The Seattle Golf Club was established on August 8, 1900 with a founding membership of 53 gentlemen and the purpose to "facilitate and encourage the development of the noble game of golf".  At the time, the Seattle Golf Club was cradled in a cow pasture north of Gasworks Park on the east side of what is now Stone Way.  There were no roads into what was a remote part of the city and so in order to golf, members drove to Lake Union so they could boat across the water to get to a dirt trail north that lead to the golf course.

In 1904, the Seattle Golf Club moved to Laurelhurst (with a grand view of Mount Rainier) where a new nine-hole golf course with grass greens was constructed.  Again, there were no roads to Laurelhurst at that time, so members took the Madison Street cable car to Lake Washington.  From the lake a boat named "Sunny Jim" took members and caddies to a boat landing below the clubhouse.

In April 1907, a special committee reported the purchase of 155 acres four miles north of Ballard on Richmond Beach Road.  And so the current location of the Seattle Golf Club was purchased.