Piedmont College Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Jim Peeples has announced the hiring of John Paul (JP) Kircher as the school’s new Director of Golf and Head Men’s Golf Coach.
Kircher carries NCAA Tournament experience with him to Demorest following a four-year playing career at Division III member Huntingdon College in Alabama.
“JP Kircher is a wonderful addition to our golf program as the new Director of Golf and Head Men’s Golf Coach,” said Peeples of the new leader on the links. “JP’s experience both as a Division III golfer and as an associate director of the one of the most well-known amateur tournaments in the country leaves me confident that he will lead our programs well and continue the improvement that our men’s golf program has shown in recent years.”
Kircher replaces Coach Michael McMunn who led Piedmont golf for the previous four seasons. The Lions return a bevy of young talent fresh off one of the best seasons in program history with the Lions finishing 36th in the latest GolfStat national rankings.
Rankings are nothing new to Kircher who spent each season he suited up for Huntingdon College on the links in the national spotlight with four straight top ten finishes in the NCAA Tournament.
“First off, I can’t begin to thank Dr. Mellichamp and Coach Peeples enough for the opportunity to join the Piedmont family,” said Kircher. “From our first conversations, they believed in me and gave me the confidence to know that we will have the proper support to succeed. Division III athletics has been something I was always passionate about, and to have an opportunity to join Piedmont is very special.”
Kircher continued, saying: “I look forward to competing with many of the familiar teams from my days as a college player. The Piedmont golf program is very unique, and there is no reason why we won’t compete with the best teams in the country. Go Lions!”
As a collegiate player for nationally-respected Huntingdon College, Kircher helped the Hawks to one of the storied program’s best finishes in the NCAA Division III National Championships with a 3rd place showing in 2010, a mark bested only by HC’s National Runner-Up finish this past season.
Kircher was a three-time All-South Region selection by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) for his play with the Hawks and would later go on to take All-American status in back-to-back seasons. Kircher’s 2009 and 2010 All-American seasons saw the Hawks benefit greatly with HC leading on the final day of the 2010 National Championship before finishing in 3rd.
During his collegiate career, Kircher helped the Hawks to national rankings in the GCAA National Poll on multiple occasions while Huntingdon was also ranked #1 on GolfStat at some point throughout the season as well in multiple campaigns that saw Kircher don the Scarlet and Gray.
The former Division III student-athlete should have no trouble navigating Piedmont through its current schedule as several of the tournaments on the typical lineup for PC were tournament victories for Kircher as a player. Kircher’s team won the Royal Lakes Invitational in his senior year, an event in which Piedmont has played each of the last eight seasons.
In four showings at the NCAA National Tournament during his collegiate career, Kircher three times finished in the top 32 individually including a career-best top 20 finish in 2010. Additionally, Kircher helped Huntingdon to a pair of 8th place finishes, a 6th place spot, and a 3rd place showing as a team in the NCAA’s as well.
Success on the course for Kircher is no surprise given that the New York native comes from a golf family as the new Piedmont coach’s father played Division I golf for Auburn University. Keeping it in the family, Kircher went on to join his father in the direction of the Monroe Invitational Championship, one of the most prestigious and oldest amateur tournaments in the country.
With the event dating back to 1937, the Monroe Invitational annually compiles a field of some of the best amateur players in the nation and, at times, from across the globe. Kircher was brought on as an Associate Director of the event following his graduation working with Tournament Director and his father, John Kircher.
While working with the Monroe, Kircher recruited some of the top talent around the U.S. to play in the event. The tournament routinely identifies some of the best players throughout the collegiate ranks as well as up-and-coming players with past champions including PGA mainstays like Dustin Johnson (2007, Coastal Carolina).
A 2011 graduate of Huntingdon College, Kircher earned his undergraduate degree in Communication Studies.
Relocating to the North Georgia area, Kircher will take over all aspects of the men’s golf program as well as tournament direction in his role as the Director of Golf.
