The 20-year-old battled over the course of the season against the best local amateurs to eventually come out on top of the season-long rankings. He also featured on the Clutch Pro Tour, Challenge Tour as well as the DP World Tour’s Ras Al Khaimah Championship. In short, it’s been a great year.
He’s now become one of the leading amateurs in the country having first moved to the UAE in 2011, switching from Manchester, England. After years on the range as a junior, he finally decided to test his swing on the course and it’s been an impressive journey ever since. We caught up with him to find out all about his game and his future plans.
WWG: How did you first get into the game of golf?
JS: I started when I was eight years old back in England, but I can’t remember how exactly. There’s no definitive date about the first time, honestly. Nobody in my family plays golf so it didn’t come from them. I just don’t remember. I did eventually join a school team, but that was some months after I had already started playing.
WWG: Was your golf good in England, or has the UAE really accelerated your progress and interest in the game?
JS: I was barely playing golf in England before I moved out to the UAE in 2011. When I first came to Abu Dhabi, I just used to be on the range every day. I never played a round for a long time, which is why when I finally got around to it my first handicap was nine. I used the range at Abu Dhabi City Golf Club before and after school for a couple of years. I hadn’t even played the game, I just liked hitting balls.
WWG: Talk to me about the transition between being a range-only golfer, to actually getting out on the course. How did that come about?
JS: In 2015, I got a very short membership at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Then in 2016, I moved to Yas Links where I got my first handicap when I started competing in medals. Then with Yas Links until 2022, then in 2023 I moved to Dubai and got a membership at Trump International Golf Club Dubai. Now, since I’ve joined the national team, I don’t have a membership at any particular club.
WWG: Topping the recent EGF Order of Merit was a great achievement – congratulations on that. How would you review your season?
JS: I think this past year a lot of little things that have fallen into place. There have been some swing changes that I’ve really been struggling with in the previous year. I felt towards the start of this year especially, I felt things moving in the right direction. I’ve played some good golf. I haven’t checked my handicap for a long, long time but I think it’s around plus four, but this has been my best year. It’s been my third year doing these events. Both years before this I only won one event, so it’s been nice to win two this year especially with the second one being the penultimate event of the season. That was quite good.
WWG: What are your goals with this sport. Are you planning on turning professional?
JS: I’m doing University online as well as playing golf every day and focusing on that, but I’m planning to go for Asian Tour Qualifying School this year, hopefully in October or November. Generally, I’m just on the hunt for a tour card, and Asian Tour seems to be more applicable to the kind of golf and golf courses I’m used to out here in the UAE. I’ve talked to quite a few guys including those on the Challenge Tour and DP World Tour, and they say do everything you can to get there. I figured Asian Tour Q School is coming up, I think it’s probably the next one, so let’s see where it goes.
WWG: It’s common for aspiring UAE professionals to travel to America to try the college route there. Was that ever a consideration for you?
JS: It was. I got a scholarship offer from an American university a few years ago, but with Covid I couldn’t travel. I did one year online with them, but obviously it was with no golf. I thought there’s not really much point, I might as well just stay out here and pursue the opportunities out here.
WWG: What would you say to people a few years younger than yourself who are considering of making the UAE home and trying to become professional here rather than some ‘traditional’ routes in other countries?
JS: I would definitely encourage it here in the UAE. It’s not guaranteed that the facilities available in college golf will be anywhere close to what you can get out here. There’s so much opportunity here in the UAE instead, including these tournaments as well. They are getting better and better every year. There are so many high-level players from outside the country flying in to compete against.
WWG: And finally, what’s your daily golf look like at the moment in the UAE?
JS: It’s mainly practice at the moment, especially in the summer. I had lots of playing opportunities during the winter. The summer is a great time to work on my game, to get what needs to be done which I can’t normally do during full-on season. I will play once, maybe twice a week at most. The EGF Order of Merit is a priority for me later in the year when it gets back underway, but the Asian Tour Q School is a goal as well.
