Crail Golfing Society in Scotland has appointed David Snodgrass as its new head professional.
Snodgrass, who is the current assistant professional, will take over the role in January 2021, following the retirement of current head professional Graeme Lennie, who is stepping down after 34 years at the Fife-based club.
Lennie, who was the very first professional appointed by the Crail Golfing Society, will leave the club having helped establish it as one of Scotland’s most revered golf destinations. It was also Lennie’s close friendship with golf course designer Gil Hanse that led to the creation of Crail’s Championship course, Craighead Links, which opened for play in 1998.
The project, which was Hanse’s first outside of the US, brought him international acclaim, and led to other design projects, including Castle Stuart near Inverness and the course that hosted the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Lennie started his career as an assistant at Lundin Links under David Webster, then became the head professional at Clydebank & District, before becoming the first professional at Crail in 1986. This completed a trio of firsts – first ever assistant at Lundin Links, first ever professional at Clydebank & District, and first professional at Crail. In between all this Lennie played a number of tournaments on the South African circuit in 1986, and was twice in the top-25 of the Scottish Professional Order of Merit.
In 2003, Lennie had the great honour of being appointed captain of the Scottish PGA. He is a renowned expert on the history and memorabilia of golf, and also has been a leading member of the British Golf Collectors Society for some 40 years.
Snodgrass, 31, is a PGA Advanced Professional and joined Crail eight years ago, having completed his PGA training at Hilton Park Golf Club in Glasgow. Soon after arriving at Crail, he quickly established a vibrant and enthusiastic junior section and under his guidance he has exhibited the experience of a golf professional many years his senior.
On announcing Snodgrass’s appointment, club captain Jim McArthur said: “On behalf of everyone at Crail Golfing Society, I can say that we are absolutely delighted to welcome appointing David Snodgrass as our new Head Professional. David not only understands the culture and ethos of the club, but also has a superb appreciation of the wider golfing world and will bring a new energy and enthusiasm to the team to help develop the long-term vision for the society.
“Whilst the whole emphasis at the moment is survival and adaptation of our facilities and procedures to enable us to operate alongside the virus, we are confident when the pandemic passes that we will have a team who can deliver a great tradition.”
McArthur added: “The club also extends our gratitude to Graeme. He created club history becoming the first professional at the club, and has dedicated over 30 years of his working life to Crail, and all at the club will be forever grateful. Graeme will be missed, but in David, his successor, golf’s seventh oldest club will continue to grow in nurturing, promoting and also enriching all that is good in this ancient game.”
Snodgrass said: “I would to thank the members and staff of Crail Golfing Society, my friends and family, for all of the support and encouragement over the years. It is a privilege and honour to follow in the footstep of Graeme Lennie to become only the second head professional at this prestigious club, and I am extremely indebted to Graeme for his assistance and guidance in my now eight years at Crail.
“The messages of congratulations have been truly overwhelming and humbling. I am extremely passionate about Crail and the local community and I am very excited for the journey ahead. Crail is an incredibly special club, with two amazing courses, a friendly and supportive membership and it is a dream come true to become the next head professional.”