Snell was an assistant professional at
Lindrick Golf Club before becoming the professional at Worksop Golf Club in the mid-1950. Seven members of the British team for the 1959 Ryder Cup were selected from a points system based on performances during the early part of the 1959 season, ending with
Irish Hospitals Tournament finishing on 12 July. The remaining three were selected by the P.G.A. tournament committee after the
Dunlop Masters, which was played the week after the News of the World Matchplay. Snell performed poorly in the Dunlop Masters, and was not chosen, with the committee preferring
Ken Bousfield,
Eric Brown and
Dave Thomas. In contrast, in both 1957 and 1961, any British or Irish winner of the News of the World Matchplay received an automatic place in the team. Snell was a joint runner-up in the 1959
PGA Close Championship, played at Ashburnham in Wales, finishing six strokes behind
Dai Rees. He tied for the 1963
Rediffusion Tournament on
Jersey but lost in the playoff to
Alex Caygill at the second extra hole, sharing second place with
Flory Van Donck. He was also runner-up to
Jimmy Hitchcock in the 1965
Agfa-Gevaert Tournament and to
Tony Jacklin in the 1967
Pringle of Scotland Tournament. Snell played for the professionals in the last
Amateurs–Professionals Match in 1960. He also played for England in the
1965 Canada Cup in Madrid, with
Guy Wolstenholme. They finished in a tie for fourth place. Snell had a final round of 68 to equal the best round of the tournament. Snell was a regular competitor in the
Open Championship, qualifying for 17 successive championships from 1957 to 1973. His best finish was a tie for 30th place in 1958. He never won on the tour, his best finish being runner-up in the
La Manga Spanish Seniors Open in 1994, where he was involved in a three-way playoff with
Brian Huggett and
Malcolm Gregson. He finished 13th in the order of merit in both 1993 and 1994. ==Personal life==