W. Bruce Matthews 1904-2000
By Paul Fullmer
Executive Secretary, American Society of Golf Course Architects

Michigan's W. Bruce Matthews was a gentleman, with a great love for the game of golf.

Bruce represented the almost gone, but certainly not forgotten, era of golf that endured the harsh years of the Depression. That's when an aspiring golf course architect had to make due during the lean years, as Bruce did by working as the general manager and superintendent of Green Ridge Country Club in Grand Rapids. Golf course architecture had to be done in his spare time.

When Bruce entered the Society, members were somewhat puzzled by his background. Who is Bruce Matthews? Architect? Owner? Club Manager? Superintendent? Well, he was all of those... and proudly so.

Bruce and his beloved Doris, who had been married 72(!) years at the time of her death in 1998, lived on Grand Haven Golf Club, a facility he designed, built and owned. He liked nothing better than driving guests around the course, explaining when improvements were made and how they were financed. When I visited, it soon became apparent that Bruce did whatever it took to make the operation work, whether it was working to get a green back in shape or ringing up the cash register on a busy Saturday.

But Bruce and Doris, who brightened meetings with her smile and was always someone the younger wives could confide in at ASGCA conferences, loved to entertain visitors at their home among all their memorabilia. Bruce was the strong, silent type, but had a wonderful smile that certainly inspired confidence in those around him, especially investors during the early days of golf development in Michigan. I'm sure Bruce still cannot believe, although he's now looking down on the whole state at once, the golf explosion in his home state. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined Michigan having more new courses in a year than Florida, Arizona or California. I'm not too sure he would even approve of all the new courses, since he learned to be fiscally conservative in tough times and had lived through enough economic cycles to be wary of an extended boom.

On the other hand, history will show that Bruce was the first in the "Michigan arcitectural dynasty." Bruce made his full-time commitment to golf course architecture when he and son Jerry formed Matthews & Associates in 1959. Since then grandson Bruce III has entered the field and established a practice in Michigan. Bruce also had a great love for the Society and Jerry went on to become president of the organization. Bruce beamed his smile when he was elected an ASGCA Fellow in 1981.

An organization's strength can be found in the caliber of its membership. Bruce Matthews proved over decades by his faithful attendance and participation that the ASGCA has a solid membership interested in professional growth. Because he was active in so many aspects of golf, Bruce had a real understanding and appreciation of how each contributed to the success of a golf course. Yes, Bruce Matthews saw golf as a business because he was an owner. But he really saw golf as something very special, something almost mystical, especially if set along the shoreline of his home state of Michigan.

As much as anyone, Bruce Matthews was "Mr. Golf in Michigan." Surely, golf and Michigan could not have had a better ambassador!

W. Bruce Matthews Personal Awards
1956
Club Managers Association of America (Member: 25-Year Club)
1956-1960
Michigan Turfgrass Foundation -- President
1961-62, 1962-63 & 1963-64
Club Managers Association of America President -- 25-Year Club
1970
Michigan Club Managers Association Life Membership
1970
American Society of Golf Course Architects Regular Member (1970) Fellow (1981)
1978
Western Michigan GCSA
1981
Michigan Turfgrass Foundation
1991
GCSAA Distinguished Service Award
1993
Michigan Golf Hall of Fame Inductee
1996
Michigan Golf Course Owners Association Lifetime Achievement Award