In October 1976 the Hay River Elks Club decided to undertake the building of a golf course and club house on the outskirts of Hay River. The Town was advised and in November of that year the Elks Club received approval to proceed with their plan. Over the next few years the course was designed and surveyed under the leadership of the Elks Club. Emphasis was placed on the completion of the course and the club house work was postponed. The original plan was to install grass greens, but winter kill made this unfeasible at the time. The club decided that oil and sand greens were the way forward.
In the summer of 1984 the course was open for play. Work was still continuing on the club house and other facilities, but everyone was playing golf. The Elks club operated the course for the first two summers. On October 24, 1985 the Hay River Golf Club – a not for profit society – was formed and they took over the operation of the golf club. They have continued to operate the club ever since. The Elks Club has remained an active partner with the club. Once the clubhouse was completed it was used as a joint venue for the golf in the summer and skiing in the winter.
During the winter of 1993 a fire destroyed the clubhouse. The golf club operated out of a trailer while a new clubhouse was being built. The new clubhouse was completed in 1994, and is now used just for golf activities. In 2000, the golf club executive made the decision to install artificial greens to replace the oil and sand greens. With the help of government grants, the project was undertaken and the new greens were in play for the 2001 season. The golf club was hit by another fire in 2003 when the maintenance shed caught fire and burnt to the ground. Over the next two years a steel Quonset shed was installed and slowly all the destroyed equipment was replaced. Work continues each year to maintain and upgrade the Prettiest Golf Course North of 60