Dominic Castelvetere, is taking the Bluffton University Men’s Golf team to new heights, one swing at a time.
Golf, which originally started off as a simple pastime with his father and a close family friend, has become a vocation for Castelvetere. Inspired and encouraged by these two figures and his mother, his journey within the golfing realm has been anything but easy.
Having golfed since the age of 7, Castelvetere, who transferred to Bluffton from Defiance College, describes the game as “all about mental.” Castelvetere has used golf as a factor of consistency for his life and as a tool, honing his self-assuredness and self-discipline.
“Before I hit the golf ball, I usually just close my eyes a little bit, envision my shot, kind of calm myself down, breath a little bit, head up to the ball and say to myself, ‘I am gonna hit this shot,’” Castelvetere said.
Castelvetere spoke about golf being a calming activity and a time to reset his emotions when life experiences became hard to handle. Among challenges like high school heartache and self-doubt, one of the biggest challenges for him has been coming to terms with his mother being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, when he was 12.
At 12 , Castelvetere had a hard time understanding the circumstances and was convinced that his mother would be leaving him almost immediately. However, he said that once the disease is understood, someone with ALS can live for quite a while, if they have the right care. This has been a large part of Castelvetere’s life and responsibility, though he is always reluctant to admit the magnitude of his role when concerning his mother.
His mother’s condition boosted his motivation to do well in golf and life in general, he said. Castelvetere said her only wish was, before she lost the ability to speak, to see him graduate high school and go to college. Aware of how much effort one must put into this beloved sport and into higher education, Castelvetere is optimistic about his dreams of going pro so that one day he can make a living doing what he loves. Castelvetere and his father have come to terms with his mother’s condition and use it as an embodiment of her lesson to never give up on one’s dreams.
After multiple changes to his swing technique, replacing multiple broken golf clubs and searching for a coach who could bring out his full potential, Castelvetere feels as though he’s found a place that could help him achieve his dreams.
Before transferring to Bluffton University, Castelvetere heard rumors from a friend concerning his coach at Defiance College, being laid off. Within the month, Castelvetere said the rumors proved to be true, and he needed a new coach. Nick Offenburger, a sophomore at Bluffton, was a prior golfing companion of Castelvetere and gave him the contact information of Bluffton University’s golf coach, Adam Craig.
Once contact was made, Castelvetere was required to fill out paperwork for the NCAA, then he set up a visit. Once he got to campus, Castelvetere stated, “Well it’s already nicer than Defiance, 100%. Way bigger, too.”
He said he already knew most of the golf team, which factored into his decision to transfer. Lastly, Bluffton University is closer to his home and therefore closer to his mother. Thus, his decision was made.
Castelvetere emphasizes that he loves the unity that his team has, saying that they do nearly everything together. On the University as a whole, he said, “The campus is nice, the people are nice, the teachers are very nice. They’re not really pushy or anything or strict they’re just, you know, like, chill.”
All in all, this dream of Dominic Castelvetre is one not attained by the undisciplined or undeserving. According to PGA Tour Media, “of the 80 million players in the world, 245 play the TOUR. That means you have a 1 in 326,000 chance of seeing your name on a TOUR leaderboard, or about .0003 percent.”
Well aware of this, Castlevetre is striving for the top. He said his mother’s lesson to him on “keeping on my dreams” comfort and encourage him. Castelvetre hopes to continue his golf career at Bluffton University with the strength shared through the unity of the golf team, ambition born of support from his family and the knowledge and peace of mind gifted to him by his educators.
