The baskets are in pretty good shape.
Tee signs at each hole, basic hole, par and distance only.
Surprising nice mix of open and short, wooded holes.
Pretty quick play, especially after the longer, open holes.
Plenty of parking nearby the Admin building, if it is available for visitors.

The tees are small or non-existent on some holes, but some sidewalks are available.
The wooded holes are really short and look like they could get overgrown very easy.
#5 plays close to a door of the Admin building, could be a safety issue.

A pretty typical Comm College course. Added as a recreation option for the students, in unused areas of the campus. Lucky for traveling players, it is near the main entrance of campus and has plenty of parking.
As I think back about this course, it has 3 or 4 pretty good holes after a couple of open, warm up holes. On a 9 hole course you normally don't have 2 warm up holes, but they work OK here.
#3 is a short, slightly downhiller bordered with a treeline down the left, and a road beyond that. The basket is guarded by these low branches that will knock down any high shot, just perfect for a skip shot.
#4 is the best hole on the course, Par 4 and 423 feet, unfortunately has a natural tee. The direct path to the basket goes over a depression cut away for the parking lot, so the smarter shot is to throw to the right and stay up on the same level as the basket. Then the basket is back near (but not too close) to the Admin building.
#5 tees from a sidewalk and is a short downhiller near the other side of the Admin building. The basket is on a downslope going down and left to a sidewalk, if you play that, and left, as OB, this one becomes real tricky. Especially if you are putting from above the basket.
The next three are carved through fairly thick trees and underbrush, but short enough to get through quickly.
Then the final hole features a tight gap off the tee, out of the trees and into an open grass area, the basket is located near a corner of sidewalks and ... a CANON!!
Definitely a course you wouldn't want to play everyday, except if you were there for class everyday, but it was a fun little course and pretty easy to get to off Alt 74 and not too far from Hwy 74 in Forest City, NC. Also makes a nice before or after with South Mountain.

-This is a decent nine holer on a large campus. It doesn't take up much of the land at all; as a matter of fact, I initially thought it was straight ahead toward the lake. It's actually to the left before the handicap parking lots. Keep walking straight and you'll see the first tee-sign. Course starts off in the open and shows a good effort in hole design.

-Elevation is minimal. But there's a little bit on most holes. Hole 5 will probably be the favorite for starters. It's a downhill putter hole and the basket is underneath the limbspan of a tree. There's a good variety in hole length too. Holes range from 124' to 423'. Course is half open and half wooded.

-Holes mostly favor accuracy. Especially the short ones. The two longest holes are holes 2 and 4. They both allow ample room to throw a good drive so they make this more than a "three disc course."

-Navigation is a breeze. Some of the next hole pads are less than 30' from the previous hole's basket. Course is rather secluded so safety isn't something to be concerned about.

-Plenty of potential to be funner. (see cons below)

-I may be wrong; I'm not sure if this is true or not, but it appears that something next to the wooded part of the course is being put in and may be the reason why holes 6 thru 9 are all shorter. The holes, except for hole 7 being a good hole, are now mediocre at best.

-Hole 6 is silly. It's rocky road ice cream with chewed up squirrel nuts with traces of tooth decay. It's 124' and basically plays as an anhyzer putt down a slight decline. There's no real fairway, and what makes this hole even more strange is that it's too hard to tell whether you are supposed to tee off to the right side or left side of the tee pad. Seemed to ME that it was a better idea to go right because on all of the previous holes, I teed off right. But on this one, it may be better to tee off to the left, as you have more of a shot to the pin. Wasn't fond of hole 8 either. It gave me a Cane Creek in Waxhaw sort of vibe. Very tight fairway that turns.

-The tees for hole 4 and 8 are on the top of small hills. It's hard to have a run up on these holes. They are also listed as par 4s. They are not. Especially hole 8 with it being 234'. #8 is very tight and having to tee off while running uphill can cause an errant shot. My opinion is to just move the tee sign about 10' forward and there's a better hole already. As for hole 4, I say push the pad down the hill to the left and make this an uphill dogleg par 4.

-Hole 3 seems to have wasted potential as well. It's down a very slight decline and is only 180'. There are trees in the fairway that make it a better idea to throw a hyzer. But the decline falls pretty significantly past the basket. Push the basket down further and push the pad back and that's a fun signature hole.

-There is so much land. I don't know if this was all the designer had available. If it was, then I'd say they did pretty good with it. If not, I would say this course could use some better holes. Holes 5 through 9 are so painfully close together and you play them as an "M shaped" zigzag. Holes 5 and 6 are down the woods, then you go back up on 7. Then you go back down on 8 and go back up on 9.

-Isothermal isn't a bad course but with all the potential it has, I expected it to be better than it actually was. It's just good practice for accuracy and it's a respectable nine holer because of it's open and wooded balance.

-Really if a few holes were lengthened (#3, #5, and #6), this course would be a frequent stop for me whenever I go back home to Gastonia from Cullowhee. There's plenty of space available for better design here.

Isothermal is home to an enjoyable, split 9-hole layout. There's a chance to air out a couple bombers while also needing to have accuracy on tight, wooded holes.
- This had all the makings of being a stat-padding course. What I got was a fun round, and hopes for an additional 9 holes thanks to so much empty space at the campus.
- The first four holes are mostly open layouts, playing in the open grassy areas around/near school buildings. Holes #5 - 8 play in the woods, ending with a wooded tee shot to an open green on #9.
- The course has good variety in terms of length and layouts. Average hole length is 267 feet, with layouts ranging from 174 to 423 feet. The course has 3 holes shorter than 200 feet; 3 ranging from 234 - 255 feet; and three longer than 355 feet.
- None of the short holes are automatic gimmies. You can shoot through or over the trees on #3. #5 & 6 require hitting tight fairways. Each is relatively fun. I really enjoyed #5 as it starts in the open, plays over a small drop, back to the basket in the woods.
- I enjoyed how each hole played different from the others. The wooded holes, especially, offered different looks on each layout.
- Course was very easy to navigate, once I found hole #1. Tee signs are very easy to spot. I played the course blind and zipped right through it. The trickiest part is on #4 as the tee sign isn't aligned with the direction of the hole. Thankfully, somebody wrote in pencil the proper direction.
- You're at the home of WNCW, a staple of western North Carolina radio. I've always found it slightly odd that a radio station for the mountains isn't in the mountains.

Course is probably unplayable during the school week, especially on the holes closest to buildings (#1 & 4). You could probably throw in the woods any time, you'll just be getting judged by students for being 'that person'.
- Signage could be better for the first tee. Pulling into campus, I saw baskets for the first three holes but no tee sign for #1. With a little common sense, it's easy to deduce the first tee can only be one of two directions away from the basket.
- Natural tee pads. The tee areas aren't even clearly marked, making it very easy to stand a couple feet in any direction to give oneself a better look.

Isothermal Community College's course was much better than I expected. Up until my round, the only thing I knew about the school is that I always noticed the school's interesting name as I drove right by it. Now, I'll spend that time thinking about the course before thinking about 'Isothermal'.
- I played my round on a Saturday afternoon in April. I saw one other person on the entire campus while I was there. I've had courses to myself before, but never an entire college campus.
- I would enjoy playing a full 18 here. There's lots of empty, unused space on the campus if they ever wanted to make this 18. For example, after #3, cross the campus road to the left, play in the woods and field on that side for 9 holes. Come on back and pick up your round at (current) #4.
- The best part of my round? Pulling into campus, seeing that it's home to WNCW, and enjoying some bluegrass music. Made my post-round drive to the mountains even better.
- As for the course itself, it's better than your average 9-hole course. You've got to make many different types of throws. You'll be rewarded for good shots with birdie chances. That's what you're hoping for in a course.