SLGA COACH KEVIN CRAGGS AWARDED ADVANCED PRO STATUS

FROM THE PGA REGIONS' NEWS WEBSITE

A Scottish PGA professional with a passion for coaching been awarded PGA Advanced Fellow Professional status. Kevin Craggs, national coach with the Scottish Ladies Golf Association, was honoured in the latest APAL (Accreditation for Professional Achievement and Learning) awards, reflecting his expertise and commitment to coaching.

The accolade caps a memorable 12 months which saw him get to spend some time with one of his golfing heroes, Seve Ballesteros shortly before the Spaniard's death.

"I think to be recognised by the PGA with any award is a great honour," he said. "When we turn pro and leave with the PGA qualification we begin a journey of self discovery so to be recognised for your work is a great personal achievement."

One of the highlights of Craggs' career came when he had the opportunity to spend time with the late great Ballesteros just before he died. It is a meeting that is still vivid in the 42-year-old's memory.

"I taught the sister of his wife and wanted to write Seve a letter and ask him some questions about golf and technique and she said, 'Why don't you come out and meet him?' " explained Craggs.

"It was a fantastic opportunity; he embraced what I was trying to do and was fascinating. He gave me some great insight which I was able to pass on to my pupils at all levels from beginners to tour players.

"Sometimes you forget as a coach that the game is a question of how many, not how and what I learned from Seve is that experimentation and creativity can lead to success. Sometimes you can get a little fixated on position, plotting and planning. With Seve it was the pure artistry side of things." Craggs has an indoor studio at his Falkirk home and works with a number of elite players in his role as national coach for the SLGA, a post he has held for the past five years.

He also coaches one of Scotland's most successful ever players, Catriona Matthew who won the Ricoh Women's British Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 2009.

"I started working with Catriona just after she won the British Open and it has been very rewarding. Her stroke average is lower than it has ever been and she was a key member at the Solheim Cup so it was been great to see that all up close," he added.

Craggs has some exciting projects in the pipeline including apps for online coaching and is also interested in learning lessons from other sports, particularly boxing.

"I have been studying boxing and some aspects of boxing such as the mental and physical side of the sport. Believe it or not there is a huge correlation between boxing and golf in terms of the movement and mindset and I will exploring these avenues and like every PGA pro looking to further develop myself."

The APAL programme recognises four additional membership status categories beginning with PGA Advanced Professional and moving onto PGA Fellow Professional, PGA Advanced Fellow Professional and PGA Master Professional.

+Former Scotland international Claire Hargan, the SLGA's championship manager, is leaving to join the R and A staff.