River Oaks Country Club is a

country club A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offe ...

in the River Oaks neighborhood in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

. The club has hosted the

River Oaks International Tennis Tournament The River Oaks International Tennis Tournament, also known as the River Oaks Invitational Tennis Tournament, was a men's tennis tournament held in early spring from 1931 until 2007 at the River Oaks Country Club, Houston, Texas, USA. The tournament ...

since 1931. It is located at 1600 River Oaks Boulevard, Houston TX 77019.

History

River Oaks Country Club was founded in 1923 in the River Oaks neighborhood in Houston. Architect John F. Staub was hired to design the original two-story Spanish revival clubhouse. The club house was built south of the golf course that was designed by Donald Ross. The current clubhouse was built in the 1950s on the same site as the original. River Oaks'

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

was the venue for the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

Western Open The Western Open was a professional golf tournament in the United States, for most of its history an event on the PGA Tour. The tournament's founding in 1899 actually pre-dated the start of the Tour, which is generally dated from 1916, the ye ...

in 1940, and the

Houston Open The Cadence Bank Houston Open is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played in November. As a part of a restructuring of the schedule, the event moved to the fall in 2019. Because the tour year starts the previous fall, the ...

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into ...

, 1938, and 1946. River Oaks has been home to the

from 1931 until it was merged with the oldest clay court tournaments in the United States, the U.S Men's Clay Court Championships. On May 8, 2007, the

United States Tennis Association The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, ...

awarded River Oaks the

U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament that started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP World Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts. The tournament began in 1910 when t ...

starting in 2008, taking over the event from

Westside Tennis Club The Club Westside is a private tennis club located in Houston, Texas. It was the former home (2001–2007) to the ATP Tour U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships. Gallery Furniture Stadium, located on the club's premises, was the home of th ...

. Other cities that competed for the event were

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the Li ...

, and

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida Ponte Vedra Beach is a wealthy unincorporated seaside community and suburb of Jacksonville, Florida in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located southeast of downtown Jacksonville and north of St. Augustine, it is part of the Jackson ...

. The tournament purse is $415,000 with a winner's share of $65,850. The new venue for the clay court championships was to feature American

red clay Ultisols, commonly known as red clay soils, are one of twelve soil orders in the United States Department of Agriculture soil taxonomy. The word "Ultisol" is derived from "ultimate", because Ultisols were seen as the ultimate product of continu ...

courts that were installed in 2005, with a stadium capacity of 3,000. Temporary seating for 500 was to be installed for the second court. Around 1993, River Oaks and some other area country clubs began claiming a new

tax break Tax break also known as tax preferences, tax concession, and tax relief, are a method of reduction to the tax liability of taxpayers. Government usually applies them to stimulate the economy and increase the solvency of the population. By this fi ...

. That same year, an article in the ''

Houston Post The ''Houston Post'' was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper shut down, and its assets were purchased by the '' Houston Chronicle''. History Gail Borden Johnson founded the ''Houston ...

'' alleged that even though River Oaks and two other area country clubs had

bylaw A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authori ...

s stating that membership was open to people of all races, they covertly discriminated against black people. Admitting only white members for 73 years, River Oaks admitted its first black member,

Baker Botts Baker Botts L.L.P. is an American law firm of around 725 lawyers. Headquartered in One Shell Plaza in Downtown Houston, Texas, the firm has energy and technology related clients. It is referred to as the second-oldest law firm west of the Mi ...

attorney Rufus Cormier, in 1997. As of 2018, River Oaks had a waiting list of applicants for membership.Hveem, Todd.
Lakeside Country Club renovation draws rave reviews
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

''. Wednesday December 15, 2010. Retrieved on October 15, 2012. "Lakeside, like River Oaks and Houston Country Club, has a waiting list."

References

External links

* * Original Harris County Block Book maps for the country club estate: Page 1
PDFJPG
and Page 2
PDFJPG
{{River Oaks, Houston Tennis venues in Texas Golf clubs and courses in Texas Sports venues in Houston River Oaks, Houston Golf in Houston

History

See also

References

External links