Daniels a valley native, avid outdoorsman
Utah Statesman: How and when did you start playing golf?
Devin Daniels: Geez. I got into golf when I was probably 3 years old. My dad has been the superintendent for Birch Creek Golf Course my entire life. I basically grew up playing golf with my dad. I’d go to work with him at 4 in the morning and rake bunkers. As soon as it was daylight, I’d be out playing golf.
US: How far can you hit a golf ball?
DD: With my driver I’m usually averaging 315 or 320 yards without wind. With wind I’ve hit one 400 yards before. That’s pretty good.
US: What is your opinion of miniature golf?
DD: I’ve gone a few times, yeah. But usually it’s a group date or something like that. It’s not something I regularly do.
US: Is miniature golf something good golfers look down upon?
DD: No, not really, but I don’t go practice it like Happy Gilmore. It’s not looked down upon, though.
US: Which is the nicest golf course you’ve ever played on?
DD: That’s a good question. It’s probably a private club I played on up in Montana called Head Water. I went up there with my dad and my boss at Birch Creek. There’s so many others.
US: Any particular reason why it’s the nicest?
DD: Mostly the design. Certain courses are designed for certain players. It’s a lot more challenging. It’s a lot longer. Just the way they have the course set up. Plus the conditions of the course, the way the greens are, the fairways, the atmosphere.
US: Which is the hardest course to play on?
DD: I can’t remember. Probably this one we are going to go play is the second hardest that we’ve played on. It’s Oak Valley in California. We’ve got that coming up this weekend.
US: Easiest?
DD: I’d better be careful what I say. Probably Ben Lomond down in Ogden.
US: Where do Logan’s courses rank?
DD: Birch Creek is probably my favorite since I grew up there. That is my favorite golf course here in the valley. But as they go, they’re all great golf courses.
US: Which is your preferred brand of golf equipment?
DD: It’s all preference. All my irons are Calloway, which I really like a lot. Golf balls, I’ve always played with Titleist. But as far as that goes, it’s basically preference. Nowadays the technology is so good in clubs, you just find one you like and go with it.
US: You are a business major. What do you want to do with your degree?
DD: That’s still kind of undetermined. I wouldn’t mind going as far as I can in golf. If that doesn’t work out, even starting my own golf business would be nice, or being a gold club rep.
US: How far into the future do you see yourself playing golf?
DD: I really would like to go professional, but that’s still a couple years down the road. It’s a lot of hard work, but that’s definitely what I’d want to do.
US: What kind of improvements right now would you have to make to get to the pro level?
DD: Just keep playing college golf. The biggest thing with that is working on your short game and getting used to tournament pressure. Playing in tournaments is a big difference than going out and playing casual golf. Utah State has a great program for golf. Just keep doing what I’m doing.
US: There is an episode of “Seinfeld” where Kramer hits a golf ball into the ocean and into the blow hole of a whale. Do you think you could do that?
DD: I’m a big fan of Seinfeld, but it’s probably not possible. No. It’d definitely be funny to see though. There are golf courses where you can hit the ball into a pond, but not into the ocean.
US: Are you into any other campus sports besides golf?
DD: I really enjoy basketball games during the winter. I’m at most of the basketball games.
US: What is your favorite thing to do other than golf?
DD: I’ve got a lot of hobbies. I’m really into outdoors. I like going hiking a lot, camping, basically anything outdoors. It’s a good escape.
-samuel.hislop@aggiemail.usu.edu