2016 Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame
JEFF HEDDEN
Inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame for Distinguished Golf Achievement
T
he Heddens of New London
Country Club were a talented
lot, and winning the CSGA’s
Father-Son
Championship
had become a family tradition. Jeff Hedden’s
father Richard won it with Jeff ’s grandfather,
Graham before Richard won it on separate
occasions with both Jeff and Jeff ’s brother,
Chris. On his own, Jeff displayed an early
aptitude for state-wide competitive golf in
winning Connecticut Junior Amateur titles
in 1980 and 1981.
But after a long hiatus from both
championship golf and the winner’s circle,
Jeff began competing again at the urging of
his wife, Nicole. It was the year 2000, and
Nicole, a past Connecticut Women’s Golf
Association champion recognized Jeff ’s
natural talent and told him, “You know,
you’re really good. You should try the CSGA
stuff again.”
Two years later Jeff won the
Connecticut Amateur championship at the
Country Club of Farmington, with Nicole as
his caddie.
“That was like an out-of-body
experience,” Jeff said. “I still didn’t have the
maturity or experience.” Later in 2002, he
won his second CSGA major, the MidAmateur championship at Wee Burn
Country Club. He also reached the national
stage, qualifying for both the U.S. Amateur
and the U.S. Mid-Amateur.
The 2002 Connecticut MidAmateur would be the first of four Mid-Am
titles as Jeff went on to win in 2005, 2006
and 2009. When he wasn’t winning he was
always in the hunt, finishing as runner up in
2010, and in third place in 2007 and 2008.
Jeff ’s game and expanding list of
accomplishments grew more impressive with
each passing year throughout the 2000s. He
qualified again for both the U.S. Amateur
and U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2003, as he was
steadily establishing himself as a fixture at
national championships. From 2002 through
2009 he qualified for the US Mid-Am seven
times, and reached match play on three of
those occasions. He finished second in the
Connecticut Player of the Year standings
in 2006 and 2007 before earning the title
outright in 2008 and 2009.
His biggest victory was the 2008
Connecticut Open at Round Hill Club.
With wife Nicole caddying throughout the
Championship, Jeff forced a playoff with
three-time past champion Kyle Gallo after
a spectacular up and down on the final hole,
then claimed the title with a birdie on the
first extra hole. He remains the only amateur
to have won the Open in the 21st century,
the last to do so since Jay Rice of Wee Burn
in 1999.
Rick Odermatt, longtime writer
and producer of The Connecticut Golfer
declared Jeff the “Player of the Decade” after
the 2009 season for his extraordinary tenyear record.
“It was an unofficial accolade,”
recalls Odermatt, “but it did seem to put in
perspective how Jeff really dominated the
decade. A compilation of Player of the Year
points showed that Jeff amassed 4,100 points
to runner up Mark Farrell’s 2,916 from 20002009.”
Odermatt wrote at the time, “Add
to that an arthritic shoulder, a sometimes
painful foot condition and the natural aging
process, and it’s surprising that Hedden’s
game improved through the 2000s with the
speed of a youngster. He has gotten a little
gray at the temples over the decade, but the
biggest change is what goes on now between
them.”
Reflecting on the decade, Jeff
acknowledged his growth in the mental
game, “In the first three years, I’d have a
great round, then mentally break down,” he
said. “O