November 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\nHeppler said that the physical toll of coaching and recruiting had led him to begin thinking about calling it a career in recent years. He also acknowledged the changing landscape of college athletics played a role in his decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess as this has become a little more about where is my money and where is my deal \u2026 the thing is slowly moving away from the reasons why I\u2019ve gotten up to go to work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Heppler was just the fourth golf coach at Georgia Tech since 1931-32, starting in 1995-96 season after working as an assistant under legendary coach Mike Holder at Oklahoma State (where they won the title in 1995). Quickly during his tenure, Heppler proved himself up to the challenge of recruiting the best golfers from around the country. His early rosters included Matt Kuchar (a U.S. Amateur champion), Bryce Molder (four-time first-team All-American), Troy Matteson (NCAA individual champion).<\/p>\n
Those early teams nearly claimed that elusive national championship quickly, the Yellow Jackets finishing second to UNLV in 1998, losing in a playoff to Oklahoma State in 2000, then finishing second to Minnesota, a program that was being cut only to rally to win in 2002 and runner-up again in 2005 to Georgia. His team also lost in the final match of the 2023 NCAA Championship to Florida.<\/p>\n
Besides recruiting top juniors, Heppler helped change the way golf programs fundraised, establishing a donor network and creating an endowment program that funds all of his team\u2019s scholarships. His efforts also allowed him to build the Noonan Golf Facility, a 15-acre complex on the school\u2019s midtown Atlanta campus that opened in 2017.<\/p>\n
Not only were Heppler\u2019s players successful on the course\u2014he\u2019s the only coach to have three players win the U.S. Amateur title, six players competing in the Walker Cup\u2014they also stood out in the classroom. His teams have had a NCAA Academic Progress Rate score every season since the stat was introduced in 2023 and every senior who has been on his roster has graduated. All told, 28 players have been named All-America scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America a total of 53 times and five\u2014Matteson (2003), Roberto Castro (2007), James White (2012), Anders Albertson (2015) and Christo Lamprecht (2024)\u2014won the Byron Nelson Award, which is given annually to college golf\u2019s top senior scholar-athlete.<\/p>\n
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Heppler helped raise the funds to build the Noonan Golf Facility, a 15-acre complex on the school\u2019s midtown Atlanta campus that opened in 2017. (Photo courtesy of Georgia Tech)<\/p>\n
In a statement from the school, Heppler spoke about dedication of his players to more than just golf. \u201cTo the men that have come through our program: I\u2019ve had the privilege of having a front-row seat to when many of your dreams came true, and to see the growth in each one of you. I hope that maybe we\u2019ve altered your course in some small way\u2014not just as golfers, but as people, husbands and fathers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in 2022, Heppler has left a mark on college golf overall. He frequently was an outspoken advocate for the sport as the national championship transition into a match-play affair and gained more coverage on television.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s impossible to put into words everything that Coach Heppler has meant to Georgia Tech and college golf,\u201d Georgia Tech athletic director Ryan Alpert said in a release. \u201cHe\u2019s built Georgia Tech golf into one of the nation\u2019s premier programs, while developing some of golf\u2019s premier players but, more importantly, developing men that have gone on to be successful in all walks of life. We couldn\u2019t be more grateful for coach Heppler\u2019s contributions to Georgia Tech and are excited to celebrate him through his final season on The Flats.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked what he was most proud of accomplishing during his career, Heppler was a bit philosophical.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we fulfilled the purpose of college athletics as well as we possible could,\u201d he said. \u201cWe did it the way it was intended, and we followed the purpose of college sports. We tested them academically and athletically. To win a national championship, there is some fate there, some good fortune. But those other things, their grades, the academic All-Americans, those are all their choices. And they should be proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heppler certainly is.<\/p>\n
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com<\/p>\n