Joe Scheks has had athletic achievements before.

He was a star in track and field at Saucon Valley High School and Kutztown University in the early 1960s, and then began the track and wrestling programs while a teacher at Pleasant Valley.

Scheks is long retired as a teacher and coach, but the Moore Township resident isn’t quite done with his athletic exploits.

He considers himself a casual golfer, usually playing with his good friend Kenny Santoro from Reeders, and occasionally with a few others.

But in July, he was able to do something very few have ever done in golf.

While playing the par-5, 13th hole at Sawmill Golf Course in Stockertown, Scheks achieved a double-eagle, otherwise called an albatross.

However, there was a delayed reaction because Scheks didn’t see the ball go in the hole and was stunned when he found it there.

“It was from the white tee, which is important,” Scheks said. “I used a driver and a 5-iron. After my tee shot, I was about 50 yards from the green. Normally, I use an 8-iron from about 150 yards, but since this was a little longer and since there’s a ditch, actually, there are four of them that cross before you get to the green. And then there’s a big powerline tower that looks like the Eiffel Tower that’s there as well. This hole is full of hazards. There’s a ditch with running water right in front of the green, so I choked up on a 5-iron … I rarely use any other irons but the five and eight and my wedges.”

The 83-year-old Scheks admits he can’t see the ball fly past 100 yards anymore.

“But when I hit the 5-iron for my second shot, I thought it had a good trajectory and my friend said he saw it bounce once as it approached the green,” Scheks said. “We walked toward the green, and we immediately found Ken’s ball in the ditch. Then we walked around both sides of the green trying to find my ball, and we couldn’t find it. So we both had to drop a ball and take our penalties. We both chipped on, and Ken’s was a little closer, and he likes to keep the flag in the hole. So he finished up and when he went to the hole to pick up his ball, wouldn’t you know it, there was my original ball.”

Scheks was stunned.

“I thought it was in the ditch,” he said. “But I couldn’t find it. It was pretty open there, and the rough wasn’t that bad. We walked all the way around it on both sides of the ditch, and usually that’s where the ball goes in the ditch, even with a good shot. It crosses right before the green. It was just amazing he found my ball in the freakin’ hole.”

Scheks said he initially shouted to Santoro that he had an eagle.

Santoro corrected him, saying, “No, you didn’t. You got a double eagle.”

The plaque presented to 83-year-old Moore Township resident Joe Scheks after he recorded an albatross at Sawmill Golf Course in Stockertown. (Ken Santoro/contributed photo)

Scheks said: “I shouted to Kenny, ‘What the heck is a double eagle?’ and being a wiseguy, Kenny said ‘What you got.’ We left not knowing what it was called, but both my brother-in-law and a cousin of mine knew it was called an albatross. There is something else called a condor, which is a hole-in-one on a par-5, but no one ever got that.”

Once the euphoria of the moment had subsided, Scheks did some research and he might have set a record.

“I went online and looked up some history,” Scheks said. “I found out there was a double eagle by a guy named Charlie Jaap, age 91, and he had a hole-in-one on a par-4. That’s an albatross, too, but he got his from the ladies’ tee, the red tee. His hole was 210 yards.

“For me, even at my age, that’s actually like a par-3. And then there was a Bill ‘Speedy’ Erfurth, age 82, who had a two on a par-5 like I did, but his was from the gold tee, the senior tee. So mine was a two on a par-5 from the white tee at age 83. So, I am the oldest one to ever do it from the white tee. I didn’t know how rare this was until I looked it up and the internet said you have a one in 6 million chance of doing this.”

Scheks said he and Santoro try to get out once a week.

“We’re fair-weather golfers,” Scheks said. “We don’t play when it’s too humid.”

Scheks said he had two previous hole-in-ones. One came at Southmoore and the other at Whitetail.

“They’re very exciting, too, but this was just crazy,” he said. “I had never even heard of a double eagle before. Most people have never heard of an albatross. I just thought this was so rare that it should be documented.”

Scheks played he same hole since the albatross and got a par.

“I consider myself a casual golfer,” he said. “I don’t consider myself a good golfer. I play my age. In fact, the day of the albatross I played my age because I didn’t have a good start on the front nine, but that albatross helped. If I could putt, I’d be in the 70s a lot.”

His moments on the golf course have come after a record-breaking track and field career landed him in the Kutztown University Hall of Fame.

Scheks said he set the long jump record still in existence at Saucon Valley, and then during his junior year at Kutztown, he entered himself in 12 events and recorded 42.5 points by himself.

“We won two different relays and the 10 individual events I was in,” he said. “I entered myself in 12 events because they didn’t have the decathlon back then with the state universities. I am trying to get that verified, but unfortunately, my coach at Kutztown was fired, and for retribution, he got rid of all the records with him. I don’t think anyone ever scored 42 points individually in a track meet. At the Olympics, they do the 10 events over three days. I did 12 in one afternoon. In retrospect, I really believe that was a bigger accomplishment than this albatross thing.”

 

https://www.mcall.com/2025/09/03/longtime-area-coach-made-golf-history-by-getting-an-albatross/