The best feature may be the price. For $5, players can toss a disc, or frisbee (a disc can be rented for $1 or players can bring their own) around the course from 10 a.m. to dusk, seven days a week.
“This is the Topsham Fair’s disc golf, and Bob Enman and I run the course for the fair,” said manager Lindsey Rice. “Players can play all day long, as much as they like. We have 18 available holes, with five more holes cut. There will be 18 holes just in the woods.”
“It is great to be working with the fair and having disc golf here,” said Enman, who owns two disc golf facilities in Brunswick and Auburn. “We may even come up with nine more holes for tournament play down the road, giving us 36.”
The Topsham Fair, which will be held August 6-11, uses the outlying areas of the disc golf facility for parking. But, the course will remain open.
“During the fair, there will be 18 holes entirely in the woods, so customers can enjoy the fair and disc golf,” said Enman.
“We are not here to make a lot of money, but to have fun, and give kids and adults something fun and inexpensive to do while also helping the Topsham Fair Association,” said Rice.
How it began
“Bob talked to Leon Brillant at Brillant Motors, and said there is a lot of unused property at the Fairgrounds, and a disc golf course would fit well there,” said Rice. “Not a whole lot of people are aware of this facility. But, business has been OK so far.”
Disc golf has similar rules to golf. A disc is sent down the course from the tee box, with each throw counting as a stroke. The pin is made up of chains and a basket, with the goal to put the disc in the pin.
“It’s fun. Like golf, but playing with a frisbee, or disc,” said Rice. “Disc golf is so much more fun than golf. You get to go through the woods, work around some obstacles and get your aim right.”
“When I started almost 20 years ago, there were just a handful of people playing,” remembered Enman. “Now, there are thousands of people who play. There are 35 courses, and it is growing.”
Proceeds from the business will be used to make improvements at the Topsham Fairgrounds.
“The Topsham Fair built new barns, and they are going to build a new bathroom facility, so there are plans moving forward,” said Rice. “The price will not go up to play disc golf during the fair. We will stay open until it gets cold, and open again once the snow is gone and it warms up.”
“The rain put a damper on things over the past couple of weeks, but the business is picking up,” said Brillant. “It takes a lot to run a fair. Insurance is expensive. We have the upkeep and maintenance. It is hard to make the money that you need in that one week during the fair, so it’s the little things during the year that help. We are hoping disc golf will do that, along with the other things that we do.”
According to the Disc Golf Association, “the sport provides a fun and challenging outdoor activity that tests a player’s mental skills of concentration, focus and patience. Disc golf is becoming popular in elementary schools, junior highs, high schools and college campuses.
“Disc Golf provides a lowimpact exercise that requires focus on mental strategy and provides an avenue for people of every skill level to play together. In addition to offering a fun activity, educational facilities are introducing the sport into their curriculum with an emphasis on physical fitness, ecology and planning.
“In addition to the mental challenge of disc golf the sport provides a great way to get or stay in shape. Disc golf is a low impact exercise that can ease you into a higher level of fitness and health. Using disc golf as a low impact exercises will help you build strength, stability and balance. A disc golf course can be anywhere from one or two acres to a few dozen acres long.”
For more information concerning Topsham Fair Disc Golf, visit www.topshamfairdiscgolf.com, or call Rice at 798-1040.
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