C. Mallery earns overall victory at 10 under par
M. Shumaker cards first birdie, cuts 8 strokes off previous round
* Fall Doubles League Week 1 set for Sunday
* Glow round moves to Locust Post Brewery on Sunday night
FROSTBURG — Maybe Evan Padovini was simply waiting for the season to turn and the sun to set.
For the second consecutive Thursday evening, the 12-year-old Frostburg resident posted a personal best at Hoffman Park Disc Golf Course in Frostburg. He improved by two strokes this time to a four under par 50, good for first in the Boys’ Division and sixth overall among 13 competitors. The 50 ties the best mark by any Boys’ Division competitor on the course during a club round. Josiah Spradlin, 14, of Frostburg, threw a 50 in Week 6 of the club’s Summer Flex League.
Padovini, who was introduced to the sport of disc golf in May when the Allegany County Disc Golf Club facilitated gym classes for a week at Mount Savage Middle School, recorded seven birdies this week, down one from last week. He finished four under par, two strokes better than a week ago. There were two important lessons to learn. First, the throw after one’s worst shot might be one’s best. Second, a player doesn’t have to be perfect — far from it, in fact — to do better.
The round began shortly after 6 p.m. Sunset was officially 6:31 p.m., and a clear sky allowed the field to complete the front nine baskets with regular discs. Somewhere around the midway point, players were forced by darkness to switch to glow discs. Some struggled more than others, as nearly two-thirds — 29 of 44 (65.9 percent) — of bogeys or worse were carded on the back nine. Six of the 13 players in the field had a better second half than first half.
As good of a round as Padovini had, he was still prone to error in the dark. He had a clean card on the front nine, including four of his seven birdies on the evening. Padovini threw a bogey on No. 13 (No. 4 the second time around) and a double bogey on No. 14, but finished out the round with two birdies over the next four baskets to earn back two of the three lost strokes.
Meanwhile, new division competitor and classmate Myles Shumaker, 12, of Frostburg, completed his second club round and improved by eight strokes from a week ago. Shumaker also carded his first birdie in club play, owning No. 9 the first time around and needing only two strokes to complete the 130-foot challenge. Shumaker was one of six players to have stronger second-half play compared to the first half, needing 37 strokes over the front nine and only 36 on the back nine to finish with a 73.
Men’s Advanced Division
David Warder released his glow Berg putter on No. 3 the second time around and ask his disc, released a bit high, to drop.
“Do Berg things,” the 32-year-old Frostburg resident requested.
It did, for the most part. But neither Warder, nor anyone else, could prevent Colby Mallery from doing Colby Mallery things on the disc golf course this time around.
Mallery, 19, of Mount Savage, was the only player among the 13 in the field that threw a bogey-free back nine. In fact, Mallery birdied eight of the nine baskets over the second half of play and continued to lower his score as others had to watch either in person or on the live uDisc scoreboard. Mallery’s score of 20 on the back nine was the best mark in the field.
Mallery finished with a 10 under par 44. The score is believed to be Mallery’s best score on the course during a club round and one off the club course record of 43, held jointly by Warder and Ethan von Hagel.
Bill Shreve, 47, of Cumberland, took second, finishing with eight birdies and the cleanest scorecard of the evening with only one bogey (No. 13) to card a 47. Warder finished in a three-way tie for third along with von Hagel, 21, of LaVale, and Sam Wolodkin, 21, of Frostburg. All three players finished with a 49.
Scott Mallery, 55, of Mount Savage, fired the second-best score over the back nine (22) to help overcome a disappointing front nine. The nighttime effort included three of the four birdies carded on the night, earning him a sixth-place finish with a 52.
Three new players to the Men’s Advanced Division — Brian Padovini, Kevin Spradlin and Tim Farris — finished in a three-way tie for eighth place. All three earned a promotion from the Men’s Rec Division after solid, stellar play during the 14-week Summer Flex League. For Padovini, 42, of Frostburg, and Farris, 27, of Wiley Ford, W.Va., it was their higher-tier debut whereas Spradlin had played two previous glow rounds in the upper division. All three players finished with a one under par 53.
Noah Spradlin, 24, of Frostburg, represented the Men’s Rec Division with a 53.
At the midway point, Shreve had a two-stroke advantage over the field with a 22, followed by Evan Padovini (23), Colby Mallery (24), Kevin Spradlin (24), Noah Spradlin (24) and Warder (24).
Women’s Division
Shania Farris, 26, of Wiley Ford, represented the Women’s Division with a four over par 58. It wasn’t exactly the debut Farris probably wanted. It was her first round after she earned a promotion to the top ranking in the Women’s Division.
Becky Shreve, of Cumberland, is now ranked second in the division. Rankings can change based on player competition as well as a lack of competition. Shreve has not played a club round since August 2022.
CTP winners
Brian Padovini and Sam Wolodkin won CTP prizes. Each took home a new glow Discraft Buzzz midrange disc.
Thanks!
A heartfelt thank you to David Warder and Scott Mallery for volunteering to move a fallen tree further away from the No. 4 basket.
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