On 02 October 1908 a meeting was held in the Orange Hall, Glengarnock, to discuss the possibility of forming a Golf Club for Kilbirnie and Glengarnock at which two potential sites were put forward for consideration. Mr Robert Hamilton of Kilbirnie Town Council presided and a committee of seven were appointed, four from Kilbirnie and three from Glengarnock. On Tuesday 03 November the committee chose to establish a nine-hole golf course, covering 61 acres, on land sub-let from Mr Robert Whiteford Greig, tenant of East Mains farm. The course was laid out by Hugh McMillan of the Western Club.
The Garnock Golf Club at East Mains was officially opened on Saturday 29 November 1908 by Councillor Robert Hamilton, Captain of the Club who performed the ceremony by driving the first ball and declaring the course open. A smaller number of people than expected attended the opening due to exceptionally heavy rainfall which made the ground sodden. By midday the rain ceased and despite the sodden ground around twenty to thirty golfers, including ladies, took the opportunity to play the course.
By April 1909 the Garnock Golf Club had erected a clubhouse near the entrance to the golf course. Both the golf course and the pavilion (clubhouse) are marked on the 1911 Ordnance Survey map. The Garnock Golf Club closed in 1913, as evidenced by an advertisement selling off the clubhouse and associated items which appeared in the Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald newspaper dated 05 September 1913, although the club continued to appear on the Kilbirnie valuation rolls until 1914-1915.
Following World War One a meeting was held in the Memorial Hall, Kilbirnie on Friday 02 May 1919 to consider the formation of a new Golf Club. Mr Andrew Boyd, M.A. presided. At a subsequent meeting on Monday 19 May 1919 it was agreed to lay out the course on land leased at Brockley, belonging to Greenridge Farm (just north of the present Milton Housing Estate). The Kilbirnie Brockley Golf Club was officially opened on Saturday 14 June 1919. Robert Craig, Jnr, Captain of the Kilbirnie Brockley Golf Club won the “Craig Cup” at Gleneagles Golf Course on Saturday 26 June 1920. Brockley Golf Club closed in 1921.
On Wednesday 01 June 1921 the Kilbirnie Place Golf Club, situated upon the leased lands of the “Croft”, was officially opened by Mr Frank Watt, J.P., of Firbank. Mrs Harvey, wife of the club president, Edward Harvey drove off the first ball. The nine-hole golf course was laid out by Messrs Pattie and Greenlees of the Ardeer Golf Club. By April 1922 the Place Golf Club had 214 members. The new clubhouse, designed by architect James Houston, opened in July 1923. At a committee meeting on 19 May 1924 a letter relating to the vacating of the grounds at “Croft” was read out. (This golf course was built upon land now occupied by Bathville Road and part of the Fudstone Housing Estate.)
The Kilbirnie Place Golf Club reopened on 35 acres of ground leased from General Sir Charles Mathew on Saturday 09 May 1925. The timber Clubhouse built in 1923 was dismantled and rebuilt on the new course adjoining the ‘first tee’ of the nine-hole course. During the Great Depression the Club thrived on limited resources and during World War Two a small group of enthusiastic members kept the club going, so that following the end of the war, the club was able to resume its normal activities. The course was maintained by the members until a part-time greenkeeper was employed.
In August 1968 the old clubhouse was replaced with a new Clubhouse built of cedar wood. This new clubhouse provided both a “19th hole” service and space for social functions. In June 1977 an additional nine holes were added to the course and on 10 June 1978 the extended golf course and the new larger club house, designed by architect James Houston and Son, were officially opened.