Member in the Spotlight - Craig Miller

Craig Miller left his native Scotland to pursue a coaching career in Germany where despite not speaking the language, he has cemented himself as one of the top PGA coaches in the region.

Career pathway

I started my career way back in 1991 as a Young Training Scheme (YTS) apprentice working for Brian Lawson at Kirkcaldy Golf Club. After a couple of years, I moved to Stirling Golf Club to work for Ian Collins and started my PGA training. Qualifying in 1994, I wasn’t really sure what to do at first, but I decided to make the move to Germany and go down the teaching professional road. In 1996 I was lucky enough to get an assistant teaching job at Golf Club Hernnhof in Bavaria, Germany, where I was working for a fellow Scot, Graeme Glasgow. At first it was pretty tough with very little German speaking skills, but with hard work and a lot of help from my new club members, I managed to pick up the basic language and begin a very happy and successful teaching career in Germany. I moved to Golf Club Herzogenaurach (famous sporting town - home of both ADIDAS and PUMA) in 1999 and I am still very happy at the club. We Started with a small nine-hole course and we now have a fantastic 18-hole course with fantastic practice facilities, a Trackman Indoor Golf Centre and more than 1,100 members.

My current role

After three years learning the language and getting used to the busy teaching life in Golf Club Hernnhof, I was approached by Golf Club Herzogenaurach and asked if I would like to take on the role of Head Professional, helping them transform a small nine-hole club into an 18-hole facility. I guess I was lucky, just being in the right place at the right time. On a typical working day 80 per cent of my time will be coaching and rest is spent organising the daily running of the ‘Golf School’. Over the years my job has developed and changed, and I currently coach more elite players, as well as the club’s teams and members. However, golf is still a very popular sport in Germany and with many newcomers, the ‘Golf School’ offers many different courses for beginners to the learn the game and get their Platzreife (golf certificate to allow them to play on a course). Usually, I have three to four teaching professionals working for me to cover all the work.

The most challenging aspects of your job

There is nothing quite like a person coming to you with no golf experience and a blank canvas, and for the coach to develop them into golfers, watch them progress, go on their own to the course, play in tournaments and just enjoying the game. I think this is one of the best feelings for a coach in any sport. Most challenging but also a great part of my life now is coaching elite players and teams. This is very demanding and takes a lot of time both with the players and preparation. I am very fortunate to have had some success with my players and teams which is also a really great feeling and payback for all the effort. One of my players Matthias Schmid won the European Amateur Championship in 2019 and defended his title last year.

Career influences

After I settled into the way of life in Germany, I decided to re-invest some of the money I was making to develop my own golf and knowledge about coaching. I got in contact with Mike Bender (top five coach in America) and spent most of my German off-season’s (winter) with him in Florida. He’s definitely had the biggest influence on my coaching and I still use all his advice and knowledge in the way I coach today.

Best advice I would give

If you are interested in teaching and following this career path, Germany is still one the best countries to work in. Golf is a very popular sport here and with the Platzreife system, coaches will never be short of work. The lifestyle and the weather is great, and the people are very nice. For the right person, Germany can provide a great base for a great career in the golf business.

My advice would be:

- Develop a knowledge of a second language
- Gather as much varied information about golf coaching
- Learn coaching skills to make you stand out from other coaches.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

An easy question for me - where I am now! I am happily married, I have two children growing up in a great country and I love my job at Golf Club Herzogenaurach.

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