Virgen: Wow, that Newport Beach Country Club clubhouse is impressive

The clubhouse at Newport Beach Country Club has been well worth the wait. Simply put, it is a jewel in Newport Beach. It’s easily among the best in the state.

It’s truly awesome, artistic, picturesque and exquisite.

I’m surely not the only one impressed. Duffy Waldorf, the Toshiba Classic defending champion, was at NBCC to greet guests and talk golf at the fancy clubhouse for the Toshiba Sponsor Day. Waldorf was also inducted into the Toshiba Classic Hall of Fame. But, more on that later.

It’s really all about that clubhouse. Goodness, even the locker rooms are glitzy. There’s a fitness center, a board room with a case for wine bottles along the wall, and a restaurant and bar on the second floor, among several other great features.

Waldorf agrees with me. That clubhouse is something else. It took reportedly $40 million to build it.

“They have built arguably one of the best clubhouses that I’ve ever been to,” Waldorf said. “I thought we were coming to the Ritz Carlton. Except for the lack of hotel rooms, this is a Ritz Carlton.”

At last year’s Toshiba Classic, where Waldorf set the tournament record, 20-under par (67-60-66 —193), Waldorf said the players joked about the former clubhouse. Because the new clubhouse was under construction for renovation, the players were put in trailers instead of the old locker room.

“A lot of the guys joked that we considered that an upgrade from the old clubhouse,” Waldorf said. “[The Newport Beach Country Club has] gone from one of the least liked clubhouses on the [Champions Tour] and it will be the most liked on the tour.

“The golf course looks in fantastic shape,” he continued. “The fairways last year, they had a disease and they were very brown and had a lot of bad patches. This year they look green, like a carpet, and that’s a big plus. It’s always great to come here to Newport Beach to play in this tournament.”

Waldorf, 54, certainly loves the Toshiba Classic. It was his first win on the Champions Tour. He’s in the Hall of Fame along with the other winners of the tournament that’s in its 22nd year. He really belongs there, when you consider he owns the tournament record. His three rounds included 26 birdies (tied for the best on the Champions Tour) and a 60 in the second round, which tied the course record.

Waldorf is looking forward to the Toshiba Classic, Oct. 5-9. He will try to become the tournament’s first repeat winner, and the third to win it twice (Hale Irwin and Fred Couples).

Yes, John Daly will be making his Toshiba debut, but this tournament will be one to watch for more than that reason. The new clubhouse will be among those reasons.

“This will be a first-class, top-tier event,” Waldorf said. “We already know that we always get a great gallery here. That’s always a plus for us.”