Early Beginnings and Passion for Golf
He is the 26th-ranked amateur golfer in the world. On the 2024 Ben Hogan Award Watch List, one of 40. On the Haskins Award Watch List, one of 20. On Denmark’s World Amateur Team, one of three.
Gustav Frimodt is a great golfer. But his mindset makes him one of one.
The senior player from Denmark has been playing golf for almost as long as he can remember. His dad introduced him to the sport with plastic clubs and golf balls when he was 2 years old.
“At 3, my dad got me my first actual golf club,” he said. “He had one of his wedges and he cut it down to be 10 inches long.”
He learned to love the game at an early age too. When he was 6, Frimodt started biking to the golf course after school and playing until dark. During the summers when it got dark around 10 p.m., he played until the sun set.
“I spent so much time, especially when I was 6 till 13 I’d say, just always on the golf course,” he said.
Frimodt started playing in junior tournaments when he was 9, and enrolled in a sports boarding school at age 14.
He said tournaments hooked him when he was 13. He won a Men’s Club Championship in a playoff against someone he used to caddy for.
“That was kind of one of the first times where I was like, ‘Alright, this is pretty cool. I like winning,’” he said. “And, you know, you kind of get a taste for that.”
Transition to College Golf and International Success
In 2017, Frimodt broke out onto the global golf scene, but he hadn’t considered going to college until schools started reaching out to him.
“Not a ton of golfers at that time were going the college way,” he said. “There were some, but a lot of them didn’t like it too much, so they went back to Denmark after like a year or two.”
He decided to explore it anyway by taking unofficial visits to colleges in the United States. He visited TCU last.
“I pretty much made my decision right then and there,” he said.
Frimodt said he liked Fort Worth, the schedule of courses TCU’s golf team plays on – including Colonial, Shady Oaks, Mira Vista, and River Crest – and the people at TCU.
“I like the people that are from Fort Worth,” he said. “And in general, you know, just a lot of great people at this school. And I got that feeling the first time that I was here.”
Get to know ➡️ Gustav Frimodt
The @TCUMensGolf senior is looking to defend his 2022 title this week at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational.
He’s T2 heading into the final round on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/1LG5vxv13Y
— PGA TOUR University (@PGATOURU) October 3, 2023
He said his experience with college golf doesn’t compare to what he would have done while playing amateur golf in Europe.
“It’s given me so many good things,” he said. “Both just the whole thing about being in a different country and learning a different culture, a different language, the whole school aspect of it, and you get to play some really good golf on the side.”
Balancing Golf, Personal Life, and Long-term Goals
When he’s not focused on golf, he spends time with his friends and his girlfriend, dives into a book or practices mindfulness.
“I don’t want golf to be the controlling factor of what I’m doing with my life,” he said. “It’s there, and it means a lot to me, but I can’t let it control on what I’m feeling outside of golf, or how I feel as a person…because it happens, you can get so depressed if you play bad golf, and you know that all you want to do in life is play golf for a living.”
Over winter break, he didn’t touch a golf club for weeks and spent time with his family and friends back home.
“It’s really nice because you kind of develop that hunger for golf again,” he said. “You get the itch to go back out and play golf, and you’re so excited to come back.”
Head Golf Coach Bill Allcorn said Frimodt is so great because he always has a great plan.
Frimodt said he focuses on having a purpose every time he goes out to the golf course.
“At a point, I would just go to the driving range, and then just beat balls for like, four hours. And I would leave there, and I felt like I didn’t get anything done,” he said. “But you have got to look at it from a bigger perspective. Your purpose is to go out on the golf course and be in that process…It’s a long process and as long as you stick to the purpose of what you’re trying to do, you will get better.”
Pursuing Growth Beyond Golf
When he finds himself in a rut, Frimodt says he can lose his sense of purpose and start focusing on nailing his next shot or shooting a birdie on the next hole.
When that happens, he uses his senses to bring himself back to a positive headspace. He gave an example from his last tournament in Arizona.
“I’m walking around in Arizona. The weather is awesome. I’m looking at the mountains in the background. I’m alive, I’m breathing, I’m doing great,” he said. “I mean it’s just golf.”
Frimodt said he wants to play golf for the rest of his life.
“That’s what I want. That’s also why I can’t let it fill too much of my life,” he said. “I don’t want it to be the only thing that I can think about”.
Outside of golf, Frimodt said he focuses on self-improvement, growing as a person and working on his relationships with his friends.
He also said he wants to become one of the best golfers in the world.
He’s off to a pretty good start.
