Vines was one of the top Australian golfers of his generation, winning a number of worldwide tournaments.

[3][4] In late 1966 he posted his first top performance at a major event, finishing solo third at the North Coast Open.

He held lead entering the final round and, though overtaken by Graham Henning, would still finish solo second.

Aided by a hole-in-one in the final round, Vines shot 272 (−20) to win the Swiss Open by two over Guy Wolstenholme.

[9] The following week Vines was victorious again, winning the Basque Coast Open at Biarritz Golf Club in southwest France.

In late January he played excellently at the Wagga City Open, nearly overcoming Walter Godfrey's four shot overnight lead.

[11] The following week he recorded an astonishing performance at the Tasmanian Open, winning the tournament by 17 strokes.

[12] It was later noted by an Australian journalist that his performance stood "as the biggest victory margin in a tournament in the world.

"[13] The experience in Tasmania was personally important to Vines as well, as he had his honeymoon with his newlywed wife Robin while on the island.

[15] Two weeks later Vines also had a chance to win the last event of the circuit's 1968 schedule, the Yomiuri International.

Tied for the lead Chen Ching-Po and Tomoo Ishii at the beginning of the final round, Vines had "trouble mastering the difficult windy conditions" and shot a disappointing 76 (+4).

[16] Like the previous year Vines again played in Switzerland and record excellent results.

Vines outplayed playing partner Bill Dunk over the course of the final round to beat his own expectations and win by two shots.

Once again he played well at the Tasmanian Open, finishing two back of Stewart Ginn, tying David Good and Ian Paul for second.

[26] In September, he finished runner-up at the West End Tournament, nearly overcoming overnight leader David Galloway.

However, on the par-5 18th hole the leader and his playing partner, Hore, got into trouble, taking four shots to reach the green.

[29] Due to his recent good play he was among the "favoured players" at the Australian PGA Championship.

[33] In windy conditions on the final day, he shot a 74 (+3) but managed to finish in a tie for fifth, five back of champion Bennetts.

It was the first time he had broken 30 and "gave him almost as big a thrill as his 1968 Tasmanian Open victory by 17 shots.

[29] Tapper, however, played poorly the entire round, presaged by a bogey on the opening hole.

Though he drove the ball extremely erratically, Vines hit extraordinary approaches from the rough or behind trees and the wrong fairway.

However he shot a mediocre 74 in the final round to end up tied for thirteenth place with Rodger Davis and Tom Watson.

[48] Vines defeated star golfers Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd, and Greg Norman by several shots.

At the Griffith Golf Classic he opened with a 66 (−5) to share for the first round lead with Rob McNaughton.

[50] He continued to hold the lead for most of the weekend but struggled down the stretch with a final round 72 (+1) to fall into a tie with Ian Stanley.

Vines turned 50 in the middle of 1995 and quickly started playing on the European Seniors Tour.

[54] Two years later, during the 2007-08 season, he won the New Zealand Senior PGA Championship at the age of 62.