The Founder Story

Built by a coach who lived in both worlds.

PGA Professional. Gym owner. Over a decade spent proving that golfers will train — when the system is built right.

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Michael Dennington

PGA Professional · Founder, DRVN

Where it started

I was a golf coach who couldn't ignore what the body was telling me.

I'm a PGA Professional. Golf coaching was my career — working at a private club, trying to compete, and grinding to get golfers better. But I was pretty overweight in my late teens and early twenties.

When I started training seriously, I saw a direct correlation to the golf course — how I swung the club, how I felt over the duration of a round, how consistent I could be day after day. It wasn't subtle. It was obvious.

So I opened a CrossFit gym. Suddenly I had access to both worlds — coaching golfers at the club and training people in the gym. That dual access changed everything. I was seeing what works, seeing the differences, seeing exactly what somebody needs not just to improve in the short term, but to stay consistent long-term.

The gap between what golfers need physically and what the industry actually delivers was massive. That's where DRVN came from.

Michael training rotational power with bands

The problem

Two industries. Neither one had the full picture.

Golf coaches

Could prescribe a swing change but couldn't address the body holding it back. If a golfer can't access the positions needed, the technical instruction never sticks. Understanding the body — what it needs, what it can do — makes every lesson more effective.

Fitness professionals

Had the training knowledge but no framework for applying it to golf. They couldn't speak the golfer's language or connect exercise selection to what actually happens in the swing. A high-yield, affluent audience was sitting right there — untapped.

Golf fitness is fitness.

The old model — bosu balls, baseless rotation drills, instruction disconnected from real physical capacity — was never designed to scale, inspire, or protect golfers long-term. Michael had been living in both worlds long enough to know: somebody had to build the bridge.

The journey

Over a decade of building.

2013

The gym & the lesson tee

Michael opens a CrossFit gym while working as a PGA Professional at a private golf club. Coaching golfers by day, training athletes in the gym — the gap between what golfers need physically and what the industry delivers becomes impossible to ignore.

2017

GolfWOD

The first iteration launches as "GolfWOD" — a golf workout of the day. It gains traction but the name confuses people outside of CrossFit. PDF workout programs sell well enough to prove demand is real.

2019

From PDFs to an app

A white-labeled app replaces the PDFs — video-delivered workouts with more structure. The methodology sharpens: progressive overload, periodization, the right physiological adaptations at the right time of year.

2021

DRVN is born

GolfWOD becomes DRVN. The custom-built app launches. The Golf Fitness Handicap™ gives every golfer a score — a shared language for physical readiness, like a handicap index for the body.

2025

The ecosystem takes shape

Creator program, certification for pros and trainers, infrastructure for facilities. Over a decade of work produces a proven platform where golfers train, pros deliver, and businesses grow.

The mission

To inspire health and fitness through and for golf.

That was the mission on day one. It's the mission today.

DRVN helps golfers improve their power, consistency, and durability so they can play better golf and shoot lower scores. But there's a second side to that equation — and Michael saw it early.

Golf is the motivating force. Most adults know they need to move more, train harder, take care of their body. What they lack is a reason that sticks. DRVN connects the fitness people need to a game they actually care about — turning maintenance into motivation.

For the golfer

Play better golf.

More distance, more energy, fewer injuries. Feel strong over every round and see it in the scores.

For the person

Live a better life.

Golf becomes the doorway to real health and fitness habits — consistency, progress, and commitment that extends far beyond the course.

The ecosystem

If you're trying to improve golf — yours or someone else's — there's a place for you here.

DRVN took an ecosystem approach from the start. Not a single product, but infrastructure for everyone involved in helping golfers get better — with trust built in at every level.

Creators

Content creators building an audience around golf fitness. The Creator program gives you a revenue share and a community to grow with.

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Pros & Trainers

Golf coaches and fitness professionals who want to formalize golf fitness into a verified, credentialed service their clients can trust.

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Facilities & Brands

Gyms, clubs, and organizations that want to deploy golf fitness at scale — with the digital tools, networks, and infrastructure to do it.

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“We've spent the best part of a decade proving that golfers will buy into training — when it's structured, it's tracked, and it's connected to outcomes they care about.”

Michael Dennington

PGA Professional · Founder, DRVN

Leadership

Shaped by the people in it.

The methodology has been built alongside physiotherapists, world long drive champions, PGA Tour competitors, and strength & conditioning professionals. A system governed by domain expertise.