February 28, 2019
“It is not unique in the field of history when old history becomes new history, and that is the happy circumstance in the History of the Northern California Golf Association.”
In truly serendipitous fashion, those were the leading words we found when we embarked on our treasure hunt through the oldest of our NCGA GOLF magazines. The very first words on the very first page of the 1968 Blue Book paid homage to the continuous legacy of golf in Northern California–just as we set out to do when we stumbled across these sets of old cardboard boxes containing issues from 1968 all the way through the late 90s.
The same nostalgic feeling that surfaced for us when we found these magazines is the same feeling that sparked the creation of this opening article 51 years ago. The second paragraph begins, “In June of 1967, old files long since deemed thoroughly searched for whatever information they might have held, yielded up to the light of day from their yellow folders a tattered and stained copy of the 1910 Constitution and By-Laws of the NCGA.”
The opening pages of the 1968 NCGA GOLF Blue Book.
It provides comforting context knowing that NCGA President Robert E. Hanna and the golf administrators of old had the same cheerful curiosity we did digging through the decades-old reports and photographs that collectively paint the picture of our past. In fact, I’m sure it will happen again when the next generation of NCGA employees manage to dig back through the digital files and find reports such as this–old history does become new history, after all.
A look back (even in 1968) at Pebble Beach staple Lawson Little’s 1928 NCGA Amateur Championship.
Between all of the players and courses who have made an impact on the Northen California golf landscape over the years and the head-scratching ads for Pan-Am flights or the newest Chrysler LeBaron, we thought the best way to capture the magic of these old magazines was through a new series we’re calling NCGA History. Follow along both here on our blog and on social media (@NCGA1901 on Twitter or @ncgagolf on Facebook) for more as we dive into each edition week by week.
-Chris Ceman, NCGA Staff
