Girl, 7, is youngest in Norfolk with golf handicap

Hope was inspired to get into the sport by her professional golf playing uncle

A seven-year-old has become the youngest girl in Norfolk with a golf handicap.

Hope, who lives just outside Norwich, started playing the sport when she was four years old and has just achieved a handicap of 54.

"I like spending time with my family and going round the course," said Hope.

The governing body for amateur golf, England Golf, confirmed the achievement to Hope's family and told the BBC: "It is fantastic to see girls as young as seven playing golf and getting a handicap."

It added: "Hope should be very proud of obtaining a handicap and it will be exciting to see how far she progresses in the game."

Her family said she wanted to follow in the footsteps of both her uncle, who was a professional golfer, and her older brother, who played in the county team.

The schoolgirl plays with a local academy and wants to play for the county team

Her mother Jo said the family spent all weekend on golf courses and travelled around the country, most recently playing in Northern Ireland.

"Her standard is pretty incredible, so when I watch her take the shots I'm just blown away, but between shots she's doing cartwheels and playing with friends," said Jo.

"To get a handicap she needs to go round a course three or six times and she gets a level of ability of shots she can take in a competition.

"She's worked really, really hard."

A handicap allows players of different abilities to play together more equally. The lower the handicap figure, the better the player.

Hope played with a local academy and said her ambition was to be picked for the county team.

The schoolgirl said her mum and professional golfer uncle were both "proud" of her achievement.

Upon finding out her handicap, she was "really happy" and said the thing she enjoys most was going round the golf course.

And, her advice for anyone thinking about taking up the sport: "Practise to get better."