CARBONDALE, Pa. — Wyoming Valley Country Club is the golf home of Joseph Weiscarger, the top Super-Senior competitor in the Anthracite region. The two-time reigning Player of the Year is in the midst of yet another dominant campaign, well on his way to a third honor.
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Weiscarger’s individual success bred collective success Wednesday. Wyoming Valley filed a 7-over-par 223 to capture the 12th Super-Senior Coal Scuttle Championship at a pleasant Elkview Country Club (par 72, 5,515 yards).
Weiscarger carded a 4-under-par 68 to earn individual medalist honors. Richard Berry (77), John Leighton (78) and Ken Ralston (79) rounded out the Wyoming Valley team.
It is the club’s first Super-Senior Coal Scuttle title. Wyoming Valley placed sixth a year ago at StoneHedge. Elkview finished four shots back at 227.
The low three of four scores count toward the team total.
“I’m absolutely thrilled that we won as a team. That was my first objective,” Weiscarger, 68, of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., said. “I told all of the boys, ‘Team first. Try not to throw any shots away.’”
“We’re very fortunate at Wyoming Valley to have probably the top guy in Pennsylvania playing on our team,” Leighton, 70, of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., added. “There’s nobody who works harder at his game.”
Weiscarger is the second individual to earn medalist honors in each Scuttle championship (Men’s, Senior, Super-Senior). He is a three-time Men’s (1995, 1997-98) and two-time Senior (2016, 2024) medalist. Emanon Country Club’s Len Coleman completed the trifecta in 2019.
“I got the hat trick,” Weiscarger said. “I’m proud to be able to do it.”
Weiscarger is the gold standard at Wyoming Valley. He never stands on a pedestal shrouded in his successes. He instead shares detailed insights in the hopes of encouraging his teammates. Texts with round notes read more beneficial than braggadocios. Boring occasionally.
“Joe is always prepared. He makes us prepare also,” Ralston, 68, of Kingston, Pa., said. “We’re lucky to have him at our club. There’s no doubt about it. We’re very proud to have him there, too.”
“He helps you to focus,” Berry, 72, of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., added. “You want to play your best because when you’re playing with a guy of Joe’s caliber, it elevates your game.”
The Wyoming Valley contingent elevated alright.
“I was playing well. Obviously, I didn’t want to let the team down, so I just grinded everything I could out,” Ralston, who’s served as Wyoming Valley’s president for five years, said.
“When I turned to No. 10 and looked at the scoreboard, and [Leighton and Ralston] were at 2 over and I was at 3 over, I said, ‘I’ve got to put the hammer down,’” Berry added. “It was comforting for me, and I knew I could start going for birdies. We were in the hunt.”
With Weiscarger leading the battalion. He opened with a birdie on No. 1 (par 5, 445 yards) by hitting a 6-iron 174 yards to 10 feet and totaling two putts. Weiscarger added conversions on Nos. 6 (par 4, 326 yards) and 8 (par 5, 402 yards). With 117 yards to a middle-left hole location guarded by a bunker, Weiscarger lifted a pitching wedge to 12 feet above the flagstick. He two putted from 54 feet on No. 8 after reaching the front of the green with a 3-wood from 219 yards.
Weiscarger also etched three birdies on Elkview’s second nine: a knee-high 56-degree wedge 70 yards to 15 feet on No. 13 (par 4, 321 yards), a 56-degree wedge 100 yards to 15 feet on No. 15 (par 4, 346 yards) and a two-putt from 21 feet on No. 17 (par 5, 425 yards).
Weiscarger didn’t check the leaderboard until No. 18 (par 4, 330 yards). With his team four shots clear, he exhaled and executed a routine 4. Hoots from Berry, Leighton and Ralston as Weiscarger entered the scoring area, victory secured.
Wyoming Valley holds an impressive 16 Men’s Coal Scuttle Championship titles (1974, 1990-93, 1996-98, 2015-21, 2024). It captured the inaugural Senior Coal Scuttle Championship in 1983.
Add another bucket to the display.
“When we get home, we need the club to appreciate it, put it on display,” Weiscarger said.
“My brother used to be the mayor of Wilkes-Barre. If he was still the mayor, I would’ve had the fire trucks drive us down 309,” Leighton added.
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 140,000 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.
