Founded in 1923 and registered under the name “The Sporting Club of Beirut (Golf)”, the club was originally located in Bir Hassan, on the old airport road. It started with a 1,500 square meters of land on top of a hill, overlooking sand dunes and amidst a forest of pine trees planted by Ibrahim Pasha during the first half of the 19th century to protect Beirut from the ravages of sand storms.
At that time, the club had some 200 members, most of them non-Lebanese, and the committee engaged the services of an Egyptian pro, Ibrahim Youssef Ibrahim, known as “Baba Ibrahim” by everyone, to give golf lessons.
With the expansion of Beirut, owners of the dunes of Bir Hassan progressively reclaimed their properties until the club shrank down to a small area of land surrounding the club house, a structure with a kitchen and two changing rooms. It became clear that the club needed find a new home.
In the late fifties, a new member joined the club. Salim Salaam, who would later go on to become the Chairman and President of MEA, the national carrier, and came to learn that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) owned some 200,000 square meters of sand dunes upon which steel aerials for the communications of the newly relocated airport had been built, and on which no construction was permitted.
He secured a deal with the Lebanese government and the CAA to grant the club, now registered as the “Golf Club of Lebanon” (GCL) a fifteen-year lease agreement to plant the sand dunes with grass, thus protecting the installations of the Communications Center and the nearby airport, which used to suffer great damage from the sand storms. This agreement has since been renewed to this day.
In 1963 the club relocated to its current location, and a British golf architect was brought over from England to design a nine-hole golf course with alternative tees and greens. The first golf game on this new course was played in October 1965.
From 1975 to 1990, much of Beirut was ravaged by civil war, and the GCL suffered a great deal.
In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon, and the club’s trees, grass and buildings were destroyed by tanks. Immediately after the Israeli withdrawal, reconstruction started and the Club came to life again.
The Club reopened soon after, and the golf course became operational once more; the swimming pool was renovated, the pavilion was reconstructed, the six tennis courts were repaired and improved, all out of funds generated by its members.
In 1983, the club acquired 200,000 square meters of adjacent land and developed nine new golf holes to become an official eighteen-hole golf course.
Salim Salaam is also given credit for having founded the Arab Golf Federation in 1975 and initiated the Arab Golf Championship from the GCL, which hosted the 1st Arab Championship that same year and is now played annually in different Arab countries. The Club has a rich history of hosting many major golf tournaments. Golf players from the Club have represented Lebanon in many regional and international competitions.
Past Presidents:
Mr. Salim Ali Salaam (Founder) 1963-1999
Mr. Nassib Boulos (Acting) 1999-2000
Mr. Nizar Sultani 2000-2004
Mr. Jihad Husseini 2004-2013
Dr. Faisal Alameddine 2013-2016
Captain Riad Mikaoui 2016-2019
