Ace leaves Hutton optimistic ahead of Little Aston test

One half of Sudbrook Moor’s father and son PGA Professional team will be aiming to start the season with a bang in the Titleist & FootJoy PGA Professional Championship qualifier at Little Aston on April 29.

And Ben Hutton looks to be hitting form at the right time having recently bagged a hole-in-one in competition.

The 36 year old has worked with his dad Tim at the Grantham golf facility ever since turning professional in the mid-nineties.

The pair have together grown the club from a promising new facility to one of the stand-out pay and play venues in the area.

Hutton provides coaching for the club’s members, as well as fulfilling playing commitments regionally and nationally.

The £78,000 championship, which will culminate in a final at The Oxfordshire in July, will be Hutton’s first appearance in a national PGA event this year.

“It’s always one that I like to make the effort to play in,” Hutton explained. “It sits in nicely with my coaching at the start of the season – and Little Aston (below) is a course that I really enjoy playing.

“I did well the last time I played there in September, but playing time has been limited over the winter months so I don’t really want to go in too confident and set myself up to fail.

“I hit a hole-in-one a couple of weeks ago in the east region’s Spring Classic, though, so hopefully with a bit more luck like that I stand a chance of qualifying for the final.”

Hutton admitted his father, a PGA Fellow Professional who worked with five-time Ryder Cup captain Dai Rees early in his career, has been a massive influence on his burgeoning career.

“He did a different type of training to me as he qualified in the sixties, but he was still such a big influence when I was coming through,” he recalled.

“He would help me out wherever he could and his experience was a massive part of me deciding to go into a career in golf to start with.

“The relationship in the pro shop has always been absolutely professional – but he has always been there as someone I could look up to.

“He’s always supported me and been a really good mentor – he’s always been there to give me his thoughts and make sure I’m on the right track.”

Other players competing in the regional qualifier at Little Aston include: Stuart Betteridge (Sherwood Forest), Adam Chamberlain (Peterborough Milton), Peter Garratt (Naunton Downs), David Mee (Longcliffe) Nicolas Prentice (Kibworth) and Warwick Stevens (Bramcote Driving Range).