The Cabot Links collection of world-class golf properties has just added it’s first resort in the United States. Cabot Citrus Farms has now opened in Florida near the gulf coast and just about an hour north of Tampa.
The property does not rest on the Florida beaches but is about 25 miles inland from the gulf coast. It lies in the Florida forests on a piece of property that has good golf bones. Bones so good, that Cabot Links purchased land that once held a 36-hole property that had two courses designed by Tom Fazio. The old course was called World Woods. In my eye, nothing remains of the original design. I would call it a complete re-design. Our caddie used the term “rexcavation.”
The resort has multiple courses coming online quickly. Additionally, lodging in the form of cottages are also just starting to open up for bookings. There is an already unique course line-up and there are rumblings of more to come.
- The Karoo – 18-hole rugged, sandy design by Kyle Franz
- The Roost – 18-hole meadow-like course lined by stately, moss-drapped oaks
- The Squeeze – 9-holes offering up lengths from 100 yards to 550 yards
- The Wedge – 11-hole lighted par-3 layout
On my visit to the property over a two-day visit, it worked out that we played the Karoo course twice. We got in an afternoon round on the first day riding. Then a morning round on the second day walking the course. While both days were great, walking day two with caddies was the premium experience of the trip. If you’re on the fence about how to best enjoy the course and you don’t mind the steps, lean into walking and taking a caddie. It’s the better experience.
The Karoo course is rugged. I texted a picture of the drivable par-4 15th hole to a friend who’s walked every great layout on the PGA Tour and his two word response was “scrappy looking.” My response was this ain’t your typical Florida layout (and that’s a good thing). Golf course architect Kyle Franz got his team into the land and revealed a course that sits in the sandy, pine forests. For Florida, the property also has some gentle elevation changes that bring additional character to the layout. The result is a layout that flows up, down and around the property amongst waste bunkers, and fairway bunkers decorated with patches of wire grass rough surrounding.
The first three holes on the Karoo
The Karoo does not provide a gentle handshake to the golfer to start off the round. It’s more like a smack in the face. The first three holes are quite the test. Any golfer coming out of the first three holes at level par will be way ahead of the pack. Let me provide some color and advice on those starting three holes.
The 1st hole is an uphill par-4 that plays 475 yards from the back tees. You’re quickly greeted with the look and flavor of the Karoo as it’s a double fairway. The upper right fairway provides more room, but might provide an awkward angle of approach depending on the pin position. The lower left is a bit tighter but should provide the best angle into the green. The dual fairways are split by waste bunkers with shaggy wire grass edges. Additional bunkers come into play down the sides of both fairways. The green is perched up on a sand dune and is protected by high mounding on the left and a long waste bunker running around 40 yards to the green down the right. The first green is a large double green that is connected with the 6th green.
The par-4 2nd hole is around 500 yards long on the card and plays every yard of it on the course. Long waste bunkers run along the entire left side of the hole and tall and slender pines flank the right side of the fairway. For many, it will take three shots to reach. Like throughout the course, golfers will want to position their 2nd to leave a good angle in to have a chance to scramble for par. A large mound in the front of the right side of the green can leave a blind shot to a pin on the right side. For longer hitters, the green is enormous and has plenty of space to accept long irons or even woods. The green is multi-tiered so hitting it in two doesn’t guarantee par.
The 3rd hole is a par-3 that can play 292 yards from the back tee. This hole has the only water that I remember on the entire course. The green is long. By long, I mean it can play 4 clubs difference depending on the pin being in the front or in the back. The mounding on the right of the green is there to help the golfers as shots that land short and right will meander toward the front of the green.
The Karoo was designed to help the golfers along as long as you hit those proper angles. The sandy soil beneath the course will ensure it drains well and I do expect to see more balls rolling up and over mounds as the course continues to mature. It’s a course where missing a green will require imagination and execution to make par.
The Karoo is routed so the golfers pass by the one snack cottage multiple times on the front nine and throughout the round. It was a nice oasis to hit multiple times as the Florida sunshine is bright these days. Other memorable holes on the front were the par-3 7th and the par-4 8th. The 8th meanders right up and over a sand dune leaving a short shot in for your second. The longer you hit it, the more left you’ll want to stay to avoid the waste bunker that creeps in off the right. The green is ample, but seems small with bunkers surrounding it on all sides.
The Karoo’s character continues to shine and even intensifies on the back nine. Holes eleven through fifteen are among the best on the course. The fifteenth is a potentially drivable par-4 with two fairways. The approach on the left fairway actually feeds the ball nicely into the green. However, check the pin position to make sure you leave yourself a good angle into the green and swing true. While this hole could give up some easy birdies, I bet it hands out more bogeys or worse due to wild tee shots.
My favorite hole on the course was the par-5 seventeenth. It’s short, playing less than 500 yards for most and makes it’s way uphill the entire hole to the green. A well launched tee shot leaves the golfer a shot at reaching the green in two. While you may not see it from the fairway, there are actually two approaches to the green that are split by deep bunkers and tall grass short of the green. If you want to hit the green in two, stay left. The mounding will bring your ball back toward the green more than you would know and even pushes it along a bit.
The Karoo at Cabot Citrus Farms has just opened up. Yet, course conditioning is already really good. This course will surely become something special. Many other amenities are also online now including the top tracer driving range and the 2-acre putting green. I can’t remember the name of the spot atop the hill overlooking the putting green and several holes. It’s shaded with couches and tables littered around to give the golfers a chance to relax and recount the round. There’s a coal fired pizza oven up there where they will make you a fresh pizza pie to enjoy with an ice cold brew. I can’t remember it’s name, but I won’t forget it.
The Karoo playing advice and tips
- Know your carry yardages and angles off the tee. The fairways are as wide as you will ever see, but 275 yards right down the middle might be in a waste bunker.
- Obviously, try to stay out of the waste bunkers off the tee. I deem them a half shot dropped due to higher lips and slopped stances not letting you reach the green on your approach shots.
- Check with your caddie or know where to leave your approaches. The Karoo is a course that has those spots where “you can’t miss here.” Additionally, the greens are some of the biggest you will ever see with lots of slope and character. Getting the approach yardages right will prevent 3-putts.
- Pick the right tee box. In our case, it meant playing the course a little longer was actually more fun. We found the the tee box we started on had us hitting irons off a lot of the tees to stay short of the trouble. Moving back a set really made the course play true and was more enjoyable.
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