An early look at Cabot Citrus Farms’ Cabot Barrens Course in Florida, which is the renovated World Woods Pine Barrens layout (Courtesy of Cabot Collection)
The Cabot Collection – the rapidly expanding Canadian golf developer and operator purchasing or building courses in areas ranging from Scotland to St. Lucia – has announced plans for a new 21-hole non-traditional course at its Florida property, Cabot Citrus Farms.
Formerly known as World Woods, with two courses originally designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 1994, Citrus Farms is seeing a complete renovation and rethinking as it becomes Cabot’s first property in the United States. About an hour’s drive north of Tampa International Airport, Cabot Citrus Farms is constructing a new clubhouse, luxury accommodations, practice facilities, shopping, dining, event spaces and new homes that go on sale in February.
The two renovated 18-hole courses, which feature sandy soil and somewhat surprising elevation features for Florida, are scheduled to open in December alongside the new short course.
The old Pine Barrens 18-hole course is being redone by architect Kyle Franz and will be renamed Cabot Barrens. Franz is partnering with Mike Nuzzo and advisor Ran Morrissett on the renovation of the old Rolling Oaks layout into the rebranded Cabot Oaks. The architecture team of Keith Rhebb and Riley Johns originally was pegged to complete the Cabot Oaks layout, but Cabot switched to Franz, Nuzzo and Morrissett in 2022.
Both Pine Barrens and Rolling Oaks appeared in various years among the top 100 on Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses list, but over the past decade the property had lost much of its premium luster before Cabot purchased it in 2022 and announced plans for a complete and overdue overhaul.
Cabot will begin sales of The Cottages at Citrus Farms in February 2023. The 36 homes will be offered as two-bedroom or four-bedroom residences. (Courtesy of Cabot Collection)
Nuzzo will be in charge of design for the property’s short course, a non-traditional layout named The 21. Nuzzo was challenged to design as many holes as would fit in the 100 acres dedicated to the project, and he came up with 21 of them, many of them half-par holes, all of them promising interesting green complexes and a variety of strategies involved. The 21 also can be played as two distinct short courses instead of as one complete layout.
“We always want to keep the game fresh and exciting,” Ben Cowan-Dewar, CEO and co-founder of The Cabot Collection, said in a media release announcing The 21. “While (Bandon Dunes Golf Resort founder and early Cabot investor) Mike Keiser and I were looking at the terrain and courses we have in play, the idea was born to shape our 10-hole course and the 11-hole-course into a new 21-hole concept. The 21’s layout beckons golf aficionados who just can’t get enough of the rolling terrain in the Floridian countryside. This trifecta of courses at Cabot Citrus Farms will both challenge and delight players of all levels, with each paying homage to a handful of the most beloved places in the golf world.”
Read the full article on Golf Week.