Rocky Mount Sports Complex is an interesting, varied layout. It has some enjoyable aspects when it comes crashing down. And just like Hulk Hogan, it does hurt inside.
- First off, this has the bones of a fun, quality course. It takes advantage of the various obstacles throughout this portion of the park: woods, minimal elevation, and water.
- It's a massive park. And for the most part, this course doesn't overlap with other park activities. I say that, and some local will point on that the course shuts down during baseball tourneys, or something like that.
- Hole #2 should be the true opening hole. Current #1 is a glorified practice basket. I mean, if we need that basket for a full 18, then keep it. Hole #2 is a short, dogleg left throwing towards a pond, before fading to a basket tucked in the woods. Elevated basket with water/drop-off in play if you go too far left. Pretty shot that could be one of the more memorable opening holes in the state.
- After some basic holes weaving through the woods, you get to a great tee shot on #7. Water to the left, woods to the right. Basket doglegs slightly uphill to a tiny peninsula to the left. You throwing over the water or playing safe straight/to the right?
- #9 & 10 use the one hill on the course, in case you're wanting to get a little mount (as in Rocky Mount) feel.
- Holes #12 - 14 play around the same pond. Each gives a different look. Of these, #13 is the most sphincter tightening tee shot with a narrow fairway/no realistic bail-out locale to the right. #14 is the most open of these holes....but, that also makes it most vulnerable to a cross breeze, creating an added challenge.
- There are also 3 bonus holes between #13 & 14. I didn't play them because I didn't select that layout on UDisc. It's a little bit of a walk to play three more water holes. If you do, that does give you six straight holes with a chance of losing a disc.
- #17 is one of the two best wooded holes on the course (along with #3). But, after playing the horrific #16, you're stuck with a bad taste in your mouth.

Course does itself no favors. It's already limited in terms of space and variety. But, by missing key things, such as tee signs, next hole arrows, and one horrid hole, it takes away some of the course's high points.
- For some reason, there are 4 layouts listed on DGCR. Unless there was a separate layout for a tourney at some point, I have zero clue how the green layout exists for this course. Hole #5 has a 559-foot alternate tee? Hole #7 has a 575-foot layout? Are we throwing in circles here? I didn't even see tees for the two layouts listed on the tee signs, let alone a crazy, longer layout.
- Navigation is lacking. If you don't have a map (printed or interactive disc golf app-based), you are not playing all 18 holes here. Yes, you may play 18 holes, but you're not playing them in a row. You're not playing them from every correct tee. Or, you can prove me wrong and add 2 hours to your round walking around trying to find every tee.
- Upkeep in the wooded holes (#2 - 6 & 18) could be better. It had been recently mowed when I played. But, based on the unevenness of the grass, it was either the first time it was mowed in 4-8 weeks or the blades on that mower hadn't ever been sharpened.
- First time in a long time I had to play around a car parked on a tee pad. I'm not talking about hole #15, where the tee is in the parking lot. I'm talking #8 where the guy had to drive through the grass to get to. Seemed fitting for this course.
- #16 shouldn't exist. Never. Ever. Never. Discs don't fly the way this fairway is designed. You're throwing directly to a baseball field with a tall outfield fence, then take a sharp turn to blind shot on a walking trail, then turn 90 degrees to a basket behind trees. From what I can see, there are 3 possible shots here: 1. Throw a high right-to-left shot where you're throwing over the baseball field. 2. A roller shot that will end up somewhere on the walking trail portion of this hole. 3. Throw a low shot directly into the fence and let it carom where it may. This risk with #1 is if your disc ends up on the field. #2 probably involves the most skill. #3 is the safest and most luck-based shot. I opted for 3, and was able to get a simple up and down for a 3.
- #16 is the type of hole that gets a course pulled immediately. Hit someone you can't see, or you can see and throw a bad shot, they sue, and so long course. This hole has so many safety flaws that lawyers would be lining up to collect their money from the city/county about the risks of this dangerous layout. You could ask anybody with a pulse to look at this hole, compare it to the previous hole and ask which one is safe and which one is dangerous.
- If the option is to pull this course and end up with a 17-hole layout, this course needs to be a 17-hole layout. There wasn't anyone around, and I still threw cautiously because it didn't feel safe. Why not just put the basket on the pitcher's mound or the middle of a playground?

For all the good will through the first 15 holes, much of that is lost with #16's layout. It's that bad and dangerous.
- Some people have pointed out (complained) about the amount of water holes on the course. I will say those holes are not beginner friendly. On a breezy day, or a bad throwing day, you could easily lose a couple of discs. That was th reason I wasn't a big fan of Luther Britt in Lumberton. Wind + lots of water in play = lost discs = not a fun round.
- Instead of having three straight holes alongside water, maybe #13 should play over the water instead. Throw over the narrow corner near the hole's basket so anyone can clear the water. It's still a 'water' hole, but you've taken the risk out of play.
- I'll throw out the idea this course would be better as a 9-hole layout. Essentially take the best aspects of holes #2 - 9 plus 17 - 18 and put all your efforts there. You'd still have three water holes. You'd have wooded holes. You can have an open hole still. But you're eliminating most of the course's bad parts.
- On a different day, my perception of the course would be different. A lost disc or two, and I'd be griping about the poor layout. Landing my disc steps from the water instead, and I'm thinking this is a creative layout. On #14, I aimed my tee shot far right. It got caught in a gust of wind and blew 150 feet off line. So, I get how there's a strong luck or total fluke factor here as well.
- #17 is such a great tee shot. It's one of the course's best two or three holes. But it's overlooked being stuck directly behind one of the worst holes in the state. It's an unfortunate victim of collateral damage.
- This was the second course I've played in Rocky Mount. This course was safely in my top 2 for the city. While there are parts of this course I really liked, I would hope the city's remaining courses are closer to Sunset Park's quality than Sport Complex's.
- I'd recommend playing other courses in the city well before playing here. Being a bagger, it'll be a long time, if ever, before I play here again.

Good baskets, some tees use pavement, where available.
A LOT of variety here, short tight wooded holes, water holes requiring long carries, flat open holes.
Course has been changed to provide a bigger challenge.
Large, multi-use park, football, baseball/softball and several soccer fields, get a round in when in the park for other things.
There might be a few interactions with the other activities, but for the most they are avoided.
#8 is a fun water hole, not too long and cleared landing area, you could even skip it across.

The gravel tees on the shorter holes are not a big problem, but the short tees on the open holes need to be larger.
Navigation is an issue, since the map on this site has not been updated.
They did not use the sidewalk around the new RR/concession bldg for a "top of the world" tee shot!!
#2 uses the walking path as the fairway, right after it comes around a corner, be careful on this one!

First off the changes from the map on this site - #7, #14, #15, #16 and #17 are gone. After #11 (now #10) cross the parking lot, new #11 tee is near the soccer fence. #12 and #13 go around the large lake, then #14 and #15 head back towards the trees, #16 follows the old #13 and #17 follows the gravel path behind the ball fields. #18 is in original position. THE PICTURES ON THIS SITE ARE UPDATED WITH THE NEW HOLES.
Second, the danger holes, #2 short hole, walking path is the fairway, miss this one long (or no fade) and you're in the lake. #7 long carry over the same pond, but the green area is overgrown, trees, bushes, grass, I found the small fairway available, but not a good green. #12 tight long fairway around lake and behind ballfields, how do you play this one? I didn't. #13 back around the same lake, does provide some fairway. #16 and #17 both go behind more ballfields and new batting cage, OK if no one is there, but could be unplayable.
It looks like the intent was to get more holes out of the woods and provide longer, open holes. That has been accomplished.
I like courses with wooded and open holes, but several holes here have a lot of trouble to get into. There are 3 other 18-holers in this town of 60,000, a pretty good number for a town this size, I'll play Farmington and Sunset again before here.

The first half of this course is easily the best stretch of holes in the Rocky Mount area. Three of the holes do traverse a walking path but they are short holes and the tees command views that gives advanced warning of anyone walking towards the hole. So that is grudgingly acceptable to keep the best holes on the course. 2 is a short hole that features a basket cut into the woods to the left, up a ridge that should provide an uphill put next to a small waterfall. 8 and 9 play along a pond, with a safe route around the pond available and a direct path offered by carrying the water. 9 is a decent amount past the pond while 8 sits high above the water on a small bluff surrounded by three sides of water.
10 provides the other open look of the first half and it features the best chance to air out a disc that I saw as well as basket situated on hillside. The other holes, (3-7 as well as 18) cut through a small section of woods that is not fantastically maintained at the moment but offers wooded fairways of a few different widths and allows the trees to force shot shaping. Overall the course has a nice variety, with a little bit of everything discwise, and the ten hole stretch from 2 to 11, with the addition of 18 are a nice introduction to the sport and should appeal to most new players.

The back half, well it doesn't match the map. Hopefully, the map represents what the course is going to be. After failing to find a tee for 12, I noticed that the basket that was located where the 12 should be said 15. And the tee that was supposed to be 13 said 16. So I guess 13-15 play out in the open fields towards the road. I missed those but the terrain didn't look interesting in any case A bunch of athletic fields in what can be the only place they were.. The actual 16 and 17 were worse. The baseball field is very much in play on those two holes and the current game going on made them unplayable. The maps showed a trio of holes in that section of woods, so hopefully the plan is to cut holes in that unused woods. That would vastly improve the course. Otherwise some way should be found to get directly from 10 to 18 and make this course a decent twelver. Nothing wrong with a twelve-hole course.

Nice beginner course that needs some work in a few areas. If matching the map is planned and the 16 and 17 are scrapped in favor of carving fairways out of that woods section, this could be very soild.

*There are 2 sets of tees, so there's some variety. (White = Short, Black = Long)
*There's water in play on 3 holes. The drive from hole 8's Long tees is the most dramatic, and the one I enjoyed the most.
*Navigating the course is pretty easy, even without a map.
*The Long layout has a perfect balance of fairway shapes with 6 St/ 6 Left/ 6 Right. (But the Short layout has a preponderance of straight holes with 10 St/ 3 Lt/ 5 Rt)

-When I played in March there were big swamps or swampy areas on 11 holes. The hole 4 tee was totally under water. Hole 7 was the worst with a big deep black swamp that you could lose discs in. Hole 16 could have water on lots of the fairway and all around the basket. A few holes were hard to get down the fairway because I had to walk over logs. These inconveniences were the major hindrance to my enjoyment, but maybe it's drier in the summer.
-Like the other courses in Rocky Mount, this one is mostly flat. The greatest elevation change is +6 ft.
-The tee signs could be improved. They were small and minimal.

• Black tees (Long) Course Level: White (most suited for Intermediate players rated 900.)
• White tees (Short) Course Level: Red (most suited for Juniors and Intermediate players rated 850)
Both layouts are shorter than average for their level.

You be the judge-
My favorite hole: 8 from the Long tees. A beautiful shot over the water that's loaded with risk vs. reward.

• It's in a wetland area, so there are restrictions on what can be built on the course.
• Each layout has 10 holes in the woods, with the other 8 a mixture of wide open grass or scattered trees.
• The new double chain Discatcher baskets are in great shape. I thought the rubber mat tee pads were adequate, but just a little bit too short.
• They use a non-standard tee color system instead of the usual PDGA colors. This may lead some confusion since the short (White) tees are actually Red level while the long tees (Black) are actually White level.
• There a few amenities-- no course map, no warm up basket, no message board, no benches, and no trash cans-- but the course is still new, so hopefully those will come in time.

All in all, there were some good holes over the water and through the woods, but I think the swamps dampened my enthusiasm so that my enjoyment factor was merely average.

<span class="underline">A note about my rating:</span> My rating is a subjective measure of my enjoyment of the course, on the day I played it, and it is NOT intended to be a measure of the quality of the course. My ratings are given "on the curve" in relation to all other courses I've played.