Billionaire biotech founder David D. Halbert — whose son Patrick Halbert is the CEO behind Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop — has taken the concept of luxury living to an entirely new level, building a $50 million private golf course in Texas for his wife Kathy, simply so she could “swing like an idiot” without pressure.
The course, known as Halbert National, spans 170 acres along Lake Granbury, about an hour southwest of Dallas–Fort Worth. Designed by legendary golf architect Tom Fazio, the 7,500-yard championship course has no members, no public access, and no budget limits. It’s Halbert’s ultimate “family-only” project, a playground of fairways and whiskey tumblers.
“The most fun thing I think I’ve ever done was to build that course,” says Halbert, 69, who personally tweaked Fazio’s blueprints, reshaping hills and rerouting streams.
Fazio, whose previous projects include Shadow Creek for casino mogul Steve Wynn and courses for Michael Jordan and Warren Stephens, called Halbert National “a piece of art” and praised Halbert’s hands-on creativity.
“I certainly intend to have it played,” he tells Forbes.
With the billionaire’s son, co-leads Gin & Juice and Still G.I.N. — the spirits ventures launched with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg — blending music heritage with luxury branding, and, according to Forbes, the course is expected to cater to their circle.
“It’s an attitude,” says Kathy Halbert. “I can come out here with my girlfriends and a pitcher of margaritas and whack away.”
HALBERT NATIONAL
Halbert, founder of Caris Life Sciences and now worth an estimated $4.9 billion, turned 170 acres of Texas land into an 18-hole, no-membership golf sanctuary designed by Fazio. The par-72, 7,500-yard course is accessible only to family and friends — a private paradise born from passion and precision.
A “No-Budget” Vision
Halbert told Fazio from the start: “Spend as much as you want and do whatever you want.” The result is one of the most exclusive pieces of private real estate in Texas — complete with a reversible driving range, hand-placed limestone steps around a stream, and grass engineered from multiple zoysia and TifEagle Bermuda varieties.
Maintenance costs rival the upkeep of Halbert’s Gulfstream G550 jet, roughly $3 million a year. The project, now approaching $70 million including new lodges and surrounding lots, was so ambitious that Fazio compared it to designing Steve Wynn’s Shadow Creek in Las Vegas.
The self-made Texan has long been obsessed with building things from the ground up. After early ventures in energy and healthcare, Halbert founded AdvancePCS, selling it to Caremark in 2004 for $7.5 billion. That same year, he and Kathy built their lake house in Granbury — a retreat that would later inspire the course.
In 2008, Halbert founded Caris Life Sciences, which uses artificial intelligence and molecular profiling to help doctors predict the best treatments for cancer patients. The company’s recent public listing pushed its valuation past $10.3 billion, making Halbert one of biotech’s newest billionaires.
A Course Born From Love
Kathy, who once felt self-conscious about slowing down play on crowded public courses, joked that she wanted a small 3-hole space where she could “swing like an idiot.” Her husband took that wish literally — and turned it into a world-class course.
Now, she and her family — including son Patrick, who co-owns Gin & Juice with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Jimmy Iovine — have an entire 18-hole playground designed to rival Augusta National.
The Art of Owning a Course
For Fazio, 80, Halbert National is not just a project — it’s art. “Having your own golf course is the ultimate piece of art,” he says.
Other billionaires like Michael Jordan, Kelcy Warren, and Warren Stephens share that philosophy, each building their own private masterpieces. But Halbert’s addition to the list feels uniquely Texan — bold, personalized, and built on faith, family, and fun.
And while he insists there are “no members,” Halbert admits PGA pros Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, and Bryson DeChambeau might get an invite once the grass settles.
“I want it to be nicer than Augusta,” he says, laughing. “And if I’m going to do it, I’ve got to do it now.”
