Southeast
Southeast
Cabot Citrus Farms, Florida
Cabot's first U.S. property, built on the bones of World Woods — two ground-up new courses that shot straight into the national rankings, an hour north of Tampa.
Overview
Cabot Citrus Farms sits outside Brooksville in rural central Florida, an hour north of Tampa on sandy, rolling ground that looks nothing like the flat, water-hazard Florida golf most visitors expect. This is the Cabot brand's first American property, built on the land that used to be the beloved World Woods Golf Club, and it is aimed squarely at serious golfers who want a self-contained, golf-first trip. There is no town to speak of and nothing to distract you, which is exactly the pitch.
The golf is the whole reason to come. Karoo, a Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw design at 7,200 yards, plays across rolling sand-based terrain and is already Top 100 ranked. Roost, from Keith Rhebb and Riley Johns, is bolder and more original, a course that reads like an instant classic and splits opinions in the best way. Beyond the two big tracks, The Squeeze is a walking short course from Rhebb that plays fast and loose, and The Wedge is a walking-only par-3 practice loop included with play. A full day here can be 18, lunch, and then a barefoot lap of The Squeeze before dark.
Practically, this is a buddy-trip destination for groups who genuinely want to play a lot of golf. Brooksville is rural and isolated, so plan to eat, sleep, and drink on property or drive. Stay-and-play packages booked directly through Cabot are the cleanest way in, and December through February the two big courses are walking preferred with no carts, which shapes how much golf a group can realistically stack into a day. Bring a caddie budget and good shoes.
Courses · 4
Karoo
Resort/Public · Championship
$300-$400
Best for: The marquee round of the trip and the one your group will talk about on the flight home. Wide sand-based corridors make it playable for mid handicaps while the 7,200-yard back tees hold up for good players.
Insider tip: December through February this is walking preferred with no carts, so budget for a caddie or a push cart and pack shoes you can do 18 in. The sandy base drains fast and stays firm, so plan on significant release on drives and land approaches well short of the flag.
Roost
Resort/Public · Championship
$300-$400
Best for: Players who want originality over polish. The wilder of the two big courses and the one that rewards imagination around the greens.
Insider tip: Play Roost second if you can, after Karoo has recalibrated your eye to the ground game. The design asks you to putt and bump from off the green far more than a typical Florida course, so leave the lob wedge in the bag more often than instinct says. Walking preferred December through February, carts $35 per player the rest of the year.
The Squeeze
Resort/Public · Approachable
$50-$75
Best for: The cool-down round after 18, or a group match with money on the line and no scorecards. Ideal for mixed-skill foursomes where everyone can compete.
Insider tip: Do not treat this as an optional extra. The Squeeze is the most fun round on property for a lot of visitors, and skipping it is the most common regret. Take three clubs, a putter, and a drink and let the format get loose.
The Wedge
Resort/Public · Approachable
Included
Best for: Warming up before a round, killing an hour between tee times, or settling a bet after dinner. The lowest-friction golf on the property.
Insider tip: Use it as a genuine practice tool on arrival day. Ten or fifteen minutes here will teach you more about how the sandy turf releases and how the greens roll than any amount of time on the range.
Lodging
Premium
Cabot Citrus Farms (on-site)
$300-$600Cabot's own lodging complex, with the clubhouse and amenities steps from your door. Staying here is the whole point of the trip: it unlocks the best tee-time availability, the stay-and-play pricing, and the ability to walk from breakfast to the first tee. Given how isolated Brooksville is, the convenience is worth the premium. Book directly through Cabot rather than any third party.
Mid-Range
Plantation on Crystal River
$150-$250A riverside hotel about 30 minutes north of the property, and a reasonable middle ground if the on-site rooms are booked or over budget. The Crystal River setting gives non-golfers something to do, including manatee tours in winter. The tradeoff is a 30-minute drive each way, which matters when you are teeing off early.
Budget
Hampton Inn Brooksville
$120-$180The nearby budget option and a perfectly sensible base for a group that wants to spend the money on green fees instead of pillows. Standard reliable Hampton amenities, free breakfast, and a short drive to the course. You give up the on-site experience and the package pricing, so run the math before assuming it saves you money overall.
Dining
Cabot Clubhouse Restaurant
$$$American
On-site dining at the resort and, realistically, where your group will eat most nights given how rural Brooksville is. Solid American cooking in a proper clubhouse setting with the day's matches still being argued over. Reserve for larger parties, especially in peak season.
Coney Island Drive Inn
$American
A legendary local dive and a genuine Brooksville institution. Cheap, fast, unpretentious, and the perfect antidote to a week of resort dining. Go for lunch between rounds rather than making it your dinner plan.
Kojo
$$$Japanese
Tampa's best sushi, about an hour south of the property. Worth the drive if your group wants one night off the resort, and it pairs naturally with an arrival or departure day when you are near the airport anyway. Book ahead, it fills up.
Pro Tips
- 1
Book directly through Cabot for stay-and-play packages. It is not close: direct booking gets you the best availability and rates, and in high season it is often the only realistic way to get on Karoo and Roost on consecutive days.
- 2
Know the cart policy before you plan your days. Roost and Karoo are walking preferred December through February with no carts available, and carts run $35 per player the rest of the year. A walking 36 in one day is ambitious, so build the schedule around it.
- 3
TaylorMade rental clubs are available for $75. If you are traveling light or connecting through a busy hub, skipping the club shipping and renting on site is a genuinely good deal.
- 4
Do not skip The Squeeze. At $50-$75 it is the cheapest round on the property and often the most fun, and it is the ideal cool-down after 18 on one of the big courses.
- 5
Embrace the isolation. Brooksville is 60 minutes north of Tampa and rural, so plan meals and downtime around the property rather than expecting a town. Groups that fight this are the ones that come home disappointed.
- 6
Target October through April. Summer is very hot with near-daily afternoon storms, and while rates drop sharply, a walking round in August humidity is not the trip you are picturing.
Sample Itineraries
weekend getaway
3 daysDay 1: Fly into Tampa (TPA), drive up the Suncoast Parkway, check in on property, and loosen up with a walking loop of The Wedge; dinner at the Cabot Clubhouse Restaurant. Day 2: Morning round at Karoo, lunch at the clubhouse, then The Squeeze in the afternoon with a group match and money on the line; dinner back at the clubhouse. Day 3: Morning round at Roost, a stop at Coney Island Drive Inn on the way south, and fly home from Tampa. Three days is enough to see everything once.
full trip
5 daysDay 1: Arrive TPA, drive up, settle in, and play The Wedge to get a feel for the turf; dinner at the Cabot Clubhouse Restaurant. Day 2: Karoo in the morning, The Squeeze in the afternoon, clubhouse dinner and a long argument about the greens. Day 3: Roost in the morning, then a break in the afternoon for a Crystal River manatee tour or Weeki Wachee; dinner on property. Day 4: Replay whichever of Karoo or Roost your group voted for, then drive down to Tampa for sushi at Kojo. Day 5: Early nine or a final Squeeze loop, lunch at Coney Island Drive Inn, and depart from TPA. Five days lets you play both championship courses twice and still take an afternoon off.
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