The West Lancashire Golf Club was founded in 1873 by seven members of Royal Liverpool Golf Club anxious to expand the ‘Scottish national game’ by bringing it across the River Mersey. As such, the West Lancashire Golf Club is the oldest in the county of Lancashire and one of the earliest golf clubs in England.
At the outset, both clubs shared the same membership and by 1903, five West Lancashire Captains had also been Captain at Hoylake. Royal Liverpool’s Harold Hilton was also a member at West Lancashire when he won his two Open Championships and he was the Club’s first paid Secretary when he won the second of his four Amateur Championships in 1901.
The architect of the first course layout in 1874 is unknown. The present course, opened in 1961, was designed and laid out by CK Cotton, who lists Royal Lytham & St Annes, Ganton and Blairgowrie among his professional credits and it was one of his future colleagues, Donald Steel, who wrote that “Only in Britain can one savour the true flavour of seaside golf of which West Lancashire is a perfect example”.
The present clubhouse, opened in 1962, was designed by London architects Tripe & Wakeham and built by Holland & Hannen and Cubitts, as a complete break with the traditional. It is a two storey modern suntrap building with the principal rooms on the first floor featuring a broad terrace along the north side of the building overlooking the river.
