Robert Hutton, who has died at the age of 55, enjoyed a stellar career as an amateur before he was elected to PGA Membership and served St Patrick’s Golf Club, Downpatrick, for more than 20 years.
Although he was called Robbie by most of his friends, his prowess on the golf course as a teenager earned him the nickname ‘The Rocket’. In that respect, lift off came in 1986 when, aged 15 and a member of Ardglass Golf Club, Robbie won the Ulster Boys Championship.
He was selected for the Ardglass senior team in the same year and went on to represent Ulster at both junior and senior levels in the Inter-Provincial Championships. Arguably his most noteworthy victory in match play came in 1989 in the North of Ireland Amateur Open Championship when he defeated Darren Clark in the quarter-final, a match that proved the future Open Champion’s last before he turned pro.
Robbie set the current Ardglass course record during the following year with a 10-under par round of 60 and in 1991 became the club’s first and only player to represent Ireland at senior level. He also holed the winning putt to secure Ardglass’s first senior trophy, the Belfast and District Cup in 1993 and turned professional immediately afterwards.
He then spent five years working as an assistant to Peter Hanna, the future PGA Captain, at Fortwilliam Golf Club, Belfast, before moving across the city for a 12-month spell at Cliftonville Golf Club. He followed up by joining St Patrick’s where he spent the rest of his career until retiring in 2020.
Robbie is survived by Joanne, his partner, children Jack, Anna, Johnny and Charlie, Jennifer, his mother, and sisters Cathy, Barbara, Rozi and Judy. The PGA extends heartfelt condolences to them and Robbie’s other family members on their loss.
