Snake at Golf Course

Question
While walking to the next hole at a golf course I play at, I encountered a snake about 3 1/2 to 4 ft in length.  It was brown and red with redish brown rings or blotches around its body.  As we approached it, the snake stayed as still as a stick.  It camoed itself very well into the fall leaves and actually looked like a snake until we got closer to it.  I thought this might have been a milksnake but I am not sure.  I saw this in NE wayne county

Answer

milk snakes Hello Joe:
I wish you could have snapped a picture of it with a camera phone, there are a few possibilities though.  Was the snake thin or was it chunky?  The rings you spoke of, were they nice and even or were they similar to say an hour glass placing the thin part at the spine while the two thicker portions draped over to each side, like a saddle bag?  Was the head kind of oval shapped or triangular?  What color was the top of the head? and did you notice the eyes, maybe the eyes of a cat or round like those of a bird?.
I understand that it is hard to remember all of the characteristics of a snake you saw for only a few minutes or so but they tell me a lot when trying to narrow down the possible species.  My guess is that it was a colubridae (Non-venomous) snake like a milk snake and not a Copperhead.  Either way, I hope it was left intact and not disposed of, snakes in the wild serve a valuable asset to the Eco system especially around inhabited areas like a golf course.  They dispose of hundreds of mice and rats per season that you would otherwise have running over the course and in the club house etc.
If you have a few minutes to answer my questions, I will do my best to narrow down the possibilities. What state Is Wayne county in, I am thinking NC.

                                            Waiting for your reply & thanks for asking
                                                            Joel

PS: Joe I just noticed the picture that was sent to you earlier!  Please NOTE that the snake in the photo is "NOT" a Milk snake but the only other snake that resembled your description that being a "Canebrake Rattlesnake (Pictured in the photo).  I Feel sure you would have noticed the rattles but I just wanted to be sure.  Sorry for the inconvenience.  Joel