Sneak peek at a new private course set to open in Texas: The Clubs at Houston Oaks
HOCKLEY, Texas -- It was a long time coming, but The Clubs at Houston Oaks finally has a golf course of which it can be proud. After several incarnations of the old Tennwood Country Club (later Houston Oaks Golf Club, which was open to the public), Houston Oaks has 18 premium holes to compete with the best in the Houston area.
That 18th hole (redesigned by Baxter Spann) is largely the same with a large lake and semi-island green, but Chet Williams, a former longtime Jack Nicklaus associate who designed the state's top-ranked Whispering Pines in Trinity, blew up the rest of the course with a completely new and thoughtful layout. The century-plus old live oak trees, however, remained, and are a central element unique to this 71, 7,007-yard golf course.
With Celebration Bermuda on the fairways and Tif-Eagle greens, the condition of this new course, which is set to officially open April 28, 2017, is already among the best in the Houston area. The project took 15 months -- in large part because of two 500-year floods and the wettest August on record in 2016 -- but it has grown in nicely after a warm winter. The course also has 80 well-crafted and strategic bunkers, with bright-white sand that frames holes well from the tees.
Golf is one of the last elements to be added to the club, which currently has 415 members and an initiation fee of $100,000. There's also plenty of dining, disc golf, boating, fishing, a baseball field, equestrian facilities, tennis, a shooting club,a tree house, archery and other activities at this family-friendly club. While it is fully private, the club does have plenty of accommodations, both with new rental houses and a 40-plus room hotel, making it available for weddings and corporate events.