If you are a golf pro, or really a golfer at any level, when Jack Nicklaus talks, you listen. Keith Schneider did just that and turned it into a 43-year career at Castle Pines Golf Club (CPGC).

It all began when golfer Jack Vickers moved to Denver in 1969 and was scouting out a place to build a golf course. As the story goes, Vickers took a drive down Happy Canyon Road, stopped his car and climbed up the ridge to view the majestic Colorado panorama. After more than a decade of work with landowners to secure the property for a golf course, Vickers asked his friend Nicklaus to design CPGC, which he did. Nicklaus also asked the assistant pro at his golf club, the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, to come to Colorado on a temporary basis. Keith, who was 26 and single at the time, moved here to help get CPGC ready for opening day: October 1981. He never left.

“I was young when Mr. Vickers hired me. I grew with the club,” said Keith.

Spending 23 years as the head golf pro and 20 years as general manager and vice president, Keith is ready to retire, but only after the BMW Championship.

As he reflected on the last 43 years, highlights of his career include his relationship with Jack Nicklaus, his family working at the CPGC, and working for three of the best in the business: Jack Vickers, Jack Clevenger and current chairman and president of CPGC, George Solich.

“It’s been a wonderful ride. I’ve worked for three wonderful gentlemen,” reflected Keith. “All three men had the same vision. It’s been fun to be part of that vision for the club.”

That vision included hosting premier golf tournaments. Keith contributed to the success of The International on the PGA TOUR. The International, the tournament Vickers created, was played for 21 years from 1986 through 2006 at CPGC.

Most recently, Keith and his staff have worked tirelessly to get the course ready for the prestigious BMW Championship, which will be played at CPGC later this month.

“We have touched just about every square inch of infrastructure: remodeling, refurbishing and freshening it up,” he shared.

When the course was being remodeled, Keith had an idea to put a putting green on the south side of the clubhouse. George surprised Keith by naming it The Schneids. “Anytime you can get something named after yourself, it is very special,” Keith said.

For his contributions to the sport, Keith was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2009 and was its Golf Person of the Year in 1992.

When not managing the course or on the putting green, Keith enjoys spending time with his family. He has been married to his wife, Beth, for 36 years. The couple has three children: Tom, Lindsey, and Drew, and a grandson, Brian (2).

“When I was the golf pro, Beth was the buyer in the golf shop. We were a great team,” Keith recalled. “As the kids came along, she did a wonderful job raising them.”

Drew followed in his father’s footsteps; he worked for CPGC for several years and currently runs a golf club in Dallas.

CPGC recently honored Keith’s work by making him a lifetime member at CPGC, a place that has meant so much to him – a perfect place for him to enjoy in his retirement.

Article and photos by Mindy Stone; courtesy photo