This course offers a variety of hole designs. From in the woods, open fields, and on top of hills. Has pro and amateur tees with signs and distance to pin. Good for all skill levels of players. Some holes have areas where you may go in the water, which I find to be more fun and more of a challenge.

Not always well maintained; the grass can get long. Can get busy during the school year as a lot of college students go out there. Also a lot of them don't take playing seriously and take their time, which can be frustrating for others playing. When it rains it gets extremely muddy and flooded in some areas, especially around the pins.

Overall, very fun different type of course to play. Good course to play a tournament at or a game with friends.

Best course in central Iowa IMO!

Great shot variety and elevation.

Great signage for the most part.

Well maintained.

Lots of people play it, but most are pretty courteous of others and let you play through.

Its worth the effort to get there.

- Trashcans and benches near most tee boxes.
- 2 practice baskets near hole 1.
- Kiosk with map, however the map was not needed as the course seemed to flow logically. The only exception was that hole 4 is up the steps to the west of the basket for hole 3.
- Large concrete tee boxes on all holes.
- Pro tee boxes on most holes add more that a little added difficulty.
- Drink machines near the basket on 18.
What follows is a walkthrough of the course:
1. Hole 1 is a 344 ft downhill blind shot to the right. With the change in elevation it plays more like 250ft. The locals said this is played as one of 3 par 4's ( the rest being 3's). I however thought that shooting 2 on this hole was not too difficult.
2. Hole 2 is a short 170 ft for birdie. Beware of the creek on the right side of the fairway.
3. Hole 3 is just across the bridge and to the right. 200 ft through the trees .
4. Hole 4 is up the stairs to the west of the hole 3 basket. This hole can be tricky! 184 ft to the basket through a lot of trees. If you wind up to the right side your birdie may turn into a double bogey easily as the ground slopes sharply to the right side near the basket.
5. Hole 5 is 185 feet with no apparent line. I tried a tall spike hyzer based on the advice of a local and managed to birdie.
6. Hole 6 is in my opinion the only hole that cannot be easily made in 3 from the rec tees. The line to the basket starts with a long 200ft+ downhill tunnel. The basket sits another 100ft to the right at the bottom of the hill a couple feet from a large gorge with a creek. Do Not overshoot the basket on approach.
7. Hole seven is around 300 ft with a blind dogleg to the right at the end. Don't overshoot or you will be in the creek.
8. Hole 8 is 250ft across an open field into the trees. Beware of rollaway discs near the basket as the ground slopes down and to the right.
9. Hole 9 is uphill near 300ft. The locals play this as a par 4, but there should problem making 3 with a decent upshot.
10. Hole 10 is 126 feet straight downhill. Fun hole through trees that is easy to overshoot if not careful and end up in the next fairway.
11. Hole eleven is an open 276 foot hole. The only danger is that an errant disc to the right will be hard to find in the thick brush that inhabits the right side of the fairway.
12. Hole 12 is 185 feet with open terrain that shots to a blind basket near a swift moving creek.
13. Hole 13 is 233 feet completely in the open. No imagination went into what is the only real boring hole here.
14. This is a true ace run hole. Be careful to not veer to the right as your disc may end up wet.
15. Short hole uphill into the trees. No worries of overshooting as there is an ample backstop. Shots all the way up should birdie.
16. Long downhill shot with a large change in elevation. This was my favorite hole of the course.
17. Blind shot to the right. A good anhyzer or forearm for righties will reward you with a birdie.
18. Steep uphill shot to close out a great round.

A couple holes in the open seemed lacking and somewhat boring.
Stickers from discs all over signage to the point that some were unusable.
Grass was rather tall when I played, not sure of the maintenance schedule.

The other local course (Stable run) is rated higher on here. I honestly do not see why after playing both. The only thing I can figure is that is closer to ISU campus and is the only course ever played by some reviewers. Both times I have visited Ames to play disc golf I have played at least 3 rounds here.

challenging concrete pro tees. no easy birdies no hole is impossible to birdie, though. very steep hills to throw up and down. 9 ends right by 10 and the parking lot. very cool locals. wooden steps, variant winds (some holes in valleys some on hills). picnic table and water fountain.

needs maps on signs, hole 3 is hard to find gotta go over a bridge hole 9 is up a steep hill from 8 chains(the path goes around the hill) 14 tee is back towards 13 tee

several possible signature holes going down very steep hills with narrow fairways or into openings. lots of man made stairs make the steep hills maneuverable. very well beaten paths.

-Nice variety of shots
-Nice paths/stairs to help making navigating the course easy
-Front nine ends back at start - easy to just play front 9 or back 9

-Really busy during fall/spring (located near college campus)
-Not too many long shots - mostly medium to short

A good course for a casual round if you can beat the crowds.

Good mix of short and long holes
Fun challenging course
Lots of up and down hills to get some distance for weaker arms

A few difficult holes for newbies
A couple of blind holes (pitch and pray you get close)
Very crowded on even less than desirable days to play

Had a great time, will play again soon

This course is very well maintained with several small water hazards and lots of big hills to throw off of. Favorite part of this course was defiantly the elevated tee pads with various distances depending on the hole. Tomahawks will be your best friend through many of the shots. Overall a nice mix of open, semi, and wooded shots. If anyone is in the Des Moines area this should defiantly be one of your top picks if trying to choose a course. Look over the pictures and you wont be disappointed.

Plenty of out of bounds opportunities, if you play OB.

This was the 4th course we played on March 15th in the epic Des Moines area Frolf outing. Congrats Larry, -1, first time played. No clue how he threw so many tomahawks after playing for 8 hours.

-Good use of elevation on a lot of holes
-Creek comes into play on a few holes too
-Nice landscaping, stairs, ledges, woodchips that make this course more fun and more visually appealing- this looks like it is going to improve in the near future
-Nice baskets
-Nice tees
-Good mix of open and wooded holes. Wooded holes are not too wooded, perfect amount in my opinion
-Many holes turn right or left or have severe elevation changes- only a few open shots
-A decent variation in distance- elevation changes distances too so it seems even more varied.
-There were some really cool holes. I can't remember which ones they were. Hole one was at the top of the hill and the hole is off to the left. Hole 6 I think is also at the top of the hill but in the woods and has cool stairs all the way down. There are two holes later that go up steep hills and into woods. Another hill throws off a platform towards a hole at the bottom of the hill.
-No two holes are the same.
-Good parking, bathrooms, sand volleyball courts, playground

-Signs are in bad shape on most holes; either faded or missing.
-Can be muddy in the woods
-Can be very busy, especially when Stable Run/ISU is under water as it has been most of spring and summer
-Flow can be a bit confusing if you haven't been here before.
-Can be hot/humid/buggy in the summer
-Course could use a little trash cleanup and maintenance.

-One of two good courses in Ames, definitely worth a stop. Fall or Spring are the best times to play. Avoid weekends and evenings when the college students are going to be playing, can get crowded.

This course has many different holes for many different type of throwers. It also has some hole in one holes.

This course can be hard for beginners. There also some holes with water on them.

Hole number 6 and 16 are two of my favorite holes that i have played. They are both downhill longer shots.

Long Concrete Tee Pads
Multiple Tee Pads & Pin Placements
Variety of Layouts & Terrain/Obstacles
Plenty of Elevation Change
Layout Signs For Most Holes
Course Flows Well
Satisfactory Number of Trash Cans

Could Use Additional Walkout Signage
No Benches (If you like/need that sort of thing)
Every Pin Wasn't Numbered
Would've Liked All Holes to Have Layout Signage

I was staying nearby on business and was pleasantly surprised just how enjoyable the course was. I expected flat and boring and got quite the opposite (didn't read info on this site first). I was able to figure out the walkout to the next hole most of the time, but there were a few times I had to "pathfind" a bit. Fortunately I was able to follow the beaten paths through the packed snow to get me back on track. Since I played in winter, half the course was covered in packed snow, including about a third of the tee pads. It's likely that some of these minor issues are non-existent come spring. This course is probably best for intermediate players and up. Some beginners may not enjoy themselves as much in the tight wooded and/or longer holes.

Great layout since it is on an old ball golf course! a mix of tight and open holes with lots of Elevations thru out the course!

During the school year there is a lot of college students playing which cause a wait at every hole.

Great course for pros and beginners alike!