The ISU Course, also known as Stable Run, is secluded on a plot of land surrounded by water on three sides that offers a wide variety of hole types. The front 9 is on the shorter, more technical side, while the back 9 opens up a bit more. The majority of holes have 2 concrete tees with 2 baskets and signage for both, all of which are very good. Playing short to short is very good for beginners or for ace runs and long to long is still challenging for all but the best players out there. The course flow is pretty good, the only issue I've had is going from some of the long baskets on the back 9 to the long tee for the next hole. The usage of the available land is fantastic and the only place off the top of my head that be use a little more is to the left of #4's basket to incorporate an alternate pin and possibly and longer tee, too. 16 and 18 are great true par 4's. 18 is a fantastic finishing hole where you need to bomb it through the first bunch of trees and then thread it back into the narrow clearing where the long basket is. It is usually less crowded than Carroll Marty, which is south of campus. Good parking, restrooms and trash cans are all present.

The long teepad on 8 is facing directly behind a large tree. I don't know what the designer was thinking, but there is a fair, but challenging window to the right that goes right over the short pad. The rough at time can get pretty nasty in the summer, especially on the holes closest to the creek. The sand that was brought in from the flood in 2010 is still mostly there and is a bit of a turn off for me. I am not sure how much can be done to get some dirt back in, but that would be an improvement. There is also a majority of holes that favors LHBH and RHFH. The location of the practice basket is not the greatest as most people do not see it until they finish 18. It's about the best spot available, so maybe some signage to point players in the right direction.

Stable Run is a great complement to the shorter, more elevated Carroll Marty that is on the other side of campus. SR requires your A game if you want to score well playing long to long. The tough pin locations, tight lines and varying lengths all present a great challenge that can be rather frustrating, but rewarding. If you've got the time, make sure to make the drive south to Des Moines to hit up their plethora of great courses too.

-In a big wooded area with a lot of trees. Great Challenge!
-Nice tees and fairly nice baskets.
-The tee signs were very helpful and always showed distance and where you are throwing at.
-There are 2 tees and 2 baskets on each hole.
-A few good holes to ace!
-A couple of big time bomb shots.. let your driver do the talking!
-Not as crowded as Carroll Marty.
-Shaded so it is nice and cool during the summer.
-Very little trash littered on the course.

-Very easy to lose your disc.
-Some of the holes were a little on the short side.
-There is poison ivy on the course and quite a few bugs.
-Not always clear where the next tee is, so rather easy to get lost for a minute or 2.
-Lack of garbage cans, benches, and vending machines.

I enjoyed this course very much! I prefer this course to Carroll Marty. Bring as many discs as you can because you might lose one, but if you're careful and conservative you more than likely won't have any trouble. If you happen to be in Ames, come here for sure!

Nice baskets and tee boxes, mostly shady, sweet mix of shot types, less crowded than Carroll Marty

can be closed b/c of flooding a few times a year,

Lots of memorable holes here, really fun to play, worth checking out for sure

Good variable skill course that meanders through a wooded area at the ISU campus. Dual tees and dual baskets on most of the holes. (The short baskets for the most part have a red frame, the longer ones have a silver one). Good tight, technical challenge on the front nine, with some longer back nine holes with pins that are blind from the tee, but for the most part, the shorter length shouldn't overwhelm rec players.

The undergrowth here has to be one of the worst that I've ever seen. You definitely need to keep an eye on your throws. If you get an errant shot (or even a good one that picks the wrong place to land), expect to be looking for it for awhile. I am told during other parts of the year, its not so bad. The dual baskets (not a common thing around here), may confuse players not used to seeing them.

Definitely the more challenging of the two Ames courses. I thankfully had the assistance of a local player who gave me the tour and had enough sense to bring a machete to whack away at the vines which were present. If not for that, this thing would have ate me up. A good play, but I would really advise first timers here to walk the course before they play it, especially if its looking wooley, if anything, to find which basket you want to aim at. A bit hard to locate, but its right in the center of town and worth the stop.

Has many different tee and pin options to play. Has decent maps to follow. Decent mixture of long and short holes.

Can be very tight at times. Very few open holes. Most open hole is also 700+ feet. Can get very muggy and uncomfortable in the summer. Especially bad when it is overgrown.

Overall this course is alright. It is a little tight and tedious for my taste. But if you focus you can do well. I mostly play it for intramurals, which I managed to win still. It is definitely the more challenging course in Ames.

The course sports two pins and two tees on most holes. Every hole has except 2 of them have at least one or the other. It may not matter as much to a visitor but this keeps the course interesting for locals who play it a lot.

The course is much less frequently used by the college recreational players, making it not nearly as crowded and allowing groups to play more and wait less.

The course will test you for all different types of shots. Between different sets of tees and baskets you will see FH, BH, long bombs, short drives, tunnel shots, turnovers, etc. Many holes allow you to take different lines to the basket based on your risk/reward comfort level. Most of the long holes still require control on your drives as well.

There is a practice basket tucked off to the right of hole one behind eighteen's long pin.

While it does provide variety, it definitely favors RHFH and LHBH over all.

If there is a lot of rain the river can come up and swallow a couple holes, occasionally leaving some tees buried in sand/dirt.

Elevation...it is almost nonexistent here.

There is a pretty wide variety of holes to play. The front nine is mostly tighter fairways with trees to negotiate. The back nine opens and lengthens up, but there are still several old growth trees to bring a challenge.

Construction is done as of now, and the broken basket was replaced.

This course definitely brings a harder challenge than the other course in Ames.

Multiple tees and multiple pins make this course great for miss matching rounds for any level of player. Good variety of short and longs and challenges to BH, FH, OH players. Lots of mature trees and other plant-life to play around or through. Good signage for tees. Tucked away and more discouraging to rec. players rounds move faster because of less traffic than Carroll Marty (the other Ames course.) Close to ISU's campus.

During heavy to moderate rain the course becomes a bit swampy. During spring and summer the course plant-life gets a little out of control. More elevation change would be nice.

Great course for a challenge especially from long to long tee. Makes great use of the land. Good course to make you think about and execute your shots. And unlike prior reviews the basket on #17 has been fixed.

Multiple tees and multiple (permanent) targets on most holes. Fairly good balance of shot shapes. A good variety of short finesse holes and a couple of true par 4 holes. Flows well. Lots of trees. Looping 9's. Ample parking for events. Descriptive signage. Message board at entrance.

A bit flat. Slightly favors the left handed player. A few tees are buried by dirt after it rains. Signs are showing age from light vandalism and flood damage.

One of the two courses that serve Ames and ISU in particular, this is the course that will appeal to the more "serious" player. While the Red-Red course distance is geared to the novice player, there are still a lot of tree obstacles to knock down your throw.

With dual tees and dual baskets on most of the holes, the course can be played in 4 different configurations. The course was updated with new basket locations recently, adding length and difficulty to many of the holes. Two holes play to a par 4 for the average pro player. #16 is the signature hole, playing 606' from the gold tee to the gold target and was regarded as one of the best holes played during the 2004 World Championships.