About "Coach Mo"

Monique (Mo) Gesualdi is a PGA, LPGA, TPI certified Director of Instruction at St. John’s Golf & CC.

 
Junior golf had a very strong impact on Gesualdi's life, so she enthusiastically shares her passion for golf and tournament competition with the next generation.

Gesualdi coached the FSGA 2021 Women's Stroke Play Runner-Up, the 2020 HJGT Girls 14-18, National Champion &  Player of the Year & First-Team All-American (Elizabeth Kondal) with a total of 9 HJGT wins.   Kondal  has totaled 13 wins & 7 Medalist since 2019 including Runner-Up in the  2020 FHSAA 3A State Championship. Kondal played every single round of her Senior Year high school post-season under par (-10).  Kondal was also recognized as the 2021 & 2020 Florida Times Union and 2019 St. Augustine Record Player of the Year. "Coach Mo" has coached 55+ Wins and 50+ Medalists since 2018 and have received full-scholarships at several top universities. Gesualdi's beginner competitive students typically shave-off 10-20+ strokes from their tournament average in 6-12 months.  Her dedication and skill as a US Kids Golf Certified Coach was recognized in 2017 and 2018 (Top 50 Instructors, Honorable Mention) while she instructed at TPC Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, NC

Gesualdi had a successful junior and high school golf career as a  decorated student-athlete attending Nease High School in the  International Baccalaureate program. Gesualdi was consistently ranked in the Top-50 in Golfweek as a junior/senior landing as high as top-20 in the national junior ranking. Gesualdi was a two-time AJGA  All-American in 2002 & 2003. Mo won back-to-back  national championships at the prestigious Women's Western Junior in  2002 & 2003,  was the 1999/2000 and 2000/2001 FCWT Player-of-the-Year, and two-time St. Augustine Record and Florida Times Union Player of the Year.  Gesualdi was also recognized by the St. Augustine Record as the Athlete  of the Decade for Girl's Golf for the 2000's for St. John’s County .

Monique's hard  work-ethic & competitiveness as a junior contributed to her earning a full-scholarship to play at Furman University, a Top-20 ranked D1  Women's Golf program at the time. Gesualdi was identified as “Freshman to Watch“ by Golfweek before entering college. She lead the Paladins to a team  and individual victory at the 2004 Furman Lady Paladin  where she also held the 36-hole tournament school record for 10 years [69-70 (-5)] in a program preceded by LPGA Hall-of-Famers Betsy King,  Beth Daniel, & Dottie Pepper.  At the 2004 Hooter’s Match Play Championship, #16 seed Furman was paired against #1 ranked Duke. In those matches Gesualdi was paired against Elizabeth Janagelo, Duke, who was also #1 in NCAA individual rankings at the time. Gesualdi went on to defeat Janagelo 3 & 2.  While at Furman, Gesualdi had one individual & two team wins, selected as First Team All-American her sophomore year,  Southern Conference  Player of the Month  (Oct 2004), and chosen as Golfweek Player of the Week (Oct 2004). Gesualdi was a member of Delta Gamma sorority her sophomore-senior year where she served as the Director of Intramural Sports for two years. Gesualdi graduated with her BA in Communication Studies from Furman in 2007.

In the spring of 2012 Gesualdi received a life-saving liver transplant shortly followed by two miraculous craniotomies to remove a lethal fungal infection (invasive aspergillosis) that developed in her brain while immunosuppressed in the hospital. Her renowned doctor, said "You can count on one hand, world-wide, the number of immuno-compromised patients who have survived this infection." Invasive aspergillus is associated with very poor response  rates, leading to nearly 90%. mortality rate in liver transplant patients.  While Mo had beat the odds, she still had a very long road to recovery. 

After her transplant, Gesualdi spent 4-5 days a week receiving countless treatments and therapies to regain her health, strength, endurance, vision, and speech skills. After two years of extensive therapy, Mo was able to slowly grind her way back to golf. She started by volunteering and working at junior golf camps and First Tee. With time, she was able to keep adding on more work and responsibilities, eventually honoring her love of teaching and becoming a certified Class-A PGA/LPGA and TPI Level 2/Junior Golf Instructor.

Mo is extremely grateful for the life-saving gift of a donated organ. She pays it forward by advocating for organ donation through volunteer, outreach and philanthropic organizations like Donate Life, the American Liver Foundation, and the Transplant Games.