About this episode
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 gameHow golf societies and “clubs without real estate” shaped Ben’s view of membership and communityProving Ground’s patron member model: affordable dues, no initiation, and daily public-access tee timesSustainability and maintenance meld: rough that’s actually rough, bunkers as bunkers, and walkable routingWorking with architect Mike DeVries to turn Dunham Hills into a walking-first modern classicJuniors, high school teams, pace-of-play pledges, and why access sits at the center of the projectConnect 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.comJoin 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/newclubLinks & partners ?? NewClub Golf Society: https://www.newclub.golf ? Titleist: https://www.titleist.com ? Golf Blueprint: https://www.golfblueprint.comListen to The Bag Drop ? Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bag-drop-untold-stories-in-golf/
