Golf, Identity, and Starting Over

Golf, Identity, and Starting Over

Author: NewClub Golf Society May 11, 2026 Duration: 1:10:22

What happens when the thing you’ve built your entire identity around suddenly stops being your job?

This week, Matt and The Professor sit down with a friend and former PGA Tour player and Korn Ferry Tour winner, Chris Wilson, for one of the most honest conversations we’ve had about professional golf, pressure, performance, and life after competition. What starts as a conversation about Q-School, Northwestern, and surviving on Tour slowly becomes something much deeper: how the elite performers learn to let go, reinvent themselves, and figure out who they are when the score no longer defines them.


Along the way, Chris explains why bad weather can free your golf swing, why “be aggressive” is terrible putting advice, how Tour players spiral after missed cuts, and why the best skill he carried from golf into finance had nothing to do with golf at all.


What the conversation dives into:

  •  Why miserable weather sometimes produces the best golf 
  •  The hidden psychological pressure of Tour reshuffles and missed cuts 
  •  What winning on the Korn Ferry Tour actually changes - and what it doesn’t 
  •  The difference between linear and nonlinear putters 
  •  Why Chris says he “never thought about pace” while putting 
  •  The challenge of separating your identity from your golf game 
  •  What elite golf teaches you about business, communication, and relationships 
  •  How learning to “care less” can actually improve performance 

Connect with our guest

💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-wilson-98b112127/


Follow The Bag Drop

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebagdrop
 🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/thebagdropgolf
 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBagDropGolf


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

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


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


Support our Partners

🐝 NewClub: https://www.newclub.golf

🏌️ Titleist: https://www.titleist.com

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

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 - Intro
07:57 - Chris Wilson joins the show
13:08 - Northwestern vs Ohio State
17:06 - The jump from college golf to professional golf
21:51 - PGA Tour reshuffles and surviving missed cuts
31:21 - Winning on the Korn Ferry Tour
35:29 - Leaving professional golf behind
42:53 - The philosophy of putting
49:18 - Why Chris “never thought about pace”

What is The Bag Drop?

The Bag Drop features weekly stories from the culture, community, and characters shaping golf today. Produced by NewClub Golf Society, each episode blends authenticity and expert insights for passionate golfers at all levels. Special guests from clubs, courses and every corner of the changing landscape join us for thoughtful, in-depth discussions on all things golf.


What is NewClub?

Founded in 2017, NewClub is the premier private golf society in the United States. It blends the community and access of a private club with the variety and affordability of public golf. Members enjoy thousands of reserved tee times, competitions and events at exceptional partner courses across our local chapters, as well as signature trips and exclusive perks. NewClub is revolutionizing golf membership, making the game more meaningful for those who love it.


There's a whole world of stories that never make it to the leaderboard or the final green, and that's exactly where The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf finds its voice. This isn't just a series about swings and scores; it's a weekly exploration of the people, places, and moments that truly define the game's rich culture. You'll hear from greenkeepers, historians, passionate amateurs, and tour veterans, all sharing perspectives that go far beyond the typical post-round interview. Produced by the NewClub Golf Society, the podcast is built on a foundation of authentic conversation, digging into the connections between life on and off the course. Every episode feels like pulling up a chair in the clubhouse after a round, where the talk is as much about character as it is about character. It’s for anyone who feels that golf is about more than just a number on a card-it's about community, legacy, and the unexpected lessons found in a walk across eighteen holes. Tune in for thoughtful, often surprising discussions that remind us why this game continues to captivate so many.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf
Podcast Episodes
Let Me Be Mad — Ryan Gerard [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:29:07
Ryan Gerard hates losing more than he likes winning — and he'll tell you that's a feature, not a bug. Or, as he said to his caddy, JP, recently: “Just, Let Me Be Mad.”In this episode of The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Go…
Going Long on the Great Clubs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:21
Fittingly, we recorded our shortest episode ever to explain why the next ones will be much longer!Eight years in, The Bag Drop is biting off something new: fewer releases, deeper research, and three- to five-hour episode…
Why Three of Four Beginners Quit [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:32:12
Nineteen million Americans have tried golf since 2020. About one in four of them stayed.In this episode of The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf, host Matt Considine and co‑host Dr. Kevin Moore (a.k.a. “The Professor”) si…
The Best Course in the World Is a Par 66 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:50
Jim Hartsell will tell you the best golf course in the world is 4,800 yards and a par 66. He is not being cute about it. He would like you to come after him.In this episode of The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf, host M…
3D-Printed Putters and the Science of Feel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:01
What happens when a guy with a Wall Street background decides he’d rather make putters than climb the corporate ladder? For Al Vikmanis, the answer has been a winding path through Arccos, data analytics, custom putter de…
Building the Gilroy: Old Barnwell's Second Course [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:07
What does a piece of land owe the people around it once the golf stops paying for itself?In this episode of The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf, host Matt Considine and co‑host Dr. Kevin Moore (a.k.a. “The Professor”) s…
Can Every City Build a Place Like The Park? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:34
Can a golf facility be fun, affordable, and welcoming for the local community while maintaining an elite course and golf experience that attracts committed golfers from around the globe? Brian Conley knows it can; he see…
Why Australian Golf Hits Different [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:43:12
A country that loves a drink almost never drinks on the golf course. That's not temperance — that's the whole story.In this episode of The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf, host Matt Considine and co‑host Dr. Kevin Moore…
Sympathetic Renovation with Dave Zinkand [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:55
For fifteen years, Dave Zinkand's name never made it onto the scorecard. He was the guy in the field for Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw — Bandon Trails, Bandon Preserve, WeKoPa— learning to be an editor of his own work. Now…
How to Actually Qualify for a USGA Four-Ball [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:31
Everyone tells you golf is an individual game. Zach Healy and Jack Larkin Jr. are quietly proving how much better it gets when it isn't.The two former University of Georgia golfers — roommates for all five years, four-ba…