collage || insider’s guide Wayzata Country Club Founded: 1956 The Basics: Where Woodhill is demure and
secretive, Wayzata is glitzy and flashy: The two clubs are polar opposites, as different as Mark Dayton and David Koch. And yet, they are near neighbors, less than a mile apart, separated by a railroad track (literally). Culturally speaking, Wayzata is lively, fun-loving and very family-oriented. It also seems to attract more than its fair share of drama. Just Google Wayzata Country Club and “Ali Dunham” for one juicy tale that made it all the way to the TV show A Current Affair. The club has also attracted a few crooked characters, such as Denny Hecker and Tom Petters. In fact, a handful of members were accused of being co-conspirators in Petters’ $3.65-billion Ponzi scheme.
Ancient History: For nearly 40 years, Woodhill
was one of the few private clubs near Lake Minnetonka. As the area exploded with new residents after World War II, it was besieged with membership requests. This made Woodhill’s old-guard founders, who preferred
to stay under the radar, quite uncomfortable. As such, the old-money families decided they needed a kind of pressure valve for their favorite club and so put up much of the early capital for Wayzata.
Clubhouse: The Tudor cottage clubhouse
is well-appointed outside and in. Even the lockers in the locker rooms have carved-wood doors.
Golf Course: The splendid and tough 18-hole
championship course is never lent to the Minnesota Golf Association for tournaments.
Other Amenities: Trap and skeet range, an
Olympic-sized pool, six clay and two hard-surface tennis courts, two paddle tennis courts, a six-hole junior golf course, an ice rink in winter.
Notable Members: former General Mills
The Damage: $35,000 initiation, $685 monthly dues, $100 monthly capital assessment plus a $160 bimonthly food minimum.
CEO Steve Sanger, Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Publisher Vance Opperman, Gov. Wendy Anderson, TCF Bank CEO Bill Cooper, Archivers Founder Jann Olsten, professional golfer Tim Herron
Getting In: You need one primary and two
Networking Hot Spots: Campbell Mithun;
supporting sponsors to write letters on your behalf. These letters, plus a formal membership application and credit report, are submitted to the board of directors for review. The process generally takes a couple of months.
C.H. Robinson; Deloitte & Touche; Fabcon; Fair Isaac; General Mills; Korn/Ferry; KrausAnderson; Medtronic; Merrill Lynch; Pentair; PricewaterhouseCoopers; RBC Wealth Management; Toro; U.S. Bancorp; Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
WHITE BEAR YACHT CLUB Founded: 1889 The Basics: Twenty miles northeast of St. Paul sits the White Bear Yacht Club, the only sailing-plus-golf club in the state.
Ancient History: Originally a summer
hotel, the yacht club still rented rooms to vacationers through the 1920s. F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, spent the summer of 1921 at the club but were kicked out before September (probably for fighting, which they did all the time). In 1922,
Fitzgerald published Winter Dreams, a short story about a caddie-turned-businessman who falls in love at Sherry Island Golf Club in Black Bear Lake, Minnesota.
Noteworthy Event: The Sailors BBQ features
a competitive scow, a BBQ buffet on the Lakeside Lawn and cocktails galore.
Clubhouse: The clubhouse is an interesting
mix of nautical and Nantucket: white clapboard and blue awnings next to bold arches and sweeping porticos. Currently, a $3.2-million renovation is underway. As of Memorial Day, club members can enjoy a new 25-yard competition pool, a kid’s splash pool and wading area, a new dining terrace with lake views, a new 1,200-square-foot lakeside pavilion with firepit and patio, a new tennis house, and a new on-course restroom. The club is also funding a shoreline restoration project.
Golf Course: The Donald Ross–designed
course is separated from the clubhouse by Dellwood Avenue.
98 Artful Living
| Summer 2013
Other Amenities: Four clay and two hard-surface tennis courts.
The Damage: Initiation is $26,550 initiation, $725 monthly dues.
Getting In: As of press time, there were 200 members; the club has a capacity of 225. Applicants need two letters of recommendation from club members. New members are approved the second Tuesday of the month. Notable Members: Ordway family heirs
Todd Nicholson, Horace Irvine III and Ford Nicholson; Regions Hospital CEO Brock Nelson; art dealer and Coldwell Banker Burnet Co-founder Dar Reedy
Networking Hot Spots: 3M; CentraCare Health System; Craig-Hallum Capital; Hallberg & McClain; Securian Financial Group; Smith Barney; St. Croix Orthopaedics; Western Bank