Club’s May schedule to include glow, casual rounds
* Previous Player of the Month winners
FROSTBURG — It was close.
There was a decision among the power brokers between a player — Noah Gaughan — who had shown quite a bit of improvement on the disc golf course by lowering his score. That was important as, in disc golf, at least, lowest score wins. But another player — Lilly Dillinger — had been able to show the through a series of fortune — both good and bad, depending sometimes on the number of trees — that knowing what to do, such as shot selection, is equally important.
Noah Gaughan, 12, of Cumberland, was named the Allegany County Disc Golf Club’s Player of the Month for April.
But Noah’s candidacy for the Allegany County Disc Golf Club’s April Player of the Month award had something no other player, of any age, could offer: He was the only player during the month to lower his average number of strokes per hole each time out. Gaughan, 12, of Cumberland, edged out Dillinger, 14, of Romney, W.Va., for the monthly award and was presented a Westside Discs shoulder bag, a Trash Panda Inner Core putter, and a Trasha Panda marker.
Gaughan competed in three of the club’s Spring Youth League events in Cumberland and Mount Savage in April. The fourth week, scheduled for The Glades at Meshach Run in Accident, was effectively cancelled due to a less-than-favorable rainy and windy forecast a week ago.
In Week 1, Gaughan covered Mile Lane Disc Golf in Mount Savage with an average of 4.25 strokes per hole. Week 2 was doubles, during which Gaughan took down the CTP prize. In Week 3 at Central in Cumberland, Gaughan practiced the “straight and flat” mantra the club had been preaching to the best of his ability. For the most part, it worked, as he improved his average strokes per hole by 11.3 percent, to 3.77 strokes per hole in Week 3 from 4.25 strokes per hole in Week 1.
Gaughan is the second Boys – Youth Division player to win the monthly award since the club’s initial award in June 2022. That first month was won by peer Luke Spradlin-Vogelsang, 9, of Frostburg. Spradlin-Vogelsang is ranked second in the club’s Boys – Youth Division, while Gaughan is ranked 10th among 17 players. Gaughan is the third Youth Division player overall to win the award; Lily Lick, of Cumberland, won the award for her performance during Fall Youth League in September 2022.
Dillinger, though, was a very strong candidate for the award, which is based on a mix of performance and participation. Gaughan participated in three Spring Youth League events in April to Dillinger’s two.
Next up
The club’s Summer Flex League begins in June. Spring Youth League wrapped up on May 5. For the rest of May, the club will soon release a schedule of glow and casual rounds that will count towards May Player of the Month consideration. The rounds will be among the first to use the new Hoffman Park Ace Place Disc Golf Course in Frostburg, which is expected to open for play later this month.
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