CUMBERLAND — Ethan Von Hagel’s 10 birdies carried him to victory in the Allegany County Disc Golf Club’s final public event. The round was free to all players.
Six players toed the tee pads on Sunday at Central Assembly of God in Cumberland and covered 21 baskets, including 12 from short tees and nine from long tees, in singles play.
Von Hagel, 21, of LaVale, carded seven birdies over the front 12 and finished a nine under par 56.
Bill Shreve, 47, of Cumberland, won the CTP contest on short 1 and was awarded a $5 gift certificate to the Mile Lane Disc Golf retail store.
After the round, one player chastised the club for accurate scoring and ridiculed club efforts on a range of issues. This is the third time in eight days when a club representative has been verbally assaulted, or talked down to in such a ridiculous manner as to make any reasonable person cringe.
To recap:
- We’ve been told off by one player for asking the player to report an accurate number of strokes after each basket. After two or three failed attempts, the player made a snarky comment that was overheard by a club rep. The club rep called out the player on the comment, but the player — with something less than complete honesty — said he was not reporting inaccurate scores on purpose.
- We’ve been cursed at, and physically intimidated (deliberate or not is unknown) by a player who left a competitive club round at about basket 11 (leaving his teammate to play solo) but was upset that he could not attempt a throw on the 18th and final basket, which was statistically the easiest hole on the course, for a shot at the club’s ace pot.
- We’ve been berated by another player for keeping accurate and/or verbalized said score as compared to established, published par standards on uDisc (which is, generally speaking, what most players seem to go by, at least on local courses). The club’s position is this: 2 + 2 still equals 4. We know it’s 2023, and over the past several years facts have been skewed in oh so many (too many) ways, but … par is par, the score is the score.
The club originally suspended public programming after league play on Nov. 5, but reconsidered and reinstated league play — with revised rules — only a few days later. Disc golf, though, is supposed to be fun — and after the third incident in eight days, it’s clear the Allegany County Disc Golf Club is doing something to foster an environment that is something other than fun, welcoming and encouraging.
So, it’s now someone else’s turn.
There will be no more public programming by the club in 2023 or beyond.
There also will be no end-of-year awards ceremony. No Player of the Year announcement, nor for Rookie of the Year. No Player of the Month for November or December. No Fisher Cup Player(s) of the Year.
The club will still conduct the fourth quarter Fisher Cup drawing in the near future. The winner will receive a $15 gift card to Sheetz.
Shania Farris played all 21 holes from the short tees, finishing six over par (70) on the par 64 layout.
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