According to Life Honorary Member, André Jordan, CGQL was founded to pay for a clubhouse. Far from the affluent, multi million euro golf industry that it grew into, back in 1984, the resort was living from hand to mouth. The necessity to build a clubhouse to replace the cabanas (the building beside the driving range) was becoming more acute, particularly as a Portuguese Open was scheduled to be played at Quinta do Lago.

Members were encouraged to join the club for USD 2000 (if they were resident within Quinta do Lago), and USD 4000 if they were from outside the resort. In this way the largest single golf club in Portugal was founded from such pragmatic beginnings.

The original club members were protected by a tri-partite contract with the golf course operator and the resort owner which still forms the basis of the Club's playing conditions today. However, the securing of exclusive tee times, and the conditions of transfer and sale of certificates were regularly challenged in the courts over the period from 1989-1991, culminating in a further contract signed in 1994.

In 2008 the club signed a further contract with SGQL and Quinta do Lago SA which further modified the arrangments made in the Transaction and paved the way for the construction of a new member's clubhouse, work on which commenced in 2010.