Warder’s ace not enough to break tie
Nov. 14 doubles play moves to Mount Savage
CUMBERLAND, Md., Nov. 7, 2021 —There are so many variables during an 18-hole round of disc golf. But David Warder knew early on it would probably be a good day.
David Warder, 31, tees off at the No. 6 hole on the front nine.
The 31-year-old Eckhart man toed the red tee on No. 3 and let loose on a sunny, 63-degree afternoon at Central Assembly of God in Cumberland. Two hundred and 22 feet later, Warder and four witnesses watched and listened as the disc hit metal and the “clink” reverberated.
It was music to Warder’s ears. The hole in one anchored the effort by Warder and partner Ethan Shreve, 18, of Cumberland, to a score of 45 in Week 3 of Western Maryland Disc Golf Fall/Winter Doubles League action. The pair shot a combined 18 on the front nine and a 27 on the back nine. Their combined effort included the ace (an eagle), eight birdies and hitting par on seven others.
Southpaw Ethan Von Hagel, 19, of Cumberland, takes a shot on the No. 6 hole on the back nine.
Still, it wasn’t quite enough to place first — not by themselves, anyway. The ace aside, the duo of Bill Shreve, 45, of Cumberland, and Scott Mallery, 53, of Mount Savage, matched Warder and the younger Shreve. Though the Mallery-Shreve team trailed by two after nine holes, they picked up one stroke on the first hole on the back nine by earning a birdie, then picked up the only other stroke they needed for the tie on the last basket, a 303-foot, par-3 effort. Warder and Shreve hit it in four; Shreve and Mallery nailed par.
It was the second consecutive week doubles play resulted in a tie.
Keith Raynor, 45, of Vale Summit, and teammate Colby Mallery, of Mount Savage, finished third with a solid round of 49. The pair made par on 10 of 18 holes and finished with five birdies, include three straight on baskets six, seven and eight on the front nine.
Ethan Von Hagel, 19, of Cumberland, and partner Luke Spradlin-Vogelsang, 8, of Frostburg, finished fourth with a score of 58. It was Spradlin-Vogelsang’s fourth time on the course and only his second time playing a full round. The pair earned three birdies and made par on eight others.
Ethan Shreve, 18, of Cumberland, putts on White No. 1.
The odd man out, Kevin Spradlin, 42, of Frostburg, played a solo round and shot a 67 — his second-best effort on the Central Assembly of God course, four strokes behind his personal best of 63. He shot a 29 on the front nine but hit par only once (on No. 5/14) on the back nine.
Week 4 of doubles play will move to the Mile Lane Disc Golf course in Mount Savage. Registration begins at 1:30 p.m. with a tee time of 2 p.m. The style of play will be alternative shot — that is, only one sequence of throws is made on each hole. The team selects a player to throw the tee shot at the beginning of the round, and the other player throws from the subsequent lie. Play alternates in that fashion until the round is completed.
David Warder is all smiles retrieving his disc from Red No. 3, a 222-foot ace.
Regarding drives: Either there will be a limit of two consecutive drives by the same player or, alternatively, players will alternate drives every hole between teammates.
The move to Mile Lane Disc Golf is, in part, to help players adjust to the course before the ace race scheduled for the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
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