00:02Somewhere along the line it's become cool in school to play golf.
00:07One of my biggest achievements was the NC Amateur this year.
00:10There was tons of junior girls with really low handicaps.
00:15And after the second day I was tied for first.
00:18I was really happy because that just means I could compete with those type of golfers.
00:22At 14, Sophie Mincherton is currently the highest ranked women's player in the Northern Territory.
00:28It's more like personal, like just trying to beat yourself at the game.
00:32So you just try to get the lowest score possible and get your handicap down and down and down.
00:38The handicap numbering system in golf allows varying skill levels to compete together,
00:43making it an inclusive sport for all ages.
00:46The lower the handicap, the better the player.
00:48You were hooking it, and that says to me we've got a bit of lateral movement going on there.
00:53Through the Darwin Golf Club's junior program,
00:55Sophie started competing at nine years old with a 54 handicap.
01:00Yep.
01:00Now she's playing off an impressive three and highly motivated to get to zero.
01:04Good work.
01:05I currently have a deal on with my parents to,
01:08if I get down a handicap of scratch then I can get my first golf fitting,
01:12because my clubs right now are all second hand from my nana and papa.
01:16She's also earned a place in the NT's junior emerging talent program run by Golf Australia NT.
01:23The athlete needs to have a desire to be the best that they can.
01:26Sophie has that along with a really, really good proficiency in her technique.
01:31And obviously she's still growing, so we need to keep on top of body and make sure that that mind
01:39are in a really good position.
01:40She's definitely taught me a lot about dealing with myself on the course and like emotional management,
01:45because it can get pretty frustrating out there.
01:48Sophie attends two to three national tournaments a year, but she'd like to take that a step further.
01:52Go overseas for a tournament, or I do really want to get onto the LPGA when I'm older and become
02:00a professional golfer.
02:01So that's definitely a big dream and that's what I want to do when I'm older.
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