The Most Interesting Man in Golf

Domenico Geminiani finished off the event with a flop shot that landed perfectly and disappeared into the hole for eagle.

It was a fitting end to 36 holes that won’t soon be forgotten by anyone around the Minor League Tour. Geminiani , “Dom” to everyone , shot 22-under, following an opening-round 58 with a 60 to win by seven shots. He set the course record and broke the scoring record on the tour by four. And somehow, that might not even be the most remarkable part of his story.

Dom was born in Martinique to a mother from St. Lucia and a dad from Italy. He turned pro at 15 and was a member of the Challenge Tour , now the HotelPlanner Tour, before he even had a driver’s license. He’s also one of the best mini-tour pickleball pros in the country and a gifted pianist.

At 30, he’s broke. But his dream of playing on the PGA Tour is still alive and armed with four credit cards, he’s determined to get there.

Forget the guy from the Dos Equis commercials. Domenico Geminiani might actually be the most interesting man in golf.

The family moved to Florida when Dom was five to help his brother pursue his tennis career. Dom played golf with his dad once in a while but began taking the game more seriously a few years later. After his parents separated, Dom lived with his dad in Florida, but they would go back to his dad’s native Italy most summers.

He quickly became one of the top juniors, even winning a West Florida Golf Tour event, a professional mini-tour, at just 14. His family gave him a choice. Although they strongly pushed for him to attend college down the road, Dom, always a free spirit, decided to turn pro.

He was 15.

The very next season, he earned some invites on the Challenge Tour and played well enough to keep status for the rest of the year. He traveled the world with his dad, playing as a professional. That season he made five of nine cuts, including one top-10, consistently beating players up to 20 years older than him.

Stardom and a spot on either the European Tour or PGA Tour seemed just around the corner. The next season he was back on the Challenge Tour and made seven cuts in 16 events, finishing 99th in points.

However, the 2014 season would be the teenager’s first true “welcome to pro golf” moment. Back on the Challenge Tour for the third straight season, Geminiani struggled badly, making just two of 12 cuts.

The stardom that seemed just around the corner two seasons earlier now seemed like a pipe dream. Dom lost his status and was broke. He headed home to Florida to lick his wounds and try to find his game. Not yet 20, there was plenty of time.

Back to the West Florida Golf Tour he went, and the wins piled up. Christian Bartolacci, owner of the Tour, says Geminiani has more than 20 wins on his tour alone.

Each year, Dom went back to Q-school. This year will be his 13th attempt, and although he has reached second stage half of the time, he has never reached the final stage.

In between he played on the Latinoamérica Tour, dominated mini-tours in Florida and, occasionally, qualified for a PGA Tour event. He has five career starts on the big tour, including one this season.

Just a few weeks ago, he qualified for the Korn Ferry Tour event in Raleigh, North Carolina. After a practice round, he and his caddie for the week, Tim Kay, were walking through the Raleigh Country Club clubhouse when Dom spotted a piano.

He sat down and started playing. A few volunteers took notice, stunned that a player could play so elegantly. Another talent. “That’s Dom, he’s good at everything,” a friend of his told me.

He’s done just about everything to keep the other dream alive: two years working outside services at the Ritz-Carlton, driving for Uber, delivering food and working for Shipt. He’s maxed-out a few credit cards along the way before getting hot with his putter and paying them off.

Then there’s pickleball.

Dom picked up the game in 2020 and quickly became one of the best players in the area. He estimates he’s won “25 or so” mini-tour-type events.

Earlier this year, he traveled to Frisco, Tex., for a qualifier for the PPA, pickleball’s top professional tour. At 8 a.m., Dom took the court in singles. Later in the day, he played doubles. That evening he played in the mixed doubles qualifier. His final match ended around 7 p.m.

He qualified in all three disciplines.

A remarkable feat considering pickleball is essentially his side hustle to fund another professional sport.

Scott Turner, owner of the Minor League Golf Tour where Dom shot 58-60 last week, and Bartolacci both rave about Geminiani’s talent.

Dom is even more certain about where that talent belongs.

“It’s my life mission to make the PGA Tour,” he told me.

Maybe the most interesting thing about Domenico Geminiani isn’t that he turned pro at 15, can sit down at a piano and play beautifully, or that he can qualify for three professional pickleball events in the same day.

Maybe it’s that after 15 years, 12 failed trips to Q-school and more than a few empty bank accounts, he still believes as much as ever that he belongs on the PGA Tour.

And after shooting 58-60 last week, it’s getting harder to argue with him.