Disc golf is fun outdoor game for kids

The girls caught a discus event while watching the Olympics and that led to questions about what it was and how it was done. I threw the discus in high school so I knew the basics (but was never any good at it though) and after some explanation the girls got to talking about how long it's been since we played disc golf (my kids - like most - make interesting leaps in conversations).

So off to the disc golf course we went this past weekend to play a round at Enmen Field in Brunswick.

Since it's been a long time since we've played "The Beauty" course in Brunswick, we had a hard time tracking down the holes in order. I really wished I had printed a map of the course at home because they didn't have maps at the clubhouse when I asked for one. That's not unusual at the disc golf courses we've visited previously though. The sport is casual enough that most players don't mind a few strays wondering on to a hole out of order (but I'm also mindful of my kids as it is mostly childless adults on the course) because the clubhouse didn't have any maps for newbies that day.

Stray is a good word to describe us - from following the holes to throwing the discs. But that does not stop us from having fun.

We have our own discs -- which are heavier than frisbees -- but I have no idea if they're putters or drivers (yeah, there are all kinds of discs and it's not unusual to see someone carrying a bag to play the different ones on the course) -- and take a bit of getting used to if all you've ever thrown is frisbees. But like frisbees, a quick flick of the wrist can make the disc soar.

But you don't have to have your own discs to play; every course we've been to offers rentals.

We've played disc golf in every season and winter is actually a fun time to play, although I wouldn't recommend doing it on cross country skis. Everyone in the family now has snowshoes so it's on our list of things to do when the snow starts flying.

Our winter adventure More about that adventure

Usually we play on a course in Gorham because it's closer to where we live but it was fun to revisit the Brunswick course after so many years. The girls were only 6- and 8-years old the first time I took them to Enman Field and I can't believe how much they have grown.

Our first trip More about how to play the game

At that time L. spent most of her time on the course collecting sticks for a fairy house (and looked like a little old lady carrying around her bag) and trying to get her disc "in jail" (her nickname for the cages). G. spent a lot of time hitting trees with her disc and all of us had to retrieve our discs from streams and bushes.

G. - and the rest of us - still hit trees and dig out discs from off-course landings and L. still calls the cages "jail" so not much has changed in that regard. But during our latest visit we made it through almost the entire course (we did 17 holes and couldn't seem to locate the 18th), something we haven't done previously. And we still don't bother to keep a formal score card (they always seem to have those at the clubhouse) as we still can't make anything less than 5 par even on the short distance holes.

The score I like to keep notes how long we spent laughing and having fun. That's the only thing that really matters anyhow I think.

This time it was a hole-in-one kinda morning for all of us.

Our latest day on the course

There are a lot of disc golf courses in Maine so check one out near you. A map of courses in Maine