Birkdale Golf Club was formed on 30 July 1889 when nine gentlemen met at the house of Mr J C Barrett and agreed to rent a piece of land at Shaw Hills, close to the junction of Liverpool Road and Bedford Road. An annual rent of £5 was accepted by the landlord, Mr Weld Blundell, who was invited to become the first President. With a budget of £5.50, which overran by 16s 3d (81p), for preparing the nine holes one can only speculate on the state of the course which opened on 5 October 1889 with Mr R G Hayward as the first Captain.

The rules of the West Lancashire Golf Club were adopted as a model for the constitution but the model omitted any provision for non-resident members. At a Special Meeting on 23 December 1889 it was discovered that there was no power to change the rules except at the Annual Meeting so those present simply dissolved the club and immediately formed another one using exactly the same name. Ladies were then permitted to use the links three days a week but not on Saturdays or Bank Holidays. A room in Mr Barrett’s house in Bedford Road was rented as a club room for the men until January 1890 when they took rooms at the adjacent Portland Hotel and the ladies were allocated the room in Mr Barrett’s house.

The landscape at Birkdale in that era was quite different from the present and all land to the West of the Southport to Liverpool railway was sandhills, apart from the Cheshire Lines railway. Waterloo Road was not connected to Liverpool Road, ending south of Grosvenor Road, and there was no station at Hillside. It was a bold decision by the members to build an 18 hole course on the present site in 1897 and agree a twenty-one year tenancy for 190 acres. A Limited Company was formed and a temporary clubhouse constructed adjacent to the present 4th green. It was subsequently discovered that the clubhouse was built on land outside the tenancy and it had to be demolished and replaced in 1904. This remained in service until 1935 when the present Art Deco style clubhouse was built.

Southport Corporation must take some credit for the club’s present standing in world golf. Having purchased the land from the Weld Blundell Estate the Corporation offered the club a 99 (now 999) years lease on condition that they remodel the course to championship standard and build a clubhouse worthy of the course. In 1931 the members approved the proposals and architects F G Hawtree and J H Taylor combined to reconstruct the course. Their plan was to lay out each hole in its own valley between the sandhills thus avoiding blind shots and they should be commended for producing one of the fairest of the Championship courses.

The club received its Royal patronage in 1951 and was awarded the Open Championship for the first time in 1954. It has hosted nine Opens including 2008, the Society's Centenary year. It has been the venue for an impressive list of major golfing events both professional and amateur, men and ladies, including a memorable Ryder Cup in 1969 when Nicklaus conceded a putt to Jacklin to halve the match on the final green. Royal Birkdale has never been afraid to move with the times and the result is a course renowned throughout the golfing world.

As a founder member, the club has produced two Society Captains, Norman Stewart (1956/57) and John Benstead (1986/87). Sadly, John died in his year of office but left a legacy in the salver that bears his name. Gordon Jeffrey has served as Captain of the R&A.