In his Foreword to the late Jack Winstanley’s book “The Wigan Century” Hugh Griffiths, a Past Captain of the R&A, described his first impression of the club that “..... lies like some secret garden to be entered only by those privileged to be its members or fortunate enough to be their guests”. He was referring to a course and clubhouse that was totally unique and which had managed to survive for over a hundred years with only 9 holes.

The home and surgery of Dr Charles Brady at 50 Newmarket Street, Wigan, was the place where eight men gathered on 19 October 1898. Some spadework had already been done as it was soon agreed that the Arley site should be rented for the course and the Hall used for a clubhouse. Sir Francis Sharp Powell, the long-serving Member of Parliament for Wigan, accepted office as President and A H Leech, a mining engineer, was elected as the first Captain. Thee original subscribers were mostly professional or businessmen and it took five meetings before it was agreed that ladies could join, subject to certain constraints. The course was laid out by George Lowe, the professional at St. Anne’s (later Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s) who had been apprenticed to Tom Morris of St Andrews. One of the features that sets Wigan apart from other golf clubs is its clubhouse. Arley Hall occupies the site of an old abbey dating back to the 12th century and some of the old part still remains at the back of the building, the front having been rebuilt in 1767. It is surrounded by a moat which supports swans and kingfishers and is accessed over a bridge so any thoughts of building an extension are doomed to failure. It passed through several hands as a private residence but was uninhabited when the club was formed. The peaceful enjoyment of the members lasted until 1939 when the Committee was embroiled in contentious negotiations with the landowners which lasted for seven years. Th e club was saved when agreement was reached in 1946 to buy the freehold in the name of a new Limited Company.

The name of John Wild is synonymous with Wigan Golf Club. He joined as a junior in 1935 and served in the war as a glider pilot and although reported killed he survived as a prisoner of war. He was elected Captain in 1966, Society Captain in 1976/77, Lancashire Union President in 1985 and President of the English Golf Union in 1985. As a raconteur he has made many hundreds of after-dinner speeches entertaining audiences throughout the world, especially with his club’s mythical correspondence with the R&A seeking to persuade them to bring the Open Championship to Wigan. Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, was so intrigued by one of John’s speeches that on 17 September 1995 he visited for a quiet four-ball followed by some “proper golf club” steak pie and chips. He was made an Honorary Life Member and returned on 30 January 1998 as the chief guest at the Centenary Dinner under the Captaincy of Ted Walmsley.

Sydney Marsden was Captain in 1932 when Wigan joined the Society and he later served as Lancashire President from 1937 to 1946. In addition to John Wild the club has had two other Society Captains, Allan Royle (1963/64) and Nayyar Naqvi (2001/02). Despite protestations from John Wild (and a few others) Wigan joined the conventional ranks in 2001 when 9 new holes were added on land donated by Dave Whelan.