As a golfer, Chris Moody had already accumulated a bunch of trophies and titles in the Utah Section PGA. His latest award hit differently.
That’s because he earned this one without holding a club in his hands, or having a scorecard to provide a grade of his performance. The Section’s Professional of the Year Award is proof of his steady, day-after-day impact. So is the response he’s received from some Section members whom Moody barely knows, people he never imagined he was influencing or impressing during his two decades on the Riverside Country Club staff, including the last five years as Head Professional.
Moody is a five-time Player of the Year in the Section. He was named the Assistant Professional of the Year in 2014 and was the Merchandiser of the Year (Private) in 2023.
The Professional of the Year award came just as Moody was turning 50, a natural opportunity to reflect on a life that he has mostly spent at Riverside, where his father, the late Robert Moody, was a longtime member and a club president. As with a lot of success stories, this one comes with a twist.
Moody figured he was done with golf after chasing a playing career following his graduation from Utah State. He was working for AT&T, pitching long-distance phone plans (yes, those used to be a thing) to businesses and homeowners, when PGA Professional Robert McArthur called him “out of the blue” and asked if Moody would join him in the Riverside golf shop. “The phone call came right at the right time,” Moody said.
Moody describes McArthur as “my beacon,” in multiple ways. Connecting the dots in the Section’s award history creates an unmistakable thread. Eight members have been named both the Assistant Professional and Professional of the Year. Three worked for McArthur in Provo, in succession: Craig Norman, Kent McComb and Moody.
McArthur “kind of sucked me back into the golf business,” Moody said. “He’s always been kind of a father figure to me. … He’s so personable, so good with people; he makes you feel important.”
In turn, Moody has become influential to others, beyond Riverside’s membership. Pro-am guests in the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open have appreciated his welcome for the past 11 years. Former assistant Travis Byron recently became Alpine Country Club’s Head Professional. Three other assistants are working toward PGA membership.
McArthur was named the Section’s Professional of the Year in 1989 and, among other honors, received the PGA Professional Development Award in 2014 and the Doug Vilven Distinguished Service Award in 2020. That’s a lot for Moody to live up to, and his peers say he’s succeeding.
Feature written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photography by Fairways Media.