Identical twins grow up with a counterpart who can be their plus-one for just about anything, be it for sports, an all-night game of Monopoly or a heated Mario Kart race at Rainbow Road. 

For Spokane twins Benjamin and Bradley Mulder, after trying out football and basketball, that primary activity became golf. 

Perhaps fashionably late to that tee party, the boys – natural athletes whose mother and father played volleyball and football at Pacific Lutheran University, respectively – nonetheless are now rising college juniors on their way to high-end golf programs, with a multitude of accolades from their high school and college careers. In the fall, Ben will tee it up for Washington State University after two seasons at Northwest Nazarene, while Brad will travel to Columbia, Mo. to join the University of Missouri’s squad after two seasons on the Colorado Christian University men’s golf team. 

That all just means two more logos to add to the hat their always-present mother, Rachelle, wears to their tournaments, where she has served as their caddie, enthusiastic gallery, and expert snack-provider. 

Despite neither Rachelle nor the boys’ father Curt having played golf to such a high capacity, she said the twins’ older brother Jordan paved the way. When Ben and Brad were in sixth grade, Jordan’s sudden urge to pick it up led to the house’s first ever bag. 

“We went to the thrift shop and literally got a bag of clubs together for Jordan,” Rachelle said. “All the things that Jordan wanted to do, the twins wanted to do, so they picked it up at that time.” 

And their parents knew what to do to help their sons immerse themselves in the game, and stay busy during the summers – they signed them up for the WA Golf Youth on Course program. Among several Spokane-area courses, Downriver Golf Course was a popular destination for skill-sharpening.

“We could drop them off, and they could all play 18 holes for $5 each,” Rachelle said.

Ben recalled an immediate learning curve. He took about 10 swings of Jordan’s secondhand 7-iron, initially unable to make solid contact. But keeping at it, his love of the game eventually solidified while swinging away on the grounds of his elementary school. 

“I hit this pure 7-iron, I can still remember the ball flight and the sunset,” Ben said. “It was just the greatest feeling.” 

As for Brad, things were similar, and he cited the “pure satisfaction” that came with making clean contact. In his case, he had a particular affinity for a hybrid that was part of his own original bag. 

Each of their games snowballed throughout the first six months. Making that solid contact with the ball graduated to shaping it, and then gradually hitting more skillful shots from there. The twins acted as each other’s partner and competitor, trading shot advice along with sibling-rivalry barbs. 

“In the early years I was always better than Bradley,” said Ben jokingly, adding that he “definitely let him know about it.” 

Such competitive rivalry was never far away in the Mulder household, according to Rachelle.  

“There wasn’t a single thing in our family that wasn’t competition,” she said of her three sons, who still tried to encourage each other along the way. “I tried my best not to make things competitive, but everything was.” 

Sibling showdowns aside, Brad, a fan of golf’s “unlimited potential,” knew it was a bonus to always have someone to swing alongside. 

“Almost every single time I’m out on a golf course, except for college, I’m there with Benjamin,” said Bradley, adding that they thrived off each other’s curiosity to hit new shots. “Trying to be curious and innovative, and always trying to get better.” 

The twins bounced their shot ideas off each other all the way to Mead High School’s golf team, where their success became all the more visible. In 2023, Ben was state champion and received Greater Spokane League Player of the Year honors for a third time, while Bradley recorded top 10 finishes in 23 of his 26 starts in Washington Junior Golf Association championships. 

Consistency continued through their respective first two years of college golf, with Ben securing the GNAC Individual Golf Championship and that conference’s Player of the Year award this spring, among other accomplishments. Bradley’s CCU Cougars won the Centennial Cup in 2023 and were NCAA Division II Champions a year ago, with him named RMAC Conference Freshman of the Year. Following this spring, when CCU ended as the top-ranked Division II school, Bradley received RMAC First-Team All-Conference honors. 

Ben and Brad have been making the most of this summer before their jump to the bigger schools, and with mom gassing up the car and providing the snacks, the family has hit the road to compete in as many events as they can fit into their schedule. The twins have played in the Washington Men’s Amateur, the Idaho State Amateur, the PNGA Men’s Amateur, the U.S. Amateur local qualifier (with Ben advancing to the sectional qualifier), among others.   

Heading to Wazzu, Ben is understandably excited. 

“There’s always been family ties to WSU throughout the years,” the Coug-to-be said. “I grew up wearing their stuff throughout the house, so it’s really cool to go to WSU and stay close to my hometown.” 

On deck for Bradley is the further away Mizzou, a member of the prominent SEC Conference that hardly requires introduction. Playing golf in that part of the world introduces him to a relatively new challenge. 

“The biggest thing I’m going to need to get better at is just playing on Bermuda,” he said of that area’s common playing surface, as opposed to the bentgrass and Poa annua prevalent on golf courses further north. “I’m just going to need to make that transition, see how it affects my AimPoint numbers, chipping, ball contact and all these different things.” 

Wherever her sons end up, Rachelle can be counted on to be present, as she has been for years. Despite admitting to her not-so-extensive golf background, she has caddied for both her sons as recently as June during the Washington Men’s Amateur. 

“We have been blessed to be able to go to many of their college tournaments,” said Rachelle, whose work schedule intentionally keeps Mondays and Tuesdays free for that reason. “We’ll have to look at the schedules when they come out and see which tournaments we can get to.” 

One way or another, both of her sons’ teams can expect one thing out of an appearance from their mother: 

“I always bring homemade decorated sugar cookies for the end of each round,” Rachelle said. “It’s one of the only things I feel like I can do to help, and it’s fun for us to get to know their teammates also.”

WA Golf Youth on Course gives golfers age 6-18 access to play $5 rounds of golf at more than 85 participating courses in Washington and Northern Idaho—and thousands of other courses across the U.S., Canada, and Australia. A $25 annual membership can have your youth golfing some of the best (and easily accessible) courses in the state and beyond for just $5. Click here to join the WA Golf Youth on Course program. And click here to donate to the program and ensure the future of the game.

(Editor’s Note: author Logan Groeneveld-Meijer knows of what he writes, being a twin himself.)