Club History

River Crest Country Club was the dream of a tight group of cattlemen, cotton merchants, railway executive, bankers, builders, land developers, and lawyers, many of whom were golfers. In mid-1910, they regrouped, gathering more partners and raising more capital to survey the countryside. On May 23, 1910 the visionaries set up a land corporation called the River Crest Company to purchase the 629 1/2-acre River Crest tract.

When River Crest Country Club opened on May 6, 1911, it was the state’s eighth country club and was the first to include a residential housing development on its acreage, an innovation that provided start-up capital and insured the venture’s survival.

The club’s 6368-yard golf course, which borders homes designed by leading architects of yesteryear, has hosted legends of the game. Ben Hogan enjoyed the privacy of River Crest as he regained his form and stamina following a near-fatal highway crash in 1949. Byron Nelson was a regular in the River Crest gangsome. Olympic superstar Babe Didrikson Zaharias took golf lessons at River Crest and became such a fixture that the ladies created a tournament for her—the Texas Women’s Open, which brought top competitors to River Crest from 1935 to 1955. Home-grown golfing greats from River Crest include Polly Riley and Aniela Goldthwaite, who were players and captains on the U.S. Curtis Cup Team. Hollywood came to River Crest to film a scene for the Ben Hogan story, "Follow the Sun." More recently, the course and clubhouse have figured in the novels of sportswriter Dan Jenkins.

River Crest, however, is more than a “Who’s Who” of Fort Worth. It fosters an atmosphere in which parents and kids walk up to the greens together to practice putting. It is a social hub, a family club where member mingle as they enjoy club events, celebrate birthdays and marriages, and families mark holidays together. It is a place where third-and-fourth –generation members play cards in the clubhouse or touch football on the fairways, just like their parents and grandparents use to do.

River Crest Country Club The First 100 Years by Hollace Weiner