Bishop Seabury freshman golfer Faith Hedges hits a shot on the putting green alongside her younger brother, Will, at Alvamar Golf Course.

A little more than a week after clinching a state championship, Bishop Seabury freshman golfer Faith Hedges was working on her putting one evening after cheer practice at the Alvamar Golf Course.

After dethroning a pair of former state champs in her first-place finish at 3-2-1A, Hedges had just one opponent on this green — her younger brother, Will.

This particular putting battle was just one of many miniature competitions the two siblings have taken part in for a number of years.

“It helps a lot,” Faith said, “because it’s competition but it’s fun and we are both trying to improve. It goes either way usually. We just do putting contests and chip in contests. We try to get closest to the hole.”

But before the two became each other’s biggest motivators on the course, Faith encouraged her younger brother off of it.

For a year before she started competing in tournaments of her own, Faith was Will’s biggest fan as he played competitive golf. It was while watching these tournaments that Faith decided she wanted to give it a shot.

“There were other girls her age in Kansas City tournaments,” Faith’s father and coach, Bryan Hedges, said. “So once she started seeing girls her age playing and started to see it was fun, she started to sign up.”

Faith began competing in junior tournaments at 12 years old. Just a few years later, Faith hoisted her first state banner. It marked the first state title from a golfer in Seabury history.

What made her feat even more impressive was the fact it was just her second tournament at the high school level.

Seabury was unable to gather enough players to make a high school team, leaving Faith by herself. Instead of letting it hold her back, Faith practiced all year at the courses in Lawrence: Lawrence Country Club, Eagle Bend and Alvamar.

“They are right here so I play them all the time,” Faith said. “Because I do play here a lot, I have a lot more confidence on these courses.”

Just before regionals, Bryan had to take a test to become certified as a coach. The move allowed Bryan to move much closer to his daughter during tournaments, from 30 yards back to just 5 yards — though he admitted she didn’t really need it.

“During the tournament, I didn’t have to give her any advice,” Bryan said. “She had already prepared her game plan and followed it. For the most part, I stayed back and stayed out of the way.”

Faith earned a regional title in her high school debut on Oct. 10 at Council Grove. Hedges admitted the golf course was similar to LCC because of the hills, which allowed her to feel more comfortable and take first out of 35 golfers, shooting an 88.

One week later, Hedges shot a 12-over-par 84, to beat Reagan Boon, of Eureka, and Karee Dinkel, of Thomas More Prep, by three strokes. Once again, it was her familiarity with a course in Lawrence that led to her success on a completely new course in Garden City.

“It was a lot like Eagle Bend, where if you missed the fairway, you had grass up to your knees,” Bryan said. “In the practice round she lost some golf balls, but in the tournament she didn’t lose a single ball. That was huge.”

It was huge achievement for a freshman, but not one that was improbable, because of her background. Bryan playing golf at Lawrence High years ago allowed both Faith and Will to become entrenched in the sport at a young age.

The two regularly hit the local courses and compete in competitive tournaments around the country. Both of them will compete in a tournament in Florida in January to get ready before the spring season.

Will, a seventh-grader, won a U.S. Kids Kansas City fall tour championship last month among 12-year-olds, carding a 79 in 18 holes at Dub’s Dread Golf Club.

Even in their downtime, the siblings are often drawn to the Golf Channel. They will watch golf movies such as “The Short Game” and “Greatest Game Ever Played,” both of which inspired them.

That sort of dedication has led to early success for both young golfers, and their dad will be the first to admit that it has already surpassed anything he accomplished in his career.

“As they are learning, I’m learning,” Bryan said. “I don’t ever remember winning any tournaments, so she’s already passed me.”

But Faith is not content with just winning one state title.

“I just want to keep improving and learning,” Faith said. “I was a little nervous on the first hole (in state) but after that I got better.”