The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf

Every golfer has stood over a putt and guessed. Erik Belgum learned to ask one question instead: where does the water go?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”) sit down with Erik Belgum —  a design associate with Billy Fuller and Tom Kite, and right now he's elbow-deep in the dirt at Otter Creek in Columbus, Indiana — a Robert Trent Jones original being reimagined into cradle-to-grave golf. He walks Matt and the Professor through the parts of course design nobody romanticizes: the AutoCAD, the budgets, the order of operations, and the moment a green gets approved before it's actually ready.The conversation dives into:How a kid pulling a cobwebbed pull cart in Iowa City ended up self-taught at Atlanta's Bobby Jones muni — on a $300 junior pass, with a five-questions-a-day limit from the pro shopThe church pew that changed his life: ending up in a congregation with two working golf architects, Bob Cupp and Billy FullerThe real story of the Billy Bunker — how a highway shoulder, a McDonald's playground, and Dow Chemical turned into the industry standardThe Cayman ball: the McGregor experiment Jack Nicklaus commissioned to make 5,000 yards play like 7,000, and the 13 dozen Erik inherited from his mentorWhy constraint breeds creativity — bunkerless greens at Setting Down Creek, and slope as strategy at Otter CreekConnect with our guest💼 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-belgum-2a587874/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billyfullergolfdesign/Follow The Bag Drop📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebagdrop 🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/thebagdropgolf 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBagDropGolfListen 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/newclubSupport 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/Chapters00:00  Cold open: back to loving chipping00:35  Bermuda vs. bent — reading lies and no margin for error05:48  Setting up the episode: who Erik is and why now06:14  Fact of the week: reading before bed and the science of winding down11:05  Partner: Titleist GTS — what the Professor got fit into12:24  Erik joins; Otter Creek, Columbus, and the J. Irwin Miller / Cummins story16:08  Cradle-to-grave golf: the Romp, the Pup, and the championship Otter19:26  The unromantic side of design: AutoCAD, budgets, order of operations21:37  Origin story: his dad, Iowa City, and a cobwebbed pull cart24:24  A $300 junior pass and learning the game at Bobby Jones25:50  Cart kid, the starter's nightmare tee, and "five questions a day"26:50  The church mentors: Bob Cupp and Billy Fuller30:34  Choosing landscape architecture; UGA, fall of 200733:00  His own game today: letting go of score, old equipment35:14  What is a Cayman ball?43:00  Inheriting 13 dozen Cayman balls from Bob Cupp40:30  Billy Fuller's agronomy pedigree and his years at Augusta National46:45  How the Billy Bunker was actually invented51:38  Lessons learned: the green he approved too soon56:42  Where does the water go — infrastructure as strategy59:31  Setting Down Creek and how constraint breeds creativity01:02:24  Favorite courses: Cuscawilla, Old Barnwell, North Berwick, Sunningdale01:07:57  What success at Otter Creek looks like in a yearWhat 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.

What should never change about golf? And what should have been changed years ago?With the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills around the corner, Matt and the Professor crack open the Rules of Golf and start drafting their own version of the game. From lost-ball penalties and green-reading books to arm-lock putters, divots, and pace of play, they each pick the rule changes they love, the ones they question, the ones they'd like to see, and the ones they hope survive forever.What starts as a conversation about golf's rulebook quickly becomes something bigger: a debate about fairness, skill, technology, tradition, and what the game is actually trying to reward.What the conversation dives into:Why the 2019 Rules modernization may have been one of the most important pace-of-play initiatives in modern golfThe forgotten experiments with out-of-bounds penalties, including eras when stroke-and-distance didn't existWhether arm-lock putters, oversized grips, and modern equipment have drifted too far from the spirit of the gameThe case for enforcing pace of play as a competitive skill, not just a courtesyWhy "play it as it lies" remains one of golf's most important ideas, even when your ball is sitting in a divotThe original 1744 Rules of Golf, "watery filth," and the strange rulebook debates that shaped the game we play todayFollow The Bag Drop📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebagdrop 🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/thebagdropgolf 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBagDropGolfListen 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/newclubSupport 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/Chapters0:00 - Intro 09:54 - Rule Changes We Love 12:34 - The 14-club limit and respecting the caddie 14:34 - Pace of play, red penalty areas, and 2019's biggest wins 17:21 - Flagsticks, green-reading books, and modern putting 20:28 - Rule Changes We Hate 21:32 - Touching the line of play on the green 22:48 - The case against stroke-and-distance penalties 27:59 - Would "distance only" make golf more fun? 28:20 - Rule Changes We'd Like to See 29:24 - Arm-lock putters, equipment limits, and putting skill 33:29 - Driver heads, shaft length, and equipment regulation 34:33 - Bringing back old rules and enforcing pace of play 40:33 - Rules We'd Never Change 41:15 - Why players should keep each other's score 42:08 - Play it as it lies and the divot debate 45:34 - The original Rules of Golf and playing your own ball 49:08 - Double hits, dropping from the knee, and modern quirksWhat 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.

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/@TheBagDropGolfListen 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/newclubSupport 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/Chapters00:00 - Intro07:57 - Chris Wilson joins the show13:08 - Northwestern vs Ohio State17:06 - The jump from college golf to professional golf21:51 - PGA Tour reshuffles and surviving missed cuts31:21 - Winning on the Korn Ferry Tour35:29 - Leaving professional golf behind42:53 - The philosophy of putting49:18 - 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.

How do you become one of the oldest and now largest predominantly black golf clubs in the world without owning a golf course? By building around people and purpose. In this episode of The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf, host Matt Considine and cohost Dr. Kevin Moore sit down with Ralph N. Paulk, president of Tire Town Golf Club in Akron, Ohio, to talk about one of the most meaningful golf stories hiding in plain sight.Founded in 1950, Tire Town began at a time when few local clubs allowed Black golfers to play. Today, it is known as the largest predominantly Black golf club in America — but Ralph is quick to make clear that size is not the point. The real story is what the club has become: a community built through golf, service, youth development, scholarships, volunteerism, and a stubborn belief that the game can open doors when people are willing to do the work.The conversation dives into:Tire Town’s origins at Good Park and Ridge Top, and why those courses matter in Akron golf historyWhat it means to be a club without a course — and why that idea resonates so deeply with NewClubRalph’s life in the Marine Corps, sports journalism, boxing, and covering legends like Arnold PalmerHow Tire Town grew from a golf group into a broader civic force with junior programs, scholarships, and community partnershipsWhy representation at places like Firestone Country Club matters, and how Tire Town members are changing who feels present in golfThe intentional growth of women’s leadership, junior involvement, volunteerism, and racial diversity inside the clubGolf as a foundation — not the whole house — for helping young people build confidence, discipline, opportunity, and a larger sense of what is possibleConnect with our guest🏌️ Ralph N. Paulk — Tire Town Golf Club: https://tiretowngolfclub.net/ — 🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/ralphpaulk_trib | 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralph-n-paulk-0834817/Follow The Bag Drop📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebagdrop 🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/thebagdropgolf 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBagDropGolfListen 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/newclubSupport our Partners🐝 NewClub: https://www.newclub.golf🏌️ Titleist: https://www.titleist.com🌐 Golf Blueprint: https://www.golfblueprint.comChapters00:00 Introduction, spring golf energy, and Sweetens Cove03:11 Introducing Ralph N. Paulk and Tire Town Golf Club10:41 Ralph joins the show12:12 Ralph’s first introduction to Tire Town14:40 Growing Tire Town beyond golf17:31 Women’s leadership, diversity, and intentional growth20:23 Ralph’s path from the Marine Corps to sports journalism24:54 Arnold Palmer, Akron golf, and stories beyond the scoreboard29:23 Tire Town’s 1950 origins and golf access in Akron36:58 Tire Town colors, Goodyear roots, and the Akron identity40:20 From golf club to community service engine42:19 Firestone, volunteering, and changing who feels present46:14 Why golf works as a foundation for young people50:06 Opening the doors without losing the legacy57:19 Service, family, and the Marine Corps01:00:04 Ralph’s writing, Charles Follis, and untold sports history01:03:31 What Tire Town hopes to be in 203601:09:01 Closing thoughtsWhat 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.

Joe Hancock may be the most-mentioned, least-seen name in modern golf course architecture.In this episode of The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf, host Matt Considine and cohost Dr. Kevin Moore sit down with Joe (@joeytheknows on Twitter), golf course shaper, designer, superintendent, operator, and longtime DeVries Design collaborator.Joe has one of those golf lives that seem to run beneath the surface of the game and the grounds we play on. He grew up around golf in Michigan, worked as a superintendent, owned and operated a family golf course, helped build The Mines with Mike DeVries, and has since shaped and collaborated on projects with some of the most respected architects in the modern game.The conversation dives into:Joe’s friendship and working relationship with Mike DeVries, from childhood summers on Crystal Lake to shaping The Mines in Grand RapidsWhy being a former superintendent and golf course operator changed the way Joe thinks about clients, budgets, maintenance, and the people who actually play the courseThe quiet art of shaping, including how a shaper learns when to execute, when to suggest, and when to let the land do most of the workBroomsedge, Candy Root, and the design decisions that create charm, confusion, restraint, half-par holes, and shots that stay with you after the roundThe case for more accessible, affordable, interesting public golf — and why the future of the game needs more than expensive destination architectureConnect with our guest🚜 Joe Hancock — https://devriesdesigns.com/joe-hancock — 🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/JoeytheKnowsFollow The Bag Drop📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebagdrop 🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/thebagdropgolf 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBagDropGolfListen 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/newclubSupport our Partners🐝 NewClub: https://www.newclub.golf🏌️ Titleist: https://www.titleist.com🌐 Golf Blueprint: https://www.golfblueprint.comConnect 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/Chapters00:00 Allergies, handkerchiefs, putting woes, and intentional practice10:02 Titleist fitting, descent angle, and getting on to the show12:08 Joe Hancock joins The Bag Drop14:16 Growing up with Mike DeVries and finding golf course work22:17 Building The Mines and discovering a life in shaping26:45 What owning and operating a golf course taught Joe about service32:13 Collaboration, humility, and getting inside an architect’s head42:15 What the best architects have in common44:25 Broom Sedge, challenge, charm, and half-par golf47:39 How Joe ended up at Broom Sedge56:04 The mystery and strategy of Broom Sedge’s 18th hole01:06:38 Firm golf, color, turf, restraint, and maintenance expectations01:13:06 Candy Root and doing less to the land01:20:29 Public versus private golf and the future of access01:31:26 What’s next for Joe HancockWhat 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.