At Farm Life, the sum is greater than the parts. I had a wonderful time on the property, even before my first throw. Reflecting on my round, I realized there weren't many great holes. Yet, it's still going to be a must play for many players.
- Location. Location. Location. A course that is close to nothing, is a long drive from where you're coming from, and is only close to a small town somehow turns that into its greatest strength. A reminder: the course is called Farm Life. It's not going to work in a metro setting. It's meant to be rustic and rural.
- You turn onto the course's road, and in case you're unsure if you're going the right direction, a reminder is thrown in your face in the form of a giant Farm Life disc golf sign on the side of a barn. That's followed by two more large signs on the way to the parking area.
- The course and the surrounding area are an entire family affair. The course's designer, Kent Roberson passed away in 2021. I was able to get in touch with his daughter, who happily welcomed me to the course. At the course, I ran into one of Kent's friends, and (for lack of a better term) current course manager and tourney director, Perry, aka "Wheat." Wheat made it clear after Kent's passing; his family was adamant that the course remains open for public play.
- Now, to the course: scenery is outstanding. Fall on wooded farm lands. Can that be beaten?
- Holes #1 - 3 are a gentle start to the course. Hole #1 is one of the easiest birdie chances on the course. #2 is the longest, most open hole on the course. #3 is another open hole, that if you actually play correctly, is an easy 3 at worst.
- Starting at #4, you're in the woods through #17. To summarize these 14 holes, let's just say if you can't throw accurately, you're going to have a miserable round. Coming from Charlotte, I felt right at home with some of these tight, wooded layouts. I threw lots of mids and a couple fairway drivers, giving myself plenty of birdie chances.
- #10 & 11 sum up the entire course in two tee shots. For the regular baskets, neither hole is longer than 218 feet. On both holes, you can have either an ace run or a struggle for bogey. Trees come into play, forcing players to throw around them (on #10), or keep your disc dead straight (on #11). Standing on #10's tee, I thought I was going to be able to get my tee shot close. I ended up smacking a tree, needing a decent second shot to salvage par. On #11, I was just hoping to keep myself from getting in trouble and ended up landing my disc under the basket. Go figure.
- You're in the middle of nowhere, at a private course, and you have quality disc golf facilities. The baskets are all in excellent condition with Farm Life stickers on them. There's a covered area and clubhouse for player meetings/hangouts. Basically, the course is in better shape than many public courses in larger municipalities that I've played.

I told you being secluded was a great feature of the course; however, let me remind you it's secluded. You're 90 minutes to two hours from Raleigh, Virginia Beach/Norfolk, and the Outer Banks. You're two and a half hours from Richmond and four from Charlotte. You're just under an hour from I-95. In other words, you're close to nothing.
- Disc golf-related facility is top notch; however, some of the basic amenities are lacking. That's where being a rural, private course can be a negative.
- Course is lacking a true challenging and/or signature hole. It would be nice seeing a couple holes longer than 400 feet. It'd be nice having a station-to-station par 4 where shot placement off the tee is crucial for the next series of shots.
- If you throw relatively straight, the course isn't overly tough. Even when I hit a tree or branch, I was throwing soft enough that I never had bad kicks into the woods. I had a lot of simple ups and downs from the 40 - 75-foot range if I wasn't seeing birdie putts. I didn't think I played well, and DGCR rated my round rather generously.
- Conversely, if you're slightly off-line, be prepared for lots of hit trees. It's a thin line between great and terrible shot on many holes.
- A reminder about amenities, and the lack thereof. Pack it in. Pack it out. Bring drinks and snacks. Come prepared.

I'm glad I finally played Farm Life. I had avoided playing here for years because, to be frank, I thought it was overrated. I didn't understand how a short course could be rated so highly. After playing here, I see how there's more to this place than just the 18 holes.
- There are better courses I've played that I've ranked lower than Farm Life. The ambiance and good vibes of this place give it a major boost in my book.
- The closest thing I can relate this to is the defunct Woodlands Nature Preserve in Charleston. When you have a great piece of land that gives you a tranquil setting with lots of positive vibes, it's more appealing than a lot of courses in metro settings. A round of disc golf where the only sounds are birds or nothing is more appealing than the sounds of cars, airplanes, traffic, other people. Instead of a hike, my retreat to nature is on courses such as this one.
- The course ends on a high note. #17 is the longest of the wooded courses. One more tight fairway for those who aren't fans of the type. #18 has the appeal of playing over a small pond. There's lots of landing space on the other side so it's not a high risk shot. But you're wanting to do better than simply landing on the other side.
- Wheat was a great impromptu host. We stumbled upon each other on the course. But, in our brief conversations throughout the course, he reminded me of why this is such a great sport. Me being 250 miles from home, and Wheat being five minutes from home, we shared stories of common courses we've played across the state. He's sharing stories of rounds of disc golf he's played with some of the legends of the game. It was a fantastic bonus to my round.
- I drove nearly two hours from the Outer Banks to play this course while on vacation. It was worth it. If leaving your place at 5:15 to play here and be back before the family cares, it's worth it.
- I'm giving this an easy 3.5 rating. For the disc golf alone, it's lower than that. When all the extras are thrown in, I'm giving this course a nice bump. It's fun. It's rustic. It's what disc golf should be. Take your pro level, 8K foot layouts. I'll take my stroll through nature and be just as happy.

I spoke with Kent on Friday about playing Farm Life DGC the following Sunday morning, and he happily agreed to it. Sunday morning I showed up, and it was just me and my dog, aside from a few farm animals. I didn't know what to expect, deciding to visit this course more from the rating and location than by reading the reviews. I was a bit surprised. The baskets were in good overall condition, and the benches usually offered bag hangers and good signs. The opener greeted me nicely, and allowed me a birdie. I promptly gave it back on the second hole after botching my approach. Hole 3 was an uneventful par, and the longest hole 4 served me a double bogey. Then I wandered into a world of tangled undergrowth and confusion for 13 holes. The meat of the course is mostly in the 200'-250' range, but don't go in thinking you're going to shoot -12. There are trees, limbs and vines going every which way, heavy growth on many holes. The ones that I thought I could manage didn't usually pan out for me either. At least I didn't lose any plastic. There are the thinnest of margins to find the correct route to the baskets, and they will test all of yours skills. Licking my wounds as I stepped onto the 18th tee, I was glad too see the last remaining hazard was only a small pond. A birdie on the closer restored a small bit of confidence to carry me to the next course. I carded a 7 over par (61) that morning, taking birdies on 1, 8, and 18.

I was not familiar with the fairways, but I felt like axing a couple truckloads of wood out of there. I'm sure some repetition and better disc selection would have helped. There are benches and bag hangers, but the tees are natural, sometimes a bit small or rutty (not that massive run ups are needed). I got lost a couple of times, look out for the transition from hole 4 to 5 (I went from 4 to 8 at first), and around 15 or 16 I did some wandering for a bit. Water was present on the edge of a couple of holes, and after rains, I imagine heavy mud could become a big factor.

Farm Life DGC was fun, and if you have the time to get out there, might as well do it. Flat, and largely short, wooded fairways will test your skill for sure. Sunday morning I had the place to my self. I failed to come close to par, and I would have liked to see what a bit of practice and some guidance could do for me. If I lived anywhere near there I would definitely find out.

Layout uses the land very well. Easy to find the next tee. Baskets are really good for a private course. Tee pads are natural, most are flat and even only two had roots in the run up.

Be prepared to lose discs, water could be an issue and as always in the fall leaves can hide discs very well.

Short, Tight, Very Technical. Only threw a distance driver once. You will need to be able to throw every shot to have success here.

Look forward to playing again someday

+Fun technical short course
+Good flow
+Variety of shots, challenges all players

-Middle of nowhere
-Gonna lose discs
-Alts aren't necessary(not enough change)
-Nasty in summer(course surrounded by swamp)

Worth the play if you are in the area. Fun short course, I believe you have to call ahead if you want to play.

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