This week\u2019s inaugural Abilene Christian Intercollegiate will be a must-watch, largely because of the venue.<\/p>\n
Halbert National is a $50 million Tom Fazio design built for billionaire David D. Halbert in Granbury, Texas, about 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth. It is owned and fully funded by one man, Halbert, and has no members or tee times.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t have a hole named after you then you\u2019re not a member,\u201d Halbert told Forbes last year<\/a>, shortly after the 185-acre project was completed.<\/p>\n The origin of the course: Halbert built a lake house on Lake Granbury in the early 2000s and later purchased land on the other side of the lake. When Halbert\u2019s wife, Kathy, whom he met while both attended Abilene Christian, expressed that she wished she had somewhere to play golf where nobody could watch her, David went beyond her expectations.<\/p>\n Kathy Halbert thought a three-hole, par-3 course would suffice, she told Forbes. David D. Halbert, the 70-year-old founder of A.I. genomics company Caris Life Sciences, instead called Fazio, a friend who\u2019d designed many top courses. Halbert\u2019s request: \u201cMake me the most beautiful golf course in Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n Since Fazio\u2019s initial design of Halbert National \u2013 par 72, 7,542 yards \u2013 the course has been lengthened with the addition of several new tee boxes; Halbert\u2019s goal is to have the layout tip out at 7,777 yards. He also has big plans for the property beyond the course.<\/p>\n While Halbert National was built for Halbert\u2019s family and friends, invitations to play have been extended not only to this week\u2019s collegiate field, which includes Texas A&M, Arizona, SMU and Houston on the men\u2019s side and Oregon, Arizona State, Tennessee and Baylor on the women\u2019s side, but also several PGA Tour pros, including Dallas native Jordan Spieth.<\/p>\n Spieth recently appeared in a commercial for Caris that was filmed at Halbert National and promotes the company\u2019s multi-cancer early detection test, Caris Detect, which analyzes a person\u2019s entire genome and transcriptome from a single blood draw.<\/p>\n Three-time major champion Jordan Spieth knows golf runs on data: ball speed, launch angle, spin rate, and AI that has analyzed millions of swings. <\/p>\n So why not use that same intelligence for something that means everything, your health?<\/p>\n Caris Detect\u2122 is a multi-cancer early\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/94tFPH4Tes<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Caris Life Sciences (@carisls) October 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The Abilene Christian Intercollegiate takes place Monday-Wednesday and be broadcasted live on Golf Channel<\/a> from 4-7 p.m. ET each day.<\/p>\n