 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2017) |
River Oaks Country Club is acountry club in the River Oaks neighborhood inHouston, Texas. The club has hosted theRiver Oaks International Tennis Tournament since 1931. It is located at 1600 River Oaks Boulevard, Houston TX 77019.
River Oaks Country Club was founded in 1923 in the River Oaks neighborhood in Houston. ArchitectJohn 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 was the venue for thePGA Tour'sWestern Open in 1940, and theHouston Open in1937, 1938, and 1946.
River Oaks has been home to theRiver Oaks International Tennis Tournament from 1931 until it was merged with the oldest clay court tournaments in the United States, theU.S Men's Clay Court Championships.[1] On May 8, 2007, theUnited States Tennis Association awarded River Oaks theU.S. Men's Clay Court Championships starting in 2008, taking over the event fromWestside Tennis Club. Other cities that competed for the event wereAtlanta,Winston-Salem, North Carolina, andPonte Vedra Beach, Florida. 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 Americanred clay 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.[2]
Around 1993, River Oaks and some other area country clubs began claiming a newtax break.[3] That same year, an article in theHouston Post alleged that even though River Oaks and two other area country clubs hadbylaws stating that membership was open to people of all races, they covertly discriminated against black people.[4] Admitting only white members for 73 years, River Oaks admitted its first black member,Baker Botts attorneyRufus Cormier, in 1997.[5]
As of 2018, River Oaks had a waiting list of applicants for membership.[6]
29°45′11″N95°25′34″W / 29.753°N 95.426°W /29.753; -95.426
