Author: Mark De Grasse

Celina has been one of North Texas’s fastest-growing communities, but its golf supply has not expanded at the same pace as its rooftops. The 1876 Country Club is designed to change that at the high end. Its new 18-hole course in the Legacy Hills development is targeting a fall 2026 opening, with Labor Day weekend identified as the working goal.

For TGN, the important story is not simply another private club. It is the way golf is being used to anchor a 3,200-acre growth corridor near the future Dallas North Tollway extension. We want golfers to know what is confirmed, what remains a target and who the course is built to serve.

The Course at 1876 Country Club

The course was designed by Lee Singletary and will stretch to approximately 7,337 yards from the championship tees. It is routed through the Legacy Hills master-planned community and along Little Elm Creek. The club also plans a driving range and short-game practice area.

Course length will generate easy headlines, but the more important test is playability. Celina’s future membership will include serious golfers, newer players and families moving into the surrounding neighborhoods. Multiple tee options, sensible angles and a practice program will matter more to daily enjoyment than the back-tee number.

The Latest Opening Timeline

In June 2026, club representatives said the goal was to open the golf course around Labor Day weekend. They also made clear that the date depends on construction progress and final approvals. Local project reporting lists the broader target as the third quarter of 2026.

That distinction is worth preserving. A grow-in period can be affected by weather, turf maturity and permitting. TGN will call the course “opening in fall 2026” until the club announces a firm first day of member play. That is more useful than repeating a precise date that could still move.

The Clubhouse Comes Later

The permanent clubhouse is on a separate schedule, with completion expected in late 2027 or early 2028. Plans include dining, a cocktail bar, patios, a pool, tennis and pickleball, fitness space, locker rooms and private social areas. A temporary facility is expected to support early golf operations.

Phased openings are common in new clubs. The advantage is that members can begin playing while the larger building program continues. The risk is that expectations get ahead of delivered amenities. Prospective members should verify exactly what will be available when the course opens and which features remain future plans.

Membership and Public Access

1876 Country Club is private. Local reporting in June 2026 said initiation fees started at $50,000 and were expected to rise, but pricing can change. Interested golfers should confirm current terms directly with the club rather than relying on an older figure.

The project does not create a new public tee sheet for Collin County. Its value is as a private option in a fast-growing market and as a major recreational anchor for Legacy Hills. That may absorb some demand from existing clubs, but it is not a substitute for investment in affordable municipal and daily-fee golf.

Why It Matters for North Texas Golf

North Dallas growth continues to push toward Celina and Prosper. New residents bring demand for golf, instruction, junior programs and social clubs. A full championship course can become a meaningful community institution if it supports strong professional staff, sustainable maintenance and opportunities for families to learn the game.

The club also enters a competitive regional market. PGA Frisco has raised expectations for practice facilities and hospitality, while several private projects west of Fort Worth are competing for attention. 1876 will need to establish its own identity through course conditioning, service and a genuine golf culture.

The TGN Bottom Line

1876 Country Club is one of the most important 2026 openings to watch in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The course is under construction, the fall target is credible but conditional, and the permanent clubhouse will follow later.

Our advice is simple: follow confirmed milestones, not renderings. If the turf is ready and approvals stay on schedule, Celina could have a significant new championship course before the end of 2026. The lasting verdict will come after members have played it through a full Texas season.

Sources and References

• 1876 Country Club — official site and amenity plans
• Centurion American — course and development details
• Community Impact — June 2026 opening update
• CelinaWatch — construction timeline and project status

Fort Worth’s west side is not getting one new Tom Fazio golf course. Maverick Golf & Ranch Club plans three distinct Fazio experiences across 1,100 acres: the Pinkerton 9 par-3 course, an 18-hole championship layout and a 12-hole executive course. The short course is already open, and the championship course is targeted for fall 2026.

TGN sees Maverick as one of the clearest examples of where high-end golf development is headed. The full round still matters, but modern clubs are adding shorter, faster formats that work for families, practice and late-day play. The model is attractive. It is also private and tied to luxury real estate, which means broad public access is not part of the plan.

The Pinkerton 9 Opens the Project

Discovery Land Company announced the opening of the Pinkerton 9 in January 2026 after preview play began in late 2025. The nine-hole par-3 course is the first golf amenity delivered at Maverick. It uses the property’s elevation changes to create short holes that can challenge experienced players without demanding the time or distance of a full round.

A portion of the par-3 course is planned for lighting, adding flexibility after work and during hot Texas summers. That matters in North Texas, where afternoon heat can make a traditional four-hour round impractical for much of the year.

The 18-Hole and 12-Hole Courses

The main championship course is expected to open in fall 2026. Maverick says it will move through neighborhoods on natural mesas and use the property’s undulating terrain and long views. A 12-hole executive layout is planned to follow, giving the club a middle option between the par-3 loop and the full championship course.

Three formats on one property can reduce pressure on the main tee sheet and let golfers match the day’s game to the time available. A parent and child might play the Pinkerton 9 in an hour, while a competitive group can take on the championship course. The 12-hole course can serve members who want more than pitch-and-putt golf without committing to 18.

Golf Is Only Part of Maverick

Maverick is a private residential community developed by Discovery Land Company on historic ranchland near Fort Worth. Plans include close to 500 luxury homesites plus a clubhouse, wellness facilities, a kids’ adventure center, pools, racquet sports, fields, trails, fishing and farm-focused programming.

That broad amenity package explains the three-course approach. Golf is meant to fit into family life instead of controlling the entire day. From a course perspective, the key question is whether that relaxed positioning still produces serious architecture and excellent turf. Fazio’s involvement and the property’s varied land create high expectations.

What Texas Golfers Should Know About Access

Maverick is private. The club markets ownership and membership opportunities, not public tee times. Golfers should also avoid confusing Maverick with nearby Bluejack Ranch, the separate Tiger Woods and Beau Welling project already covered by TGN. Both are major west-Fort Worth developments, but they have different ownership, architects and golf programs.

The concentration of investment is noteworthy. Aledo, Benbrook and the Highway 377 corridor are becoming a new center of luxury golf in North Texas. That can support jobs and raise the area’s golf profile, though it does little by itself to expand affordable daily-fee access.

The TGN Bottom Line

Maverick’s Pinkerton 9 is a meaningful opening, not a preview gimmick. It establishes the project’s short-format philosophy and gives members a first look at Fazio’s use of the land. The fall 2026 championship-course target is the next major milestone, followed by the 12-hole course.

We like the variety and the commitment to golf that can fit different schedules. We will also keep the label accurate: this is an exclusive private community. Maverick’s long-term reputation should be judged by the quality and durability of all three courses, not simply the scale of the amenities surrounding them.

Sources and References

• Maverick Golf & Ranch Club — official golf plans
• Discovery Land Company — Pinkerton 9 opening announcement
• Texas Golf Association — projected Texas openings
• Golf Digest — Pinkerton 9 course listing

Texas golf does not need another breathless real-estate pitch. It needs accurate reporting about where the game is growing, who can play, and what each project adds to the state’s course map. Loraloma deserves attention on those terms. The private David McLay Kidd-designed course near Spicewood debuted in October 2025, bringing one of modern golf architecture’s best-known voices to a dramatic bend of the Pedernales River.

For Texas Golf Network, the headline is bigger than a famous architect or expensive homesites. Loraloma is another clear sign that Central Texas has become one of the country’s most active markets for ambitious course development. It also shows the tradeoff golfers should understand: the new investment is substantial, but access is limited to a private residential community.

What Opened at Loraloma

Loraloma is the gated residential club within the broader Thomas Ranch development west of Austin. Its centerpiece is an 18-hole course designed by David McLay Kidd, whose résumé includes the original course at Bandon Dunes and acclaimed projects around the world. Loraloma says the course opened in early October 2025.

The routing uses steep Hill Country contours, exposed rock, mature vegetation and long river views. The club describes it as a cliffside course built to remain playable for golfers at different ability levels. That balance matters. Spectacular land can produce spectacular photographs, but a course earns lasting credibility through strategy, variety and repeatable enjoyment.

Why the Site Matters

The Pedernales River corridor gives Kidd a canvas that looks and plays differently from the flatter prairie golf found across much of Texas. Elevation changes create angles and visual drama, while firm surfaces can give players more ways to use the ground. Kidd’s best work typically asks golfers to choose a line and accept a consequence rather than simply hit every shot through the air.

Loraloma sits next to the 2,200-acre Thomas Ranch master plan. The golf course was the first major private amenity delivered, while infrastructure and additional phases of the surrounding development continued. That sequencing tells golfers how central the course is to the project’s identity: golf is not a decorative add-on here. It is the anchor.

Access and Expectations

Loraloma is private and tied to a gated residential community. Golfers should not read “opened” as meaning public tee times are available. Prospective access is connected to club membership and ownership opportunities, and the project markets a full lifestyle package that includes clubhouses, wellness, trails, equestrian facilities and river access.

That distinction is important to TGN’s golfer-first standard. Loraloma may influence statewide rankings and architecture conversations, but it will not immediately relieve pressure on Austin’s crowded public tee sheets. Its impact is different: it raises the design profile of the region and adds another high-end option for a growing private-club market.

What It Means for Texas Golf

Texas has long had excellent courses, but many of its most prominent new builds are now arriving in clusters. Around Austin and the Hill Country, Loraloma joins Travis Club and other private developments that are competing on land, architecture and lifestyle. That competition can attract talented builders, agronomists and golf professionals to the state.

There is also a broader lesson. Course development should respect water, native habitat and the character of the land instead of forcing a generic design onto a Texas landscape. Loraloma promotes a nature-first approach and says substantial open space will be preserved. The real test will be long-term stewardship: how the course performs through heat and drought, how water is managed, and whether the playing experience remains the priority after the homes are sold.

The TGN Bottom Line

Loraloma is one of the most consequential recent course openings in Central Texas. The architect, river setting and scale of the surrounding development make it nationally relevant. At the same time, it is a private club, so its direct value to most Texas golfers will come through architectural influence and regional prestige rather than day-to-day access.

That is the honest read: an impressive new piece of Texas golf, a strong signal of Hill Country investment, and a course worth following as independent rankings and member experience provide more evidence over time.

Sources and References

• Loraloma Club — official course and community information
• Thomas Ranch — development and infrastructure update
• Texas Golf Association — New Courses Opening Soon

Freestone Lake & Golf Club is the kind of Texas project that can sound exaggerated until the basic facts are checked: roughly 5,000 acres, an enormous private lake, an 18-hole waterfront course and a 10-hole short course, all positioned halfway between Dallas and Houston. The scale is real. So is the access limitation. This is a private resort-style club, not a new daily-fee option for the Interstate 45 corridor.

TGN’s view is straightforward. Freestone matters because Beau Welling’s design team was given an unusually large, water-driven site and a chance to build golf around the land rather than squeeze it between rows of houses. Texas golfers should watch the architecture, while keeping the membership model clear.

The Freestone Golf Plan

Freestone is near Fairfield on property centered around what the club describes as the largest privately owned lake in the United States. The golf program includes two Beau Welling designs. The championship Island Course occupies a 150-acre island and adjacent shoreline, while a 10-hole short course on The Point begins and ends near the Boat Club.

The main course can stretch beyond 7,500 yards, but multiple tee options are intended to serve a broad range of member ability. Length gets attention in Texas, yet the more meaningful design question is whether the same hole offers useful decisions from every tee. Welling’s recent work at Fields Ranch West and Travis Club emphasizes strategic width, angles and playability, which makes Freestone’s expansive site especially intriguing.

Water Is the Defining Feature

Many courses advertise a lake view. At Freestone, water shapes the entire identity of the property. The championship routing moves around island and shoreline terrain, and the club combines golf with boating and trophy bass fishing. That creates memorable scenery, but it also raises practical questions about wind, drainage, shoreline protection and long-term turf management.

A good waterfront course does more than punish misses with water. It uses shorelines to create diagonal choices, changing angles and visual tension. Players should be able to decide how much risk to accept, not simply aim away from a hazard on every hole. Freestone’s generous land allocation gives the design room to build those choices.

Who Can Play Freestone?

Freestone is a private luxury lake and golf club. The official site invites membership and ownership inquiries and does not advertise public tee times. That is important context for golfers finding the course through rankings or social media. The project may sit between two major metros, but it is not designed as a public halfway stop between Dallas and Houston.

The private model also affects how the course is likely to play. Lower traffic can support firm conditions, flexible routings and a faster pace, while a large maintenance operation can focus on presentation. Those benefits come with a high barrier to entry. TGN will always separate the quality of a design from the accessibility of the experience.

Why Freestone Is Statewide News

Freestone is part of a wider wave of high-end Texas course construction. Developers are placing serious golf farther from the major city centers, betting that members will travel for distinctive land and an immersive club experience. Childress Hall in the Panhandle, Luling Sport Club in Central Texas and destination projects in East Texas reflect the same basic idea: compelling golf can create its own gravity.

For Fairfield and Freestone County, the project also brings jobs, visitors and a new national identity tied to golf and outdoor recreation. The economic impact should be measured carefully over time, but the visibility is already meaningful for a community better known as a midpoint on the highway.

The TGN Bottom Line

Freestone Lake & Golf Club has the land, architect and investment to become one of Texas’s most discussed modern private facilities. The Island Course and short course give members two distinct ways to play, while the lake creates a setting unlike most courses in the state.

Our opinion comes with a clear qualifier: most golfers will not have direct access. Freestone’s statewide importance will rest on the quality of its design, its stewardship of the waterfront site and the influence it has on future Texas projects—not on the number of public tee times it creates.

Sources and References

• Freestone Lake & Golf Club — official site
• Freestone project information — championship and short-course plans
• Beau Welling Design — Freestone project page
• Texas Golf Association — New Courses Opening Soon

Luling is known for oil history, barbecue and a small municipal golf course shaded by pecan trees. It may soon be known nationally for something very different: a private 36-hole club on more than 1,100 acres, with one course by Kyle Franz and another by the Australian firm OCM.

That combination makes Luling Sport Club one of the most important course developments in Texas. TGN is interested for a practical reason, not just an architectural one. Two distinct courses on the same property create a rare chance to compare design philosophies on the same land. The honest qualifier is access: this is planned as a small, private, walking-focused club.

Two Courses, Two Design Teams

The project has been operating under the working name Luling Sport Club. Kyle Franz is responsible for the first course, while Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking and Ashley Mead of OCM are designing the second. The Texas Golf Association reported a target of early 2026 for the Franz course and late 2026 for the OCM course, although construction and grow-in schedules can move with weather and agronomic conditions.

Franz is known for restoration work at classic American courses and for new designs influenced by Golden Age strategy. Early descriptions of Luling emphasize firm turf, walking and a layout that uses native meadows, barrancas and arroyos. OCM’s course is expected to provide a different interpretation of the same broad property, with inspiration drawn from British links.

Why the Land Has Architects Talking

The site sits between Austin and San Antonio in a transition zone where the Hill Country, Blackland Prairie and Post Oak Savannah meet. It includes rolling meadows and a network of natural ravines, some of them substantial. Those landforms can separate holes, create bold carries and give architects natural green sites without excessive earthmoving.

Firm golf depends on more than design. Construction, drainage, turf selection and daily maintenance determine whether the ball can bounce and run. The project has used experienced Texas golf builders, and its walking-only direction suggests that ground contour and short distances between greens and tees are central to the experience.

Private Access and the Luling Context

Luling Sport Club is not the same facility as the historic nine-hole Luling Municipal Golf Course. The municipal course remains a separate public community asset near the San Marcos River. The new development is a private retreat with a limited membership.

That distinction matters because search results can easily blur the names. A golfer looking for an affordable public round in Luling should still contact the municipal course. A golfer looking for the new Franz or OCM designs should expect private-club access and should verify membership or guest arrangements directly with the development.

What It Could Mean for Central Texas

Central Texas already has a strong private golf market, but Luling changes the map by putting destination-level architecture outside the Austin and San Antonio suburbs. The location is roughly an hour from both cities, making it plausible for members from either metro while giving the club room to create a secluded identity.

If both courses deliver, Luling could attract architecture enthusiasts from across the country and bring new attention to a small Texas city. Local impact should still be judged by durable measures: jobs, vendor spending, responsible water use and a respectful relationship with the surrounding community. A high ranking is useful publicity; consistent stewardship is more important.

The TGN Bottom Line

Luling Sport Club is one of the most architecturally ambitious projects underway in Texas. The pairing of Franz and OCM, the natural ravines and the 36-hole scale make it more than another residential amenity. It is being built as golf for golfers.

Timelines remain worth watching, and access will be limited. TGN will treat projected opening dates as targets until the club confirms full member play. Even with those caveats, the project is a major signal that world-class golf development in Texas is spreading well beyond the largest metros.

Sources and References

• Texas Golf Association — project overview and projected openings
• Golf Digest — Texas course-development report
• Luling Sport project summary and construction background
• Luling Municipal Golf Course — official public-course information

The Woodlands is known for golf, but most of the courses inside the community are private. A newly approved project at South Gosling is designed to close that access gap with a lighted public nine-hole short course, driving range, practice areas and social amenities. The target opening is early 2029.

TGN supports the basic goal: give residents a welcoming public place to learn, practice and play without committing to a private-club membership. We also believe the project should be followed with the same scrutiny as any public-private deal—clear costs, responsible floodplain design, resident access and measurable performance.

What the Township Approved

On July 23, 2026, The Woodlands Township Board approved a ground lease agreement with Forest Capital Partners, an affiliate of Early Bird Management. Early Bird operates Houston’s East River 9 and was selected after a competitive process that also drew other proposals.

The private partner is required to make a minimum capital investment of $12 million to design, build, operate and maintain the complex. The Township plans to invest $2.5 million in supporting infrastructure. The public entity will retain ownership of the improvements when the lease ends.

The Planned Golf Amenities

The concept includes a fully lighted nine-hole short course, a driving range of more than 200 yards, putting and practice greens and a dedicated pitching area. Food and beverage service, pickleball and casual lawn games are also part of the plan.

This is not intended to compete directly with a traditional 7,000-yard course. It is a faster, more accessible format for families, beginners, practice sessions, date nights and golfers who only have a couple of hours. Lighting extends the usable day and can make summer golf more comfortable.

Location and Environmental Context

The complex will occupy about 50 acres within the 208-acre South Gosling property in the Village of Creekside Park. The tract is bordered by South Gosling Road and Spring Creek and is expected to connect with future trails, open space and the Spring Creek Greenway.

Because the site includes flood-prone land and sensitive natural areas, drainage and environmental design will be central to the project’s credibility. The Township conducted studies before procurement, including wetlands, topographic, wildfire, cultural-resource and environmental reviews. The final facility should preserve as much natural character as possible while avoiding structures or operations that create unnecessary risk.

Opening Timeline

The agreement provides up to 30 months for completion of the initial improvements, putting the anticipated opening in early 2029. That is a planning target, not a tee-time guarantee. Design, permitting, site work and weather could change the schedule.

The longer lead time is reasonable for a project that combines golf construction, lighting, buildings, roads and environmental constraints. TGN will watch for a published site plan, construction start, operating rates and resident-access policies as the development moves forward.

Why This Project Matters

The Woodlands has a deep golf culture but no public facility within the Township comparable to its private club network. A short course cannot replace a full municipal 18, yet it can create an affordable front door to the game and a convenient practice option for established players.

The Early Bird model also reflects a wider trend toward social short-course golf. The opportunity is real, but public access must remain more than a slogan. Pricing, booking policies, junior programming and resident use will determine whether the complex serves the broader community.

The TGN Bottom Line

The South Gosling project is one of the most significant public-access golf developments currently approved in Texas. The funding structure is defined, the lease is approved and the amenity list responds directly to a documented community need.

Now the work shifts from concept to accountability. Build a safe course that fits the land, keep it genuinely public and publish clear information as design and pricing decisions are made. If those standards hold, The Woodlands can add a useful, modern golf facility without pretending a short course is something it is not.

Sources and References

• The Woodlands Township — July 2026 ground lease approval
• Community Impact — term sheet and public-access context
• The Woodlands Township — South Gosling short-course project background

Golf is growing, and not just modestly. The National Golf Foundation reports that U.S. golf participation is on the verge of surpassing 50 million for the first time in history — a milestone that would have been unthinkable a decade ago when the sport was fretting about declining relevance. For Texas golf, which sits in one of the fastest-growing states in the country, the implications are significant.

The Numbers

Total U.S. golf participation — counting on-course play, off-course venues like TopGolf, and simulators — is projected to exceed 50 million in 2026 with a modest 4% increase. The post-pandemic boom that started in 2020 never faded as many predicted. It held, and then kept building year over year.

Who’s Driving It

The headline demographic story is women and juniors. Women and girls accounted for approximately 60% of net gains in on-course golfers since 2019. The female golfer population stands at nearly 7.9 million — an all-time high. Junior participation (ages 6–17) has surged 58% since 2019, with close to 4 million young players on courses in 2025, the most since 2004. These are structural changes that will shape the sport for the next 20 years.

Why Texas Is Well-Positioned

Texas is one of the fastest-growing states in America. More residents means more potential golfers. Year-round playable weather, a dense network of courses at every price point, and strong junior infrastructure — including First Tee chapters in every major metro — position Texas to capture more than its share of the national participation boom.

What It Means for Texas Golfers

More golfers means more competition for weekend tee times. It also means more investment in facilities, more programs for beginners, and more resources flowing into the game at every level. When 50 million Americans engage with golf in some form, the sport stops being a niche hobby and becomes part of the mainstream cultural conversation. Every golfer benefits when the game grows — and right now, the game is growing fast.

The fastest-growing segment of American golf isn’t millennials rediscovering the sport or tech entrepreneurs picking up clubs after work. It’s women — and the numbers are remarkable. Female golf participation has hit an all-time high in 2026, rewriting assumptions about who the game belongs to.

The Numbers

Nearly 7.9 million women now play golf in the United States — an all-time high, according to the National Golf Foundation. Women and girls accounted for approximately 60% of the net gain in on-course golfers since 2019. More than half of those gains came from women under 30. Just under half of all women playing traditional golf are now under 35, compared to roughly one in three male golfers. Golf is younger and more female than at any point in modern history.

What’s Behind the Surge

Several forces are converging. Off-course venues like TopGolf lowered the barrier to entry — giving women a social, low-pressure environment to discover the game before stepping onto a course. The pandemic pushed people outdoors and golf benefited disproportionately. Social media made golf aspirational for younger women in a way it hadn’t been before. And programs like LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, Women on Course, and local women’s leagues gave beginners a community to join from day one.

Texas Women’s Golf Is Thriving

Texas reflects and amplifies the national trend. The state’s women’s amateur scene is competitive and growing — the 103rd Women’s Texas Amateur featured a compelling final between Grace Jin of Huntsville and Emma McMyler of San Antonio. Women’s leagues at municipal courses across DFW, Houston, and Austin are adding members steadily. LPGA events in Texas draw strong fields and passionate crowds.

What Courses Should Know

Facilities that haven’t adapted to the women’s golf boom are leaving money on the table. Women golfers tend to be loyal to clubs that treat them as full members of the golf community — welcoming tee times, women’s clinics, proper fitting options, and marketing that reflects their presence. Texas courses that get this right are seeing clear dividends in membership and revenue.

The Future Is Female (and Younger)

The 35% of today’s junior golfers who are girls — up from 15% in 2000 — will be the adult golfers of 2030 and beyond. Texas Golf Network is committed to covering women’s golf as a full part of the Texas golf story. Because it always has been, and it’s only getting bigger.

Every year, the Dallas Morning News releases the definitive ranking of the best golf courses in Texas — and every year it sparks passionate debate. The 2026 Texas Golf Top 100 is out, and there’s a familiar name back at the top: Whispering Pines Golf Club has reclaimed the number one spot after a notable absence last year.

Why Whispering Pines Slipped — and Why It’s Back

Whispering Pines, the private club in Trinity that has long been considered the finest golf course in the state, dropped in last year’s rankings after severe flooding damaged the course. But the club invested heavily in restoration, and by all accounts it has returned to — and may have surpassed — its pre-flood condition. The 2026 panel agreed: Whispering Pines is back and better than ever.

How the Rankings Work

The DMN Top 100 relies on 77 evaluators — golf professionals, course architects, superintendents, and knowledgeable amateurs — who rate courses on a 10-point scale from a ballot of 300. The methodology is rigorous and results are taken seriously across the Texas golf community. The print version ran in the Sunday, May 17 Dallas Morning News.

What the Rankings Tell Us About Texas Golf

The breadth of the 2026 Top 100 reflects a state that takes golf seriously at every level. Elite private clubs, strong Hill Country resorts, Gulf Coast gems, and a public infrastructure that punches above its weight. The annual rankings give visibility to courses across all categories and all regions of Texas, making it the best starting point for building a Texas golf bucket list.

Your Next Course on the List

Whether you’ve played 10 of the Top 100 or none, the 2026 rankings are your roadmap. Start with the top public courses accessible without a private membership and work your way through. Texas has exceptional public golf at every price point. Whispering Pines may be number one, but 99 other courses deserve your time and attention.

Not every great golf course is built for the public eye. Some are created purely for the love of the game — a private sanctuary where one family and their closest friends can experience golf at its highest level. Halbert National Golf Course, designed by Tom Fazio on 170 acres along the Brazos River southwest of Fort Worth, is exactly that.

The Vision

Biotech entrepreneur David Dean Halbert commissioned Fazio to build a private course for himself, his wife, and a circle of friends who share a passion for exceptional golf. No membership waitlists, no public tee times — just 170 acres of riverside Texas terrain shaped into what should be one of the finest private layouts in the state, maintained to the same standard as any great Fazio design.

Tom Fazio: The Gold Standard

Fazio is arguably the most accomplished golf course architect of his generation. His portfolio includes Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, Wade Hampton in North Carolina, and dozens of private clubs that top best-courses lists annually. Fazio courses are known for visual beauty, strategic depth, and craftsmanship that sets them apart from nearly everything else. Securing a Fazio design for a project of this scale is a statement of intent: this is serious golf.

The Brazos River Setting

The Brazos River corridor southwest of Fort Worth is underutilized golf country. Rolling terrain, dramatic river views, native grasses, and genuine elevation change give Fazio exceptional raw material to work with. His philosophy has always been to minimize earthmoving and let the land lead — and this site gives him exactly that opportunity.

What It Means for Texas Golf

Halbert National signals something important: Texas is attracting serious private golf investment at the highest level. When individuals commission Tom Fazio to build private courses on premium Texas land along one of the state’s great rivers, it reflects the depth and ambition of Texas golf culture. The Brazos River just became a more interesting place for the sport.