Inside Proving Ground Golf Club: Patron Member Model with Access & World-Class, Walking-First, Sustainable Design
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S1 E264

Inside Proving Ground Golf Club: Patron Member Model with Access & World-Class, Walking-First, Sustainable Design

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Can a walking-first golf club in metro Detroit blend a patron-style membership model with public access and sustainable design—and still feel like a world-class place to play golf?

In this episode of The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf, host Matt Considine (Founder of NewClub) and co-host Dr. Kevin Moore (AKA The Professor) sit down with Proving Ground Golf Club’s Ben Cowan to explore how a walking-first, public-access course outside Detroit is rethinking memberships and club culture. From the patron member model and daily public tee times to sustainable maintenance practices and a complete Mike DeVries reimagining of Dunham Hills, they dig into what it takes to build a modern club that puts golf—and community—first.
The conversation dives into:
  • Why walking golf changes the cadence of a round, the quality of conversation, and the health of the game
  • How golf societies and “clubs without real estate” shaped Ben’s view of membership and community
  • Proving Ground’s patron member model: affordable dues, no initiation, and daily public-access tee times
  • Sustainability and maintenance meld: rough that’s actually rough, bunkers as bunkers, and walkable routing
  • Working with architect Mike DeVries to turn Dunham Hills into a walking-first modern classic
  • Juniors, high school teams, pace-of-play pledges, and why access sits at the center of the project
Connect with our guests
⛳️ Proving Ground Golf Club / Ben Cowan — http://www.devriesgolfdetroit.com/
| 🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/DevriesGolfDet
| 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/devriesgolfdetroit/
| ✉️ Email: devriesgolfdetroit@gmail.com

Join the NewClub community
🌍 Website: https://www.newclub.golf

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newclubgolf/

🐦 X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/newclubgolf

▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@newclubgolf

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/newclub

Links & partners
⛳️ NewClub Golf Society: https://www.newclub.golf

🎯 Titleist: https://www.titleist.com

📊 Golf Blueprint: https://www.golfblueprint.com

Listen to The Bag Drop
🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bag-drop-untold-stories-in-golf/id1430328006

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2xRWtUBJH8RazdLw14oaGH

🎧 Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/633c8703-5880-4522-bd6d-5967b45fc777/the-bag-drop-untold-stories-in-golf

🎧 Transistor: https://thebagdrop.transistor.fm/

🎧 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/the-bag-drop

Connect with Matt & The Professor
🎙️ Matt Considine — 🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/consequential85
| 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/consequence18/
| 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-considine-103bb21/

📚 Dr. Kevin Moore ("The Professor") — 🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/kevcmoore
| 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevcmoore
| 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-moore-177b30b3/

Chapters
00:00 Introduction & fall-golf banter
05:00 Walking vs. riding
14:00 Golf societies & Walking Golfers Society
26:00 Patron member model & daily public access
39:00 Sustainability, maintenance meld & DeVries’ vision
52:00 Juniors, culture & pace of play
01:03:00 Rapid-fire questions & closing

What is NewClub?
NewClub Golf Society is a private golf society without real estate for committed golfers who care more about access, architecture, and community than locker-room status. Members enjoy curated tee sheets, competitions, events, and bucket-list travel across partner clubs in each chapter.

What is The Bag Drop?
The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf shares weekly stories from the culture, community, and characters shaping the game today. Produced by NewClub Golf Society, the show pairs honest, curious conversations with expert insight from clubs, courses, and every corner of golf’s evolving landscape.

Creators and Guests

Matt Considine
Host
Matt Considine
Founder of NewClub and our resident feel player. Matt’s junior golf career led him to the University of Akron where he met our co-host. During his junior year, Matt Studied abroad in Ireland and discovered golf societies. Subsequent trips to Scotland fed his passion for the history, ideals, and culture of accessible, affordable, and sustainable golf, a concept he would later bring to the U.S. with NewClub. Known for his interviewing style, quick wit, and compelling storytelling, Matt brings thoughtful, reflective conversations to The Bag Drop. His professional journey before NewClub included multiple leadership positions in growth-stage startups, where he managed teams responsible for more than $250 million in revenue. Matt actively gives back to the game as a Board Member of the First Tee of Akron and past chair of the Evans Scholar Foundation. Proudly based in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, Matt finds inspiration in family life with his wife, their three children, and their golf dog, Gypsy.
The Professor
Host
The Professor
NewClub's Chief Ambassador and every golf sicko's favorite educator. Kevin is a thoughtful and deeply curious host. His studied, constructivist approach adds intellectual enrichment and balance to the show. As a professor of Math Education at the University of Georgia, Kevin's background in applied mathematics and cognitive psychology uniquely informs his insights on golf strategy and performance. Originally from Ohio, Kevin was a Division I collegiate golfer at the University of Akron, where his passion for understanding mathematical thinking began. After earning his doctorate from Arizona State University, he combined his analytical expertise with his love for golf by co-founding Golf Blueprint, an organization aimed at helping golfers optimize their games through data-driven strategies. Kevin enjoys balancing deep philosophical discussions with simple pleasures, such as indulging his sweet tooth, cheering on college football, and spending relaxed evenings with his friends, his wife, and their beloved dog, Nole.