I Played The Best 'New' Golf Course in America. Here’s Why It Should Be On YOUR 'Must Play' List

Florida has long been a 'go-to' destination for US and international golfers. The combination of year-round good weather and over 1,200 courses across the state - the majority of which are public access - is a compelling one. However, if there's a negative to golf in Florida it's the fact that the majority of layouts look and play the same.

Courses tend to be either wide open and lacking in visual stimulation, or heavily tree lined and a little claustrophobic. Fairways are usually over-watered with little or no run on offer. Amorphous, highly manicured bunkers line fairways and surround greens and present little in the way of a strategic challenge to escape them. Expansive water hazards (sometimes on both sides of the fairways and greens) intimidate and penalize golfers. Greens are vast but often have little in the way of interesting movement. Target golf at its 'finest'.

Oh, and nine times out of 10 you have no option but to ride in a cart if you want to play them.

There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. Perhaps most notably Streamsong Resort in deepest central Florida about an hour south east of Tampa, where the three 18-hole courses, Blue, Red, Black and a short course called The Chain offer a sensational golfing experience that makes the most of a dramatic landscape that’s part natural, part man made.  

You can now add Cabot Citrus Farms to the list of Florida destinations that offer something refreshingly different.

Like Streamsong, Cabot Citrus Farms is off the beaten track. Located in an area known as the Nature Coast, it’s a 90-minute drive from Orlando and 60 minutes from Tampa. The nearest town is Brooksville (population approximately 10,000) and the local economy is founded on agriculture… hence the Citrus Farms name.

Strictly speaking, Cabot Citrus Farms isn’t ‘new’ as it occupies the site that was home to World Woods, which opened in 1994 at the height of the golf course boom that saw hundreds of new layouts spring up across America.

The vision was for it to be one of the best public access golf destinations in the US, and Japanese owner, Yukihisa Inoue, hired Tom Fazio - very much the man of the moment in the 90s - to lay out two distinct courses on the site: Pine Barrens, which took inspiration from Pine Valley, and Rolling Oaks, that sought to evoke echoes of Augusta National. 

Both courses were well received and Pine Barrens became a fixture in several of the well regarded US Top 100 courses lists. However, World Woods suffered in comparison to other parts of Florida as it was somewhat out on a limb with little in the way of other courses and accommodation options to allow it to become a destination in its own right.

Green fees were competitively priced to try to attract golfers to make the journey from Orlando or Tampa, but there just wasn’t the volume of business. As a result, the condition of the courses suffered as visitor income couldn’t keep pace with the expenditure required to upkeep such a big property. 

World Woods was effectively mothballed until the Cabot Group and its dynamic CEO and co-founder, Ben Cowan-Dewar, bought the courses and surrounding land in 2022.

Cowan-Dewar had apparently first visited way back in 1999 and liked what he saw. It was perhaps no great surprise that when World Woods became available to buy he stepped in and made the investment, seeing the opportunity to create another world-class golf destination to add to the Cabot Collection.

To golf course aficionados, the Cabot name has rapidly grown in stature since the group’s first course, Cabot Links in Nova Scotia, opened in 2011. Set on spectacular land overlooking the Gulf of St Lawrence, the course, designed by Rod Whitman, became an instant classic. A few years later a second course, Cabot Cliffs, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw opened, and both are now highly regarded and rank very highly in all the US and World Top 100 lists. 

Cowan-Dewar’s next development was on the Caribbean island of St Lucia, where once again he engaged Coore and Crenshaw to lay out the spectacular Point Hardy Golf Club, which Golf Monthly contributing editor, Fergus Bissett, was lucky enough to pay a visit to back in February 2023. He was both mightily impressed not only by the golf course but also Cowan-Dewar and his vision for creating exciting golf courses on spectacular plots of land. Point Hardy officially opened and it has already made its way onto the bucket lists of those in the know.

Following the template for jaw-dropping courses in stunning settings, Cabot Revelstoke in the Canadian Rockies is set to open in 2025. It’s another Rod Whitman design and from a glimpse at the website it looks like it’s going to be another Cabot classic.

In 2023, the Cabot Group also acquired Castle Stuart in the Scottish Highlands. Consistently ranked in the upper echelons of Golf Monthly’s Top 100 GB&I rankings, it is a superb modern links layout set on the Dornoch Firth. When it became part of the Cabot group, there was a name change and it’s now known as Cabot Highlands.

Work is due to start soon on a second course at Cabot Highlands with Tom Doak taking on design duties. There is arguably no more sought after course designer right now than Doak and his brief is to create something special to contrast with the existing Gil Hanse design. It’s fair to say that the Cabot Group is on somewhat of a roll right now. 

Anyway, back to Brooksville, Florida… 

Ahead my visit I had got myself suitably excited by looking at the Cabot Citrus Farms website and Instagram page. The Cabot Group really knows how to stir the souls of golf course enthusiasts with beautiful imagery, superb video and well written words. The best way I can describe Cabot's content is for golfers, by golfers. 

There are expansive plans for the whole development here and the site was a bustling hive of activity when I arrived with the first phase of 36 cottage-style properties and the clubhouse under construction. There’s a second phase planned which includes more cottages and some larger family homes and numerous upscale restaurants, bars and leisure facilities for those staying on site to enjoy. The pro shop was already open for business and has a brilliant array of apparel and accessories all featuring the very cool Cabot Citrus Farms branding. It took A LOT of willpower to not spend big in there!

The phase 1 properties sit in the center of an area that will become known as Cabot Citrus Farms Village with the golf courses surrounding them. At present, one of the 18-hole courses, ‘Karoo’ and the two short courses ‘The Squeeze’ and ‘The Wedge’ (more on these gems later) are open for preview play.

Karoo occupies the site of the former Pine Barrens layout and is named after the distinctive calling sound made by the Sandhill Cranes birds that stride around the fairways.

The course features some of the original holes from Pine Barrens, and retains some of the visual cues, too, but much has changed thanks to the inspirational design skills of Kyle Franz, who is best known for his work in the North Carolina area including restorations of three celebrated Donald Ross courses, Pines Needles, Mid Pines and Southern Pines. 

There are distinct similarities between Karoo and typical North Carolina courses, including wide open fairways and towering cathedral pines that are much more prominent after wide scale clearance of lower level trees that has had the dual benefit of opening up views and letting air circulate.

The bold Franz design is rugged in nature with many changes in elevation, double and even triple fairways, cleverly positioned bunkering and waste areas which lead the eye to interesting green complexes that feature lots of options for fun but challenging pin positions. Franz calls it 'Adventure Golf' as it truly lives up to that billing. Karoo is a great golfing experience that will bring a smile to your face and test your game. 

There are five different tee box options meaning the course can play as short as 4,223 yards (Royal Blue) right up to 7,562 yards (Black). On the day I visited, we played from the Tangerine tees. At 6,295 yards, it’s a perfect length for a wide range of golfers. Big hitters will be encouraged to make aggressive plays, but it’s not unduly intimidating for shorter hitters. 

One of the most enjoyable things about playing at Cabot Citrus Farms is the fact you have so many options off the tee (there are no forced carries here) and playing into greens. Unlike most Florida golf courses where ‘bomb and gouge’ approach rules, here drives run out and can take big bounces and breaks off mounds and slopes, bunkers are genuine strategic hazards, and golfers can play running shots into and around all of the greens rather than having to take the aerial route and try to stop the ball on a dime. In short, it’s a superbly varied and strategic test of golf.

Better players can take on more aggressive lines from the tee and if they succeed in missing the trouble, they will be rewarded with clearer lines into greens. For less talented golfers, there is always a safe option and while it might mean a less favorable approach to the green, there is normally always an area short of the putting surface to lay up into from where you have a chance of getting up and down. The course manages to achieve the hard par/easy bogey principle that is the hallmark of great golf course design. 

With no rough, only two water hazards and out of bounds set well back from the playing area on almost every hole, it’s almost impossible to lose a ball… although I did on the par-3 3rd hole, when I hit a big pull left that disappeared into the trees never to be seen again. 

One of the other highlights of Karoo is the fact that you pass a ‘halfway house’ no fewer than four times during the round, meaning you can pick up some refreshments and stop for a comfort break at regular points.

There is a great choice of food and drink to be had here - my personal favorites were the handcrafted hard seltzer by Florida based 3 Daughters Brewing Co and the gourmet hot dogs that you could top with a selection of tasty extras including crispy fried onions and spicy jalapeno peppers. 

There genuinely isn’t a weak hole on Karoo and I found it almost impossible to settle on a favorite, so I’ve selected what to me are the best par-3, 4 and 5 on the layout. Yardage quoted is from the Tangerine tees that I played from.

BEST PAR 3 - 7th HOLE, 167 YARDS

Playing slightly downhill, this brilliant one-shotter features just one bunker, some 60 yards short of the front of the green, but don’t let that lull you into a false sense of security, because the putting surface is surrounded by waste areas that come especially close to the back edge of the green making it easy to run into trouble, especially if it’s playing downwind. 

The real challenge here is negotiating the severe undulations of the green, most notably a deep ridge that runs through a section in the middle. Get on the wrong side of this and you will have to be a very skilful judge of speed and slope to get your approach putt close enough to the flag to make par. It’s not often in golf that you can have fun four-putting a green, but it’s very possible here! 

BEST PAR 4 - 15th HOLE, 282 yards

This brilliant risk-and-reward short par-4 has lots of options. You can play ‘safe’ up the left hand side where a fairly generous fairway is situated, although from here you’ll have to hit a short iron or wedge pitch over a mound that protects to the left hand side of a green with some more dramatic undulations. The brave play is to take aim directly at the green and try to fly it over a pond and sandy waste area, where if you come up short it’s easy to draw a tricky lie and you’ll be left with a fiddly distance to negotiate. I suspect in every fourball there will be as many bogeys and worse made as birdies at this hole. 

BEST PAR 5 - 14th HOLE, 511 yards

This excellent long hole plays uphill and doglegs from right to left. Big hitters must keep the ball to the right hand side to avoid a large mound at driving distance that is covered in scrub and bunker beside. Shorter hitters have a wide target to aim for and can open their shoulders.

Depending on how far you’ve driven the ball and the wind direction, the green might be in range but it will require a fairway wood or long iron to reach and you’ll need to skirt four treacherous bunkers on the left hand side of the putting surface. If you play the hole more conservatively as a three-shotter there are a collection of bunkers that need to be avoided and the best route is to keep up the right hand side. 

The Roost

The second course at Cabot Citrus Farms is currently being grassed in and is due to open for preview play in June 2024 - and it looks to be an absolute cracker. Designed by Mike Nuzzo and Kyle Franz with input from Ran Morrissett (the founder of the highly respected Golf Club Atlas website), The Roost is the new incarnation of the Rolling Oaks layout and although it sits adjacent to Karoo, it will have a very different feel with holes lined by a combination of rolling meadows featuring flowering dogwoods and native wildflowers, oak trees draped with the distinctive Spanish Moss and sandy, scrubby areas that are reminiscent of courses on the famous Australian sandbelt. The original Rolling Oaks layout took inspiration from Augusta and The Roost retains that with significant changes in elevation challenging the golfer on many holes. 

The Squeeze

This fun, 9-hole 'half-par' inspired layout should be a must-play for every visitor coming to play one or both of the 18-hole layouts. Holes range in length from 100 yards to 550 yards and there are chances for birdies at every single one of them. On my visit, our group managed to get round in under an hour and we had tons of fun shots and plenty of chances at making birdies. 

The Wedge

Last but not least is The Wedge, an 11-hole, par-3 course that can be lit up at night, which means golfers can have an extra fix of golfing fun after daylight has disappeared. You’ll only need a couple of wedges and a putter (and maybe a beer or two) to get round this course with holes varying between 70 and 115 yards in length. The Wedge boasts many of the design features of the other three courses, with waste areas and sloping greens providing a fun examination of your short game.

Practice Facilities

The original World Woods featured a 360-degree driving range and extensive short game facilities and while the driving range layout has changed, there are still lots of options to hone your game at Cabot Citrus Farms.

The new double-ended driving range features Trackman technology meaning you can dial in your numbers and ball flight as you hit premium balls at a wide variety of perfectly presented targets that brings a real focus to your pre-round warm up or a session working on your game. 

There’s also an incredible putting green that covers almost two acres featuring huge slopes where you can get a feel for the type of challenges out on the main courses. For those who have been to St Andrews and enjoyed the unique challenge of The Himalayas, there’s a similar experience on offer here.

Nestled in center of the action - between the putting green, the 1st tee and 11th green of The Wedge and 10th the green of The Squeeze, is a grass area named 'The Porch' where firepits are surrounded by outdoor seating and there's a cool Airstream caravan serving food and drinks. It’s a great spot to close out a memorable day at Cabot Citrus Farms. 

How To Play Cabot Citrus Farms

Golfers can apply to play ‘preview rounds’ on the four courses via the club's website Cabot Citrus Farms at what are very competitive rates of between $30 and $170 depending on which course and month. Rates will increase when Cabot Citrus Farms officially opens in Autumn 2024 at which point rates will increase to reflect the full experience.

I, for one, can't wait to get back and see how the courses and community will unfold, but be assured Cabot Citrus Farms is here to stay and in time you can expect it to become a genuine rival to the likes of Bandon Dunes, Sand Valley and Streamsong.