Week 7: Mallery, Shreve win in OT

N. Spradlin, Davis earn Rec Division win
Double points week sees big changes in standings

* Results: Week 1 … Week 2 … Week 3 … Week 4 … Week 5 … Week 6 … Week 7 …
* Mile Lane Disc Golf Course on Facebook
* Allegany County Disc Golf Club on Facebook

ACCIDENT — It took a 19th hole to settle the score between the two Advanced Division teams, while a wild comeback was just not quite on tap in the Rec Division. Play in both divisions proved to be quite exciting in Week 7 of the Allegany County Disc Golf Club’s Fall Doubles League. Play on the front nine was in the “best shot” format, then the competition changed to “alternate shot” over the back nine. Nine players teed off on Sunday at The Glades at Meshach Run in Accident, enjoying brisk 34-degree temperature that, even under the sun, felt a bit below 30 what with the mostly steady 8 mph wind.

This recap will likely fail to do either competition justice, but here goes …

All five players in the Rec Division were tied after the front nine with 30 strokes apiece — Oakland residents Nicholas Willmon, 28, and Matt Marsh, 20 on one side, with Frostburg dwellers Noah Spradlin, 23, and Noah Davis, 8, on the other. Play “Cali” was Kevin Spradlin, 43, of Frostburg, who threw a personal best 30 (with no mulligans) to keep up with the group.

The excitement for this card started on No. 1 of the back nine. That’s when Marsh and Willmon seemed to forget that it’s the lowest score in disc golf that wins. The two ran into a little trouble — and a lotta trees. They hit tree after tree after tree and finished the “tree tunnel” hole after nine strokes. At one point, one of the players (we won’t call out which one) asked if there was a maximum number of throws allowed before simply stopping play and moving on to the next basket. Unfortunately for Team Willmon-Marsh, the answer was no.

Meanwhile, Spradlin and Davis bogeyed the hole, and right off the bat held a generous five-stroke lead.

Marsh and Willmon gained a stroke back on No. 11, but the score remained the same for the next two baskets. On No. 14, Willmon and Marsh again went to work and gained two strokes back from Spradlin and Davis, the latter which suddenly could not make a putt between them. Over the front nine, it was Spradlin’s solid drives off the tee and Davis’s great putting that kept pace with the competition.

The two teams both threw for par on No. 15, and Team Willmon-Marsh gained a fourth stroke back when they bogeyed No. 16 but Spradlin and Davis managed a double bogey. But Davis’s sidearm drive from the tee pad on No. 17, only 140 feet from the basket, sealed the win for his team. His lie allowed Spradlin a fine approach shot and Davis made the easy putt for par while Willmon and Marsh lost two strokes with a double bogey.

Kevin Spradlin, meanwhile, threw a personal best 64 playing as an individual. It was his best on the course since a 65 on Oct. 14. Unfortunately, due to the change of formats at the midway point, it could be argued that playing solo gave him a competitive advantage over the back nine. His effort was disqualified from being a part of the overall finish, though he still received his participation points for the week.

Advanced Division

What a doozy this one was.

Colby Mallery, the Allegany County Disc Golf Club’s Player of the Month for November, drew David Warder’s mini out of the box and the two faced off against Scott Mallery and Bill Shreve. Heading into Week 7 action, Shreve was first in Advanced Division points with 50, Colby Mallery was second with 45 and Scott Mallery was third with 36. A win for either team could place at least one athlete a boost over the final two weeks of play for the overall points champion.

But none of that mattered on the course. Instead, the two teams went back and forth, with Shreve, 46, of Cumberland, and Scott Mallery, 54, of Mount Savage, holding a one stroke lead over Colby Mallery, 19, of Mount Savage, and Warder, 32, of Frostburg. Shreve and Mallery had used the former’s drives each of the first nine baskets.

On the back nine, Team Mallery-Shreve was forced to change strategy as play moved to alternate shot. Over the next nine holes, the pair lost only a stroke — but it was only one that mattered. Team Mallery-Warder scored a 25 on the back nine to tie things up with Team Shreve-Mallery. Highlights on the back nine included Warder’s parked drive, some 395 feet from the tee pad and an estimated 5 feet from the basket, for the tap-in eagle.

On No. 18 — back to No. 1, as the group started their day on No. 2 — Scott Mallery’s scramble from somewhere “deep in the woods” allowed the duo to save par, gain a stroke and force a tie on the final hole in regulation.

Up next? Playoff disc golf.

The two teams agreed to play a modified No. 2, starting near the outfield fence not too far from the practice basket and heading towards the tree-fortified basket. Shreve got through on his drive just a little better than Warder, and Mallery made the putt for the birdie and the win. Team Mallery-Shreve threw for par on the playoff.

In the win, Team Shreve-Mallery finished with six birdies, including four on the front nine and two more after the midway point. The duo also eagled No. 14 — and that effort merely matched Team Mallery-Warder on that basket.

Week 7 notes

1. Colby Mallery won the CTP on No. 1, while Noah Davis won on No. 6. Colby selected an Innova Wraith (F2) while Davis selected a Thanksgiving-stamped Innova Roc 3 (F2).

2. Colby Mallery, the Allegany County Disc Golf Club’s Player of the Month for November, drew minis (without looking) from a box to form teams within each division.

3. Though Bill Shreve came close on Sunday on No. 4, there has still not been an ace in Fall Doubles League. The ace pot is at $75.

4. The club has collected $316 in registration fees (not including the ace pot) during Fall Doubles League.

5. Week 8 action returns to Mile Lane Disc Golf in Mount Savage. Tee time is 2 p.m. Play is open to the public.