The Coach Mo Golf Show welcomes six-time NCAA Division-III West Region Coach of the Year and a nine-time Northwest Conference Coach of the Year, Coach MJ McCloskey to the show. Coach MJ started the George Fox Women's Golf program from the ground-up in 2006 and led them to their first NCAA DIII National title in 2023 at Mission Inn, in Howie-in-the-Hills, FL in 2023. It was a dramatic, controversial, and eventful Championship that flooded social media and national news with videos and news on the tournament's controversial pin position on #6. In this episode you'll hear all about the championship, the controversy, as well as discussions I have with Coach McCloskey's new book, "How Girls Win."


Coach MJ McCloskey Bio:
In 2006, McCloskey launched the first George Fox University women’s golf program and since then has led the team to prestige as one of the most dominant in the country bringing home 7 NCAA trophies including winning the 2023 NCAA D-III Women’s Golf National Championship. Her team was only the third NCAA D-III Golf team west of the Mississippi to win the NCAA National Championship To date, the program has won 97 collegiate tournaments and has been recognized in four separate seasons (including this season) as the top-ranked team in the country. Coach MJ has a marketing degree from the Univ. of Oregon and an MBA from the University of Portland. The team has also won 13 straight Northwest Conference titles.. The program also boasts a NCAA Individual National Champion, two NCAA Individual National RunnerUps, two National Players of the Year, three NCAA Freshman Player of the Year honorees, 27 Women Golf Coaches Assn (WGCA) All Americans, 34 WGCA All-Region team members, 10 NWC Player of the Year honorees, 57 All-NW Conference players, and 24 WGCA All-American Scholar winners. Players from her program have qualified for the US Women’s Amateur as well as for the LPGA Portland Classic event. In 2013, McCloskey was promoted to the role of Director of Golf for George Fox, one of the first women to be named to that position in NCAA Division-III and oversees the development of both the men’s and women’s golf teams at the university. For McCloskey, it’s never been about awards but helping young women find their greatness. Her passion is to help student-athletes grow stronger and realize that anything is possible with a positive mindset, strong work ethic, and a passionate desire to learn. McCloskey served 2 terms as D-III Director on the Board of Directors for the Women Golf Coaches Association (WGCA). She is currently serving on the NCAA Division-III Women's Golf Regional Championship Selection Committee and is also part of the WGCA Mentorship program. McCloskey has served on the Tournament Golf Foundation Board (operators of the LPGA Portland Classic) and many years on the First Tee of Portland/Campbell Course Board of Directors. She continues to help out as a volunteer for both organizations. In 2023, she was nominated and placed on the ballot for the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. McCloskey holds Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Portland and a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from the University of Oregon. For more information on Coach MJ, please visit www.CoachMJMcCloskey.com
@mj_mccloskey
@gfuwomensgolf

Contact Coach Mo
@coachmogolfpro
www.coachmogolfpro.com
mgesualdi@stjohnsgolf.com

The Golf Academy at St. Johns
Located at St. Johns Golf & CC in St. Augustine/St. Johns, FL
@thegolfacademy_st.johns
www.stjohnsgolf.com

Next up on, "The Coach Mo Golf Show," is 2023 LPGA National Teacher of the Year, Cheryl Anderson. Cheryl is a PGA & LPGA certified instructor and is the Director of Instruction at Mike Bender Golf Academy located in Lake Mary, FL. I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Cheryl at the 2024 Troon Southeast Teaching Summit at the PGA Show this year as she was one of the presenters showcasing how to teach with training aids. If you are a teacher, player looking to improve, or just a lover of the game of golf, this episode offers a lot to enjoy.

To learn more about Cheryl, please see her bio below compliments of Mike Bender Golf Academy (https://www.mikebender.com/cheryl-anderson/)

Cheryl Anderson brings a unique combination of teaching and playing skills to the Mike Bender Golf Academy in Lake Mary, FL. She is a two-time LPGA National Teacher of the Year (2006 and 2023). She is currently one of Golf Digest’s 50 Best Teachers in America. GOLF Magazine has recognized her as one of America’s Top 100 Teachers since 2013 and She is also one of the LPGA’s Top 50 Teachers.

A native of Connecticut, Cheryl taught in the Metropolitan New York area from 1992-2007. She was recognized by the Metropolitan PGA Section in 2007 as the Teacher of the Year and was one of the first instructors in the world to be certified as a golf coach by the Certified Golf Coaches Association. More recently, Anderson was named the 2020 North Florida PGA Section Teacher of the Year.

Cheryl has taught several top 100 juniors in the country including a number one ranked junior girl whom she had taught for nearly a decade. She also coached the Lake Mary Prep Girls Golf team to two state championship victories in Florida including a national record 14-under-par performance in an 18-hole event.

In 2004, she earned the Met PGA Section Womens’ Player of the Year award for a record fifth consecutive season. More recently she tied for 17th at the 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Brooklawn C.C. in Fairfield, CT on rounds of 74- 76-71-72. Her 16 birdies for the week were second to only the championship’s winner Annika Sorenstam.

Her play in 2002 was historic as she became the first women to win all three of the Metropolitan PGA women’s events in one season: The Metropolitan Women’s Open, the Met Women’s Stroke Play Championship and the Met Women’s Match Play Championship. She also was runner-up in the LPGA’s National Club Professional Championship in Southern Pines, North Carolina and in the LPGA’s Northeast Section Championship in Manassas, Virginia.

Another professional highlight for Anderson was being named The Journal-News Suburban Golfer Magazine’s “Golfer of the Year” in 2001. Her season that year included making the cut at the LPGA Tour’s Betsy King Classic in Pennsylvania (the only teaching professional to make a cut on the LPGA Tour that season) and winning her first Metropolitan Woman’s Open.

A graduate of Rutgers University, Anderson competed on the golf team for four years, including two as team captain. Before turning professional in 1992, she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Women’s Public Links Championships.

Anderson has authored numerous instruction articles in all of the major golf publications including Golf Digest, Met Golfer Magazine and Golf Digest Woman Magazine. Her first book Teach Yourself Visually Golf was published in 2007. She also has appeared multiple times on Golf Channel’s instruction programs including The Golf Fix and Swing Expedition.

Contact Coach Mo
@coachmogolfpro
www.coachmogolfpro.com
mgesualdi@stjohnsgolf.com

The Golf Academy at St. Johns
Located at St. Johns Golf & CC in St. Augustine/St. Johns, FL
@thegolfacademy_st.johns
www.stjohnsgolf.com

Today's episode we welcome CEO & Founder of Ladies Executive Golf Society (LEGS), Jillian Johnson to the show. LEGS is a women's empowerment businsess that launced in 2018 with the initiative to use golf as a platform to "build business, forge friendships, and connect on a deeper level," (www.ladiesexecutivegolfsociety.com).

"We are seeking to change the paradigm not only on the golf course, but in the business world as well.   Rather than fitting into tradition, we felt that women were craving a different experience of golf, designed specifically for women. We are on a mission to create a welcoming, inclusive, female-friendly platform for women to grow professionally and personally through the game of golf." (www.ladiesexectutivegolfsociety.com)

Jillian is going to tell us all about LEGS, why and how she started it, and the vision of LEGS and how it can be the connection of the future of women in golf to their begining.

Emily Atkinson, a member of LEGS Jacksonville, also joins the show to talk about her involvement with LEGS and her upcoming event, LEGS Goes Red with Coach Mo, and how since 2004, the American Heart Association's “Go Red for Women” initiative has addressed the awareness and clinical care gaps of cardiovascular disease.

LEGS, American Heart, Playing Through Performance, & Coach Mo at The Golf Academy of St. Johns are teaming up for this event to raise awareness about women's health and women's golf businesses, and have a blast doing it with fun competitions and prizes from Taylormade Golf as well as a raffle full of local goodies from local women's businesses like F45 Bartram Park, Casey Hayes with Golden Effervescence, The Golf Academy at St. Johns, LEGS, and more!

To get involved as a local women's business, attend the event, or donate to our American Heart campain, please see the links below:
LEGS GOES RED w/ COACH MO registration: https://ladiesexecutivegolfsociety.com/event-5614386

If you are unable to attend, you can still support LEGS Member Emily Atkinson and AHA’s “Go Red for Women” initiative by donating here: https://www2.heart.org/site/TR/GoRedforWomen/GSA-GreaterSoutheastAffiliate?pg=team&fr_id=10473&team_id=837497#loaded

LEGS Goes Red w/ Coach Mo: Women’s Golf Launch & Awareness Day
Date: Saturday, March 23rd
Time: 12:30pm-2:30pm
Location: The Golf Academy at St. John’s
Attire: Comfortable golf or workout attire – Preferably red!

Come learn, support and network with several local women’s and girl’s golf organizations for the benefit of the American Heart Association!

Please join us for a women’s golf launch and heart disease awareness event featuring LEGS, Coach Mo, Playing Through Performance, and Welcome2Golf! We're bringing together communities of women and girls to raise awareness about how they can empower and learn from each other's initiatives with the goal of amplifying each cause's impact through the platform of golf.

All proceeds will benefit the American Heart Association’s (AHA) “Go Red for Women” Women of Impact Campaign. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women. Since 2004, the AHA’s “Go Red for Women” initiative has addressed the awareness and clinical care gaps of cardiovascular disease.

Admission includes a complimentary golf clinic, competitions, raffles, refreshments, educational sessions, and more!

Tickets: $30 per person.


@ladiesexecutivegolfsociety
@legsgolfjax
@emilyatkinson10
@playingthroughperformance

Contact Coach Mo
@coachmogolfpro
www.coachmogolfpro.com
mgesualdi@stjohnsgolf.com

The Golf Academy at St. Johns
Located at St. Johns Golf & CC in St. Augustine/St. Johns, FL
@thegolfacademy_st.johns
www.stjohnsgolf.com