NBCC celebrates golden anniversary

Today, Newport Beach Country Club officially turns 50.

The weekend celebration began Friday night with 300 people

expected to dance the night away at a 1950s-style sock hop.

Two hundred players will tee off in two shotguns beginning at 7

a.m. today in a men’s tournament using a two-man shamble format. In a

“shamble,” each player in the group -- or duo in this case -- tees

off. The group then decides which shot they would all like to play

from and each golfer plays his or her own ball until it drops into

the hole. The best score of the group is taken.

Seventy couples are expected to tee off Sunday in foursomes to

conclude the weekend festivities. Two best balls of the four will

count toward the final score.

It was Valentine’s Day 1954 when Myford “Mike” Irvine, Hadd Ring,

Tom Henderson and Charlie Cogan teed off at 1:04 p.m. Observers said

Irvine drove his tee shot 280 yards down the middle of the first

hole, a 308-yard par-4.