Coach John Forton is starting his 10th year as Men’s Golf Coach at Grand Rapids Community College. He has an extensive background in the game of golf with over 60 years of playing golf and 40 years of teaching. His coaching experience of 22 years includes his time at Grand Rapids Community College and at Greenville High School in Greenville, Michigan.
He had an outstanding high school career at Greenville High School excelling in four sports, golf, basketball, tennis and track and field. He recently was elected to the Greenville High School Athletic Hall of Fame and will officially be inducted into the class of 2023 in September.
He was a four-year Tri-River Conference selection in golf and was the MHSAA Class B Regional Champion in 1977. He was named to the MHSAA All State Team that same year. Forton was also one of four juniors in the State of Michigan that qualified for the United States Junior Amateur Championship at the Scarlet Course on the Campus of Ohio State University in 1976. He still holds several Greenville High School golf records. After high school he enlisted the United States Air Force and competed in the All-Service National Golf Championship finishing a respectable 10th in the country.
In basketball, Forton was the Tri-River Conference leading scorer, unanimous Tri-River All Conference selection and was named to the MHSAA Class B Honorable Mention All-State Team in 1978. He was also selected to the Tri-River All Conference Tennis Team that same year compiling a 12-1 record and finishing second in the MHSAA Class B Regional. He was awarded nine varsity letters in four years at Greenville High School.
He attended Aquinas College after graduation and competed on the varsity teams for both golf and basketball for one year and played basketball at Montcalm Community College in Stanton, Michigan that following year.
He enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1981 and attended Park University during his four-year tenure serving his country. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management and Human Resources in 1985 and received the United States Air Force Distinguished Education Award. This award is given to individuals that have obtained the highest standard of academic achievement throughout their four-year career.
Presently, Forton is in his 10th year as the PGA Lead Instructor at Egypt Valley Country Club in Ada, Michigan. He has positively impacted thousands of individuals through his teaching at Egypt Valley Country Club and his coaching at Grand Rapids Community College.
He resides in Greenville, Michigan where he continues to support Greenville High School Athletics. He has been an MHSAA Basketball Official for 28 years and has officiated over 2500 middle and high school games throughout Western Michigan. When not involved with golf, Forton likes to travel and attend college basketball and football games.
Grand Rapids Community College Coaching Accomplishments:
*MCCAA Western Conference Coach of the Year in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
*His teams have won over 60 MCCAA Conference and state invitationals.
*MCCAA Coach of the Year in 2017, 2019 and 2021.
*Region XII NJCAA Coach of the Year in 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024.
*His teams have competed in 10 consecutive NJCAA Division II National Golf Championships.
*His team’s highest finish was in 2021 with an 11th place finish in the country.
*Coached MCCAA Medalist Josh Stephan in 2017 and 2018.
*Coached Regional Medalist and Ping All-Region Selection, Cooper Bell in 2017 and 2018.
*Coached two-time Ping All-Region Selection Tyler Hausserman in 2019 and 2021.
*Coached MCCAA Medalist Arie Jackman in 2022.
*Coached MCCAA Western Conference Medalist Drew Harrington in 2023 and 2024.
