Maine disc golfer completes 24-hour challenge, plays 266 holes

Adam Smith of Dexter finished 266 holes in 24 hours at Black Stream Disc Golf in Sangerville, beating his 240-hole target and turning a local fundraiser into a test of pure endurance. The June 20 challenge raised $866 for the Paul McBeth Foundation, and the pace Smith set meant he had to keep moving for an average of 10 holes every hour with almost no room for rest.

Smith started at midnight and played through the dark with a headlamp before daylight changed the feel of the round. Once the sun came up, he said the birds chirping gave him a boost, a small detail that says plenty about what a full day on a disc golf course does to the body and the mind. By the end, the challenge was less about scorekeeping than managing fatigue, footing, and concentration hour after hour while still keeping the discs in play.

The effort was part of Last Card Standing, the 24-hour version of the larger Throw for More fundraiser. In a June 10 preview, Smith said colleagues at the Tri-County Technical Center in Dexter were pledging money per hole, per hour, and through flat donations, giving the challenge a built-in community engine beyond the course itself. Smith, who teaches at the technical center, said he had played disc golf off and on for close to 10 years, had picked it up more steadily over the last two to three years, and now plays several times a week while promoting the sport on social media.

Black Stream itself fit the kind of grassroots stage this challenge needed. The course on Burrough Road is a nine-hole layout established in 2022, and UDisc lists it as a seasonal pay-to-play course with a $5 all-day rate and a 4.6-star average from 46 reviews. UDisc also lists Tom and Bonni MacDonald as the course’s owners and operators.

Smith’s run drew people in as the hours piled up. Supporters stopped by in person, others sent encouraging texts, a friend from Thursday night doubles joined him for a few holes, and a church friend tried disc golf for the first time and enjoyed it. That mix of passing interest and steady backing is what gives a 24-hour challenge its shape: one player, one course, and enough accumulated strain to make 266 holes feel like a full-blown ultra-endurance event.