EL PASO, Texas — Danny Daniels’ life is in a great place.
The University of Texas-El Paso’s only senior golfer is playing well and his team is surging into Monday’s Conference USA championships in Texarkana.
Daniels, a native of Cheshunt, England (near London), is on the verge of becoming the first member of his family with a college degree (business management) and he serves on UTEP’s student-advisory council. He has a plan for the next chapter of his life, where he will work at Knickerbocker Country Club near New York City as he starts playing professionally.
This is a life coming together, in large part because Daniels has learned how to deal with bad times.
In 2012, when Daniels was 13 and starting to take up golf, his father took his own life. That drove home to Daniels the need to take care of mental health and spreading that message has become central to what drives him.
“It’s one of those topics that’s unseen, it’s a difficult topic to talk about, especially for men, but women also,” Daniels said. “It’s a topic I was struggling to talk about three or four years ago, but as time’s gone on, I’ve noticed how important it is to talk. If one person who can relate to your message hears your message, that’s all it takes to help.
“People do commit suicide, they do self-harm and it’s difficult to talk about. Until people start feeling (mental health is) an open topic and they can come to teammates, come to coaches, come to staff, that’s only when really you can start to see a change.
“That’s why I care about the subject. If I can share my story and someone listens to it, it’s time well spent.”
His advice is to open up.
“The major message is, let time heal,” he said. “You have to accept the reality of your situation. ‘Accepting’ is a keyword I’ve ingrained in my head since I was 13. Before you move on from a situation, you have to accept it’s reality.
“A lot of people try to block out their issues, put them to one side. Time builds up and you’ve got this mountain of issues you’ve neglected. By then it can be so overwhelming that people do take their lives. You have to deal with your issues face-on, and that means accepting them. Time will heal. Then expressing those messages with people you trust and love. There are people who want to help.”
Daniels put those lessons to the test again before he transferred to UTEP from Iowa State three years ago. That decision came after his good friend and Iowa State women’s golfer Celia Barquín Arozamena’s was murdered on an Ames golf course by a homeless man. Daniels had worked out with her earlier that day.
“That affected me mentally, it affected my golf game, golf didn’t seem as important,” Daniels said. “It took me some time to get over that. I now play the game of golf for her, she’s a big part of why I’m here playing.
“Being in that environment, where I had lost a really good friend, I wanted a change — a change of scenery, a change of friends. That’s why I made that leap to come down here to El Paso. It gave me a fresh start.”
That fresh start turned out to be a kickstart for him and has paid dividends for UTEP as well.
Daniels knew he would end up in the United States for college when he was 16 in the middle of a standout amateur junior career, and two years later picked Iowa State out of 19 offers.
UTEP senior Danny Daniels. (Photo courtesy UTEP athletics)
“It’s a scary decision to make, but I thought, ‘There’s a bigger world than London, let’s go see it,’” he said.
“My freshman year I practically played every single tournament,” Daniels said. “My sophomore year I played two. At that time of my life I was thinking about quitting golf, going back to London, getting a job. I was struggling with my game, struggling a lot mentally at the university I was at.”
Instead, then-Iowa State assistant Chad Keohane, a UTEP alum, hooked up Daniels with then-UTEP coach Scott Lieberwirth.
“I needed a change,” Daniels said. “El Paso is certainly a big change. But coach (Lieberwirth) saw something in me, he wanted to give me a chance and I was grateful. I’ve never looked back. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made, my golf has gone up tremendously.
“I’m turning pro next month, moving to New York City, and I wouldn’t be where I am now with my golf game if I hadn’t made that first step to move to UTEP.”
His run at UTEP has been interesting. Current coach Aaron Puetz is his third head coach in three years at UTEP, Daniels’ fourth at college.
“It’s definitely been difficult,” said Daniels, who is excited to be working with Puetz now. “I think it would be easier if you had one coach, one coach you get to learn about as a friend, learn about as a player, learn about as a coach, then build their philosophy out and see what they’re about.
“Going from one person to the next, you have to change your routines, change how you practice. But at the end of the day golf is on you, it’s a one-man sport, so at the end of the day, you focus on yourself and what you do best and you’ll be fine.”
That’s become true for UTEP, which is coming off its best tournament at the Bayou Classic in Conroe. Sitting in 10th out of 16 teams after one round, the Miners rallied to third. Daniels was a microcosm of that, opening with a first-round 79, improving to 74 in the second round and shooting 71 in the third.
“Coach Puetz has done really well with us to help get us on the right path,” Daniels said. “We all get on really well, we’re all on the same page, we have the same goals, we all want to play professional golf after we graduate and I feel like that pushes us even more.
“This isn’t just a hobby at the end of the day, a lot of the lads here want to play golf for their career. We’re motivating each other, competing with each other and trying to get the best out of each other is essentially why I think we have a good chance next week at conference.”
Puetz said he thinks one reason UTEP has a good chance at conference is because of Daniels and what he means for the team. That goes well beyond match day at the golf course.
“Danny has been the guy who has really held the culture together, the glue together for us,” Puetz said. “He’s helped me with official visits, he’s helped me prepare for tournaments, travel. He’s embraced a leadership role.
“He’s by far been one of the guys who has been able to take younger guys under his wings and show them the ropes. His maturity will be greatly missed in coming years.”
Daniels’ confidence in the future goes well beyond that and he credits UTEP for giving him a push along his journey.
“UTEP has opened doors for me,” he said. “It’s allowed me to get this job in New York City, it’s given me belief in my golf game, it’s helped me want to turn professional. I owe UTEP a lot, the education is great.
“I’m the first person with my last name to be able to say I have a degree. No one from my family has ever gone to a university. That’s a cool thing to say. I’m very grateful.”
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
C-USA Men’s Golf Championships
When, where: Monday, April 25-Thursday, April 28, Texarkana (Tx.) County Club
Format: Three rounds of stroke play trim the field to four; Thursday semifinals and finals are match play