Our History
On the 23 April 1900 seven enthusiasts met to form a Golf Club in East Kilbride. The formation of East Kilbride Golf Club was duly agreed and a site for a new 9-hole golf course was identified at the Show Park in the centre of the village of East Kilbride. In 1909, the Club moved to Blacklaw, half a mile south of East Kilbride, with a 9-hole layout and a Clubhouse; the membership comprised 55 ladies and 66 gentlemen. After acquisition of additional land, a new 18-hole course was opened at the site on 2 June 1923. East Kilbride Golf Club had grown up.
The most celebrated member at this time was Jack McLean, who won the Scottish Amateur Championship in 1932, 1933 and 1934 and was runner up in the US Amateur Championship in 1936, where he was defeated at the 37th hole.
Play was suspended during the Second World War, but after the War, the Club re-opened. The membership increased rapidly and the course began to return to more settled conditions. In 1947, East Kilbride New Town was established, with plans led by East Kilbride Development Corporation. The need for land for new housing and road construction led to course alterations. Ultimately, this led to the relocation of the Club to its current location at Nerston on the northern edge of East Kilbride in 1966. The new course – designed by Fred Hawtree – and clubhouse were completed in 1967, with seventeen greens transferred from the old course. The Official Opening took place on 13 May 1967, with Jimmy Taylor as Club Professional.
When the Club celebrated its Centenary in 2000, the membership was 800. Around this time, Marc Warren, one of the most talented players to come out of East Kilbride Golf Club, came to the fore. Marc set the course record of 61, shortly before departing for the United States as a member of the successful 2001 Walker Cup team, with Marc holing the winning putt. Marc turned professional after the Walker Cup continuing his golfing career as a regular competitor on the European Tour.
The most traumatic event in the 100-year plus history of East Kilbride Golf Club came on the evening of January 12, 2010 when a fire completely destroyed the clubhouse which had been our home since 1967. The fire not only left the Club and its members without a facility. Many members whose clubs were stored in their lockers also lost all their golf equipment.
The revival of East Kilbride Golf club started immediately and the course was soon back in use with a temporary clubhouse was in place. With architects, insurers, planners and builders all working at maximum efficiency, the clubhouse was ready ahead of schedule by mid-summer 2011 and officially opened on September 30 by Captain Tom Keir.
The new bright future of the Club continues.