After months of hard work and dedication, the South’s Varsity Golf team made it to states. Having long practices with many challenging drills, Shaun Hampton believes there will be a good chance to win states.

Yet there comes a lot of struggles and time for perfection. The top 5 competitors, Lyla Hampton ’26, Cate Hampton ’24, Tenley Stiyer ’25, Murphy Russell ’25 and Maggie O’Brien ’25, have set certain goals to reach in states. Cate Hampton, being captain of this year’s team knows what to work on to compete well.

“I need to work on my putting, it’s been all over the place recently,” Cate Hampton said. “My driver has been a little iffy too, I have not been able to hit it how I would like to.”

With nerves building up, there is still lots of excitement from these girls, especially from their coach, Shaun Hampton.

“I’m extremely proud of the girls,” Shaun Hampton said. “The accomplishments they’ve made this year, and being dedicated to doing their ultimate best was great to see”.

Bonding is a big factor in doing well too. Making sure there’s always support from one another. For Lyla Hampton, having her sister on the team creates a closer bond between them.

“I like having my sister on my team because we are super close,” Lyla Hampton said. “We spend a lot of time together, so it’s just easy having her be on the same team as me”.

Since this is Cate Hampton’s last year on the team, all she hopes for is effort. Having everyone try their hardest, and hopefully seeing a good outcome to that. Qualifying for states alone made Cate excited about how much everyone has grown and accomplished from that.

“I just want everyone to play to the best of their ability and give it their all,” Cate Hampton said. “We’ve made it here so that’s enough for me, and I want us all to try our best.”

To do well in the States, it’s not always the most complicated drill, but a big factor is having confidence in yourself. Having a positive mindset in golf is very important and plays a huge role in doing better.

“There is a lot that has been worked on, and has to be performed well at states to be in a good place,” Shaun Hampton said. “That includes the short game, chipping, putting, and overall having a positive mentality.”

Besides all of the competitiveness, having fun is what counts most. Winning and being focused, yet having a lot of fun on the course, and enjoying the moments you intake.

“I want the girls to follow the process to work on the things we’ve done all season to get them to this point,” Shaun Hampton said. “Then, focus on enjoying themselves and having fun.”