11th Super-Senior Coal Scuttle

Elkview reclaims Super-Senior Coal Scuttle Championship

TUNKHANNOCK, Pa. — The disappointment lingered for Mike Heck.

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One year he earns individual medalist honors and leads Elkview Country Club the Super-Senior Scuttle Coal Championship. The next he shoots 82 on his home course and watches StoneHedge Golf Course walk away victorious.

Heck needed Super-Senior Coal Scuttle rebalance. Elkview’s team captain found it Wednesday in the event’s 11^th edition at a splendid StoneHedge (par 71, 5,651 yards). Heck (76), Edward Cimoch (75), John Tolerico (78) and Matt Froncek (85) marched Elkview to the winner’s circle. Elkview filed a 16-over-par 229 to defeat StoneHedge and Berwick Golf Club by three strokes.

The low three of four scores count toward the team total.

“I let us down last year. I couldn’t make a one-foot putt,” Heck, 69, of Jermyn, Pa., said. “To come to StoneHedge and beat StoneHedge, I’ll tell you what, that’s really impressive. These greens were a little bit slower than ours, and I think it affected us a little bit more. Our greens are super fast. For some reason, the ball rolls out a little bit more at our place. Here it didn’t happen. I feel like we putted the best and played well enough to win. That’s all that matters.”

Mental fortitude mattered for Elkview Wednesday. Heck started 3 over through five holes. He played the next 13 in 2 over. Birdie chances aplenty. Heck left a handful of putts in the heart. That’s pretty good for a guy putting with one eye.

“I have an infection [in my right eye]. I wear contacts, and something happened, and I can’t get it. I tried to put a contact in before we got here today, and it wouldn’t work,” Heck said.

Sight issues notwithstanding, it is easy to see why the Elkview team gels. Each member preaches mental fortitude.

Take Cimoch, in his fifth year as an Elkview member, for example. He mingled atop the leaderboard early by inking 36 (even) on his outward tour. His lone bogey occurred on No. 8 (par 4, 298 yards), where a loose 4-hybrid left Cimoch in an unforgiving lie in a bed of straw. Cimoch birdied No. 3 (par 5, 529 yards) after lifting a 60-degree wedge 67 yards to six feet.

Four consecutive bogeys, however, threatened to derail Elkview’s chances altogether. Cimoch found himself out of position on Nos. 11 (par 4, 372 yards), 12 (par 5, 507 yards) and 13 (par 4, 335 yards). He missed a three-footer for par on No. 14 (par 3, 101 yards).

“We all have mental fortitude,” Cimoch, 67, of Vandling, Pa., said. “Every golfer goes through something like that. You just have to recover. Some recover better than others.”

Cimoch recovered alright. On No. 15 (par 4, 350 yards), he hit a 9-iron 120 yards to six feet for birdie.

A relentless spirit is also responsible for Tolerico becoming a part of the Elkview contingent.  

“He doesn’t quit. He keeps right on going,” Heck said.

“Mike pushed for me to get on the team because I had been playing decent golf. I’ve been shooting in the mid to low 70s all year,” Tolerico, 66, of Carbondale, Pa., said. “I’m thrilled to be representing Elkview. I was pumped to get the call.”

Once its Super-Senior Coal Scuttle fate became official, hugs and handshakes filled the back patio at StoneHedge. Heck orchestrated a team photo immediately. He wanted to share the news with Elkview and the community therein.

“We broke Fox Hill’s winning streak [in 2023]. Last year we didn’t play well at home. But next year, we’re going to be ready,” Heck said. “We’re just so happy we won.”

“A win is a win is a win,” Froncek, 69, of Greenfield Township, Pa., added. “We’re a close-knit group. We play a lot together. It’s such a nice atmosphere at Elkview. All of the seniors get along really well. It feels great to bring the Super-Senior Coal Scuttle back to Elkview.”

By virtue of its victory, Elkview will host the Super-Senior Coal Scuttle Championship in 2026.

Berwick’s Carl Stackhouse carded an even-par 71 to earn individual medalist honors Wednesday. StoneHedge is a familiar course for Stackhouse, who was once a member 12 years ago.

“The course is in great shape. They’ve done a lot of improvements since I was a member here,” Stackhouse, 69, of Benton, Pa., said. “I always enjoy playing here. I putted well. Didn’t make many birdies, but I was very consistent with my putting. There were a lot of good players in this, and I know a lot of them. It just worked out.”

NOTES
Huntsville Golf Club’s Scott Carney aced the par 3, 101-yard 14th hole with a gap wedge. It marked the seventh hole-in-one of his career. Carney, 69, of Kingston, Pa., won the Super-Senior title in the Frank H. Chapman Memorial Cup in 2021.

GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The organization’s 345 Member Clubs and 130,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.