Bruce Devlin on his way to winning the Australian Open as an amateur in 1960. – Photo courtesy of ‘Bump & Run’
BRUCE Devlin is one of the pioneering Australian expat golfers who successfully transitioned to the United States, forging a brilliant career as a tournament professional, golf course designer, television commentator, and philanthropist.
Keen observers may have noticed that he recently returned to his hometown of Goulburn to celebrate the life of his late wife, Gloria, who passed away in 2022. During his short visit to Australia, ‘Devils’, as he is affectionately called in his adopted home in Texas, USA, visited two of his most notable golf course designs in The Lakes in Sydney and Ocean Shores in northern NSW.
Now 87, Devlin is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to golf course design, having designed over 140 courses worldwide. I was fortunate enough to sit down with the man himself, alongside Ocean Shores superintendent Troy Makin, PGA professional Chris Graham, and a dozen other invited guests at Ocean Shores Country Club, soaking up the wisdom from such an illustrious career.
Younger readers might not fully appreciate that Devlin is one of Australia’s most successful professional golfers, having achieved 16 top 10 finishes in the majors—more than Cameron Smith (9), Steve Elkington (10), Geoff Ogilvy (8), or Marc Leishman (6).
Australian golfing legend Bruce Devlin.
Although Devlin never secured a major championship win, his eight PGA Tour victories and his weekend duels at Augusta against legends like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Raymond Floyd are significant chapters in Australia’s quest to claim the green jacket, a feat finally achieved by Adam Scott in 2013. Notably, at the 1967 Masters, Devlin holed a four-wood from 248 yards on the uphill par-five eighth hole, becoming one of the few golfers to score an albatross at Augusta National.
Devlin’s career began in Australia, where he won the Australian Amateur in 1959 and followed it up with the Australian Open in 1960 (as an amateur). After defeating Australian golfing greats like Kel Nagle and Norman Von Nida, the young Goulburn kid seemed destined for the US.
“It was Norman Von Nida who really pushed me to go to the USA,” Devlin recalled. “I came home one day, and Norman was sitting in my kitchen with my wife, Gloria, and they both agreed that I should go to the PGA Tour. This was in 1962, and Von Nida promised me $50,000 for the next 12 months. At the time, I was making about $175 a week as an apprentice plumber with my dad, and that amount of money seemed impossible.”
In 1962, a rookie on the PGA Tour wasn’t eligible for prize money during their first 12 months. The Tour used this period to test whether a young professional could handle the pressure. Any prize money that Devlin earned during this time ($3,151) went to the next place finisher. Devlin played 11 events in 1963, but by 1964 his fortunes had changed. After securing a sponsorship deals with Slazenger, signing on with Mark McCormack’s IMG and in 1964 inking a large contract with Spalding, he relocated to the US, played in 26 events, and claimed his first victory at the St. Petersburg Open. The following decade saw Devlin rise to become one of the top 10 golfers in the world.
At the end of the 1998 golf season, Devlin retired from the Senior PGA Tour to focus on his golf course architecture and his design business, as well as his commitment to ESPN’s golf broadcasts. He previously worked for NBC from 1977 to 1982 and for ESPN from 1983 to 1987. Currently, Devlin serves as Board Chairman for The Devlin Foundation and is an active volunteer with The Ben Hogan Foundation. He is also involved with the ‘First Tee’ program in the US, a significant initiative supporting juniors in golf, similar to the efforts of Golf Australia and various state bodies providing pathways for young talent.
Bruce Devlin (second from right) with (from left) Ocean Shores Chairman Dave Harman, superintendent Troy Makin and PGA professional Chris Graham.
The Ocean Shores course, one of Devlin’s first designs, was one of the earliest resort golf courses in Australia, heavily influenced by the American ethos of golf course design, residential development, and the golfing lifestyle. With a touch of Hollywood flair, thanks to celebrity Pat Boone and American investors, the course opened in 1972 and recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.
“As one of the first courses I had the privilege of designing, it’s amazing to see how well the original design has held up and how thriving the club, its members, and residents are today,” Devlin remarked. “This is surely a testament to the superintendent, the greenkeeping staff, and the well-managed clubhouse that boasts some of the best views, both east and west.”
Chris Graham, the head professional at Ocean Shores, was equally impressed.
“I could have sat and talked with ‘Devils’ for hours. Some of the stories from his early tournaments in Australia, his life in the USA, and where golf took him—just incredible stuff.”
NOTE: Check out Bruce Devlin’s podcast for some terrific interviews with golfing greats.
www.forethegoodofthegame.com/ or https://thedevlin.org/
In his prime, Devlin was amongst the very best players in professional golf.
BRUCE DEVLIN TOURNAMENT WINS
US PGA TOUR (8)
1964 St. Petersburg Open Invitational
1966 Carling World Open, Colonial National Invitation
1969 Byron Nelson Golf Classic
1970 Cleveland Open Invitational, Bob Hope Desert Classic
1972 USI Classic, Houston Open
US Champions Tour (1)
1995 FHP Health Care Classic
Australasia (20)
1959 Victorian Close Championship (as an amateur)
1960 Australian Open (as an amateur)
1962 Wills Classic, Victorian Open
1963 Queensland Open, Victorian Open, Adelaide Advertiser Tournament (tie with Frank Phillips) Wills Classic (NZ), Caltex Tournament, New Zealand Open
1964 Victorian PGA Championship
1965 Wills Masters, Dunlop International
1967 Lakes Open
1968 Dunlop International
1969 Australian PGA Championship, Dunlop International, City of Sydney Open
1970 Australian PGA Championship
1983 Air New Zealand Shell Open
Amateur (3)
1958 Lake Macquarie Amateur, NSW Amateur
1959 Australian Amateur
Other (3)
1963 French Open
1970 Alcan Golfer of the Year Championship, World Cup (team with David Graham)
FUN FACT
In the 1960s when Devlin would get a box of new golf balls, in a box of 15, he would run them through a metal ring to make sure they were spherical. Often only three or four balls would pass the test.
