In 1912 a small group of golf enthusiasts held a meeting in The Riverside Tea Rooms. A proposal to form a golf club on the adjacent land was carried and further meetings were held. Mr Southwood was elected the first secretary and Mr Baskerville, a Withington Member, was elected first Chairman. With 95 replies from interested golfers "The Northenden Golf Club" was set up with a capital of £2000.
In January 1913 40 acres of land was rented at an annual rent of £130 for 14 years. The assistant professional from Withington was brought over to become Professional / Head Green Keeper and T.G. Renouf was commissioned to design 11 holes. By October 1913 the course was extended to 18 holes.
Mr Baskerville secured the lease of Riverslawn, a small house adjacent to the Riverside Tea Rooms, and purchased a disused billiard hut to become the first changing rooms. Within months however the Riverside Tea Rooms had become the first operational clubhouse. The course opened in 1914.
In 1921 additional land was purchased and Harry Vardon was brought in to redesign the course. This course lasted until the intervention of the M63 motorway in 1972. In 1969 a Compulsory Purchase Order was served on the club to take away the first 5 holes to construct the M63. Additional land was leased and Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas were brought in to redesign the course.
The Riverside Tea Rooms served as the clubhouse until 1935 when the present clubhouse was built on land behind the Tea Gardens. In 1963 the front of the clubhouse was extended and in 1979 the back of the clubhouse was altered to give us the excellent full-length balcony we enjoy today.
The river was a continual problem and in December 1964 whilst the river board were rebuilding the bank the river broke through at the 2nd tee after heavy rain. The course was completely flooded and the 18 holes were not playable again until May.
During the 70's and 80's Northenden ran an annual European Tour Pro-Am at which golfers such as Tony Jacklin, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Greg Norman, Ken Brown, Mark McNulty, Sam Torrence, Vincente Fernandez and our own Pro at the time Denis Durnian appeared. The course record stood at 67 for all these players until 1986 when Fernandez shot 66.
Whilst Denis Durnian was the professional at Northenden he represented Great Britain 4 times in the PGA Cup matches and won the Club Professional Championship twice. He also went round the front 9 at Royal Birkdale in the 1983 British Open in 28 shots, a record to this day. He finished joint 8th with Nick Faldo, as top British Professional.
In September 2005 the Club decided to replace all 18 greens with USGA specification greens. This enormous project was awarded to John Greasley Ltd a renowned golf course builder. The project was completed in February 2006 and the new greens were open to members in June 2006.
The new greens coupled with new drainage and irrigation systems have enhanced what was an already spectacular course.
