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
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🎧 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.
