I'm a sucker for a course that is so much better than I expected. Typically this happens with small town, out-of-the-way, less reviewed courses. This is Halifax DGC.
- This is a mostly very good course. Lots of variety. Great flow. Creative layouts. Fun layouts. Tough layouts. Little to fault.
- You want wooded layouts? you have two stretches of wooded holes. You want wide open holes? Plenty of those.
- Elevation comes in to play, most notably on the final four holes. The best downhill hole on the course is #18, a blind tee shot. With a decent crosswind, I only ended up 75 feet off line.
- I enjoyed the use of the water on two holes - #12 & 14. There's a lone pond here. And it's used in both direction. The water is murky, so you won't see your disc if it's more than 3 feet from the edge. You can probably wade in if needed. Or, be like me and skip your shot on the water and make it to water's bank.
- Some of the best holes are the ones that take advantage of limited trees/tree lines, creating some creative lines to baskets. #5 - 8 was a great stretch of holes that all featured minimal trees to create four different layouts. On #6 & 8 - 536 and 742 feet respectively - where you land your first or second shots is going to determine how much you can attack the basket with your next shot. #8 starts in the open. After two shots, I was at the edge of the woods. Expect, I found out I missed the gap for the fairway. So, I had to throw parallel to the woods to simply get to the opening.
- I did like the variety of following up a tougher, longer hole with an easier, birdie-able layout.
- There are some hidden risk/reward shot here. On #13, for example, it's a blind, dogleg left tee shot around the edge of the woods. The closer you hug the tree line, the more direct your route. However, you do risk your shot landed in a mini-ravine, which could potentially be an extremely challenging up and down. Or, you throw further right, creating a potentially more difficult birdie putt, but guarantee a simple 3, at worst.
- Course is easy to navigate. Good flow. Good signs.

I have close to no complaints with the layout itself. It's a solid design.
- My biggest issue with the layout is #16. The winding, seemingly ongoing layout is forced. For starters, you're going uphill through a tight fairway, or a wider, out-of-the-way route. From there, you're throwing to a gap along the left side. The issue here is having no clue which way to throw. I cleared the gap, saw a single basket, which was to the right. I threw at it, just to discover that was #18. This layout is essentially an upside down J.
- The reason for this layout, along with #8, is, at least from my perspective, is to incorporate disc golf into the two longest transition walks on the course. I'd like #16 a lot more if the tee shot was aiming for the gap, essentially teeing off near the bee hives. However, to do this means you're left with a longer walk from #15 to 16.
- Signage in a couple spots could be improved. Going back to #8 and 16. Have arrows pointing at the gaps, letting players know which way the basket is and/or which gap in the woods you're supposed to be aiming for.
- This course isn't close to much, and there aren't bathrooms, water fountains, or soda machines. To the west, it's 5 minutes to I-95. Coming from the east, I don't remember the last gas station I saw before arriving here.
- The parking lot is way too small. Five cars essentially took up all the space in the gravel. I guess it's ok to park on the grass?
- Also, please make the entrance sign more obvious. I drove right by lot, thinking it was a driveway for the 4H building alone.

Halifax is a really good course. Whenever I play a new course, I instinctively compare it to the disc golf scene in Charlotte (my hometown), and whether a course would fit into our local rotations. It's clear you could dump this into the Charlotte region, and it'd have immediate fans.
- I always like fun backdrops or scenery. Having #6 play in the shadow of an old barn really added to the 4H vibe of the park. If only #16 or 18 could have played closer to the theater stage, it'd be another fun backdrop.
- Take advantage of your birdie opportunities. #1 - 3 all offer chances for 2s. #4 is a fun shoot-the-gap tee shot where you want your birdie, but deep down, you really just prefer to miss the trees and get your par 3.
- There are multiple holes where you'd want to throw extra tee shots, between the water, downhill shots, tight gaps in the woods, etc. This is a course where you can easily take a more leisurely stroll through your round.
- You don't need a big arm here. 11 holes are under 300 feet. Only three holes (#6, 8, and 16) are longer than 373 feet.
- I'm guessing this course is played mostly by locals and people wanting a reason to stretch their legs, and arm, while driving up I-95. For a one-time only course, this ranks highly.
- As much fun as I had playing here, I did realize throughout my round this is more than likely the only time I'll play here. It's a 4 hour, vey indirect drive from Charlotte. When playing a good course, I do take more time to soak in the layout, appreciating my time here.
- This is an easy 3.5 in my book. One more good, challenging layout, and this becomes a 4.0. Still, hats off to the designers and everyone who keeps this course a true hidden gem!

New DISCatchers are nice to have on this course.
Concrete tee pads are nice, but a little too small.
Great tee signs with all the important information.
A lot of variety on this course at a County farm facility. Most of the hole are in the open with plenty of chance to air it out, but there are several tightly wooded holes and even a surprise pond at the back of the property.
Most of the wooded holes have two routes to the basket, but more on that below.
A few multi-shot holes, with the area this course covers, it feels like there could be more.

While its nice to have concrete tee pads, they are pretty short (especially for the long, open holes) but they are not flush to the ground. This could be remedied with some fill in around them and definitely behind them.
While all the wooded holes have two routes to the basket, they are pretty tight and have some strange angles. I feel it would have been better to make one fairway to the basket, but make them larger. Hopefully, an equal number of right and left turning holes.
#2 is the best example of this, the tee shot is open, then about 150' down, you have to hit a left or right gap in the trees, leading to the basket. These gaps are not wide at all, only 10 to 15'.
With this being on a County Farm property, including a riding/rodeo ring, several holes will not be available during certain times in June and July.

Overall, this is a good use of this property, there are some buildings up front as you pull in, but most of the holes are away from those, even though some are near the farm areas. It is nice to find a course with so many open holes, yet a few holes to keep you honest on your technical game.
There are some fun and unique holes at Halifax that you will remember after playing here:
#6 - Par 4, 536' the tee shot is across an open field with large old-growth trees across the fairway at about 300-350'. There is a gap right side and an opening on the left of these trees, plus an old school ballfield backstop right in the middle, so you have to pick a route off the tee. Once you pick your gap, the basket is another 150' or so beyond the trees, in a clearing in front of a farm building.
#13 - at just 267', this Par 3 isn't long, but the tee shot has to hyzer around trees on the left and clear a 20' foot deep by 50' wide drainage area. The basket is on a grassy peninsula around the trees. An interesting carry shot, over a dry drainage area.
#16 - Probably the Signature hole of the course, Par 5 - 671' with a little bit of everything. Uphill tee shot choice through a split fairway, then downhill and left through a gap in the trees, then further left and into the trees to the basket. A definite possibility of scoring separation.
A few other noteworthy holes, #17 and #18 have an interesting Uphill and Downhill finish to your round. #11 has a deep ditch along the fairway, that crosses right in front of the basket.
A nice addition to the courses available in this area of NC, there is a small Niner in Roanoke Rapids, but that has limited availability, so it is 24 miles to the next closest course.

Great to see an 18-hole course emerge in Halifax County, and it's a fun one! If you're looking for a course off I-95 between Richmond and Rocky Mount, this is your best bet by far.
+ Really nice mix of holes. It's mostly an open course, but a few holes are tightly wooded. There are holes that shape to the left/straight/right, and some holes even have multiple fairway options off the tee, which is a very nice bonus. Two par 5s and a par 4 are also excellent to see. Something for everyone!
+ Two holes have water carries over a pond, and they are just the right distance to inject some adrenaline into most players, while still offering bail-out zones to those wanting to play it safe.
+ Some clever design elements are sprinkled throughout. There are guarded baskets, blind baskets, early gaps, late windows, subtle use of elevation, etc., that all make for a very fun round.
+ Excellent smooth concrete teepads, clear tee signs, a course map at the kiosk, a practice basket, straightforward navigation, all very nice amenities that make for very smooth play. I think there were even QR codes to provide videos(?) of the course, but I didn't try this.
+ Nice, peaceful views from the back of the property, looking back towards where you started, over the rolling hills.
+ My favorites were probably Hole 6 (par 4) and Hole 8 (par 5). Both of them involve a shot that must be carefully placed in front of a window/gap, to allow for a clean approach to the basket, smartly designed holes.

- Hole 16, the second par 5, is a fun and interesting design in theory, but in reality is still a little raw in execution. Off the tee, you have a choice of two tight uphill tunnels. But past those tunnels in the landing zones, there are scattered plantings, small buildings, and fences that can severely compromise your lie, but are hidden from the tee. I thought I'd absolutely laced the right-side tunnel, only to find my disc over a (OB?) fence and behind a building, and so my next shot was a backwards pitch-out. I do recognize that this is a difficult part of the property to design around, but perhaps this hole needs a re-think.
- The course is on the grounds of a 4-H summer camp, and the course plays around camp buildings, basketball courts, a playground, and other facilities. For the most part, the course is out of the way of these things, which is good, but buildings in particular come into play on a few holes. I believe the course is closed while the camp is in session, so perhaps conflicts aren't a major issue, but still may want to play carefully around these holes.
- The wooded holes are all very very tight. I do think they're fair, there are very clearly defined fairways that are definitely do-able, they're just tighter than I think some people might be happy with. Fortunately these holes are all fairly short.
- In the summers, the grass grows tall in a few places, and especially affects hole 8, forcing a much wider play that isn't quite as fun.
- Hole 11 has a fairly steep-sided ditch guarding the basket, and retrieving your disc from here can require some care and agility, especially if it has rained recently.
- The back 9 is more open, and can be a hyzer-fest if you have a big arm. If you have an average-or-below arm, they are somewhat more interesting, as elevation and water come into play more.
- Not sure if restrooms are available, if you can't find helpful staff.

This is a fantastic course for the Roanoke Rapids area to have! Hopefully the presence of the camp will help increase awareness and participation in the sport locally too.
This is undoubtedly one of the best courses along the I-95 corridor in NC. I'd rank Sunset Park in Rocky Mount higher, but at least in the excellent gold layout, that course is long and draining to play. For a fun round to break up the drive, this is a great choice.
Kudos to the hardy few Roanoke Rapids disc golfers for their outstanding work on this fun course!

13 Jun 2020 update - added cons on tall grass and deep ditch, plus minor edits. Course plays more like a 3.0 in the summer for that first reason, as it significantly changes one of my favorite holes, but I still feel it's likely a 3.5 in other seasons, and will keep the rating there for now.