Cabot Citrus Farms is rewriting the Florida golf experience
- Jake Nicholas
- 2 hours ago
- 6 min read
Cabot Citrus Farms is truly elevating the Florida golf experience, creating a destination where championship courses serve as the foundation for something far more expansive.
Set across a unique-to-Florida rolling sandhill terrain an hour north of Tampa, Cabot Citrus Farms reflects Cabot’s design philosophy of strategic golf, walkable landscapes, and social energy, all translated into a distinctly Floridian setting that feels relaxed, natural, and intentionally unpolished in the best way. Golf remains the foundation, but each of the four courses is intentionally distinct in architecture, strategy, and pace, creating a layered golf environment that rewards curiosity as much as skill.
Karoo, the flagship championship course, was designed by architect Kyle Franz and unfolds across expansive sandy corridors with massive scale, bold contouring, and wide playing lines that invite multiple routes from tee to green. Opening in early 2025 as part of the transformation of the former World Woods Golf Club, the 18-hole layout occupies the ground once home to the renowned Pine Barrens course, now reimagined into a rugged, sand-forward landscape shaped to play firm and fast.
Franz, known for his work at Pinehurst No. 2 and Mid Pines, approached Karoo as his first solo 18-hole design, drawing heavily from Golden Age architecture through strategic width, bold bunkering, and natural ground movement. The design leans into firm-and-fast conditions, where ground game becomes as important as aerial play, and the oversized, constantly moving greens create an endless variety of pin positions and recovery scenarios. Wind and angles shape decision-making more than raw distance, rewarding players who think their way around the course rather than overpower it. Karoo ranks among the most strategic courses a golfer can play, while also being one of the most fun—an authentic adventure in golf.
Roost offers a completely contrasting championship experience from Karoo with a wider, more tree-lined, expansive feel that places greater emphasis on club selection. Designed through a collaboration between architects Mike Nuzzo, Kyle Franz, and Rod Whitman—with Ran Morrissett serving as Golf Course Architecture Advisor—the course reimagines the former Rolling Oaks site into a 7,200-yard layout set within Cabot Citrus Farms’ expansive Brooksville property.
The course moves dynamically through the natural terrain, weaving between sandy expanses and moss-draped oaks while incorporating elevation changes of up to 50 feet—rare for Florida and central to Roost’s character. Strategic bunkering, framed sightlines, and nuanced green shaping—an area where Whitman played a key role—challenge players to control trajectory, shape shots, and think carefully about positioning.
Where Karoo feels expansive and flowing, Roost feels more tactical and deliberate, encouraging thoughtful approaches into greens, precise club selection, and a measured rhythm from hole to hole. Designed intentionally to contrast with Karoo, Roost reveals its complexity gradually, becoming more layered and engaging with each round.
The Squeeze, Cabot’s 10-hole short course, shifts the experience entirely toward creativity, tempo, and repeatability. Designed by Mike Nuzzo, the Squeeze blends par 3s, 4s, and 5s into a versatile routing inspired by many of the world’s most compelling short par-4 holes. Conceived to complement the property’s championship courses, The Squeeze focuses less on traditional scoring and more on imagination, strategy, and risk-reward decision making.
Distances range dramatically—from roughly 100 to over 500 yards—while rumpled fairways, expansive sandy waste areas, and distinctive green complexes introduce constant variation from hole to hole. Designed in collaboration with shaper Jacob Cope, the course incorporates “half-par” style thinking, where positioning, angle, and creativity often matter more than length.
Green contours are playful yet strategic, and the routing encourages experimentation—different trajectories, spins, and aggressive or conservative approaches all becoming part of the experience. It functions less as a warm-up and more as a standalone golf environment, particularly in the late afternoon and evening when the pace relaxes, and the atmosphere turns more social—one of the most replayable and purely fun golf experiences on the property.
The Wedge, the property’s par-3 course, delivers a pure test of precision and control. Each hole presents a distinct visual and strategic challenge, with varied yardages, shifting winds, and tightly framed targets that demand committed swings. The Wedge also doubles as Cabot Citrus Farms’ nighttime golf experience, allowing play under the lights after sunset.
Together, the four courses form a complete golf ecosystem—championship scale, tactical precision, creative short-game play, and pure shot-making—each designed to complement the others and encourage guests to experience the property from multiple perspectives rather than through a single marquee round. The shared home base for all four courses converges at the central loop, anchored by a top-tier driving range equipped with Toptracer technology, a dramatic 18-hole putting course, and key gathering points including The Porch, Grange Hall, and the cottages.
That rhythm continues off the course with the introduction of the on-site cottages, which transform the stay from a traditional golf trip into something far more fluid and residential. Designed for groups, the cottages create shared spaces for early mornings, post-round storytelling, and long evenings that stretch naturally into the night, allowing guests to remain immersed in the landscape rather than cycling in and out of it.
Architecturally, the cottages are intentionally understated, blending into the sandy, natural terrain rather than standing apart from it. Clean lines, warm materials, and wide openings toward the landscape create a sense of quiet immersion, while interiors prioritize comfort and functionality for multi-day stays. Open living areas encourage gathering, kitchens allow for flexible dining, and private bedrooms give guests the ability to reset between long days outdoors. The layout is less about traditional luxury and more about ease—spaces designed to flow naturally with the rhythm of golf, recreation, and social time.
What distinguishes the cottages is how they reshape time on the property. Instead of structuring a trip around tee times and reservations, guests settle into a continuous experience—morning coffee before walking to the first tee, unhurried afternoons that move from golf to dining to outdoor activities, and evenings that unfold organically back at the cottage. The design encourages lingering, creating an environment where the in-between moments become just as memorable as the rounds themselves.
Looking ahead, Cabot Citrus Farms is extending this residential vision even further with a collection of private homes planned across the property, offering an opportunity for ownership within the broader Cabot lifestyle. These future residences will build on the same design principles—low-profile architecture, strong connection to the land, and proximity to the courses and amenities—while introducing a more permanent way to experience the property. Owners will not simply be purchasing real estate, but becoming part of a fully integrated golf and leisure environment, where everyday life unfolds within the same landscape that defines the guest experience.
Together, the cottages and forthcoming homes signal a shift in how Cabot Citrus Farms is positioned—not just as a destination to visit, but as a place to stay, return, and ultimately belong.
Dining also plays a major role at Cabot Citrus Farms, with each venue carrying its own identity. Grange Hall sits at the center of the property, serving as the social anchor from morning through evening with a casual farm-to-table approach—complimentary coffee, fresh breakfasts, relaxed lunches, and hearty dinners in a lively communal setting. Standout favorites include the breakfast burritos, chicken wings, spicy chicken sandwiches, and burgers.
The Porch introduces a more laid-back energy, centered around wood-fired pizzas, simple plates, and drinks that naturally pull guests together after a round. Pizzas often arrive within minutes to whichever firepit or table guests choose, overlooking players moving across The Wedge, The Squeeze, and Karoo as the day transitions into evening.
Cantina 21 adds another layer, bringing bold Mexican street food flavors into the mix with a casual, vibrant atmosphere that contrasts nicely with the rural calm of the property. Across the courses, comfort stations ensure the experience never breaks rhythm, offering well-placed stops for food and drink that keep players moving while reinforcing the social nature of the day.
Beyond golf and dining, Cabot Citrus Farms expands into a broader recreation-driven environment rooted in the character of its surroundings. Ideal for families and groups who do not want to golf nonstop, guests can fish quiet waters, explore the landscape, shoot clay pigeons, try axe throwing, or simply settle into the slower, open-air pace that defines the property. These moments—often unscheduled and shared—add depth to the experience and blur the line between activity and relaxation.
Cabot Citrus Farms ultimately feels less like a traditional golf resort and more like a fully realized leisure landscape where everything connects naturally. Competition, social energy, and quiet downtime coexist in balance, creating a destination where the experience extends well beyond the fairways and reflects a more complete vision of Florida leisure—and the latest standout addition to the Cabot Collection, whose portfolio includes Cabot Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Cabot Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, Cabot Highlands in Scotland, Cabot Bordeaux in France, and Cabot Revelstoke in British Columbia, collectively recognized among the world’s most distinctive golf destinations.
