Meeker Golf Course opens under new management

MEEKER I The Meeker Golf Course will be under new management this season as long-time golf pro Jim Cook retired at the end of last season.
Chris Arnold’s official title is director of facilities and operations and he is excited about the opportunity.
“When I heard Jim Cook was retiring and the club was looking for an new manager, I saw an opportunity,” Arnold said, who moved to Meeker four years ago with his wife Natalia, sons Tyler and Austin and family Newfoundland dog. “We quickly fell in love with the community and all it has to offer.”
Arnold is not a golf professional but it has become a goal of his and he does have lots of groundskeeping experience.
“I worked as a greens keeper for the Snowmass Golf Course for four years, I was a foreman for West Canyon Tree Farm and Nursery, followed by Eagle Crest Nursery and then I ran my own landscape business for three years installing sprinklers, planting full sized trees, sod, shrubs, flower beds, created water features and ponds,” Arnold said.
Arnold said he has been coming to Meeker, fly fishing in the White River since his early 20s and his wife’s family has a cabin in the White River National Forest, which has brought Natalia to Meeker on an annual basis.
“Our oldest boy Tyler took to Meeker like a duck to water and our youngest, Austin, loves the outdoors and playing with his big buddy, Moose, our family Newfoundland,” Arnold said. “My family and I hope to settle here permanently and raise our family and we could not wish for a better place to do so.”
The Meeker Golf Course officially opened April 1, 2014, under cloudy skies but it did not dampen Arnold’s outlook for the future.
“Jim Cook’s shoes will be beyond difficult to fill but I will not be satisfied until I meet or exceed the community’s expectations for the Meeker Golf Course,” Arnold said, inviting everyone to come see the changes in the pro shop, or to have a burger and drink at Chippers, hit a bucket of balls or play a round of golf.
“I feel, we as a family have found a home in Meeker,” Arnold said.