After hundreds of thousands of miles traveled, countless range sessions, hundreds of tournaments and many state tournaments, Durango High School golf coach Kirk Rawles is retiring at the end of the girls golf season.
Rawles has been the head coach of the Demons boys and girls golf teams since 2009, retiring as one of the longest tenured coaches for Durango High School.
“That’s pretty rare air in Durango,” Durango School District Athletic and Activities Director Ryan Knorr said about Rawles. “That sort of commitment is greatly appreciated. Seeing the genuine relationships that he has with his golfers and how much he cares, that’ll be missed more than any of the time he gave and having a consistent coach in that role.”
Rawles began coaching the Durango golf teams in 2009 while he was coaching the freestyle ski program. His wife, Laurie, was a nurse and Rawles was a stay-at-home dad with some flexibility with his schedule. He saw an ad in the newspaper for the coaching position and thought it suited him since skiing and golf are the two biggest passions in his life.
Seventeen years later, Rawles has the chance to retire on a real high. The Demons have been represented at state in 14 of 17 years Rawles has been the head coach. The Durango girls program has finished second twice and sixth at state in the last three years, with a strong group looking to send Rawles into retirement on the right note in 2026.
“I kind of would threaten to step down every year, but it just felt right,” Rawles said. “It was good timing. Everything's healthy with the golf teams, and I have some good assistant coaches there and things like that. So, I'm just at that retirement age. My wife's retired, and this will be a good time to step down.”
Throughout the nearly two decades of coaching, Rawles said he’s improved his thought process and how he communicates with the athletes. He’s gotten a lot better at reading athletes, which is important when coaching golfers, with how psychological the sport is.
Rawles will miss the relationships with his athletes, the road trips in the Suburban. He enjoys having unique relationships with the athletes where he’s not the parent nor teacher. He can develop a good rapport and have in-depth conversations with the athletes.
“For me, it's more personal,” Rawles said. “I look at those results and a kid might come and doesn't know which end of the club to hold. By the time they leave, they can actually hit a golf ball, but you may have helped them choose which college to go to. There are lots of great things like that.”
Knorr is in the process of posting the job application online. He hopes to find a candidate who will coach the boys and the girls, like Rawles has done so well.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
