Clinic helps players break habits old and new

King wins putting contest, Spradlin outdrives the field

* Allegany County Disc Golf Club on Facebook
* Allegany County Disc Golf Club – website
* Summer Flex League (free to play)

For AlleganyPlayground.com

FROSTBURG — Gary Schultz learned that sometimes to gain a couple of steps forward, you have to take a step or two backward.

The 9-year-old Frostburg boy participated in the Allegany County Disc Golf Club’s inaugural Youth Disc Golf Clinic on Sunday evening at Glendening Park in Frostburg. Under the watchful eye of clinic instructors Keith Raynor and Ethan Barney, Schultz made only 13 putts the second putting contest of the evening. The first putting and driving contests were intended to establish baselines for each of the five players. The second was to implement some of the instruction received by Raynor and Barney.

AlleganyPlayground photo
Arthur King III tries a forehand while instructor Keith Raynor looks for flaws in mechanics.

While Schultz missed two the second time around that he made the first time, his method was better. In the long run, that will serve the new disc golf player on any course he chooses to toe the tee pad.

Schultz, along with neighbors Luke Spradlin-Vogelsang, 9, and brother Josiah Spradlin, 12, and Oldtown son-and-father duo Arthur King III, 11, and Art King, participated in the two-hour clinic that covered: the rules of the game; scoring; course etiquette; putting; basic equipment needed to begin playing; forehand throws; backhand throws; area courses to play on; league play; and the idea of having fun and working on self-improvement no matter the score.

Arthur King improved the most in the second round of putting, finishing with 52 points — an 11-point increase from the first round. Spradlin, who brought the most experience in the five-player field with nearly 11 months of semi-regular play, won the driving contest by, well, a lot. He also improved — by a lot — from the first round, which took place before the instruction, and the second round. In the first round, Spradlin threw drives of 220 feet and 235 feet. Both were backhand throws. In the last activity of the evening, he threw 300 feet, then 310 feet.

Barney, 17, has been playing for several years. He applauded Spradlin’s progress but also continued the instruction. He noted that Spradlin needed to work on his accuracy from the tee pad.

AlleganyPlayground photo
Keith Raynor (left) and Ethan Barney (right) watch closely and offer real-time instruction as Gary Schultz, 9, works his way through the second round of the putting contest.

Spradlin wasn’t the only one who improved on his driving distance. Arthur King’s best drive in the first round went 50 feet — 30 feet better than his first drive. In round two, King’s drives landed 103 and 110 feet from the tee.

Spradlin-Vogelsang, meanwhile, used the opportunity to try something different. In the first round, he used a backhand (113 feet for each drive). In round two, he decided to go with the forehand and lost a bit of distance (72 and 68 feet) but gained a wealth of experience.

Players were reminded that playing in the club’s Summer Flex League is free. Two other leagues are available at $5 per round, per player, including the Saturday Morning Tag League at Mile Lane Disc Golf Course in Mount Savage and the Thursday night tag league at Central Assembly of God in Cumberland.

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The Allegany County Disc Golf Club would like to thank: Keith Raynor and Ethan Barney for serving as clinic instructors; Brian Vought, of Frostburg Parks and Recreation, for coordinating the scheduling of the field at Glendening; and Jim Buser, who supported the clinic by loaning numerous supplies, including discs and baskets.