In his seven seasons at the helm of Henderson State golf, Forrest Schultz has built the Reddies into a premier program in the Great American Conference and a player on the national stage.
Since joining the program as the Director of Golf in 2013, Schultz has led the Reddie men’s golf team to five-consecutive GAC titles, while leading the women to the 2014 GAC crown, three runners-up finishes from 2015-2017, and the program’s first-ever appearance at the NCAA National Championships in 2017.
Schultz's 2019 men's team spent the majority of the season ranked inside the GolfStat.com Top-25 poll and reached a program-high ranking of No. 8 in the nation entering the spring. The Reddies won three events, finished second at the GAC Championships and were the No. 1 seed in the Central Region in the NCAA Central/Midwest regional, which Henderson hosted at Hot Springs Country Club. It was the seventh-consecutive NCAA Regional the men's team has competed in.
The Reddie women also had a strong 2019 campaign which saw them win the HSU Spring Invite at Mountain Home with back-to-back school record team rounds of 297 to take first at the 12-team event. Henderson took third place at the GAC Championships and finished seventh at the NCAA Central Regional, which was the seventh-straight NCAA postseason appearance for the program. Senior Luisa Gartmann advanced to the NCAA National Championships as an individual, where she tied for 36th in a field of 95 players.
In 2018, despite not being favored entering the GAC Tournament in Hot Springs, Schultz's Reddies rose to defend their title once again, as they got a Top-5 finish from true freshman Trey DePriest and shot 863 as a team, to win their fifth-consecutive GAC crown by 12 strokes over favorite Arkansas Tech. Henderson's five-straight titles was a record for any school, in any sport, in GAC history. After winning the GAC Tournament once again, Henderson competed in its seventh-straight NCAA Midwest/Central Regional, where they placed eighth out of 20 teams.
The women's team began 2018 out to return to the NCAA National Championships for the second-straight season. The Reddies finished third at the 2018 GAC Championships before shooting their best three-rounds of the season at the NCAA Central Regional. Henderson's score of 904 was good for fourth place in the 12 team field and left the Reddies just two strokes back of qualifying for the NCAA Nationals once again.
The 2017 Reddies men’s golf team began the season with a goal of defending their GAC three-peat, and defend it they did, holding off a late rally from Arkansas Tech on the final day at the Hot Springs Country Club in Hot Springs, Arkansas, to post a final score of 6-under-par 858 to beat the Wonderboys by four strokes and claim their fourth-straight conference title.
True freshman Nick Shapiro led the way for Henderson, carding a 7-under-par 209 to become the fourth Reddie in five seasons to claim individual medalist honors at the conference championships. Following the GAC Tournament, Henderson received a bid to the NCAA Central Region Championships in Axtell, Nebraska, where they finished 12th out of 20 teams.
The Reddies women had a big 2017 season as well, finishing as runners-up by just four strokes to Arkansas Tech in the GAC Championships to help secure a bid to the Central Regional in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In Sioux Falls, the Reddies used a huge final round, which saw them erase a once-nine shot lead, to surge into third place out 12 teams and punch their ticket to the NCAA National Championships for the first time in program history, men’s or women’s.
In Findlay, Ohio at the NCAA Nationals, Henderson competed with some of the best teams in the country over the course of four days, eventually finishing ninth out of 12 teams to end their 2017 campaign. The Reddies’ ninth-place score was tied for the best finish for a team from the Central Region at the event.
The 2016 Reddie Men’s Golf Team set the GAC record with three-round total of 849 at the GAC Championship.
Henderson also claimed tournament titles at the Natural State Classic and the HSU Southern Bancorp Invitational.
Brice Howard would earn individual medalist honors of the GAC Championships with a 54-hole score of 204, 12 under par.
Mauricio Lira, Drew Greenwood and Price Murphree earned All-GAC honors, with Murphree also be names to the Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar Team.
The women’s team placed second at the GAC Championships with three freshmen in the line-up including Luisa Gartmann who earned first-team All-GAC honors.
The previous year, the Reddie men capped off the regular-season with back-to-back tournament titles and proceeded to win their second GAC Championship with a team score of 866. Drew Greenwood earned individual medalist honors with a score 1-under par 215 to lead Henderson. The Reddie women finished as GAC Runners-up with three players finishing in the top 15.
In 2014 the men’s team claimed their first conference title since becoming a NCAA Division II institution and the first conference championship since 1992, while the women won their first conference title in school history. Henderson State began the program in 2006.
Both teams the men’s and women’s have advanced to the NCAA Regionals five straight years and 21 players earned all-conference honors while six earned All-Central Region honors. Schultz has been named GAC coach of the year twice, in 2014 and 2015.
Schultz came to Henderson after spending three years as an assistant golf professional at Hot Springs Country Club.
While working at the Hot Springs Country Club, Schultz was responsible for daily golf instruction, organizing and assisting with golf tournaments, developing and leading junior clinics, marketing and selling of merchandise, as well as day-to-day operations of the pro shop.
“I am extremely passionate about the game of golf, and I have a true love for helping people reach their full potential in the sport,” said Schultz. “I am a firm believer that hard work and perseverance produce excellence.”
Schultz earned his bachelor’s of science degree in recreation with a minor in business administration from Henderson in 2010. He continued his education at Henderson earning a master’s in sports administration in 2012.
A three-year letterman at Henderson, Schultz was a three-time Academic All-Gulf South Conference honor roll selection.
In 2012, Schultz won the Arkansas PGA Assistants Championship and was runner-up at the Arkansas PGA Chapter Championship.
A PGA Apprentice, Schultz is working towards Class “A” PGA status. He has served as vice president of the Arkansas Chapter PGA Assistants Association for the past two years.
“Henderson State has had great success the past few years on the golf course and I want to continue to build on that success,” said Schultz. “I want to raise the bar of excellence. There is no doubt that we can win conference championships and excel on the national level. A great foundation has been laid, now we have to continue to build upon that foundation.”
Schultz is married to the former Holly Loftin who earned a bachelor’s of science degree in early childhood education from Henderson State in 2011. The two have two children, Ryder and Caroline.
COACHING RECORD
WOMEN
| Years |
Wins |
Losses |
Ties |
Titles |
| 2013-14 |
71 |
23 |
0 |
3 |
| 2014-15 |
75 |
48 |
0 |
0 |
| 2015-16 |
100 |
51 |
0 |
0 |
| 2016-17 |
116 |
46 |
1 |
2 |
| 2017-18 |
123 |
30 |
3 |
3 |
| 2018-19 |
107 |
53 |
1 |
1 |
| 2019-20 |
83 |
22 |
0 |
1 |
| TOTALS |
675 |
273 |
5 |
10 |
MEN
| Years |
Wins |
Losses |
Ties |
Titles |
| 2013-14 |
99 |
25 |
1 |
3 |
| 2014-15 |
94 |
49 |
2 |
3 |
| 2015-16 |
117 |
44 |
1 |
4 |
| 2016-17 |
128 |
41 |
0 |
3 |
| 2017-18 |
87 |
42 |
0 |
3 |
| 2018-19 |
130 |
38 |
2 |
3 |
| 2019-20 |
61 |
36 |
0 |
1 |
| TOTALS |
716 |
275 |
6 |
20 |
HONORS
2014 GAC Coach of the Year
2015 GAC Coach of the Year
NCAA APPEARANCES
2014 Central Regional (Men and Women)
2015 Central Regional (Men and Women)
2016 Central Regional (Men and Women)
2017 Central Regional (Men and Women)
2017 National Championships (Women)
2018 Central Regional (Men and Women)
2019 Central Regional (Men and Women)
MEN’S TEAM TITLES
2013-14: Mulerider Classic, Dave Falconer Invitational, GAC Championship
2014-15: Bear State Bank Invitational, Red Apple Inn Invitational, GAC Championship
2015-16: Northeastern State Classic, Henderson State Invitational, Red Apple Inn Invitational, GAC Championship
2016-17: The Rattler Invitational, Southern Bancorp Invitational, GAC Championship
2017-18: The Rattler Invitational, HSU Spring Invitational, GAC Championship
2018-19: The Battle for the Belt, Blue Tiger Invitational, Natural State Classic
2019-20: The Battle for the Belt
WOMEN’S TEAM TITLES
2013-14: Lady Reddie Classic, Natural State Classic, GAC Championship
2016-17: Southern Bancorp Invitational, Missouri Western State Invitational
2017-18: Northeastern State Classic, GAC Fall Preview, Diffie Ford Invitational
2018-19: HSU Spring Invite
2019-20: Spring Hill Badger Invitational
