Ten years after his competitive golf career ended, Kyle Dunfee has his first varsity head coaching job, and he even need to leave town to get it.

Dunfee, a former Braves golfer and 2006 Flathead grad, was named the new boys and girls golf coach at his alma mater on Tuesday morning. The hiring is subject to the approval of the school board.

Dunfee inherits a pair of programs with room to improve. The Braves finished sixth in the state last season but graduate their top two golfers, including all-state standout Ryan Keenan. The Flathead girls finished 10th in the state last fall.

Neither Flathead team has won a state tournament in the last 25 years, with the Bravettes claiming the Class AA championship in 1991. The Flathead boys last won a state title in 1983.

“If I can continually see my kids progressing and growing and playing the game, I’m happy,” Dunfee said. “I just want to see the kids enjoy it and continue to compete. That’s ultimately what it’s going to come down to.”

Looking at building both programs over the long-term, Dunfee stressed on Tuesday the importance of working tandem with local junior programs. He said he hoped to have young golfers “idolizing” players at the high school level and acknowledged that creating a program that can realistically compete for state championships could take several years.

In a statement released by the school, Activities Director Bryce Wilson had a similar long-range outlook.

“(Dunfee) outlined his vision during the interview and provided a comprehensive plan on how he would like to bring the program to consistently compete in the top five (in Class AA),” Wilson wrote. “He has seen the effects of positive culture and climate in a sports program and is excited to bring this synergy to the golf program.”

Dunfee is a physical education teacher at Peterson Elementary School and has coached girls basketball in Kalispell for the last two years, first as an assistant at Glacier and then as the junior varsity coach at Flathead last season.

“Flathead’s always where I wanted to be,” Dunfee said. “It’s my home school so when the JV job opened I jumped from Glacier to Flathead.”

Dunfee said it is unlikely he will return to the basketball coaching staff at Flathead this season now that he’s landed the head golf job, his first coaching the sport. Despite being away from the sport competitively for the last decade, Dunfee is confident his experience as a prep golfer has prepared him for this job.

“Playing the game and watching it evolve over the years, I don’t see a whole lot of difference in the ways a golf practice or a competition is run,” he said. “When they do come to practice we’re going to play a lot because ultimately we’re going to get better (by being) on the course.”

Dunfee was a three-year letter winner for the Braves, golfing at the state tournament in both his junior and senior seasons.

He replaces Jess Roper, who resigned earlier this spring after four years as the head coach of both programs.