This course is not too far off of Rt. 52 between the Virginia border and the city Winston Salem . The parking lot is large . Park away from the course baskets . A gust of wind may pull a newbie"s drive right into your car grill . I played this course at 9:00 on Memorial Day . Horizons Park is the oldest course in North Carolina ( ca.1982 ) . The locals must appreciate this course , because there were already about 15 players out here .
There was no map on DGR ( ? ) but there is a kiosk near hole #1 which is in the corner of the lot , facing the road . Take a picture , or you might walk to the wrong tee pad .A box is near hole 1 with score cards and supposedly some maps inside ( empty when I was there ). The park and course were in immaculate condition . Branches trimmed and grass cut short . A couple of trash bins near the course help with how clean the grounds were . The tee pads were old school size , only about 4' X 8' , but level with the ground . There was some good signage at each of the holes . Also old school , but in very good condition ( some are listing 260'-270' holes as par 4's ) . The baskets were the old DGA's ,maybe MACH II or III ? Still in good condition . This part of the park looks suited for disc golf only . I didn't see any walkers or runners , except back near hole 12-13 . No big walks here . The course flows pretty logically , but the fairways are kind of close . This was okay back in the 80's , when most were throwing Whamos at the baskets . You will find yourself back at the parking lot if you need to fill up with water a couple of times . As a matter of fact , I think the #8 basket puts you right against it .
The holes play ridiculously short here , as can be expected . I am guessing that they haven't changed the pins or tees since the beginning . The course lightly rolls on some of it's holes , but the elevation is really nothing to speak of . There are a couple of easy tunnel shots , interesting basket placements , but nothing very challenging .
There is a bonus of 3 holes ( A , B and C that are on the right of the #13 basket and will take you back to the 14th tee ) . I don't know why they don't advertise that the course is actually 21 holes . The course is totally park-style , with the most amount of trees on the add on holes .
Disc Risk : Almost none . The park is so well manicured and clean , you would have to leave your putter in the basket or chuck a terrible drive into a tree to lose something here .
Even though the course is 21 holes , it is a fast play . I think I still finished in about an hour . A group of 4 men that were in front of me and enjoying themselves looked to be playing at about a 2 hour clip . My favorite hole here was #12, a long easy 300' descending shot .The fun factor here is through-the-roof high . The park and surroundings are both serene and beautiful . Take a few moments to take it all in

This is a preserved North Carolina Disc Golf Icon . It was created 6 years after the first Disc Golf Course . If there were any "concerns " it would be for safety's sake . Fairways run up on each other and since this course can and will attract a lot of casuals , newbies and families , the chance of getting hit with a disc is higher than most places . You don't have to have your head on a swivel ( the locals seem very courteous ) , but you need to be aware . I didn't see where the bathrooms were , but I guessed the barn . Tee pads could have been longer for the newbies/kids . Good players will complain that it is too easy and it needs 2 tee pads per hole .

I started playing on a course that was created the same year as this one . It still stands , but it is now a completely different course . Horizons Park is one of history's courses . There are very few of them left . Never change a thing here . It is great the way you have it . Challenging ? Uh, no . Fun ? Incredibly . I would be on this course all the time if it was in my city or area .
I guess that the locals feel the same way . The course was filling up as I was leaving at about 10::00 . You will see some great mountain views looking past the hole #2 and #12 baskets . Do not blaze through this course and leave as fast as you entered . Enjoy the walk , the scenery and the history .Thank You , course designer Tom Monroe , and Forsytth County Parks and Recreation for all of your hard work in building and maintaining this course .
My recommendation : Pros and intermediates should visit at least once to appreciated the past , and they could work on their game with just a midrange and a couple of putters . Good for the course collectors , travelers looking for a good leg stretch , out of town players racking up course along the Rt. 52 , I-77 and 421 corridors , and absolutely great for newbies , locals , kids , families , and introducing the curious to the game . If anywhere close to the Winston Salem area , PLAY IT !!!!!

This is a shorter course that really allows for you to work on your approach game. It's a great confidence building course. I was able to fine tune my game and become a lot more familiar with my fairway and midrange discs. The putts are fairly simple and you can post some pretty ridiculous scores. If you've gone out and played some tougher courses lately and gotten beat up, get out to Horizons and get your groove back.

It's short and some of the tee pads are short, don't whine about it.

Good tee signs, benches and concrete tee pads on every hole. The tee pads are a little short, but not a big issue on this course.
No blind tee shots, good use of the limited elevation here.
Well maintained, the grass was cut to a good level the day I was there.
All the baskets are in good shape.
Trees on the property were used well, to make you shape shots. No thick woods to frustrate anyone, just old growth trees.

Not too many, several of the fairways were parallel, up and back. I imagine there could be a lot of overlap on busy days or tournaments.
Kind of a pain to get to (north of W-S), but not the course's fault.

Some Disc Golf history here, the oldest course in North Carolina. This explains the short tee pads, short holes and overall condensed space this course is on. If timg had ratings by Course Category, this would get a 4.5 or 5.0 in the Family/Beginner Category. Great course to bring a Newb or the little ones.
Since this course is over 30 years old (probably older than some reading this) they would have built it with freestyle frisbees in mind, hence the short distances. The holes average just 236' each and I'll bet you can see 16 of the 18 baskets from the parking lot!
There are four Par 4s here, not really necessary, the longest is just 300' downhill, wide-open. I'm not even counting that as my first eagle!
I wasn't expecting a lot when I came here, I heard it was short and easy. But it was fun to play, for the history of DG and to work on your upshot and putting game. All NC DGers should play this at least once, to see how the game began here and how far we have come in course design and length.
It's too bad that Winston-Salem hasn't been able to add another course over the last 30+ years, especially after being the trailblazers in the state!

10 years ago, I would've rated this course much higher, and I can understand why the hole lengths are so short. When this course was designed and made (80's) that was the distance you could throw...the lengths were appropriate.

However, for today's standards, this course is a fun, beginner friendly length, but doesn't offer much in the way of a good challenge for the experienced player.

That being said, I still think this course is fantastic!
Clean, friendly atmosphere park, with a well maintained course perfect for introducing a new player, a newer player working on their game, or the experienced player polishing their game.

Although the course is mostly open, there are still preferred lines, and plenty of penalty for error on this course! If you don't take it seriously, it can lead to pars that should've been easy birds.

As i mentioned above, the park is always clean (little to no litter! Take note Charlotte area players...) and well maintained. The park is somewhat on the out skirts of Winston and helps keep the park quiet and serene. Although it can get crowded during peak hours, I've never had a less than enjoyable time playing Horizons

The layout of the course is a bit crowded. The fairways tend to run parallel to each other and there are several baskets close to Tee boxes. On a busy day, or with an inexperienced player, this could potentially pose a hazard. Just keep your wits about you, not a major turn off, but not ideal.

Tee pad length. Another minor con, and somewhat nitpicking, but the tee pads aren't very conducive for a proper run up. Although most holes are within stand still reach for the experienced player, I still like enough tee pad to work with.

Horizons is a great fun, short length course with some added "cool factor" due to its age.

Not quite a "championship" level course, but great for the newer player, or introducing new players. It's also great fun to play as a break from the grueling Charlotte courses

The park is located in a quiet rural-ish area, has a great dog park across the street (for the wife and kids to take the dog possibly?) and has been around forever. What's not to like?

If you're passing through, or looking for a change of pace, this is an excellent option. Just don't expect long crushing drives and difficult tight fairways

Horizons park is a solid, short eighteen hole course situated just outside of Winston-Salem. The hallmark of this course is accessibility...meaning that almost anyone could have fun here. Most holes are in the range of about 250ish feet with relatively clean lines. There are a few trees in play for almost every hole, but not a single line I would consider tight. What that means for Horizon Park is that anyone from beginner up could come play a quick, enjoyable 18 hole round.

All holes have nice signs, concrete tee pads, and baskets are all numbered and in very good condition. Many of the green complexes and areas around the tees are freshly mulched and the landscape really looks like it gets a lot of TLC.

My favorite hole was hole 14 which forces a neat anhyzer (RHBH) around a big red barn. That was definitely a pretty shot.

Evidently this is the oldest course in NC...it is really cool to see old classic courses stand the test of time (though I understand it has had a few re-routes along the way).

The most obvious con is the length. Most of the holes are short and that made for a bit of monotony in the middle of the round.

There are a few places, especially from 14-18, where navigation is a bit tricky because a lot of holes are in close proximity.

When crowded, players definitely need to have a heads-up mentality due to the cramped nature of some of the holes. A few tees and baskets are a bit close and stray discs definitely can become a problem.

A few of the baskets, noteably 8 and 18, are very close to the parking lot, whereas 13 plays by a road. That could be difficult for beginners and I never like to see people's cars and roadways in play due to safety concerns.

I noticed the parking lot was marked OB on the tee sign for 17, a hole where it doesn't really come into play. I would have liked to see it marked more clearly on other holes where the parking lot and roadways were a more direct obstacle.

The tee pads are very short...it would be nice if they allowed for a bit of runup. Luckily, many have nice mulched areas around them which helps extend the pads to some degree.

Some of the holes on the site are marked as par 4s, but realistically everything here should easily be a par 3, even if the course is aimed at beginners.

I played just before a round of the NC Junior Championship here. It was really great to see so many juniors and parents out enjoying the day. I think this course lends itself nearly perfectly to a juniors tournament, and hope the local scene continues to support play like that.

I was on the fence here between giving this course a 2.5 and a 3. I made my call based upon the fact that it is in impeccable shape and I really did have a fun time. It is not necessarily a destination course, and the difficulty level is pretty low, but it is simply a fun place to come throw discs and relax.

Very clean and well kept
Wide open spaces with little worry of losing a disc

Tee boxes too close to baskets
Some fair ways nearly overlap
Some very short holes

Fun place to play other than a league night.
I only broke out a fairway driver for holes 12 and 13, otherwise I would say a US, stable/neutral, OS mid along with a putter is all you need.
Not very technical, but a few shots I needed a healthy anny to flex back to park it through the trees.
I got rather confused on where basket 15-17 were after coming off basket 14 as the land markings seemed a little off the first time through.

- Clean location
- Great for beginners
- Varied length of holes
- Clear tee and Pin locations.
- Nice gentle elevation changes

- Stray flying disks could present a problem, if large # of people are playing, (not much room between holes).
- Some may find the layout to be too easy/straightforward.

I went up here on a whim, and glad I did. I found it very enjoyable and allowed practice on power/trick shots (without fear of losing a disk) yet still gives a bit of a challenge. This is the first DGC in NC, so the layout is setup to attract people to the sport.

Easy. Good training course. Not very wooded, excellent for beginners. Easy to follow course layout. One tee and one basket. So simple for anyone to come out and play. Only need 1 or 2 disc.

This is my home course, I am from the area, and since there isn't many area. I started playing here, which was helpful, cause it wasn't difficult enough to get you discouraged from playing again. I recommend this course to anyone that is new to disc golf, or trying to hone in some skills. Overall I like the course for what it is. EASY!

Older course, built in the late 80's. Never been modified, except for PDGA events. Could use a new design or some slight modification, or even adding a 2nd course to the park, or just another 9 to give you some more options. Short tee pads, but they are concrete and you don't need much since the distance is so short for most holes. Too far out from the city. Only course in Winston Salem, that's public.

Nicely kept up by the city. Fall season tends to have leaves on the ground, but they come out to clean them up periodically. Everybody is nice and will help you out.

I arrived to find a freshly mowed beautiful park with new baskets.  There was plenty of parking as the course was deserted, on a sunny 70 degree Saturday afternoon no less!  I was thankful to be the only one there because I could play a leisurely round without fearing errant discs.  Most of the holes really are all over each other.  There is a *huge* meadow behind the course that is just begging for some holes to be expanded out that way.  I don't know if that idea is even possible, but it would address what is clearly the course's biggest weakness.  The course was well marked, although I thought some of the tee signs were situated too close to the tee box for right-hand-backhand throwers like me.  I'll definitely be back to play again, especially considering the nearby playground and picnic shelters for the family. 

Very easy to navigate this course, nice mix of open shots and wooded areas. Box with scorecards at 1st tee is a plus. Course winds back to the parking lot where bathrooms and trashcans are located. Brand new Discatcher baskets had just been installed the day before I played this last week ! YAY!

Some of the holes are a bit close, but the tee markers do a good job of showing you where the next basket is.

I first began playing back in '85, and this is the course I played regularly as I lived in WS at that time. It is a beautiful course, though with holes ranging from 153 to 280 feet it's a bit short for more experienced players, but great for beginners. They have opened up a large area on the back side and there is a big OB area, but now it's not overgrown and easier to find errant throws. This is a beautiful park, and the disc golf course is not violated by any other park use areas.

- Park is completely dedicated to disc golf
- The course goes back to the parking lot several times, so you can grab water, etc. mid-round
- Park is in pristine condition - they are proud of the park, and it shows.
- This park is an atypical NC park - it's basically wide open (as opposed to lots of trees!), but with enough mature trees to provide shade throughout alot of the round.

- The holes a somewhat close together, so a slightly errant throw can put you in another's fairway.
- The holes are a little short, so pars are very achievable (not that this is bad, but
- It was really crowded, we played on Sunday afternoon and there were probably 10-12 groups playing.

- I play with and 9 and 11 year old daughters (and a 5 yr old for a hole or two). This course was absolutely perfect for them - they could see the tee on every hole, and they were even able to par a few of them. Other courses where holes are > 300 ft, I'm on the "green" in two, and it takes them 5-6 shots to get close. It was crowded, but while waiting to tee on hole #9, we grabbed water, cookies, etc. There were even trash cans two holes later to dispose of the empties properly. This course is a little ways out of the way, but well worth it for the historically value (mentioned in other reviews). If you have young, beginning golfers, this is a MUST. If you are seasoned, this would be a course where the second round you could probably get a good line on several aces.

This was a really beautiful course. It is set in a mostly-open field/meadow. It has scorecards and a map on the course. Navigation is easy. Good course for beginners. Good signage, great navigation. They did all they could with the land and space available. Minimal risk of losing discs. I played this course when my max distance was about 250', still manged to shoot way under par, and I had a blast.

Not really challenging. Short tees. Short holes. Baskets are a little close to the next tee, so just keep a heads-up. Other than that, there's not a lot to say that's bad. Can get crowded.

For me, this was a fun course for my skill level. I'm sure that I would get tired of it if I played it a lot. Bathrooms on site. All holes are under 300'. I think it's the oldest course in the state and it shows. The holes cannot stand up to modern distance drivers and disc technology, but don't let that stop you. If you want to get someone hooked on the game, start here. Bring a mid-range and a putter and cut loose.

This is a great example of a classic disc golf course. The park is very rustic and pretty. The course also flows very well from hole to hole.

Not a difficult course, and it is very short. I used a putter all day except on 2 holes (a Buzzz). Older Mach 1 baskets, and short tee pads.

If I was in the area, I would play it again. It's a pretty and calming park. I'd leave the bag in the truck and just bring 1 putter and 1 midrange.

You can play the course with ultrastars, and still shoot under par.
Fun factor is great here.
Old trees are intermixed into the fairways, very eye catching.
Great temp course out there during the Horizon's park classic.
Neat Triad disc league club out there during most of the week.

The baskets there are in pretty rough shape. They have a tendancy not to catch much of anything.
Several shots face right at a parking lot, this isn't too good. I've had my car hit a few times out there more than I would care for.
No drivers at all on this course... No variety of shots other than putters and mids.

Really cute course, for those that are travelling you have to play it just to pay homage to the first course in NC. I mean, its pretty historic for our sport.

Trees provide interesting obstacles. The people are normally friendly that play there, including some regulars. There are squirrels that provide some entertainment and it is right across from a dog park so you can play then go let your dog run around. There are picnic tables so you can go practice/play and eat there. There is a shot that you have to make around a barn, it adds a nice challenge. I've seen people hit the barn, cause their disc to go over or on top of the barn. The tee pads are concrete, and everything is numbered.

Leaves!! It is really easy to loose your disc in the leaves. You shoot between trees because this course snakes around. There isn't really long shots, There are at least two holes that if you are a long driver you could cause your disc to go into the road.

- I loved the setting with the rolling hills surrounding the course. It's definitely open with plenty of natural beauty.

- The trees in the middle of the course are deceptively challenging. Maybe it was because I was having a subpar round that day, but I seemed to find the trees more than I thought I would. Although there is no true "wooded" portion of the course, the few trees that are there do provide an obstacle.

- If your midrange game is lacking - as mine is lately - this is a great course to practice those shots.

- I like #14 with the barn in play. It's not a particularly difficult shot and can be avoided with a smart throw, but it does add a different element to the course. It hooked at least one person in as I heard a loud thud off the barn from the group playing behind us that day.

- The free scorecards were a nice touch.

- I have to echo the comment about the short tee pads. For someone 6'6" like me, that definitely came into play. Luckily, most of the holes don't require much of a run-up, but it's still something that distracts you when you need to be focusing on your throw.

- Also mentioned before, but the low baskets are another disadvantage to the taller player.

- Many of the holes seemed similar or just didn't have enough distinction for my taste. For me, that was especially true of the "wooded" holes near the center of the course.

All in all, I enjoyed the course and would play it again if I were in the area. I was surprised to read on here that the course often gets crowded, because it wasn't too bad on the Saturday we played. That was earlier in the day, though, so that could have been a factor.

The best part of this course is the signage. It is definitely the best I've seen. The course is very beginner friendly. There are plenty of holes where you have to create a line, which is great for teaching the basics of the game.

Way too easy. Some locals have been known to routinely score 12-14 under par. The course is often be very busy and the holes can run on top of one another. Not many hyzer/anhyzer holes. Almost all of the wooded holes require straight line 200-250ft drives. Lots of families/groups of bros.

This is basically a place to get a hold for the game of to keep sharp. It can be good for intermediate player trying to practice driving the basket.

What I personally like and how this course stacks up:
1) Holes with good risk/reward -- C-
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities -- B
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography -- B+
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion -- B+
5) Multi-shot holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them -- NA

It's all about feeding the addiction, so I ranked this course subjectively based on my own "personal addiction factor". The grades above tell how well the course will draw me back to itself again and again and again. Since I have played a decent number of courses (115 18-hole, 50 9-hole as of early 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar addiction tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they choose courses to play and explore.

Over time, I expect to fill some of my reviews in with more descriptive verbiage...if what I can add anything to what has already been written. For now, my list is more important to me than the verbiage of my reviews.

I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me....that's the fun of things here. See my profile for my rating philosophy.

Very clean and beautiful park. Holes are short but the course makes great use of the trees and elevation to make holes more challenging. Holes are easy to navigate and the park has clean restrooms.

Some of the baskets seem beat up a little and sit rather low. Advanced players may not find the course challenging enough.

If for no other reason then the historical factor of being the state's oldest course it is worth the play. The course is set in a beautiful park and offers a variety of shots. If thinking of making a trip to play this course I wouldnt let the "short" holes be a deterent, the course as a whole more then makes up for it.