The early years of any golf club are always interesting and they usually bear testimony to the endeavour and enthusiasm of a small group of golfers. It is easy to forget that although golf was seen to be an elitist sport when most of our clubs were formed there were not many people with deep pockets to finance the purchase and upkeep of a course and clubhouse. Most, if not all, of our clubs are indebted to an original “few” and Ashton is no exception.

The co-founders of Ashton-in-Makerfield were Tom Mayall and Andrew Molyneux who set up a 9 hole course for the staff of Garswood Hall Collieries. Their chosen site was adjacent to the Colliery at Old Bryn and in 1902 a meeting of 15 enthusiasts agreed to proceed. All went well until 1906 when their clubhouse, the size of a small bungalow, was burnt down but nothing daunted, they built a larger one and carried on playing. In 1946 the members had the good fortune and good sense to buy the land from the Colliery for £750 and this decision was to prove to be the salvation of the club.

Those old enough to remember the World War of 1939/45 will recall the post-war years when everything was in short supply and essential goods were rationed. Coal was particularly in demand and not enough could be produced from the mines to meet the needs of our homes and industry. It was discovered that coal could be retrieved from just below the surface in certain areas and this led to a widespread devastation of the landscape when open cast mining was introduced. Old Bryn was a natural target and in the late 1950s a golf course was deemed easy pickings. The 9 holes were reduced to 6 and the final bombshell arrived in 1961 when Lancashire County Council threatened a Compulsory Purchase Order for the whole site. Like many such disasters, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Careful negotiations with the County Council produced a compensation package of £28,900 and an even better bargain was achieved when Lord Gerard agreed to sell 60 acres of his Garswood Hall Estate for £5,000. This enabled the members to construct a new 9 hole course on the present site which was opened when the Captain drove in on 16 October 1965. Hawtree & Son were the Golf Course Architects and they were also appointed in 1974 when the course was extended to 18 holes. The extra 50 acres of land had previously been leased to the National Coal Board who agreed a surrender, thus allowing the club to buy it from Lord Gerard. A major building project saw the present Clubhouse completed in 1996 at a cost of £340,000 - far removed from it’s original form in 1902 and showing the effects of inflation because the tender for the Garswood Park Clubhouse in 1965 was only £14,900. Current members can now enjoy the benefits laid down by Lord Gerard in the 19th century when he planted species of trees from every country in the British Empire. His legacy is a golf course often described as a miniature Wentworth where precision driving is essential.

In April 1953 the club applied and was admitted into the Society of Liverpool Golf Captains. Harold Winstanley, Captain of Ashton in 1966, was the first from his club to be appointed Captain of the Society in 1985/86 and was later President of the Lancashire Union of Golf Clubs in 1988/89. Dennis Boardman, Captain of Ashton in 1987, was the second from his Club to be appointed Captain of the Society in 2003/04.