Sophomore tees up

Above: Studies the green. Sloan Mackintosh ’28 looks towards the next hole mid-golf meet at Benson on Aug. 28. Marian won the tournament by 20 shots. Photo by Kelsey Bragg '26.

Story by Reilly O’Brien '26

3:30 p.m. on a weekday, nobody will have any trouble finding Sloan Mackintosh. More often than not, she will be at some kind of golf course, with a club in her hand. 

Sophomore Sloan Mackintosh is known at Marian for her talents on the green. As a freshman, Mackintosh helped the golf team win its first state championship since 2010. 

Head golf coach Robert Davis has trouble describing Mackintosh in one word. The closest he can come is “confident, she has her life together in a really good way.”

Growing up on a golf course, it was fate for Mackintosh to form a connection with the sport. She says that her dad was the one to first get her into golf, but it feels like she has always had a club in her hand. 

“I started playing competitively four or five years ago,” Mackintosh said. “I’m out there three hours a day, I’m always working.” 

Last year was Mackintosh’s first year at State, which she describes as fun, exciting and a little nerve-wracking. 

Individually, Mackintosh says she wants to better her rank from tournament to tournament. This process has already began with Mackintosh scoring a Marian personal best of 76 points at the Lincoln Southeast invitational on Sept. 11. This was enough to push Mackintosh to 3rd out of 60 golfers. 

Davis sees this improvement, saying that Mackintosh is already so motivated to succeed on her own that the best he can do for her is remind her of small issues with her technique. 

According to Mackintosh, the biggest challenge for any golf player is staying mentally well and in the game.

“We’re all going to have bad holes, but you have to be able to get over it,” Mackintosh said. “All the girls are always there for each other.” 

Mackintosh says that Marian Golf is made special, not by the fancy equipment or the brand new training facilities, but by the girls on the team. 

“We get closer every day,” Mackintosh said. “We’re always together. We enjoy each other.” 

There is a lot to look out for when it comes to Sloan Mackintosh. Coach Davis says her dedication to golf is key to her success. 

“Sloan just loves being on the golf course .She’s just happy to be out there” Davis said.