Dominic Foos is relishing the challenges he has in front of him as sets his sights on the European Tour but first the Challenge Tour is his major goal for now.
The 20-year-old Dubai-based professional golfer moved to the UAE three-and-half years ago where he practices at the Els Club and lives near-by in Sports City.
Originally from Karlsruhe outside Stuttgart in Germany, Foos is enjoying life in the Middle East as he competes in his fourth season on the Challenge Tour – the second-tier men’s professional golf tour in Europe.
“Dubai is a great place, you’ve got people from all over the world. The main reason for me moving here in 2014 was to be have a good base and be central,” he said.
“I‘m travelling all the time during the summers so Dubai helps me to prepare well. I’ve developed great friendships at the Butch Harmon School and I really enjoy it over there.”
When Foos first burst on to the professional scene in 2014, he tasted victory within his first months, making him the youngest ever winner on Challenge Tour at 17 years, 347 days.
It was easy for some to have unrealistic expectations so early, but in his 50 tournaments since, he has yet to win but two second place finishes has added some gloss to his achievements.
“I feel like it’s a hard experience. I haven’t won a tournament in three years. This experience has helped me to be ready. But I know what I have to work on to get on the European Tour,” Foos said.
“The key to my game is driving. If I hit the fairways it will be a good tournament. My putting is good. Even a bad putting day is good. If you position off the tee, it is key. I’ve noticed it for me it works.
In his three competitions this season, Foos has showed gradual improvements, with his most recent finish his best yet.
A T17 result at the Turkish Airlines Challenge last week was his highest finish in over eight months with promising signs to show his game finally coming together.
He finished T108 at the Barclays Kenyan Open on March 25 and followed it up with a 75th place finish at the Yunnan Open in China two weeks ago.
It’s just an insight into the heavy workload of a professional with each week offering a different setting but the same motivation but not the same result.
“I’ve figured out, for me to effective I can’t play more than four tournaments in a row. I need a break for a week to be fresh and start again and recover,” he said.
The Challenge Tour is tougher than ever with a constant flood of talented youngsters coming through with the ambition of getting on the European Tour.
With only 100 cards available on the European Tour each season, a player needs to finish in the top five on the Challenge Tour to win membership to the European Tour the following season.
At 20, he has plenty of time on his side but there is always that burst to make it to the top as quick as he can on a demanding circuit.
“I want to win the Challenge Tour to get on the European Tour. I am focusing on the process. I know to achieve that I have to hit the fairways, that’s number one priority,” he said.
“The tour has gotten really strong. My game has got better. I’m still making mistakes that I’m learning from which is costing me a lot.
“I know though if I hit the fairways, I can hit birdies. The goal for every player is to be contention and be in the final round of the tournament and figure things out from there.”
*Foos was recently named on ISM’s ‘Class of 18’ programme, which supports three different prospects every year. It is the third instalment of the scheme and last year was its most successful yet, with Matt Wallace and Clement Sordet winning three times between them and graduating from the Challenge Tour to the 2018 European Tour.
