Elon women’s golfer senior Andrea Asmundsdottir is one of six international students on her team, but the only one who has played Iceland’s midnight golf. From the hometown of the “world’s most northerly 18- hole golf course,” the Icelander has teed off her final collegiate season.

Golfing didn’t start as a personal interest for Asmundsdottir. Her grandfather started playing golf and brought her grandmother onto the range as his team member for partner golf. At the age of 6, Asmundsdottir began playing with her family, transitioning to competitive tournaments at 12 years old.

“In general, sports are really big in Iceland,” Asmundsdottir said. “I think that has brought a lot of kids into it, and it’s also just a family sport.”

Growing up, Asmundsdottir was typically one of the only girls playing golf in her home city of Akureyri. However, she is already the third Icelander Elon women’s head golf coach Chris Dockrill ’86 has brought to the team, after Hilda Kristjansdottir and Sunna Vidisdottir. Dockrill said he sees three to four recruits every year from Iceland.

“It’s pretty amazing. It’s in the middle of a tundra — it’s cold up there,” Dockrill said. “How do they produce all these good golfers? Andrea is just the perfect kid to have on your team. She’s gone through ups and downs but she’s working extremely hard and it’s paid off.”

Iceland has seen massive growth in golf. According to a 2014 study by KPMG, the number of registered golfers in Iceland was 16,371. However, in 2024, Golf Iceland — a trade association for golf and tourism — reported that there were 24,000 registered golfers in the country. Iceland has the highest number of golf courses per capita because as of 2021, Iceland had 65 courses for a population of 393,349. Iceland also boasts an interesting golf tradition.

When summer comes about, golfers from all around the world come to play midnight golf during June and July, as the sun does not set in Iceland during those times due to its northern location. Golf is able to be played at midnight, especially at Asmundsdottir’s course at Akureyri Golf Club, where competitions for this type of game are commonly played. The latest Asmundsdottir played golf back home was at 10 p.m. and ended at 2 a.m.

“The sun doesn’t really set in the summers,” Asmundsdottir said. “That’s really unique and an experience that not many people can do. I’ll definitely play once I finish college.”

During the season, Icelandic golfers will travel to Europe and Spain to compete in warmer climates when the weather is too severe in the Nordic countries, according to Asmundsdottir and Dockrill. Asmundsdottir would go abroad near Easter to compete to combat the short Icelandic golf summers.

The COVID-19 pandemic was an important component for Asmundsdottir to consider while she was searching for a university to play golf at. Many of the schools that called her said that she would be a great fit, but could only start playing in 2022, leaving her having to have taken an unwanted gap year. Dockrill reached out to Asmundsdottir when a spot opened up on Elon’s team.

“No one could come with me, just three suitcases and a golf bag,” Asmundsdottir said. “I felt like I was in a movie because it was so different from home. This experience makes you much more independent. I’m looking forward to just spending time with my teammates and enjoying every day until I graduate because it’s going fast."

For the Elon women’s golf team, most of the players on the roster aren’t the only ones who have traveled to Elon from another country to play the game. Dockrill came down to Elon from Nova Scotia, Canada, as a two-year member of the men’s golf team from 1985-86. He was inducted into the Elon University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014 as a leader for his team and his continued dedication to the golf teams at his alma mater.

Including his own experiences as a student-athlete, Dockrill thought about the circumstances behind bringing in students from abroad to play golf. As a smaller private school, he knew that he would have to compete with bigger schools in North Carolina and their budgets. Dockrill has seen that his international players have similar experiences in the sport compared to each other, so he saw no difference in recruiting them.

“My philosophy is, ‘Look, we got limited budgets,” Dockrill said. “I’m going to go with foreign kids. I’m originally from Canada, so it was easy for me having gone through the process myself. It’s been a good thing, golf team-wise, but it’s also been a good thing for pretty long, too.”

As the season progresses, Asmundsdottir reflects on her athletic career at Elon and how it has shaped her to want to be there for everyone on her team. Joining a team was a shock to her when she first came to the U.S. after years of playing golf independently, but she found ways to work together with her teammates to provide a positive environment on the green.

The golfer looks forward to graduating with a marketing degree this May, returning home to pursue a career that combines both her passions for business and sports into one. She plans to continue playing golf and competing back home in the summers, especially in the midnight golf tournaments.

“I’ve grown as a player and I want to see everyone on my team do good,” Asmundsdottir said. “I want to help them and influence good team culture. We all work together to create that culture. I think for me as a person, being in this environment has made me grow as a person.”