Senior golfer Valdemar Kofod-Olsen arrived in the United States with nothing but his suitcases, his golf bag and himself. Three years later, his younger brother, Viktor, did the same, joining him at Lafayette College.
“I was the guinea pig for coming to America and being a student athlete,” Valdemar Kofod-Olsen said. “Then he gets to experience that as well with a little more advice than I got.”
Valdemar and Viktor Kofod-Olsen were born in Denmark but grew up in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Danish duo was introduced to golf through their father, and although the golf scene in Dubai blew up post-COVID-19 pandemic, the playing field was not as competitive for the brothers growing up.
“Back when the two boys were growing up, it was much, much quieter,” said Stephen Deane, the brothers’ Dubai-based golf coach. “They didn’t necessarily have that competition in Dubai pushing them, so the thing I was impressed with them, they’ve almost pushed each other to get success.”
The brothers were the youngest ever members of the Emirates Golf Cup junior elite program, according to Deane, where the Kofod-Olsens honed their skills.
“He also started getting a lot better than me because he would obviously play with me and my friends, who were, at that time, a lot better than him,” Valdemar Kofod-Olsen said of his freshman brother.
While the duo would train throughout most of the year in Dubai, they would return to Europe over the summer to compete in tournaments. Viktor Kofod-Olsen said that playing in Europe was “very different” compared to playing in Dubai.
“It’s unpredictable,” he said. “In Dubai, we’re used to waking up and not having to check the weather forecast. It’s always a sunny day. In Denmark, you have to consider rain, wind, temperature, all that sort of stuff.”
Although Valdemar Kofod-Olsen said it was “difficult” to get recruited as an international student, he still ended up on the radar of Lafayette’s coaching staff.
“Looking at the videotape, he had a real good swing,” golf head coach Jim Hutnik said. “We liked his mechanics, and it was a situation where I looked at the tournaments that he was playing in, they’re quality tournaments, and he was doing pretty well.”
While Valdemar Kofod-Olsen began his collegiate golf career in a new environment — alone in the United States — he said that he had gotten used to being away from his family, growing up in Dubai while much of his family remained in Denmark.
“I think I’m just so used to being in new surroundings,” he said. “My high school had like 70 nationalities, so that definitely helped me understand quite a lot of people quite well.”
With Valdemar Kofod-Olsen teeing off at Lafayette, his younger brother began eying the collegiate scene in the United States.
“For me, the U.S. was always seen as the sports hub for college and where everyone goes to play college sports,” Viktor Kofod-Olsen said. “It was always the highest level of golfers are over here playing college golf.”
Hutnik said that Lafayette was fortunate to get Viktor Kofod-Olsen through passing on bigger schools because of the allure of “his brother liking Lafayette, his brother being used to Lafayette and selling him on coming here.”
The brothers echoed the importance of having each other on campus.
“Me and my brother have definitely gotten closer since we have both gotten here because we only really have each other,” Viktor Kofod-Olsen said. “Our parents are so far away, and there’s an eight-hour time difference. It’s not just like give your parents a call if you ever need something at any time of day.”
“I’m definitely trying to teach him everything that I did wrong, and trying my best to do that, even though sometimes he doesn’t always listen,” Valdemar Kofod-Olsen said.
For Deane, the brothers’ success was a given because of their dedication.
“They put the work in,” Deane said. “It wasn’t as though you had to push them. You just had to guide them along and just let them crack on with it.”
