FAYETTEVILLE -- Steve Arnold was a friend to perhaps everyone he came across in his time at Fayetteville Country Club.
Ten years after Arnold's death, the club continues to make sure his lasting mark on the members and friends of FCC will never be forgotten.
Steven W. Arnold Memorial Member-Guest
Where: Fayetteville Country Club
When: Saturday-Sunday
Notable: Named in honor of the late Steve Arnold, former head golf professional at Fayetteville Country Club. Arnold worked at FCC from 1983 to 2004.
Arnold arrived at Fayetteville Country Club in 1983 and worked as head golf professional until 2004, when he died of a massive heart attack. That same year, the club's marquee tournament -- the FCC Member-Guest -- was renamed in Arnold's honor.
"They changed it to Steven W. Arnold Memorial Member-Guest that first year," said Arnold's father, Dr. Dick Arnold. "Really it was Bill Pritchard at the time who got the thing going. He had shirts made up with Steve's picture and it's been named after him ever since."
Names and faces have come and gone throughout the past decade as the Steven W. Arnold Memorial Member-Guest prepares to tee off for a 10th time this weekend. But Fayetteville Country Club will always remember the lasting mark Arnold left.
"I got here in October of 1998 and that's when I first met Steve," FCC course superintendent Brandon Nichols said. "I was really impressed with the way he and the head superintendent at the time got along.
"We became good friends, not just in working together every day but we also had common interests. Steve was a big football fan, a big Alabama fan and that was back when they weren't as good as they are now. To me he was more than a colleague. And it's fitting this tournament is named in his honor because he was a friend to everybody."
The Member-Guest introduced a new par-3 practice tournament for players last year, which will take place today. Current FCC head golf professional Bill Agler said this year's field will also get a crack at a new format in the 36-hole event.
"Instead of doing a 36-hole best ball, we'll have nine holes of modified alternate shot and a nine-hole scramble on Saturday," Agler said. "Then we'll finish with 18 holes of best ball on Sunday."
The signature tournament at FCC, the Steven W. Arnold Memorial was the choice to honor the club's late friend. While there are other tournaments, the Member-Guest was always Arnold's favorite.
"Steve had a special interest in this tournament," Dick Arnold said. "The Member-Guest has always been one of our signature tournaments and Steve loved how the members and their friends could come together."
Sports on 05/23/2014