Shreve, K. Spradlin tie for 2nd
FROSTBURG — Three days ago, Sam Wolodkin earned his first individual win with the Allegany County Disc Golf Club.
On Monday night at Hoffman Park Disc Golf Course in Frostburg, he decided it was worth doing again.
Wolodkin, 20, of Frostburg, overcame a one-stroke deficit at the midway point, fired off a hot back nine among a Memorial Day field of seven players, and posted his second club win in in four days with a five under par 49. It was only two strokes off his winning effort on May 26. The round was the ninth for the Allegany County Disc Golf Club at Hoffman Park Disc Golf Course since the course — the first public course in the county — opened on May 14.
Sam Wolodkin
Bill Shreve, 47, of Cumberland, and Kevin Spradlin, 44, of Frostburg, each finished with a 51 and tied for second. Tim Farris, 26, of Wiley Ford, W.Va., was fourth with a 55 while Noah Spradlin, 23, of Frostburg, and Shania Farris, 26, of Wiley Ford, tied for fifth (59 apiece). Luke Spradlin-Vogelsang, 9, of Frostburg, finished seventh with a 69.
It was a casual club round with one stipulation: any disc thrown had to be a putter of 3 Speed or below. There are many benefits to a putter-only round, including: helping players to dial in mechanics, approaching a course in a different way, simplifying the thought process, and helping players to throw all of their discs well and not just their favorite midranges or drivers.
It took Wolodkin nine baskets to warm up; he was tied with Kevin Spradlin for second after the front nine with 26, one stroke behind Shreve. Wolodkin fired away on the back nine, throwing a 23 — matching his best nine baskets at Hoffman during a club round — to gain three strokes on Shreve and two on Spradlin.
Spradlin finished with six birdies, including the first three baskets of the round — an early lead quickly given up with bogeys on the next three baskets — while Wolodkin had five birdies, including four on the back nine. Shreve, Noah Spradlin and Shania Farris had three birdies apiece and Tim Farris added two.
Wolodkin (26-23), Kevin Spradlin (26-25) and Tim Farris (29-26) were the only three players to throw better over the back nine than they did the front nine.
Notes
* Each of the nine baskets has been played more than 250 times. Each hole is a par three. Data from uDisc shows that No. 4 is the second-most difficult hole on the course, as players have averaged 3.53 strokes. Tonight, Luke Spradlin-Vogelsang, 9, of Frostburg, became the first in his family — and, by far, the youngest player in a club round — to throw for birdie on No. 4. In the putter-only round, Luke’s driving landed to the right of the fairway. Throwing through some skinny trees, Luke backhanded his Clutch putter more than 70 feet and, in basketball parlance, hit nothin’ but net. It was his only birdie over 18 holes.
* The club’s Player of the Month award for May will be announced this week.
* Summer Youth League begins Tuesday, June 20 at Hoffman Park DGC.
* Summer Flex League begins June 23-26 at Mile Lane DGC in Mount Savage.
Sam Wolodkin
Bill Shreve
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