The first nine holes were opened in 1937, on the southwest edge of campus, designed by
Englishman Francis L. "Frank" James (1877-1952). At the time a
Portland resident, he had designed over a hundred courses, The second nine holes (four east (# 10, 16-18) and five north & west (# 3-7) of the original nine) were constructed from 1968 to 1970, designed by golf course architect Bob E. Baldock, and the current clubhouse was built in 1969. A former professional golfer from
Newport Beach, California, Baldock designed hundreds of courses in the
West, including Hangman Valley south of
Spokane, Sun Willows in
Pasco, Crane Creek C.C. in
Boise, Meadow Creek in
New Meadows, and the
Lewiston Country Club. All 18 holes at the UI course opened for play in August 1970 with some minor modifications to the original nine. The greenside ponds on the current 1st and 7th holes were added in the mid-1990s. The lowest part of the course is in the southwest corner at the twelfth green; at approximately , it is below the clubhouse. The par-5 fourth hole was part of the grade of the old road to Pullman. The massive water tank behind its green (west) was added in 1980 to satisfy insurance requirements for campus firefighting; the tank north of the tee box was completed in 2010, for
chilled water storage for campus air conditioning. The course was originally owned and operated by the Associated Students of the University of Idaho (ASUI), the
student government. The university took control of the course in 1986, and the lounge was remodeled in 1990. The UI course became the senior 18-hole venue on the Palouse in 2008, when
Washington State University in Pullman opened its long-anticipated
Palouse Ridge Golf Club in late August. ==Vandal Golf & Professional Golf Management==