Newport golf course beckons a quartet of octogenarians for 20 years

It’s cold enough to see a person’s breath as the sun rises in Newport Beach on a recent morning. It would be tempting to stay in a warm bed and ease into the day.

The chill is not enough, though, to keep a group of four friends, all in their late 80s, at home — the golf course awaits.

Bob McKenzie, Louie Donaher, Sam Stameson and Arie Deitos have played Newport Beach Golf Course twice a week for the last 20 years, and Dec. 17 was no exception. Love of the game drew them together and has kept them connected.

Through the years the men noticed one another on the driving range, or wrapping up a round. They started talking and eventually formed a group.

Up until a year ago they played all 18 holes, but nine holes now suffice.

They always walk, moving their clubs with pull carts so as not to hoist heavy golf bags on their shoulders.

“It’s the ideal seniors golf course,” McKenzie, 87, said a few months ago during a fall heat wave when first interviewed for the story. “People tell me, ‘I hope I can play when I’m 87.’ The way I felt today I could play a couple more years.”

Newport Beach Golf Course is shorter than a par-72 layout, and is within a 30-minute drive for all four players. McKenzie and Stameson live in Newport while Donaher hails from Huntington Beach and Deitos from Irvine.

Score plays second fiddle to exercise as the main reason the group gathers. Their motivation for the outings is apparent throughout the morning as the men offer tips to one another and even guide a newcomer through the course.

McKenzie brought along his 19-year-old friend Judson Vandertoll to meet up with Donaher and Stameson. Deitos couldn’t make it that day.

Vandertoll hadn’t had a lot of experience with the game, but the group encouraged him along the way. The Newport Harbor High graduate occasionally asked McKenzie for pointers, such as what club to use for a particular shot.

“Should I go with a 5-wood?” Vandertoll, who grew up golfing with his now 87-year-old grandfather, asked.

“It’s bad ass,” Vandertoll said when asked what he thought of a group of men in their 80s regularly meeting for fellowship and exercise. “It’s something to strive for.”

Donaher, 90, told Vandertoll to keep his head down.

“He’s got a lot of power,” Donaher said of Vandertoll. “If he just stays there, that’s it.”

The foursome adheres to ready golf — the player who is ready is free to hit.

The men hit some errant shots, but there were shining moments.

Stameson, an electrical engineer for 38 years with Hughes Aircraft, rolled in two putts of more than 15 feet. McKenzie, who owned a furniture company and managed advertising departments for consumer magazines such as Playboy, hit the flagstick with a bunker shot. The sand was firm, so he used a 7-iron to roll the ball out of the trap.

“That was luck,” McKenzie quipped.

No one pulled out a score card the entire round.

When asked earlier this year who is the best player in the group, McKenzie and Stameson immediately said Donaher, who modestly shook off the compliment.

The group is efficient, too. They finished their round a few minutes after 9 a.m., less than two hours after teeing off.

“Most people play here for exercise, not for score,” said starter Dave Collins, who has worked at the course for three years. “They hit the ball and take off.”

“No one gets mad at each other,” said Donaher, a former Los Angeles City firefighter. “It’s enjoyable whether you shoot good or bad.”