Some years ago there was an interesting thread regarding the origins of the White Bear Yacht Club in White Bear Lake, MN (
https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php?action=search2). I’m sure many of you have taken a look at the piece written about WBYC by Ran Morrissette. As Ran and I went through what we know and don’t know about the origins of the course, I gave a careful look at the articles and references I have regarding our Donald Ross origins, something generally accepted by most and about which we take pride. I think we need to take another look at the record, and share the credit for this remarkable classic layout with a designer who has been mainly overlooked by history, in spite of his involvement in the origins of many well- known Minnesota courses, including Bryn Mar (an MGA founder, now gone), Interlachen, and Minikahda, where William Watson was the original professional and course designer.
Who is William Watson, why do I believe we must credit him with the layout of the golf course at White Bear Yacht Club, and why has he been mostly forgotten? It’s a fascinating story, and I will rely heavily on a piece from last summer’s “Hennepin History”, written by local author Joe Gladke.
William Watson was born in Dura Den in 1860, in Fifeshire, Scotland, about 8 miles from St. Andrews. Unlike most professionals of his time, his father was a wealthy businessman and a member of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club. William was well educated, attending the University of St. Andrews and was a fine musician as well as a golfer, playing for the University on it’s golf team. But his father’s business fell on hard times, and Watson needed a new career. David Forgan, also a well-known golfer, clubmaker and teacher from St. Andrews, had relocated to Chicago working with his brother James at Chicago Golf Club. Having known Watson from St. Andrews, he persuaded him to emigrate to the U.S. and seek his fortune here. In 1898, Watson moved to Chicago. Though a fine golfer, he knew nothing of the golf business. He was a fast learner under the Forgans, and was recruited to Bryn Mar in Minneapolis to become their pro, and to design a new course near Lake Calhoun called Minikahda. Watson soon brought his father and brother to Minneapolis, and started Watson Bros. Golf Club Manufacturers shortly thereafter.
His original layout for Minikahda was a 9 hole course, fully envisioned with careful bunkering and greens. He followed with the Lafayette Club course. In 1901, he headed for a warmer clime and moved to Pasadena, California. But when Interlachen Golf Club was incorporated in 1910, Watson was lured back to Minnesota to design the course. As noted in the Minneapoils Tribune of March 4, 1910,
“The laying-out of a golf course is something of an art, and as the club does not want to make a mistake in the placing of the greens, bunkers and hazards, it was decided to go ahead and get the most expert course-maker obtainable.”
This is where the story gets murky. We know that golfers from all over the Twin Cities were a tight group, and played at each other’s clubs regularly. It was about this time that the leaders of the White Bear Yacht Club made the decision to include golf in the club’s activities for members. Though many Yacht Club members were also members of Town & Country, they spent the summers at the lake, and wanted a testing and creditable venue there. This takes us to the 1961 history of the club, mostly about sailing, which quotes Margaret Maclaren as follows;
“"On a Sunday noon, the summer of 1910, she [Mrs. John G. Ordway] was lunching at the home of her father-in-law, Lucius P. Ordway, at Dellwood. Among the guests besides herself were William Mitchell, Henry Schurmeier, and Donald Ross, a very well-known golf course architect. These gentlemen were discussing plans for a nine-hole course for the White Bear Yacht Club." This account was disputed in the GCA thread I referenced at the start.
We do have two contemporaneous documents about the course’s origin: first, a brochure from 1918 about the course, on display in the golf house, and second an article in “Golfers’ Magazine” from May 1925. The brochure shows photos of many of the holes and includes the statement “
William Watson laid it out. Donald Ross gave freely of his advice in its development and Tom Vardon, the professional at the club, was of great assistance.” In the 1925 article,
past Commodore W. G. Graves describes that that the early 9 hole course “came into being” but adds no other details, then stating that after acquiring more land “..an 18 hole course was planned. William Watson laid it out. Donald Ross gave freely of his advice in its development and Tom Vardon, the professional at the club, was of great assistance [note that this is a quote from the brochure!]….The original plan tested by play has required very little change or modification. Such changes and improvements as have been made as opportunity afforded have been strictly in line with the plan after experience showed that nothing more was needed. There has been no vacillation and there is no regret for money ill spent and for unnecessary discomfort and interruption to play. ” So there we are. It looks pretty clear to me that the layout for the course is Watson’s work. “Donald Ross gave freely of his advice…” What does this mean? We know Ross was in the area by 1916, and certainly could have visited earlier as Mrs. Maclaren remembered. But his firm did not claim the course in its published list of works. Still, many very knowledgeable folks have been here and find much that reminds them of other Ross layouts. Tom Doak, Jim Urbina, Brad Klein and the Donald Ross Society have all at least indicated that it is believable that Ross was here, even though his company records don’t include WBYC. Certainly many (but not all) of the greens feel like Ross. But, unlike many of his courses, we don’t start with a fairly easy first hole; in fact, surviving the first 5 holes with your score intact is an accomplishment. Morrisette, when we played last fall, said “This course is too good for Donald Ross!”
So- is WBYC the best remaining example of an original William Watson layout? No question that the basic layout from the 1915 map remains today, though many of the bunkers shown on the map seem odd and no longer exist. What other courses out there have still-visible Watson bones and structure?