Santino’s family and career. He said his father taught him the game as a child and still hosts a golf tournament in Chicago every year.
“He throws like a massive party every year. This is our 20th year,” Santino said. “And he’s the best.”
Spiranac asked if she could attend. “You want to come to Chicago, you’re 100% more than welcome,” Santino said.
Asked how he got into comedy, Santino first answered, “My dad went to prison when I was a kid.”
“So trauma,” Spiranac said.
“Isn’t that everything for everybody?” Santino replied before describing a household where humor ran deep. “My whole family was like funny, lighthearted, goofy. It was like culturally a part of us,” he said.
“My grandfather was the funniest dude I’ve ever known,” Santino said. “He’s a firefighter for the city of Chicago, and he had 10 children.” He added, “My mom’s one of 10 Irish Catholics.”
Santino named “Curb Your Enthusiasm” as a favorite acting job and praised star Larry David. “Larry’s like one of the greatest men alive. He’s so funny, so smart, so generous,” he said.
He said he landed the role by making David break character during his audition. Santino said he first read for a character with a dog named Hitler, but David told him, “You don’t look Aryan enough.” He then read for a part as an engineer who installs high-tech toilets.
“I said, ‘It judges your ps size,'” Santino recalled. “You walk up to it, it sees your gs, “and it goes beep beep. Ps detected. And that got him.”
Asked when he knew he had made it, Santino pointed to his first job on MTV’s “Punk’d,” when he ran onto Jimmy Kimmel’s set in a Speedo, jumped on the desk, and was tased.
“I remember going to the bathroom and being like, yeah, this is it. We did it like how cool,” he said. “It was a cool moment.”
Spiranac said Santino’s career has taken off since the COVID pandemic. “COVID was awesome cuz we started Bad Friends during COVID and it was slowly, you know, it was climbing,” Santino said.
Spiranac said she messaged his podcast partner, Bobby, the night before with questions but hadn’t heard back. “He’s just waking up at six o’clock,” Santino said.
Music, rivals and the Old Course
Spiranac said she listens to classical music on the course. “I keep one earbud in,” she said.
Santino admitted he is behind on pop music. “I just found out who Tate McRae was today,” he said. “I asked my wife.”
Pressed to name his least favorite comedian, Santino picked Farrah Abraham. “She did a reality show, and she started doing stand-up, and I was like, that’s crazy,” he said.
“Wow. So out of everyone, you pick a woman?” Spiranac asked.
Spiranac said she is returning to Scotland next month and plans to play St. Andrews again. “The Jubilee course at St. Andrews is one of my favorites,” she said.
Draws, fades and ego
The two compared ball flights throughout the round. Spiranac, who favors a draw, joked about why she cannot hit a fade.
“I think it’s my b**bs. They get in the way,” she said. “I can’t stand close enough to it. So, I hit everything slightly off the toe.”
When Santino, who mostly plays a cut, tried to hit a draw and missed, Spiranac pointed to the world’s top player. “Scottie Scheffler can’t hit a draw,” she said. “So be like Scottie. If you don’t have the shot, don’t hit the shot.”
“But golf is a game of I want to, isn’t it?” Santino replied.
Santino blasted a one-cut drive about 320 yards, prompting Spiranac to tell viewers, “He hits his drive so far.” She added that length off the tee is overrated. “90% of guys that hit deep balls, they can’t do anything else,” she said. “It’s all about the short game. You got to take the ego out of golf.”
Santino asked what humbles her. Spiranac said golf is where she struggles most with ego.
“In life, I feel like I am pretty grounded,” she said. “But like with golf, I have a really hard time getting my ego out of it.”
“I’m my worst version of myself during competition,” Spiranac said. “But like when it comes to other things in life, I’m really easygoing, pretty chill about everything.”
Personal questions
Santino also asked Spiranac which attendee at a celebrity invitational she would take back to her cabin if everyone were single. She named Sarah Winter.
“She’s the best-looking one there,” Spiranac said.
Asked whether she has ever dated a woman, Spiranac said she “dabbled in college.” Asked whether she could date a woman, she said, “I think so.”
“Women are fantastic,” Santino said. “Guys are disgusting. Seeing a guy n***d out of the shower, it’s repulsive behavior.”
Down the stretch
Santino clawed back holes late in the front nine. Near the end, Spiranac lined up an approach shot toward the video’s cameraman.
“Wouldn’t that be crazy if I hit Caleb and killed him today?” she said.
“Beloved father, husband, videographer Caleb murdered,” Santino replied.
Spiranac said she prefers her 54-degree wedge in most conditions. “I just feel like I can control the 54 more,” she said. “I got good hands.”
Santino won the ninth hole with a birdie. “I’ll lose to a birdie all day,” Spiranac said.
“I just hammered it,” Santino said of his putt. “I was like, just hit it as hard as you possibly can.”
That left Santino one down heading into the back nine, which the video’s title indicates will be featured in a second installment.
