life at the 15th hole

Steak 48 spoils Houston Open VIPs with food, cocktails, and improv rap tributes

Over four days 138 players will compete for their share of a $9.1 million purse at the Texas Children's Houston Open.

Photo courtesy of Texas Children's Houston Open/Instagram

With the popularity of Netflix's Full Swing series, many have turned their attention to the Texas Children's Houston Open, which tees off Thursday through Sunday in Houston.

This PGA tournament is a warmup for many pro golfers who follow it up by playing in the famed Masters Tournament at Augusta National. Over four days, 138 players will compete for their share of a $9.1 million purse at Memorial Park Golf Course, which has recently seen a $34 million renovation spearheaded by Jim Crane and the Astros Golf Foundation.

Ahead of the serious tournament play, many players participate in the Texas Children's Houston Open Cadence Bank Pro-Am, where amateur golfers get to play a round with a professional. This VIP ticket comes with a hefty price tag of $10,000, which is donated to the Astros Foundation and several other beneficiaries, including the City of Houston, Memorial Park Conservancy, and Texas Children's Hospital.

Orbit tees off at the Cadence Bank Pro-Am. Photo courtesy of Texas Children's Houston Open/Instagram

The Pro-Am is a way for golf pros to prepare for the tournament, spend time on the course, and schmooze with sponsors. For amateurs, it is the chance to feel like a VIP, play in tournament conditions, and be treated to the perks professionals see regularly.

Tournament sponsors rolled out the red carpet for Pro-Am participants with several tents offering open bars and food ranging from barbecue and hamburgers to seafood. Players also had the opportunity to pick up tournament swag from select apparel and sports equipment companies. Personalized head covers, embroidered Astros gear, and other golf ware were all up for grabs.

Steak 48, a sponsor of the Pro-Am for the past three years, was one of the most sought-after spots during the day-long event. Set up on Memorial Golf Course's signature 15th hole, a par 3 with a sloping green and water views, players were treated to a fully stocked bar, tasty bites, and live music.

After teeing off, golfers snagged mini versions of Steak 48's crowd-pleasing bites, including New York strip with hash browns, lobster rolls, meatball grilled cheese, and vanilla and caramel cakes.

Meatball grilled cheese, anyone?Photo by Katherine Ross

Taking the opportunity for a more personalized approach to community giving, Steak 48 also partnered with golf star Wyndham Clark for a celebrity dinner at its locaiton in River Oaks District earlier in the week.

"Houston is a fantastic city, and it did not get that way by accident. There are so many philanthropic people and foundations that do amazing work to make it the special place that it is. The Astros Foundation and the Texas Children's Houston Open certainly fall into that category," Steak 48 founder and CEO Jeff Mastro tells CultureMap. "We are so fortunate for the opportunities and success that we have been provided here, and in turn, understand the responsibility and privilege that we have to give back to a community that has been — and continues to be — so supportive of us."

The 15th hole was also the only place on the course with customized live music to accompany each player. Kelley James of Tee Box Freestyle hopped on the mic and improvised a rap as each player had their turn on the tee box. Half jokes and half well-researched anecdotes about the players, James made sure each golfer got noticed.

Ben Griffin, a professional golfer out of North Carolina, said between great views, delicious food, and James' music, the 15th hole was one of his favorites during the Pro-Am. "It is fun and different from what anyone expects on a golf course. It's a nice twist and definitely adds some flavor."

Many players participate in the Texas Children's Houston Open Cadence Bank Pro-Am. Photo by Katherine Ross

Although much of the attention at the Pro-Am centered around big names like Scottie Scheffler, Will Zalatoris, and Houston's own Sahith Theegala, VIPs of a different kind also took center stage. A handful of patients from Texas Children's Hospital who have golf dreams of their own had their chance to learn from the best, including Wyndham Clark, who spent time with the teens and gave them pointers on their golf game.

Aside from the luxury treatment, large winnings, and celebrity sightings, the Houston-based tournament is all about seeing the Texas Children's Hospital patients starry-eyed and smiling on the course with some of the best golfers in the world.

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The Texas Children's Houston Open takes place March 28-31. For tickets and more information, visit the tournament's website.

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income analysis

This is the salary needed for a single-income family in Texas in 2026

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

The income needed for a single-income household to raise a child in Texas is lower than it was last year.

With childrearing costs in the Lone Star State adding up to tens of thousands of dollars per year, many Texas families are navigating a difficult decision: should both parents work or should one parent stay home to raise the child?

For Texas families that choose the latter, the working parent needs to make nearly $73,000 per year to support their child and the stay-at-home parent, a new income analysis has revealed.

The newly released SmartAsset report used MIT's Living Wage Calculator to estimate the annual living wages needed across all 50 states for a three-person household with two working adults and one child, and a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. Costs included food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes, and "other necessities."

A Texas household with one working parent needs to make $72,925 to support their stay-at-home counterpart and their child, the study found. That's $1,809 less than what was needed in 2025.

Meanwhile, the combined income needed for a household with one child and both parents working full-time is $85,030.

Texas ranked No. 42 in SmartAsset's ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working parent, one stay-at-home parent, and one child. That also situates Texas as the 9th most affordable state for single-income families. But there are risks associated with only having one breadwinner in the family.

"A single income family with small children potentially saves in child care costs over a household with two working parents," the report's author wrote. "The main disadvantages are the lost salary and retirement contributions, Social Security earnings history and employer health benefits."

There aren't any specific tax benefits to having a parent stay at home to raise their child full time, but SmartAsset says single-income families can claim a tax credit under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

"[S]ingle-income families may claim the Child Tax Credit — up to $2,200 per qualifying child for 2026 ($1,700 refundable) — on the same terms as any other family," the report said.

SmartAsset's latest report only looks at costs on a statewide basis, but the cost to raise a child will also vary greatly depending on the city you live in. Raising a child in Houston might pose a challenge for some families, where the cost for childcare alone adds up to $10,265 and overall costs can surpass $22,000.

For households with two children, there might be additional strains on what a family might consider a "comfortable living." A March 2026 SmartAsset study determined a Houston-based family with two working parents need to make a combined income of $204,672 to have a financially stable life while raising two children.

The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income needed for single-income families are:

Arkansas ($68,869)
Mississippi ($70,054)
Kentucky ($70,179)
West Virginia ($70,283)
North Dakota ($71,219)
Oklahoma ($71,365)
Louisiana ($71,406)
Missouri ($72,862)
Texas ($72,925)
Tennessee ($72,946)

smartasset reports texas family income