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White Bear Yacht Club, Minnesota

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In 1921 F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, spent the summer—or at least part of it—living in a rented room at White Bear Yacht Club . Located 20 miles northeast of St. Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald’s hometown, the club seemed a perfect place to swim, relax and play golf in a quiet setting where Fitzgerald also could write.

But as was often the case, the Fitzgeralds did far more drinking and fighting than swimming, relaxing, playing golf or writing, and were tossed out before the first leaf fell in September. A year later, Fitzgerald published the short story Winter Dreams , the tale of Dexter Green, a successful businessman who falls in love with the daughter of a man whose bag he once toted as a caddie at Sherry Island Golf Club in Black Bear Lake, Minnesota. No doubt, White Bear was a foundation for that work, as well as for The Great Gatsby and the quote commonly attributed to Fitzgerald: “The rich are different from you and I.”

Certainly, White Bear’s original members lived not unlike the way Jay Gatsby did, with black-tie dinners and debutante balls in the original clubhouse (destroyed by a fire in 1937), which is said to have resembled an ocean liner.

The current membership  is considerably more casual, but not when it comes to golf—and for good reason. The club’s golf history is a rich one. For years Walter Hagen held the course record. White Bear’s second pro, Tom Vardon, was the younger brother of six-time British Open winner Harry. In 1929 member Harrison “Jimmy” Johnston became the only player besides Bobby Jones to win the U.S. Amateur between 1927 and 1930. But at White Bear, Donald Ross is the name that matters most of all. Ross’ history with the club is a bit fuzzy, as most documentation of the original course design was lost in the fire. All that survived was a promotional pamphlet bearing the legend: “Original design by William Watson. Developed by Tom Vardon and Donald Ross.”

Vardon tinkered with the layout during his tenure, which began in 1916. It is believed that Watson, a well-regarded Scottish designer, created some initial drawings for a lost front nine. But Ross’ fingerprints mark each of the 6,471 yards that sit across a road from the shores of White Bear Lake, where several of St. Paul’s most prominent families formed a sailing club in 1889.

In the early 20th century, Ross performed a considerable amount of work in Minnesota, designing or re-working Minikhada, Interlachen and Woodhill around the Twin Cities, as well as Northland near Duluth. White Bear’s official history includes the diary entry of a member recounting a 1910 meeting at which Ross (but not Watson or Vardon) discussed plans for the front nine. Further supporting Ross as the designer is the biography Discovering Donald Ross, which places him at the club in 1912 and 1915. The front opened in 1912 and the back in 1916.

Having grown up in Dornoch, Scotland, Ross was heavily influenced by the way natural beauty had been harnessed at his home course, Royal Dornoch, as well as by a typically Scottish love of a brisk walk. The raw material at White Bear was a rugged, rolling parcel that is believed to have been a potato farm. At this stage in his career, Ross was designing courses that focused on the existing contours of the land and took advantage of natural mounds, many of which mark the topography of the rough at White Bear.

The layout favors the shotmaker over the big hitter, demanding creativity, accuracy and focus on every shot from nearly every location—most of them uneven—on the course. The 405-yard 1st breaks a bit from Ross’ tendency toward gentle opening holes. From a high tee box, the fairway drops significantly downward and then up to a large, elevated green, required a precisely judged, well-executed mid-iron shot. Anything short will roll down the hill.

The 429-yard 2nd features another Ross hallmark, a V-shaped fairway that sits right of center. The topography siphons good drives toward the middle, but almost always results in a sidehill lie, which is preferable to the alternative: missing the fairway.

The challenges are varied through the course of the 18 holes. On the 383-yard 12th, a well-hit drive can kick forward off a slope, but the green is hidden by a false front that runs dramatically away from the line of play, often causing what seems to be a great shot to end up in a bunker behind the green. The par-5 13th has a roller-coaster fairway that gives way to a narrow approach, while the back nine’s other par 5, the 16th, has a tight driving area.

The course has been altered a bit over the years. The club has removed bunkers and planted hundreds of spruce trees in the 1960s and ’70s, no doubt a result of the “beautification” movement that swept across much of American golf during that era.

In some cases, Ross’ offset tee boxes were squared to the fairway and on the picturesque 189-yard 8th, a member of the green committee cleared an oak-filled hollow below the tee one winter during the early ’60s, eliminating what had been a blind tee shot.

Led by former golf chairman Mark Hallberg, the club recently restored the course to Ross’ original design. Working with Tom Doak and using pictures from the ’40s, the club has rediscovered lost bunkers and removed many spruces. But for the most part, the committee has left intact the greens, which Doak calls “the most severely undulating greens Ross ever designed.”

In more than the putting surfaces, White Bear is a throwback—nearly everyone walks the course as Ross intended, braving steep hills that can tax even the best-conditioned golfers. Ross designed each hole for maximum beauty and challenge, and the course provides just as formidable a test today as it did for Hagen and Vardon.

Members like to tell the tale of a guest who spent the day bedeviled by the terrain to which Ross hewed so closely nearly a century ago. Coming off No. 18, the man stormed up to a member and complained that he’d had “only one flat lie all day!”

“Where?” the member asked. “I’ll have to have that fixed.”

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White Bear Yacht Club

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56 Dellwood Ave

Saint Paul, MN 55110

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About the business.

Nestled on the shores of picturesque White Bear Lake lies one of Minnesota's premier, lakeside country clubs. Renowned for its storied history, sailing heritage, legendary Donald Ross golf course, lakeside clay tennis courts and euphoric spirit of hospitality, the White Bear Yacht Club has much to offer its members and the community it has cultivated. We invite you to look inside and experience the intangible, revered distinction that we have enjoyed for over a hundred years. …

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Very pretty venue for a wedding. It looks like a nice Club to belong to... we went there for a wedding and the passed snacks were very good the service was very good and the atmosphere was great.

What an amazing golf and country club! Not only is it beautiful, but the classic golf course and amazing programs for kids make it perfect for our whole family.

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Home  Olympic Athletes  Lara Dallman-Weiss

Mixed 470 Lara Dallman-Weiss

PRESS INQUIRIES

Lara Dallman-Weiss grew up sailing on White Bear Lake, MN. She spent her summers sailing in the Inland Lakes Yachting Association (ILYA), but most of her development as an athlete came on the basketball court, in track and cross-country, and as a dancer. She found her love for competitive sailing at Eckerd College and from there continued to race and work with an diverse range of teams until she and Nikki joined forces in the 470. Notably, Lara was the 2016 Farr 40 North American Champion on Flash Gordon, placed 1st in the C&C 30 class at the 2016 Key West Race Week, 1st at the 2016 Etchells Pacific Coast Championship as main trimmer, and 3rd at the 2014 Women’s Match Race World Championship, as part of the Epic Racing team.

Lara is a 2011 graduate of Eckerd College where she studied nutrition. She was sailing team captain, won 3rd place at the 2010 Women’s Nationals, and earned both Crew and Skipper of the Year awards. Before campaigning full-time in the 470 class, Lara raced on the professional sailing circuit for five years, racing with a range of teams from Etchells and Melges 20s to Farr 40s and Perini Navis. In addition, she spent time as a professional drone pilot, copywriter and photographer.

Hometown: Shoreview, Minnesota Education: Eckerd College Club: New York Yacht Club, White Bear Yacht Club

Sailing Achievements:

Copyright ©2018-2024 United States Sailing Association. All rights reserved. US Sailing is a 501(c)3 organization. Website designed & developed by Design Principles, Inc. -->

Our Mission

White Bear Sailing School will engage in such activities that foster the knowledge, practice and the art of sailing at White Bear Lake among the youth and their families, both as a current and a lifelong activity.

Building the current sailing school

Introduction    White Bear Lake has a rich history of sailing and boat building. While the iconic boat builders such as Amundson and Johnson Boat Works may no longer exist on the lakeshore, sailboat racing and sailing instruction on White Bear Lake continues. In 2016 the White Bear Sailing School celebrated 60 years of teaching youth the sport of sailing on White Bear Lake. The school, which is open to the public, offers sailing opportunities from ice out to late fall. The school has grown from an initial 25 students to about 300 per year.

Early Beginnings    A local sailor, W.G. (Bill) Graves, Jr., was the first to conduct regular sailing lessons for the young sailors from White Bear Lake in the 1950s. The first year he taught twenty-five students who met each Saturday morning during the summer. In 1959, Harvey Mills and Jock Irvine taught sailing lessons under contract with the White Bear Yacht Club. Doug Mills, in partnership with Jock Irvine, also taught sailing classes on White Bear Lake in 1965 and singly in 1966. At that point, the classes were no longer connected with the yacht club.

Art and Marian Johnson who were both area high school teachers became associated with the White Bear Sailing School in the mid 1960's. They ran the school for many years along with older graduates of the sailing school who returned home from college during summer. At that time, the school did not own any boats. Students used their own sailboats, used sailboats loaned by people on the lake, or were paired with students who had boats.

Incorporation as Non-profit    The school was incorporated as a public non-profit organization in 1980. This was the start of the school’s expansion to offer more classes and racing opportunities for area youth. It also enabled the school to begin acquiring its own boats through donations and fundraising.

Waterfront Classes    During most of the WBSS’s 60-year history, classes were held on the waterfront at the White Bear Yacht Club. Classes, high school practices, and regattas continue to be held there and are headquartered at the new Smokey Ordway Lakeside Pavilion constructed in 2013. The school’s fleet of 40 boats are kept there.

Boats    Through the years, the school has taught sailing in 16-foot X boats, originally designed for youth in 1932 by Johnson Boat Works. In the 1990s, the school added Optimist Dinghies, built by Johnson Boat Works, to its fleet of boats. These 8-foot dinghies are used world-wide to teach younger sailors to sail and race. Another class of boat, the Club 420, was added to the WBSS fleet in 2007. It offered the opportunity to initiate a High School sailing program for our local schools to compete in the district, state and national High School sailing. Sailors from the White Bear Area have been state champions in recent years.

Past Student and Instructors’ Success    Several past student and instructors from the school have gone on to be sailing coaches at other sailing schools and yacht clubs. Andy Johnson has coached at the intercollegiate sailing team at the University of Hawaii since the early 1990s. Mark Dunsworth, former WBSS President, coached at several sailing schools and was Director at Minnetonka Sailing School. Katie Tinder coached at Severn Sailing Association, was the Sailing Director at Pewaukee Lake Sailing School in Wisconsin and in 2016 became sailing program manager at the Columbia Yacht Club in Chicago. Dan Thompson is Sailing Director at Little Traverse Yacht Club and assistant sailing coach at Hobart College. David Thompson is assistant sailing coach at Dartmouth College.

Several past WBSS students have gone on to place very high in or win Inland Lake Yachting Association regattas, High School regattas, and college regattas.

Compiled by Jay Rendall

White Bear Sailing School

56 Dellwood Ave Dellwood, MN 55110

Waterfront Director

Phone: 651-900-2505

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White Bear Yacht Club

White Bear Lake, MN • Private

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Before he moved to California where he laid the foundation of many of that state's best courses from the pre-Depression era, William Watson was a pioneer of golf in Minnesota. He arranged the first nine holes at White Bear Yacht Club in 1912 near the shore of White Bear Lake on some of the most roly-poly land imaginable. Several years later, Donald Ross, it is believed, added nine holes and remodeled the course. That rumpled, unmodified land is the heart and soul of White Bear Yacht Club. Modern architects would likely have leveled and softened the slopes and ravines, but here they bring the golf to life visually and psychologically, offering nary a level stance and asking the player to hit approaches with extreme control. Over the last two decades under the guidance of Jim Urbina the surrounding canopy of forest has been pared back to better reveal the massive, enthralling undulations of the course.

100 Greatest: The course was part of Golf Digest's original 200 Toughest Courses list from 1967-'68.

Second 100 Greatest: Ranked 191st, 2017-'18.

Best in State: Ranked fourth, 2023-'24. Ranked fifth, 2011-'22. Ranked inside the top 5, 1991-2003. Ranked inside the top 10, 2005-'09. 2023-'24 ranking: 4th.

Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists

100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES

Shot options, layout variety, conditioning.

“While still highly rated, it is the most underrated top course in the state. The variety on the course, conditions, and the unique multi-clubhouse vibe is top on the state."

“Awesome rolling topography. Great conditions. This is such a fun course to play on these hills. The 18th hole is a little bit of a let down. Truly think they would benefit from switching the 9s."

“Old Donald Ross design built on undulating ground. Beautiful set of Par 3's are the highlight here. Here's a course where you will hit every club in your bag. This is a fun course to play. Jump at the chance to play here if ever invited."

“Delightful private club on a small site with considerable elevation changes. What I lacks in length is made up in variety, uniqueness/quirk, and challenging green complexes. Very soft when played, which is probably more often the rule than the exception (though reportedly, they do strive for firm conditions)"

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