Cabot Citrus Farms

This course is the best conditioned golf course me and my buddies have ever seen. Greens are rolling perfectly. Amazing design hole-after-hole. Much different than anything we’ve ever played. Will always come back to Karoo when I get the chance.

Played Cabot Citrus Farms Karoo on July 4. It is an awesome course with a very unique layout. Some may say the contours on some of the greens are unfair. They definitely push the line. But I found it very fun to play. The fairways and greens are really big. The fairways are surrounded by sand and waste areas. As mentioned. Many huge contours and undulations on the greens. The only negative is if lightning is within 6 miles of the course they make you go in. We started and stopped 3 times before we had finished 3 holes. I had a 1036 tee time. And by 130 had only finished 3 holes. I eventually finished the round. But this made for a very long day on an other wise GREAT course.

This was unlike any other course I’ve ever played in Florida. Conditions were immaculate and the course had a ton of personality. Super impressed even with the price. We’ll be back!

I was a huge fan of WW before it closed. I was hoping for a redesign that would rival Streamsong.This isn’t even close and it costs more to play!! I’d consider paying $150-$200 to play here, but it’s not worth $300-$400. Boring attempt at an Alpha Golf destination. It’s not even a top 5 golf destination in the state. I’d pick Sawgrass, PGA National, Streamsong, Innisbrook, Hammock Beach, and BayHill before Cabot. This is a prime example of a brand that over values its name trying to make a money grab. I guess this is golf’s version of a tourist trap.

This short course is fun and all it's hyped to be. With a par 5, several par 3s, and 6 par 4s - it will test all parts of your game. The course is open enough off the tee that it seems easy, but there are few level or flat lies to be found and the course really directs you where to aim. The greens are decent size and have quite a bit of slope in them - so be careful of what section of the green your approach lands. The staff is top notch and very helpful. The practice areas allow for practice of any aspect of your game. Try the 18 hole putting green prior to starting your round to get accustomed to the slope and speed of greens you will encounter on the courses. Amenities at the resort are.plentiful. I will be returning in the near future.

Played both Cabot’s in Canada and in comparison while not the same types of courses Karoo was a bit of let down. The good: practice facility is unreal; staff are exceptional, the operation is well organized, the lay out is pretty unique and the views are so nice. Cons: price is steep for the experience. Signage around the course was a bit lacking at times, using a pull cart through the sand was tricky at times and greens are absolutely massive and quick but sometimes pin location made it feel like a video game as there was no where to leave the ball to give you a chance to hold the green near the pin. As one time experience absolutely and don’t regret it.

I personally hate Florida resort style golf so I love that this is a little different. We stayed on site. The hospitality and customer service was maybe the best I have ever seen at a golf course which is what Cabot prides itself on. The 2 bed 2 bath homes were awesome . The food at the restaurant was amazing. I love that it's out in the middle of nowhere. We played all four courses.... Karoo by far the best. The par three course is very average.... The lighting at night is terrible. We were told they are redoing it soon though. I wish they didn't require caddies honestly. I also wish they weren't getting ready to put up residential houses on the course as it will lose some of its allure in my opinion.

Much more traditional off the tee with every challenge you’d ask of a high end golf course. There are some difficult holes built into a gorgeous walk. Both sides are a great time with the comfort station built in strategically to never leave you without a beverage or bite.

A lot of folks said it’s not ready for prime time yet but I think any non-snob golfer will love every inch of the property. Visually distracting off the tee but very fair once you get the ball in play. If you can keep it in the fairway, you can have a lot of fun!

The Roost had a fairly high standard to live up to, created as it was from the husk of the former Rolling Oaks course at the former World Woods Golf Club. Three different architects and one consultant took their turns reimagining this new-look 18, which is much broader-shouldered and more intense than the course it replaced. In most cases, that’s for the better. At times, though, the aggressiveness of the green contours threaten to overwhelm players, especially when the greens are at high speed. Even still, I like Roost better than Karoo among Cabot Citrus Farms’ two current ‘big’ courses, and the surrounding facilities are fantastic.

Played the Pine Barrens and Rolling Oaks Courses many times dating back to the 1990's. It was always a treat to play, however, conditions varied, and play was typically slow! Playing Karoo was a letdown. Weeds were prevalent especially in waste areas. Knocking down hundreds of trees or more from previous layout, did not make this course worthwhile.

How do you even the odds when you're playing better players? Drag them onto a short course, where their length and consistency are negated. Anybody can strike a few good wedges or putts in a row. That's what makes The Wedge such a good time. I played a match at night under the lights, which made it even more entertaining. It's well worth a buddies trip shootout to start or end your trip.

As I age and my game withers and my ability to focus for 18 holes wanes, I'm loving the 'alternative' golf movement. The Squeeze is just my speed - nine or 10 holes with lots of half-par holes. That means short par 4s that can be drivable for good players and birdie opportunities for the rest of us, interesting par 3s and one par 5 that's not a chore. It's a perfect experience on arrival or departure days or for that emergency nine when the urge strikes.

For those of us who played the original World Woods courses decades ago, seeing Karoo is a shock to the system. The themes of modern architecture - wild greens, intimidating sandscapes, miles-wide fairways - are quite the contrast from Fazio's original Pine Barrens course. The good luck, and bad bounces, from so many slopes on and around the greens probably net out to zero by the end of the round. Just enjoy the ride.

The proliferation of short courses is a great development for golf, and The Wedge fits right on-trend. It’s a distinct course unto itself, playable with as few as two clubs, but it is also a laboratory for some of architect Mike Nuzzo’s wilder ideas about green design, which might otherwise be left on the cutting room floor of a bigger course. In this way, playing a short course like The Wedge is like getting invited into a chef’s kitchen as he or she plays around with possible future menu items. A peek at the creative process is always exciting.

Calling The Squeeze a “short course” doesn’t do it justice; it has multiple par 4s and a par 5. But it’s not a “big course,” either, because it’s 9 or 10 holes. It’s its own, refreshing entity thanks to an unconventional design approach.

Given a few dozen acres, architect Mike Nuzzo went all-in on fashioning half-par holes that ask big, tantalizing questions and dismiss feeble answers with comical rejection. The bunkering is bold without being ubiquitous and the greens are adventurous without grating on golfers. Positioned between the big, squawking Karoo course and the giggling Wedge par-3 loop, The Squeeze is Cabot Citrus Farms’ “just right” golf experience, sitting at the heart of a triumphant new golf resort.

Cabot Citrus’ first full-on golf course in America sits on the former Pine Barrens layout from the defunct but cult-followed World Woods Golf Club, but it might as well be a new build for how completely it has been reimagined by architect Kyle Franz. Inspired by the likes of George Thomas and the wild links of the British Isles, Franz’s intense, gregarious style is on full display here.

Expansive multi-path fairways wind towards huge greens with some of the most pronounced contours this side of St. Andrews. The bunkering threatens to overwhelm at times in both aesthetic and ever-presence. It’s golf turned up to 11. For all its bombast, though, as a low-handicap player I found the course to be relatively easy due to the sheer size of the grass areas. However, my double-digit-handicap playing partners, encountered their share of frustrations with the bunkering, off-play areas and three-putt-city greens. I look forward to returning, both to see Karoo mature and to determine how The Roost, CCF’s next big course, differs.