CHIETLA, Mexico -- Fifteen-year-old Daniela Catalán stared past the short fairway and toward the flag of a par-3 hole. The lush green of the golf course contrasts starkly with the mile-long dirt road connecting it to the picturesque town 90 miles south of Mexico City where Daniela lives with her grandparents and her younger brother Ian. Ever since her parents separated three years ago, Daniela has only seen her father a handful of times. It's more than she's seen her mother, who moved to Minnesota for work.
"Golf is my outlet for everything," Daniela said in Spanish, shortly after swatting a drive from the tee, showing off an all-too-professional-looking form. "If I could come here every time I feel bad, I would."
As one of 34 golf students, Daniela is participating in the inaugural class for The First Tee Mexico at Las Maravillas golf course. The program is an extension of the one founded in 1997, created to help bring public golf spaces to youth in economically disadvantaged areas. In the United States, The First Tee boasts 150 chapters across all 50 states. Mexico counts three venues, with the other two located in Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific coast and Rosarito, some 20 miles south of the U.S. border at San Ysidro, California.
Though Mexico boasts over 30,000 registered golfers, and 159 courses as listed by the Mexican Golf Federation (five of which made Golf Digest's Top 200 list in 2018), accessibility is still a problem -- there is one course for every 751,765 inhabitants. Compared to the United States, there is one course for every 21,846 persons, stemming from the 15,014 facilities available to play in. The majority of courses in Mexico are private, compared to the 11,344 that are open to the public in the United States.
After the World Golf Championship moved from Trump National Doral Miami to Mexico City in 2017, The First Tee was established to help spur the development of future golfers in Mexico.
"We wanted to challenge the infrastructure, make courses available to the public and give golf back to the people," said Agustín Pizá, Director of The First Tee Mexico.
Pizá is a noted golf course architect with a master's degree in design from the University of Edinburgh.
During his career, he has designed 12 courses throughout North and South America.
"Long term, the goal is to have public spaces all over the country," he said.
Pizá teamed up with Las Maravillas Golf Club, a nine-hole course, to develop the first class of students. The course sits a mile away from Cayehuacán, a small town of about 300 people, where cattle raising is the main industry.
"We canvassed the town to tell parents about the program, but most were skeptical," said Alfredo Sánchez, the course's owner and operator. "We had to assure them we weren't trying to kidnap their children."
Starting in November 2017, Las Maravillas has enrolled 34 students, including Daniela, ranging from 4 to 17 years of age, making up The First Tee Mexico's first foray into expansion beyond the United States. Clubs, shoes and balls are donated to outfit the children. Private clinics with professionals are a regular occurrence (Jordan Spieth did his part for First Tee Mexico in 2017), and, as part of The First Tee Mexico's connection to the World Golf Championship, the students will once again be present at the tournament to meet with the pros before it kicks off on Feb. 21.
"Last year, the kids were so happy to be there," Sanchez said. "For some, it was their first time outside their hometown."
At the tony Club de Golf Chapultepec, the nine-decade old course at the northwest end of Mexico City where the tournament is held, students took part in clinics and had face time with professional golfers in 2018 -- even serenading PGA pro and Mexico native Abraham Ancer with "Feliz Cumpleaños" for his birthday.
Sánchez also recalled a moment in which the students caught a glimpse of a young fan asking players for autographs on his cap.
"They started asking everyone for autographs after that, the players, the course employees and even each other," he continued.
Daniela was no exception, proudly displaying a hat with many signatures.
The wide-eyed excitement displayed by the students is not without its corresponding effect.
"Being there was an incredible experience; they were so excited about learning the game," said Alejandra Llaneza, the Mexican golfer who first earned LPGA status in 2012 and represented Mexico at the 2016 Olympics, finishing 44th in a field of 60 competitors.
"I left there having the idea to do more for sports in Mexico and golf especially, I want to go back and keep collaborating with them," said Llaneza, currently 855th on the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings.
Both Llaneza and Daniela list Lorena Ochoa as an inspiration. Ochoa, the former No. 1 world-ranked golfer is involved in Mexico's youth via the foundation that bears her name, created to aid public schools in low-income areas around her hometown of Guadalajara. Though retired since 2010, Ochoa continues to be a towering figure for those who wish to follow in her footsteps.
"I'm happy to know we have good golfers [in Mexico]," Ochoa told ESPN Mexico last month.
"I try to share my experience. I'm their number one cheerleader," the World Golf Hall of Famer continued.
Pizá and Sánchez hope to attract stars like Ochoa and others to help The First Tee Mexico expand across the country. Prior to this year's World Golf Championship, Las Maravillas students shot a promotional video welcoming Tiger Woods to Mexico. Pizá's long-term goal is to have one public golf school in every one of the Mexico's 32 states by the year 2040.
"We're expanding to have five more schools in the next two to three years, there's surely hundreds of [potential pro golfers] out there, we just have to find them," Pizá said. "More importantly, help them become better citizens thanks to the values we want to impart."
The values Pizá highlights have been key to helping Daniela overcome a tough period in her life.
"Before I came here, I was shy, I rarely talked to anyone, and I was upset about my parents separating," Daniela said.
Though Alicia -- Daniela and Ian's mother -- is working to one day reunite with her children in Minnesota, where she lives with her husband, Daniela has been steadfast about continuing her golfing development regardless of where she will be.
"Once I took golf seriously, it's helped my brother and I move on and grow as people," Daniela said. "It's changed our lives. No matter what happens, I want golf to be a part of me for the rest of my life."
That much was clear when Llaneza visited Las Maravillas in December to interact with The First Tee Mexico students.
"They told me the story of when they attended the World Golf Championship, and one of the girls said she'd one day come back as a competitor, I thought that was great," Llaneza said.
"I said that," Daniela recalled. "But I didn't just say that I'd compete there. I said I'd win there, too."