Imagine traveling solo to play golf among the cornfields in Nebraska, or teeing it up with friends at iconic Pebble Beach . . .

Well, Oneda Castillo did just that.

Oneda caught the golf bug while tagging along to the golf course with her husband. She’d finally made up her mind that she would step out of the cart and take a swing herself. From then on, she was hooked. Now, she’s parlayed her passion for the game to a full-time career in golf as Global Education Instructor for the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals and Director of Golf for the Women in Golf Foundation.

For a woman passionate about the game, aspiring to play as many courses as possible may not come as a surprise. But Oneda took that one step further by setting a goal to travel to all 50 states to play golf in each and every one of them. When she couldn’t manage to drag her husband or friends along with her, she’d just as gladly go it alone, traveling solo to states like Kansas and North Dakota to check them off of her bucket list.

We had the honor at the 2018 PGA Merchandise Show of speaking to Oneda about her resilience and passion for the game of golf.