Bruce Matthews at Angels Crossing

Interview With W. Bruce Matthews III Golf Course Architect Matthews Design

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with W. Bruce Matthews III, the Golf Course Architect at Matthews Design Group. The following are a few traditional and non traditional golf centric questions that I love to ask influential people in the golf industry.

Can you provide our readers a brief biography?
I was born into the game. I am a third generation member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, following my grandfather and uncle . My dad managed the family owned course. While working for him, I experienced all facets of course management. I have designed over forty golf courses and remodeled over sixty. My career also involves course ownership and operations. I teach golf course design and construction at Michigan State University.

When did you start golfing and who introduced you do the game?
My dad started me out as a three holer at Spring Meadows Country Club, which he managed at the time. I would golf in the morning and spend the afternoon in the pool. I loved the pool.

What is your current home course?
I've never been a homebody. I find something interesting in all the courses that I play. I especially enjoy playing Angels Crossing and Country Club of Lansing.

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
Designing community golf courses that are focused on local civic involvement during the development, reasonably priced and fun to play is very rewarding. Bird Creek Golf Course, Port Austin, MI, Emerald Vale, Manton, MI and Angels Crossing, Vicksburg, MI are worth the drive to play.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
Speed of play. I really like ready golf.

What is your favorite club in your bag and why?
The putter. There is nothing more fun to watch than a long putt go in the hole just the way I read it. When the putter is on, confidence and feel are a rush.

What is your favorite golf destination?
Northern Michigan has many excellent courses and it's a short drive. Great golf with beautiful vistas by Jones, Nicklaus, Fazio, Palmer, Weiskopf, Hills and of course, Matthews.

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
Augusta National

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Shinnecock Hills on Long Island is fun to play with a wind off the ocean.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
Tee markers. People are stuck on where they have to play based on gender, age, proximity to the yardage marker or handicap. Pick a level area and go have fun.

Dream foursome (living)?
My son Ben, Steve Forbes and Ben Stein. These three have very interesting insights.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
My grandfather, Walter Hagen and trick shot artist Joe Kirkwood. They worked together on projects in Florida and Georgia in the 1920's. I would love to hear them reminisce about the "Golden Age" of golf. If I could make it a fivesome, I would like to watch Moe Norman hit the ball once more.

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Long putt

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Round of life; the joy of the experience lasted longer.

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
I love watching the sun rise.

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Power fade

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Halfway house.

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bushes

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Polish dog with mustard

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Sand is easier on my wrists.

9) Walking OR riding?
Riding

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
Hybrid

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
Long par 5

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Pants

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Nicklaus

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
The Doors

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Throw a dollar in and play for pride

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Bump and run

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Yes, I've lost on both.

18) 18 holes OR 36?
18 holes

Revised: 12/20/2012 - Article Viewed 31,597 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.