Originally known as an eighteen-hole course called the Missoula Country Club, the University of Montana golf course is the oldest course in the city, established in 1924. In the 1930's, the Country Club felt the need to expand and abandoned the property, moving to its present site on the south side of Missoula.    

After the Country Club's exit, a small group of investors changed the property into a nine-hole golfing community known as the Garden City Golf Course. The Garden City Golf Course remained operational until the beginning of World War II. With the crunch of the war and scarcity of resources, the sport of golf became only an after thought.  

Once World War II subsided and the United States returned to a stable economy, the sport of golf returned to Missoula. A group of mercantile businessmen reopened the golf course and used it for their leisure during the 1950's. As the late 1950's approached and the course began to deteriorate, the mercantile men sold the property to the student body of the University of Montana.

During the 1960's, the course was in need of many repairs and the Associated Students of the University of Montana and the University Bookstore began to donate money. These two organizations provided funds to keep the course operational through most of the middle 1960's. However, the golf course was still lacking a solid owner, and as a result of the donations made by University organizations, the facility was taken by the University administration and renamed the University Golf Course in the late 1960's.