Disc golf at Pinchot Park

Wednesday was a great day to be outside, soaking up the outdoors. Bill Charron of Mechanisburg takes Mattie, his adorable rescued spitz mix puppy, a backpack full of discs (frisbees) and heads for one of Pinchot State Park's two disc golf courses.

Disc golf is very comparable to 'ball golf'.  Players fling the disc from a tee and use as few strokes as possible to sink the disc. Instead of a hole, it's a short tower with hanging chains, which clank together to signal a successful 'putt'.  Like ball golf, there is par for each hole.

Players can play the course with a sharp focus on the game. Or they can wander it, or trot it. Some don't finish, finding something along the way that's even more interesting.

And, like ball golf, even if players don't make par, it's not a wasted day if you spend it walking through colorful woods and under clear skies with friends. And a dog named Mattie trotting along beside you.

Charron, a lawyer on self imposed temporary retirement, has traveled the country from the east coast to the west coast challenging other players to outplay him. It doesn't happen often. Last year, Charron finished second in the national disc tournament, ball golf's U.S. Open.