DUTTON DELIGHT

Dubai-based talent Marcus Dutton burst to the top of the local amateur scene last month with an eye-catching six-shot victory at the esteemed Yas Links Abu Dhabi Men’s Open. The 21-year-old shot a remarkable round of four under par to emerge victorious on the Kyle Phillips designed track. The Englishman, who also had a brief stint in America playing for North Idaho College, is hoping the triumph is a sign of more success to come in the near future. The Jumeirah Golf Estates member spoke to us about his fledgling amateur career so far which has seen him progress to an astounding plus four handicap.

How did you get into golf?

into

I moved out to Dubai when I was so I’ve been here

I was around 14. I lived for I moved to Jumeirah Golf Estates my Mum like you want to start lessons when I was 14, 15. I fell in love it time in the winter then went back to finish semester, then it fell apart again. So, I decided to come back and try something

I moved out to Dubai when I was 11, so I’ve been here for 10 years now, but I didn’t start playing until I was around 14. I lived at Victory Heights for four years, and when I moved to Jumeirah Golf Estates my Mum was just like ‘do you want to start having lessons?’ and it went from there. I started group lessons when I was 14, 15. I fell in love with it. I played it every winter. Spent a lot of time in the winter working on my swing, and then went back to finish my semester, then different.

You’ve documented all of your swing progression on your Instagram, could you give us an insight into that?

It’s been a grind. I’ve always wanted to get to a point where my swing does the job for me so I can just go out and play. I struggled when I first started playing about getting a perfect swing and perfect photo positions. After getting stuck and spending three years trying to fix everything, now I’m finally getting to a point where I can go out and enjoy playing. I’m now in a zone where I don’t have to think about anything.

What about the influence of two-time DP World Tour winner Tom Lewis, a close friend of yours?

What did you learn about yourself during

What did you learn your stint in the US?

I learnt that there’s a lot to the game. It’s not as simple as spending time on the range and going out to play. When you’re playing different courses that are very different to Dubai and the UAE, like treeline and parkland courses, it’s a very different game. There’s not much time to practice as you’re busy with school and studying. It was a mix of all things. I was on a 12-hour time difference to my coach and my parents, so anytime I wanted hel h p with swing changes it would take ages to come through. I could definitely do it better next time, but it was tough are many courses here and there’s so many

Back in the UAE now, how would you describe the set-up here?

I saw him in Saudi where I spent a week for the Asian Tour event. He’s been a good friend of mine for years now. I met him at the DP World Tour Championship in 2018. We’ve spoken back and forth, good friends ever since. We were talking about our swings as he’s kind of had some struggles as well. He was like ‘send me a few videos and I’ll take a look’. So I sent him my videos from last winter when I was hitting it well. He just showed me my posture. He just said I can’t get it on plane and up if I’m so steep. So he wanted me to sit back a little bit and stand a little bit taller with my head. Straight away when I got back I played 18 holes with my friends and hit it a million times better.

How often do you practice?

The facilities… you’re not going to get anything better. Every single golf course you go to there are unreal facilities. The courses are always in great condition. There are many courses here and there’s so great players as well. It’s a great place to grow up playing because there’s so many opportunities

How do you reflect on your recent win at Yas Links?

I went to Yas expecting to ‘just play’. I hadn’t played a tournament since the start of the season as I’d just been working on my swing. I wasn’t happy where my swing was, I had no confidence. I didn’t really want to play tournaments because I didn’t want people to see my scores. I went to Yas with the focus of building confidence and getting back into the swing of things of playing tournaments. I ended up winning. It was a big jump in confidence

Did you feel like a good result like that was just around the corner?

If you would ask a few of the guys I play with, my coach or anyone at JGE, they would say it’s been coming for a while. But looking at my swing and how the last six to eight months have been, I would have never seen the possibly of it coming this soon. It kind of feels like it was a fluke, but at the same time I’m playing better golf and I’m hitting the ball well. My swing’s so much better now. I just need to back it up and continue the form and how the last six to months have I would have never seen the possibly of it this soon. It kind of feels like it was a at the same time better and I’m the ball so much need to back it and continue the form now.

I have a schedule that I try to stick to every day. I want to balance my practice. I don’t want to hit the same thing every day. Some days I’ll focus on the short game, some days long game, some days it’s the course. I just try to keep a good balance and spread things out a little bit.

And how frequently do you get back to the UK to play?

I haven’t played enough there. The weather’s a bit rubbish, but yeah, I should really play out there more. I think after this season finishes in Dubai, I will see what happens. I will probably go over to Europe to see what there is. I spend most of my summers in Portugal so I’ll mainly look around Spain and Portugal to see what there is. Maybe I’ll go up to the UK to see what events are there.

What advice would you give fellow youngsters chasing their dream like yourself?

Track your progress with swing videos, tests and strokes gained systems or apps. I have a folder on my phone that has swing videos from each month going back to 2020 and it’s so nice to see the progress I’ve made. It’s also great being at Tommy Fleetwood Academy because it allows me to see what a lot of pros do in their practice, especially Tommy himself. You learn a lot seeing how focused they are and how much time they spend on certain situations and parts of their game.

BY WILL KENT