BOZEMAN, Mont. — They call it Big Sky Country and for good reason. There’s a lot of country in Montana and there’s a lot of that big sky. And there’s some pretty great golf to go along with it all.
The fourth largest state in the union, Montana has sky for days, stretching in all directions. Summer also brings long days, with darkness not settling in until almost 10 p.m. in June and parts of July. Want to tee off at 6 p.m. and still get in 18 holes? No problem here.
Many visitors to the state are going to see Yellowstone (which Montana shares with its neighbor to the south, Wymong) as well as Glacier National Park. But the state, particularly locales on the western side, has some pretty great golf, too. The state is perhaps best known for some of its top-shelf private golf, but the public-access offerings here are top notch.
In the Golfweek’s Best 2025 ranking of the top public-access golf courses in every state, Montana has five courses listed – fewer than many other states. And that’s ok. Not everywhere can offer the depth or diversity of an Oregon, a Wisconsin, an Arizona or a North Carolina. But you can certainly find quality golf in Big Sky Country.
How you can play the top-ranked golf courses in Montana
Using the best golf courses in Montana as a guide, here’s how golfers looking for a little bit different road trip can put together five days of fun. One trick: Take advantage of the variety of airports in the state and plan your trip with a couple of one-way plane tickets in mind. But be ready to log some miles in the rental.
Bridger Creek Golf Course
Bozeman, Montana
This public course is about 10 minutes from the Bozeman airport, and even if your flight lands as late as 3 p.m. there’s still time for 18 holes. Designed by MacGregor (Mac) Hunter, Bridger Creek is in its third decade. During his playing career, Hunter competed in 11 majors. He later was the head pro at Riviera Country Club for nearly 19 years. His Bridger Creek design, a par 70 measuring 6,589 yards, is simply a fun walk in the park.
Bridger Creek has a huge practice range that faces the Bridger Mountains and an 18-hole residential layout that’s fun with fast, undulating greens. Water comes into play on eight holes, most with lakes, but golfers must contend with the meandering Bridger Creek on several holes, particularly the left side of No. 1 and cutting across No. 5. The landmark feature of the golf course is the giant silo behind the fifth green.
The residential course winds its way through a neighborhood, and a not uncommon site is deer nibbling on grass in backyards or scampering across one of the fairways. In its 30th year, the course is a popular spot for men’s and women’s leagues in the late afternoons, and groups can start their rounds as late in the day.
The property has some larger geographical significance as well, as the meandering Bridger Creek eventually delivers water on the longest journey in the U.S. From the Bridger Creek website:
Bridger Creek and Rocky Creek form the confluence of the East Gallatin River directly behind the second green. Just 35 miles west, at the Headwaters State Park, the Gallatin, Madison and Jefferson Rivers join to form The Missouri River. At 2,500 miles, the Missouri is the longest river in the United States and the fourth longest on the planet.
One of two public golf courses in Bozeman, Bridger Creek makes for a fun first stop on this Montana golf excursion.
Watch: Bridger Creek Golf Course in Bozeman, Montana
Look at the drone video of the scenic Bridger Creek Golf Course in Bozeman, Montana.
Old Works Golf Course
Anaconda, Montana
About an hour and 40 minutes northwest along I-90, you get to Anaconda, a small town of just less than 10,000 residents. As you leave the highway and drive the short distance to town, it doesn’t take long until the town’s tall smelting stack draws your gaze. Long since shuttered (the smelting operation was ceased in 1980), this tower is at the core of this town’s copper heritage. One of the tallest free-standing brick structures anywhere in the world, measuring 585 feet tall, it’s now the centerpiece of the Anaconda Smoke Stack State Park.
Another link to the history of the town is Old Works Golf Course. A Jack Nicklaus Signature design, it was one of the first golf courses built on a superfund site. What really makes this Anaconda’s golf course – and it’s a striking feature for first-timers – are the black bunkers.
It’s not sand but slag, a by-product of smelting copper. There’s a sign near the clubhouse explaining how it got incorporated:
During the Old Works Golf Course initial design phase, course architect Jack Nicklaus believed the slag would add a historical aspect, and wondered if slag would be a viable alternative for bunker sand. After field testing by Nicklaus and tests confirming that slag was an inert material that posed no risk, the decision was made to use granulated black slag to fil the bunkers on the course. Slag adds a unique visual element to the course landscape.
The course meaners along the hillside, with remnants of old brick structures, also used in the copper smelting days, visible on some of the higher elevation holes. The course can tip out at 7,705 yards, but the town is also at about 5,500-foot elevation, so you can definitely grip it and rip it.
It’s a course with which Anaconda native and head professional Paul Johns is intimately familiar.
“I was actually out here in ’97 for Jack’s first round. He played 18 holes, and my dad brought me out. I was 8 years old and I got to follow him around,” Johns said, noting that he basically learned the game on the course.
The third hole is an uphill, par-5 dogleg to the right. If you can’t get home in two, you will need a precise second shot before attacking the green, which has two bunkers in front of it, full of that black slag.
The fourth and 17th holes, both par 3s, are at the highest points on the hillside and offer great views of the golf course, the town and that huge smoke stack. One of the fun holes is the 11th, a par 5 measuring 546 yards (when you’re playing the copper tees, the middle of the five tee offerings). The entire left side of the hole has one long bunker of slag, and there’s a dogleg left but not until you get to about 100 yards out. Then you have to cross a ravine to a wildly shaped and undulated green. Take your par here and move along, and you’ll be happy.
The golf course gets its share of locals, but in Montana, “locals” often drive an hour or more to play. Old Works also gets plenty of out-of-town play.
“It’s a healthy mixture of both locals and, you know, tourist people passing through,” Johns said. “Probably more tourists honestly. We have people from all over all over Montana come in, but we’ve had people from Norway. So the the tourism is huge for us.”
And everyone leaves with a story to tell and plenty of photos of those slag-filled bunkers.
“We’re a course that you don’t see every day,” Johns said. “Obviously all golf courses are different, but it’s especially different when you come to Old Works. You know, the first thing that people notice are the black bunkers.”
Watch: Old Works Golf Course in Anaconda, Montana
Check out the unusual black bunkers at Old Works Golf Course in Anaconda, Montana.
Canyon River Golf Club
Missoula, Montana
The third stop on this journey is in Missoula, a town best known in college football circles for the Grizzlies, one of the most successful teams in the FCS division.
Missoula is about 90 minutes up I-90 from Anaconda, and this is where you find Canyon River, which opened in 2006. Designed by Schmidt-Curley Golf Design, the course lives up to its name, as it is situated along the Clark Fork River. While not technically in a canyon, it kind of feels that way, with Woody Mountain on one side and Mount Jumbo flanking the other.
This course can be a brute and measures just inside 7,000 yards from the black tees. It will be a good test when it hosts the 2025 Pacific Northwest PGA Professional Championship in September, but it’s also great fun for the double-digit handicapper, with plenty of room to deal with wayward tee shots. The greens, though, can get you, with deceptive breaks and tricky speeds.
“One of the things we’re we’re real proud of obviously is our greens,” said Joey Esh, in his first season as general manager at Canyon River. “They’re rolling at 11 and a half right now.”
The most-talked about hole is probably the downhill par-3 12th. Named one of the “Great Holes of the Northwest” by Pacific Northwest Golfer, this hole can has a big green, but if you miss it short, you’ll have to negotiate a deep bunker shot over a steep face. The elevated view from the tee box through the trees down to the green can seem daunting, but commit to your line and let ‘er rip.
“The layout here, with so many of the bunkers, so much bunkering, the speed of the greens, we’re definitely what you would call a championship golf course,” said Esh, who added that while the course can challenge better players, it is still fun for higher handicapprs.
There’s a few lakes and marshes that await golfers on seven of the course’s holes. There’s also the Clark Fork River bending around the property, and there’s more recreation there. Golfers standing on the tee box on the fifth are likely to see boaters or tubers making their way downstream.
“I would say the atmosphere we create out here is a resort-type atmosphere, where we’re trying to create an atmosphere of recreation,” said Esh.
Watch: Canyon River Golf Club in Missoula, Montana
Check out the aerials of Canyon River Golf Club in Missoula, Montana.
Whitefish Lake Golf Club (South)
Whitefish, Montana
The longest stretch of driving this journey is the 2½ ride straight north from Missoula to Whitefish. The back half of this drive takes you around the massive Whitefish Lake, and there’s one road that goes up the eastern edge and another around and up the western side. Either way, you’ll see why this part of the state is a summer vacation hotspot. Boating, camping, fishing, hiking, biking – and of course the golf.
The 36-hole Whitefish Lake Golf Club has a North and a South course, both of them appearing in Golfweek’s Best rankings for public-access golf in Montana. The South is the higher-rated course. With plenty of elevation changes, some narrow and tree-lined fairways and a par 3 over water, the course offers an array of challenges.
The best stretch might be Nos. 5-8. The fifth is a par 5 with a seemingly narrow tee shot then a steep uphill climb to the green. The sixth is a long par 3 with a lake running down the left. This lake features a good number of tree stumps sticking up, the tops having appeared to be snapped off.
The seventh is a straightaway par 4 with that same lake down the entire left side. Then you get to the eight, a short par 4 that runs straight uphill. It says 317 yards on the scorecard, but a large sloping green awaits at the top of the hill.
Like Paul Johns at Old Works, the head pro at Whitefish Lakes is a native to his hometown and home course. In fact, Tim Olson, who played high school golf at the two courses, is a fourth-generation local. His great grandfather was a logger and a railroader.
“I’m lucky enough to be in my hometown,” Olson said, noting he’s worked at the course more than 30 years. He took over as the head pro in 2000.
His two courses, which are open for about seven months a year, combine for about 64,000 rounds a year, but pace of play is smartly managed here. Olson said after every fourth group, they take an 8-minute pause, so even on days when your eyes are telling you the course is packed, you’re rarely waiting too long on a tee box and you never see a hole backed up with three groups.
“We just have a golfing crazy community. We really do,” Olson said. And out-of-towners are more than welcome to join the fun. For those aiming to play 36 holes in a day, there’s a great patio area where the lunch options range from smoked trout to Montana Bison and BBQ ribs.
“We’re on the map now. Whitefish, Montana, is on the map,” Olson said. “And we’re getting these folks coming from all over the country that have heard about it, and they want to play golf.”
Watch: Whitefish Lake South Golf Course in Whitefish, Montana
See drone video of Whitefish Lake South Golf Course in Whitefish, Montana.
Wilderness Club
Eureka, Montana
The final stop on this trek actually saves the highest-rated golf course in Montana for last: Wilderness Club.
Surrounded by the vastness of Lake Koocanusa and U.S. Forest Service land, the golf course – designed by a collaboration of Nick Faldo, Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley – is the top-ranked public-access course in Montana on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for 2025.
Built on rolling topography with forested edges near the Canadian border, the Wilderness Club opened in 2009 and first jumped to the top of the Best list in 2012.
“It is truly one of the most beautiful courses in the world,” said Dave McQuade, the head pro at Wilderness Club. “The Nick Faldo design is one of only four courses he created in the United States. The course is in impeccable shape and is guaranteed to please players of every skill level.”
With a mailing address in Eureka, you actually drive through that small town and then go for about another six miles to get to this remarkable piece of property. If you kept going another 20 minutes north, you’d be crossing the U.S./Canadian border. In fact, you’re close enough that visitors to the area will get a text alert that says “Welcome to Canada.”
With a golf season that runs from late April to late October, most of the play is local, with about 30 percent of the tee sheet filled by out-of-towners. The club offers “stay-and-play” packages that includes golf and lodging. If it’s on been your radar, you may consider a sooner-rather-than-later visit, as Wilderness Club is scheduled to become a private golf course in 2026.
The fantastic conditions and those big blue skies make this a great walk-in-the-park experience. The golf course can play as big as 7,200 yards (Eureka is at 2,700-foot elevation) and offers a great mix of holes.
On Nos. 9 and 12, there are dramatic downhill fairways, each with signs asking golfers to ring a bell to alert groups behind that it’s safe to hit.
All the par 4s and 5s have a dogleg one direction or the other, and finding the right landing spots on the big sloping greens is key. Also, there are three small lakes that come in to play on Nos. 5, 8, 10 and 16, with the big Wilderness Lake the key feature of the closing holes at the par-3 17th and the par-5 18th.
Amenities for residents and stay-and-play guests include a spacious beach with lounge chairs and cabanas on Wilderness Lake as well as a water park, a sports park with basketball, pickleball, and more. Hiking, boating and fishing – standard Montana fare – are always options, too.
But if it’s golf you want, it’s golf you’ll get in Big Sky Country. From Bozeman to Anaconda, Missoula to Whitefish and on up to Eureka, you’ll log some miles in the rental car (about 700 if you follow this route).
With those long summer days, there’s plenty of time for visits to Yellowstone or Glacier National Park in between your adventures of chasing that little white ball around.
Watch: Wilderness Club in Eureka, Montana
See some aerial footage of the No. 1-rated public-access golf course in Montana, Wilderness Club in Eureka, Montana.
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