Golf Ground Up is a custom-built digital coaching platform developed for Joe Plecker, a professional PGA golfer whose coaching philosophy emphasizes structure, intentional practice, and measurable on-course improvement.
The goal of the platform was not simply to host instructional videos, but to translate a real-world coaching methodology into a scalable digital product; one that could serve thousands of golfers without losing the clarity, sequencing, and accountability of in-person coaching.
To achieve this, Flawless App Design designed and built a system that combines:
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Structured, multi-level golf instruction
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Secure, high-performance video delivery
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Subscription-based access control
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Real-world performance tracking through digital scorecards
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Personalized user profiles and progress analytics
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Robust admin tooling for non-technical content management
Every part of the platform, from data modeling to integrations, was built to support long-term scalability, operational efficiency, and future feature expansion.
This case study breaks down how the system was architected, why specific technical decisions were made, and what makes the platform fundamentally different from off-the-shelf course solutions.
Client
Joe Plecker, PGA professional golfer and coach
Platform
Backend & Infrastructure
Firebase (Auth, Firestore, Cloud Storage)
Integrations
Stripe, BunnyCDN, GolfCourseAPI
The Real Problem
Joe Plecker didn’t approach this project looking for “an app” or “a website.”
He was looking for a way to scale his coaching without compromising its integrity.
In traditional golf instruction, progress is driven by a tight feedback loop:
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Learn a concept
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Apply it on the course
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Measure the result
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Adjust accordingly
Most digital golf platforms break this loop. They offer libraries of videos with little structure, no accountability, and no connection between instruction and real-world performance.
Joe’s challenge was multifaceted:
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His instruction follows a progressive system, not standalone tips
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Students improve at different rates and need visible progress indicators
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Video quality and playback performance matter significantly in sports instruction
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Coaching value is lost if content is easily shared or bypassed
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Scaling 1:1 coaching manually was not sustainable
At the same time, Joe needed a platform that he could operate himself. Content updates, pricing changes, lesson reordering, and course creation needed to happen without developer involvement.
This immediately ruled out:
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Generic course platforms
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Video-hosting tools with light paywalls
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Website builders with limited data control
What was required was a custom coaching platform, purpose-built around behavior, not just content.
Constraints & Non-Negotiables
Before a single screen was designed for Golf Ground Up, Flawless App Design worked through a set of hard constraints that shaped the entire architecture.
1. Video-Centric Without Performance Risk
Golf instruction relies heavily on visual clarity. Video playback needed to be fast, reliable, and consistent across devices, without incurring runaway hosting costs.
2. Subscription-Based Business Model
Access to content needed to be tied to active subscriptions, with flexibility for future pricing tiers, promotions, or bundled offerings.
3. Web-First, Mobile-Ready
The primary experience for Golf Ground Up would be web-based, but the system needed to support mobile deployment without architectural changes.
4. Non-Technical Admin Control
Joe needed full operational control:
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Create and reorder courses
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Add and update lessons
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Manage quizzes
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Review users
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Export data
All without touching code.
5. Real-World Performance Data
Instruction alone is incomplete without execution. The Golf Ground Up platform needed a way to capture real golf performance in a structured, analyzable format.
6. Scalable, Maintainable Infrastructure
The Golf Ground Up system needed to scale cleanly without premature complexity, avoiding both under- and over-engineering.
These constraints weren’t obstacles. They were design inputs.
System Architecture Overview
Frontend: FlutterFlow
FlutterFlow was selected as the frontend framework for Golf Ground Up due to its ability to combine speed of development with production-grade output.
Key reasons for the choice:
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Single codebase for web and mobile
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Strong integration with Firebase
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Support for custom functions, actions, and widgets
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Fine-grained control over state and logic
The UI was structured around role-aware rendering, allowing the same screens to behave differently for:
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Guests
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Free users
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Subscribed members
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Admins
This avoided screen duplication while maintaining clean logic boundaries.
Backend: Firebase
Firebase was used as a full backend platform, not just a database.
Its strengths aligned well with the project’s needs:
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Real-time data synchronization
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Scalable authentication
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Secure access control
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Predictable operational costs
Core Firebase Services
Authentication
Email/password authentication with role-based access patterns.
Cloud Firestore
A document-based database structured around user behavior and system workflows.
Cloud Storage
Temporary and permanent storage for video assets prior to CDN delivery.
Firebase allowed the platform to scale horizontally without introducing backend maintenance overhead.
Data Model Philosophy
Rather than modeling data around UI screens, the schema for Golf Ground Up was designed around intent and lifecycle.
Key Design Principles
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Separate content from progress
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Avoid deeply nested documents that complicate queries
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Allow features to evolve independently
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Optimize for reads over writes
Core Collections
Users
Stores profile data, preferences, and references to related records such as progress and scorecards.
Courses & Lessons
Courses act as containers, lessons as ordered instructional units. Ordering is stored explicitly to allow admin reordering without data mutation.
Course Progress
Progress is tracked separately from content to allow resets, analytics, and future cohort-based features.
Subscriptions
Stripe-synced records that determine access rights dynamically.
Scorecards
Structured representations of real golf rounds, tied to course and hole metadata.
This separation keeps the system flexible and resistant to feature creep.
Core User Flows
Onboarding & Subscription Flow
The Golf Ground Up onboarding experience was intentionally friction-light.
Users can:
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Explore the platform as guests
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Understand the coaching philosophy
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Preview limited content
When ready, they move into subscription checkout via Stripe.
Subscription state is not hardcoded into the UI. Instead:
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Access checks occur dynamically
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Content gates respond to real subscription data
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Future pricing changes don’t require UI rewrites
This decoupling is critical for long-term business agility.
Course & Lesson Consumption
Golf Ground Up Lessons are structured learning units, not just videos.
Each Golf Ground Up lesson can include:
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High-quality instructional video
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Written guidance and cues
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Embedded quizzes
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Completion tracking
Custom logic ensures:
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Sequential unlocking when required
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Progress persistence across devices
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Accurate completion metrics
This reinforces discipline and intentional practice.
Scorecard & Performance Tracking
Scorecards are where instruction meets execution.
Using GolfCourseAPI, the platform pulls:
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Course layouts
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Hole data
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Yardage and par information
Users record:
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Strokes
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Performance per hole
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Overall round data
Custom functions calculate:
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Aggregate scores
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Performance ranges
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Visual indicators tied to results
This turns the platform into a feedback system, not just a content library.
Video Infrastructure & Delivery
Video handling was one of the most technically sensitive parts of the build of Golf Ground Up.
Upload Strategy
Admins upload raw video files through a controlled flow that supports:
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Optional client-side compression
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Chunked uploads for reliability
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Separate handling for web and native environments
Storage & Delivery
Videos are stored in Firebase Cloud Storage and delivered through BunnyCDN, which provides:
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Global edge delivery
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Lower bandwidth costs
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Consistent playback performance
This hybrid approach balances quality, cost, and scalability.
Payments & Access Control
Stripe Integration
Stripe manages:
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Subscription creation
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Recurring billing
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Pricing tiers
Custom logic maps Stripe Price IDs to internal access rules.
This allows:
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Easy plan changes
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Secure entitlement checks
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Future expansion into promotions or bundles
Billing logic is isolated from UI concerns, keeping the system resilient.
Admin & Content Management
Admin functionality was treated as a first-class feature, not an afterthought.
Admin tools include:
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Course and lesson creation
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Drag-and-drop reordering
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Quiz management
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User oversight
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CSV exports for reporting
This ensures the platform can be operated daily without developer support.
Scalability & Future-Proofing
The system was designed to grow without rewrites:
- New courses can be added without schema changes
- Additional metrics can extend scorecards
- New subscription tiers are data-driven
- Mobile apps can be deployed from the same codebase
Nothing in the architecture assumes “small scale.”
Security & Data Integrity
- Firestore rules enforce role-based access
- Users can only access their own progress and scorecards
- Admin actions are restricted by role
- Payment state is validated server-side
Sensitive operations never rely solely on client trust.
Outcome & Impact
Golf Ground Up launched as a production-ready coaching platform, not an MVP.
It enabled:
- A scalable subscription business
- Structured coaching beyond 1:1 sessions
- Data-backed improvement tracking
- Professional-grade content delivery
Most importantly, it gave Joe a platform that reflects the quality of his coaching.
Why This Approach Worked
This project succeeded because it wasn’t treated as “just a course app.”
It was treated as:
- A coaching system
- A business platform
- A long-term product
Expert-led architecture decisions early prevented costly rewrites later and ensured the platform could evolve alongside the business.
Golf Ground Up is a clear example of how Flawless App Design builds real products, not cookie-cutter templates.
