Raynor, Mallery lead the field in WDL Week 4

Von Hagel/Farris 2nd, Shreve/Spradlin 3rd
Registration for March 4 tourney continues

* Registration open for Doubles Championship on March 4 (limited to about 12 teams)
* Allegany County Disc Golf Club on Facebook
* Results: Week 1 . Week 2 . Week 3 . Week 4 .
* 2023: A Look Ahead

MOUNT SAVAGE — It was arguably the worst weather conditions in local doubles league history for the 10 players who toed the tee pads Sunday afternoon for Week 4 of Winter Doubles League at Mile Lane Disc Golf Course in Mount Savage.

The temperature hovered around freezing, the course was full of slippery, sole-sucking mud and, halfway into the round, a cold, steady rain — one that quickly penetrated the layers of hooded sweatshirts worn by most players and soaked the bottom six inches of most players’ pant legs — began to fall.

It was, in a word, yuck.

And yet, it didn’t seem to bother Keith Raynor or Colby Mallery at all.

Raynor, 46, of Vale Summit, and Mallery, 19, of  Mount Savage, combined for 15 birdies over 24 holes — 62.5 percent — en route to a three-stroke victory with a 15 under par score of 60. The dynamic duo’s “sub-par” performance was equally split, as they managed eight birdies from the 12 short tees and seven from the 12 long tees.

Ethan von Hagel, 20, of Cumberland, and Tim Farris, 26, of Wiley Ford, W.Va., placed second with a 63. The pair finished with 11 birdies, including six on the front 12 and five on the back 12. Bill Shreve, 46, of Cumberland, and  Noah Spradlin, 23, of Frostburg, took third, only one stroke behind von Hagel and Farris and threw for birdies nearly 50 percent (11 of 24) of the time. Shania Farris, 26, of Wiley Ford, and Kevin Spradlin, 43, of Frostburg, didn’t meet a tree their discs didn’t like and sauntered to a six under par 69. The pair finished with eight birdies, equally split.

The sole Youth Division team finished at even par with a score of 72. Frostburg residents Noah Davis, 8, and Luke Spradlin-Vogelsang, 9, threw 24 holes from the short tees and finished with five birdies over 24 holes, including two on the front 12. Spradlin-Vogelsang had his closest chance at an ace in his young disc golf career on short No. 7 the second time around when he launched his Discraft Buzz with a solid, straight backhand that fell just shy of the basket, first hitting the logs that help hold the basket in place before falling to the ground.

Spradlin-Vogelsang finished the final nine baskets in Cali style — solo, but permitted on mulligan per basket — as Davis left the course early due to a previous obligation.

While the five teams were separated by 12 strokes at the end, it was much closer at the midway point.

Through the front 12, it was:

  • Raynor/Mallery — 28
  • Von Hagel/T. Farris — 30
  • Shreve/N. Spradlin — 31
  • S. Farris/K. Spradlin — 32
  • Spradlin-Vogelsang/Davis — 37

A bit about the WDL points standings and how it works

Currently, every player who shows up receives one participation point. Additionally, players on a team that finishes in first place each earn five points for first, four points for second place, three for third, two for fourth, and one for fifth.

On weeks players compete in combined divisions — like today — it’s that simple. So players on the top can earn a maximum of six points. Pretty straight forward, right?

Now, on league days when we split into different division — Advanced, Rec, Youth and Women’s — the goal is to have more than one team in a division. After all, to say you finished first (of one) isn’t that impressive. There should (almost) always be a competitive component to it. That said, the club strives to support female players of all ages and will work to have a female youth or women’s division as applicable.

Regardless, each player is assigned to a specific division — Advanced, Rec, Women’s or Youth. So even if a player competes “up” or “down” a division, or in a “combined” division format on a given week, that player is still earning points in their assigned division. This can be great for players who are playing “down” a division (the competition would, generally speaking, be easier). At the same time, it can be great for players competing “up” a division, too, as they might get to play with a local stud or studdette they normally wouldn’t — and thereby have a chance at a division win they might not normally have.

There are times (like Week 3) when the format in a given week is intended to level the playing field. In Week 3, Rec Division player Noah Spradlin and Youth Division player Luke Spradlin-Vogelsang happened to earn 13 points in the weekly format — one more than any other team. So, Noah earned 5 points for the shared win, plus one for participation, for six total for the Rec Division. Likewise, Luke earned six points also in the Youth Division.

Today (Week 4) we had 10 total players — 3 Advanced, 5 Rec (including one Women’s Division player who has “dual membership” in those divisions) and two Youth. The format (best shot doubles, no cap on consecutive drives, random draw for partners) was announced earlier in the week on the club Facebook page. From week to week, it’s never known who’s going to show up. Today, we could just as easily have had Keith move up to Advanced and fielded two Advanced teams and two Rec teams (along with a separate Youth team). In that case, there would have been two teams that finished in first place, and two that finished in second. Again, though, we’d already announced random draw.

The goal of doubles league play over the fall and winter is to change things up. The format’s going to change most weeks. The style of draw is going to change from week to week, too. If we always have the same formats and divisions, people will play with pretty much the exact same people each week. That gets boring, doesn’t it? Embrace new teammates (and opponents), sling some plastic, and have fun with it.

We are human, of course; we make mistakes. If there’s ever a time a player has a question about the scoring, let us know. Send a text to 301-338-4533. Or, of there’s a better scoring system, let us hear it! Even better, the club wants (and needs) players to get involved to offer such suggestions, as well as to even volunteer to keep track of scoring. So … maybe you?

With one exception, the same scoring system was used for Fall Doubles League. The change made for WDL was that a player would no longer be awarded bonus participation points each week. For example, in the nine-week FDL, a player who played all nine weeks and wins a share of first in the ninth week received 5 points for first, one point for participation, plus eight more points for having played in eight other weeks — for a total of 14 points for a single week. The club took that away in an effort to keep the scoring a bit closer from week to week.

Week 4  notes

* No CTP prizes awarded today. They are offered almost weekly, but not every week.

* No aces today; the ace pot is now at $120.

* Don’t forget — Week 6 (Feb. 5) at The Glades double points week. This means that whatever points a player earns during play this week, they’ll automatically be doubled.

* We have 18 entries into the first month of the Fisher Cup. Click here for details. One player today asked what the course for February would be. That will be identified later this month. If you have an idea for a Fisher Cup course (or one to avoid), please send Kevin a text to 301-338-4533 and be sure include the “why” for your opinion.

* Week 5 of Winter Doubles League returns to Central in Cumberland on Sunday, Jan. 29. Tee time is 2 p.m. Play is open to the public.

* Look for possible glow rounds in Mount Savage starting at 6 p.m. later this month. Keep an eye on the Allegany County Disc Golf Club page on Facebook for announcements.

Noah Davis, right, makes the putt to the black basket as teammate Luke Spradlin-Vogelsang looks on.

Shania Farris carried the bulk of the workload and led her team to a fourth-place finish.

 

Week 4 results – Winter Doubles League
Allegany County Disc Golf Club

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