Florida State University Athletics
Home Away From Home: Dan Bradbury’s Journey to Tallahassee
3/2/2022 2:37:36 PM | Men's Golf
Ending up at a Division I program was part of Dan Bradbury’s plan all along.
After spending four years at Lincoln Memorial University, he left the school that he helped build into a top-five program, to come play his last year at Florida State. The chance to compete at a Power 5 school was an opportunity that Bradbury could not pass up, although he would be leaving a town where he was known by all.
“All the athletes pretty much knew each other. That was very, very different to come in here and just be like a name on a sheet almost,” Bradbury said. “Especially because I did quite well. I was well known. So going from that to here, where nobody has a clue who I am…It was kind of nice, but it was a bit of a shock.”
“Did quite well” might be the biggest understatement of the year for the Florida State newcomer. Bradbury racked up dozens of awards during his four years of play at Lincoln Memorial, ranging from South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year to showing off his high intellect by receiving multiple All-America Scholar Awards. To many, this would serve as accomplishments that would last a lifetime, but for Bradbury, he is just grateful to be in the moment.
“The awards are obviously nice. But it doesn’t really mean anything in the long run. It might help you get to where you want to go. It might open you a few more doors, but it doesn’t really, like sitting here right now, playing an event with these guys, that doesn’t give me a head start or anything,” Bradbury admitted. “I still have to look at it that way, but it is really nice, and it gives you a lot of confidence to know that you can do something.
“For the last semester, I didn’t exactly play great, and it’s just nice to know that half the people are saying, ‘Well, you did this, and you’ve done this’. That’s the biggest thing I’d say about the awards.”
Bradbury adjusted quickly to Florida State University’s population of nearly 44,000 students, compared to his old school in Tennessee that held an undergraduate population of just 2,000. Although this was a prominent change in Bradbury’s life, it did not compare to the one of having to leave his hometown, and family, in Wakefield, England.
“I spend a lot of time trying to catch up with family, and that’s not easy. With the time difference as well, most of the time that I’m free is when they’re not or when they’re asleep. That was kind of tough,” he said. “They don’t know where I live, they don’t know anything about the school, but they’re really supportive of everything. They’ve never said no to anything that I’ve asked or things like that.”
Growing up in Wakefield, Bradbury was immediately immersed into sports, from picking up a golf club for the first time at the age of 5, to playing school sports, such as England’s favorites; rugby, soccer and cricket. Although it may seem that sports took up most of his time, Bradbury reminds us that, in England, school was something that required complete dedication and focus.
“It [Kettlethorpe High School] prepared me very well for school over here. It was a lot harder, I would say. The hardest school I’ve ever done is my A levels, which is the two years before you come out to uni. I did pretty well in my GCSE, which is high school,” Bradbury said. “And then when I went to college for my A levels, that was tough, but I got through it. And then my undergrad at my old school, I was well prepared for it.”
With school being a number one priority in England, and other sports being prioritized over golf, Bradbury had to make commitments that would put him in a position to be recognized by schools in the United States.
“I was pretty average until I got to about 14 years old. And then I had a winter where I worked really, really hard on my game, kind of decided to give it a bit of a go, and got my handicap down a lot that year, and then started playing the national events. Because before that, we enter all our national events off handicap, and my handicap wasn’t low enough until that year. Then I started playing the national events and that was when it got competitive, probably 14. Then I played all the national events since then.”
Bradbury was showered with lots of support in his decision to play collegiate golf in America, especially from his home golf club in England, where he was the youngest to ever become a member, and one he has now been a part of for over 15 years. His involvement at the club does not stop there; whenever he gets the chance to visit home, he offers his help in any way possible.
“I kind of quite like helping people out if I can,” he said. “I try and help the junior coaching at my club when I’m home, stuff like that. I’ve always just, I feel like any opportunity I get to help other people, because I got a lot of help when I was younger, especially in the local area, I do.”
As the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished. Unfortunately, due to COVID and crucial golf tournaments, Bradbury was unable to go back to Wakefield this past fall break. But he got the chance to bond with his teammates and form genuine connections.
“Mike Mays, he’s been really helpful. I went to his Thanksgiving,” Bradbury said. “Fletcher’s been a good friend. We’re starting to do more things together as a team, which is really nice. I just like hanging out with the boys, chilling out. We play a little bit of soccer here and there.”
Being able to catch up with his teammates and practice his soccer skills weren’t the only pluses to staying in Tallahassee. When the cold weather was just starting to hit in December, Bradbury touches on his perspective being put into place by his old friends in Tennessee.
“I’m Snapchatting my friends back up at my old school and sending them pictures of it being 40 degrees out here, and me complaining. They’re sending me back pictures of snow and saying we’ve not played golf in two weeks on a golf course,” Bradbury quipped. “My freshman year, we had, I think it was about a 10-day spell, where we couldn’t even open the doors to the indoor facility because they were frozen shut. So, things like that put in perspective. The weather here is a big help, the condition of the courses and everything as well.”
With the spring season in progress, Bradbury has the hope that his parents will come out to see him play in the ACC tournament in April.
“They’re [his parents] due to come out here in April, for ACC’s. I’m really looking forward to that,” he added.
And with Florida State continuing to develop with high finishes so far this spring, Bradbury and his teammates are beginning to put themselves in position for another strong season – no matter who is out there watching them.