For many embryo golf courses the railway provided a connection with the outside world and Freshfield Station was the link that helped to establish Formby Golf Club. Uniquely, it also divided the club from its neighbour, Freshfield Golf Club which was situated on the other side of the line. Both clubs are featured in the early Minute Book of the Society with Formby as a founder member hosting the Annual Competition in 1927 and fielding a strong team including four Past Captains (all in single figures) in the top 10 scores. Freshfield Golf Club was converted into an aerodrome in 1941 and was not rebuilt after World War II.

The History of Formby Golf Club,written by Ivor Thomas in 1972, attributes the formation of the club to John Bushby who convened the first meeting on 11 December 1884 and acted as Hon Secretary for the first two years. He was never Captain, the honour of the first holder of that office going to William MacIver. The first members were 21 gentlemen who allowed ladies who were related to a member to play, except on Saturdays. The 9 hole course was on Mr William Halewood’s Warren and he was elected an Honorary Life Member and received £10 per “season” as rent. The season ran from 1st October to the Saturday nearest the following 15th April but the conception of golf as a part time activity was soon abandoned and in 1886 it was decided to rent the links for a whole year at a cost of £30 per annum.

The original clubhouse was primitive with a thatched roof and cost less than £3. It was enlarged five years later at a cost of £30 to provide a self-service “cellar cool” bar accessed by a trap door. In 1891 the Council authorised £2,000 to be spent on a permanent clubhouse which was further extended in 1895 but then destroyed by fire in 1899. Undeterred, the 483 members raised £7,000 to build an even better clubhouse which was opened on 4 May 1901. This included residential accommodation and set the standard for the future. A more recent refurbishment and extension has created a clubhouse to match the grandeur of the course.

By the early nineties the course had been extended to 18 holes and in 1896 Formby Ladies Golf Club was formed with a membership of 120. A separate pavilion clubhouse was built for the ladies and, uniquely, they have their own 18 hole course constructed inside the circle of the men’s 18. The men’s course has undergone changes over the years with the well known names of Braid, Willie Park Jnr, Hawtree, Taylor, Pennink and Steele all making their contributions. The club became a Limited company in 1948 and the future of the course was secured in 1963 with the purchase of the freehold interest of 400 acres for £24,500.

Formby has a long association with amateur golf and has staged the Amateur, the Brabazon, the English Close and the British Ladies’ Championships and in 2004 hosted the biennial match between the USA and GB&I for the Curtis Cup. It has supported junior golf through the Boys’ Championship and the Liverpool & District Colts, and the Formby Hare provides an open scratch competition for low handicap golfers. As a founder member of the Society Formby has had two Captains, F Stanley Morris (1951/52) and Peter Wilson (1973/74). Peter has also served as President of the Lancashire and of the English Golf Unions and in 2008 he was awarded the Gerald Micklem Award for services to golf. P B S (Sands) Johnson, to whom Geoffrey Leece passes considerable thanks for his assistance in this research, has also served as President of the Lancashire Union of Golf Clubs.