In 1869 the hamlet of Hoylake was a summer resort for the local gentry whose activities centred around the Royal Hotel and the Warren on which the Liverpool Hunt Club raced its horses. Both of these establishments exerted influence in the formative years of one of the most prestigious golf clubs in the world. It started when Mr J Muir Dowie called a meeting at the Royal Hotel and a month later in June 1869 the Liverpool Golf Club had been formed and Mr Dowie elected as Captain. In the following year the name was changed to the West Lancashire and Cheshire Golf Club but at the first general meeting the new name was vetoed and the former one restored. Perhaps it was the hunting connection that encouraged the members to wear a red coat with a green collar and plain gilt buttons inscribed LGC. The club still retains the unique tradition whereby the retiring Captain passes to his successor the club’s wand of office. This carved ivory baton had been used to conduct the community singing which frequently followed club dinners. The second Captain was Col. E H Kennard and in 1871 he was instrumental in gaining the Royal prefix through the Duke of Connaught.

The Royal Hotel in Stanley Road was the first headquarters for the club and was the scene of many a convivial post-golf dinner. The Hotel was owned by the father of John Ball who went on to become part of a triumvirate with Harold Hilton and Jack Graham who dominated amateur golf in their era. The stables at the rear of the Hotel were offered to Jack Morris who was installed as the first professional and who stayed for over fifty years. His father George, brother of the legendary old Tom Morris, had come down from Scotland to help lay out the nine hole links. Fortunately for the golfers the racing had finished by the mid 1870s by which time the course had been extended to 18 named holes of which Course and Stand are reminders of the racing connotations.

The starting point was changed in 1895 when the present clubhouse was built. The Royal hole (the present 17th) was initially designated as the first followed by the present 18th as the second but this was not deemed to be a success so the present layout was adopted with the Course hole as the first. However, the original layout was temporarily restored for logistical reasons in 2006 when the Open Championship, won by Tiger Woods, returned to Hoylake. Following the Championship the members decided to return to the traditional layout.

The connection with the Open Championship started in 1897 and the club has hosted the event 11 times, including the Grand Slam by Bobby Jones in 1930. However, it is for amateur golf that Hoylake is most recognised having held the Amateur Championship 18 times including the first in 1885. It also held the first England v Scotland international, the first match between Great Britain and the USA, the first English Amateur Championship and the Walker and Curtis Cups. Its restoration to the rota for the Open Championship keeps the club in the top flight of golf clubs throughout the world.

The club was a founder member of the Society and W B Stoddart, Captain of Royal Liverpool in 1910, chaired the first recorded Society Committee Meeting on 2 July 1923. He also hosted the annual competition at Hoylake on 3 October 1923 but not as Captain as this office was not created until 1939. Roland Marshall (1949/50) and Alan Booth (1974/75) have been Captains of the Society and John Behrend served as Captain of the R&A.