Top Florida golf courses have never looked less like Florida than in the past few years, and the one property, World Woods, that traditionally debunked the norms of golf in the Sunshine State has now taken that theme and sprinted with it under new ownership by Cabot, a stunning overhaul of the property and full rebrand to Cabot Citrus Farms.

The WiscoGolfAddict team first visited Cabot Citrus Farms last year, kicking off the 2024 PGA Merchandise Show week with a day spent on their freshly-seeded Karoo Course followed by loops on The Squeeze and The Wedge.

We were there as part of their initial media day, sharing the property with folks from The Golfers Journal, Golf Club Atlas and others. It was great running into a number of fellow course photographers whose work I’ve always enjoyed, and Troy from the WGA team even caught Beyond the Contour/GCA’s Drew Harvie’s hole-in-one on The Wedge:

To say the day was enjoyable would be an understatement. The only thing that was not ideal were the sky conditions. It seems like everybody else has gotten a great day to shoot Cabot Citrus Farms except for us, especially my buddy Billy from Carolina Pines Golf (Instagram: @carolina_pines_golf) whose shoot on Karoo last season made the national cover of this year’s GOLF Magazine and can be found all over the resort:

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While the junk weather returned for our visit this late-January – okay, it was a lot worse – so did the incredible golf!

The Roost Was Worth the Wait

Well before opening (just days before our 2025 visit), Cabot’s ambitious vision for this Central Florida property were on full display. Massive sand blowouts, immense greens complexes with wild contouring and an almost fully razed ground had our heads spinning. We may have been in Florida, but it sure didn’t feel like it.

We could see some of the bones of the new Roost Course when we visited for preview play on the Karoo, Squeeze and Wedge last winter. The land showed a compelling flow to it.

The Roost has more of an old-fashioned private club feel than the scorched earth aesthetics of the Karoo, and the sand features – while still there – are slightly less prevalent. In their place are charming oaks, dogwoods and native wildflowers. It’s more parkland in style than Karoo, and may have even more interest in its fairways and more dramatic changes in elevation. That’s saying a lot, given that Karoo was recently ranked the country’s 32nd best public course (GOLF Magazine, 2024).

I’ve been looking forward to checking out The Roost since we left CCF last season, and in chats with architects Mike Nuzzo and Kyle Franz knew we were in for a treat.

In case you missed it, WGA Contributing Writer Gregg Thompson and I had the opportunity to talk with Kyle Franz following our round on the Karoo last year. I wrote about it in my article on that course, linked below, and also made the interview available via YouTube:

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Kyle was involved in the design of The Roost, as well, alongside fellow architects Mike Nuzzo, Ran Morrissett and Rod Whitman.

Similar to the Karoo Course, The Roost has large, wildly undulating greens complexes. It also has a lot of movement in the fairways, especially on the course’s opening hole and near many of its greens. The sand blowouts, while less severe than on the Karoo, abound and provide visual intimidation especially on tee shots and approaches.

Especially if stretching this course to its full 7,200 yards, there is nothing easy about The Roost. And contrary to the dreary photography from my morning spent in 35-degree light rains, it is absolutely beautiful.

Grassed in just months ago, the turf is still a bit rough. This was entirely expected at this stage of growth.

Director of Agronomy Steve Blake, formerly of Lake Arrowhead, Ridgeway, Milwaukee and North Shore here in Wisconsin, is doing a fantastic job of growing in the property and I think the short courses at CCF are terrific examples of what players can look forward to when The Roost’s tee sheet is fully opened to the public.

This time last year, for example, The Squeeze looked very similar to how The Roost looks now. The turf was still growing in, light in some areas and not yet that lush green/yellow hue players expect on a top-tier links-style golf property. The native grasses, as well, had not yet started to flourish.

By this January, The Squeeze had matured beautifully, showcasing the impact of a full season’s growth. It’s amazing the difference a year can make.

I’d expect The Roost to round into form conditions-wise in the same way. There’s a reason this year is being called “preview play.” That said, the greens were rolling really well, and I was excited to get back to Cabot Citrus Farms and hear that satisfying “ding” sound their bell cups make… Not that I made a whole lot of them.

The Roost: 18 Holes of Glorious Florida Golf

Hole 1
Par 4 (Handicap 3, 430/420/377)

While the tee shot on one is nothing too intimidating, the approach area and greens complex is far from your traditional friendly handshake!

Upon a slight dogleg right around a sandy waste area, the fairway leading to the first green begins getting really interesting – it heaves about, leading to waste and depressed areas that will make recoveries tough, and even tougher considering the challenge inherent to its putting surface and run-offs on all sides.

Erring left is slightly better than right, but neither is a treat. This is a fantastic green design that puts a lot of premium on accurate approach shots.

Hole 2
Par 3 (Hcp. 11, 210/190/175)

While the beautifully designed sand featured between the tee boxes and green on the par three second is not really in play, it’s sure fun to look at – especially from the air!

The second is the first of The Roost’s four par threes and is one of its most stout: a long-iron shot into a massive greens complex that’s made more difficult by its huge false front and swale that leads up to it. Take enough club here to clear the void.

Hole 3
Par 5 (Hcp. 9, 601/542/513)

A long par five, the third looks and feels a lot like the Karoo Course with its long, sandy expanse occupying much of the left side of its fairway.

Keep out of the sand from the tee and try staying toward the right side on your second shot as the left will leave you behind a large oak tree. That’s exactly where I found myself, needing to hit a high wedge over the stately specimen – didn’t quite make it.

Another interesting thing about the third that I really enjoyed was the amount of “ripple” in its fairway surface – significant mounding was installed to provide uneven lies throughout its layout.

Hole 4
Par 4 (Hcp. 7, 420/387/379)

Heading back from the property’s northernmost point, the fourth features two pot bunkers toward the center of the driving zone that effectively split the fairway into high and low sections.

The left side, which is raised, will leave an easier approach shot while the lowered right side will force players to carry a ridge on that side of the green and hold its angled putting surface. I thought this was a really smartly designed golf hole.

Hole 5
Par 4 (Hcp. 1, 460/440/415)

A very natural-feeling golf hole that flows softly from left to right, the fifth is a long par four with intimidating centerline bunkering off the tee.

The green on five is the star of the show here, though – again, a very lay-of-the-land feel dominates with a heavily contoured surface that flows from left to right with a deep ridge in the front.

Hole 6
Par 4 (Hcp. 15, 330/308/290)

A short par four, the sixth is risk/reward golf at its finest with a massive, deep sand trap directly between the tee and the hole’s green toward the left side. There’s a ton of room to miss short and right, but what fun is that?

Hole 7
Par 4 (Hcp. 17, 505/460/418)

Heading back toward The Roost’s central comfort station (which has excellent hot dogs, by the way, and a great variety of snacks and ready-to-go nutrition… and, yes, beer and cocktails), the seventh plays uphill to an exceptionally wide fairway.

The green on seven was one of my favorites at The Roost – in some areas like a punch bowl, and in others pushing balls in wayward directions. There’s a lot going on here and it was a ton of fun to traverse.

Hole 8
Par 3 (Hcp. 5, 231/206/197)

Grab your snacks and find one of the most visually demanding tee shots on the entire Roost Course on eight, a downhill par three with shards of sand jutting out from all over its left side.

Only shots to the middle of the green will stay as the edges of this crowned putting surface are sure to move anything not just right off the short stuff.

While this is a beautiful golf hole (regardless of the rainy images, below), it still pales in comparison to the beauty of the 14th that’s still to come.

Hole 9
Par 5 (Hcp. 13, 585/540/473)

One of the most charming hole layouts to me, the ninth at The Roost reemerges from the hollow of the tree line to a right-to-left fairway that bends toward the course’s central water feature and finishes with the pond bordering the right and back edges of the greens complex.

The fairway is plenty wide off the tee, but the second shot is restricted by jagged bunkering placed right in the middle of the layup area.

With water lurking beyond the green, approach shots can easily roll right off the back, so check your yardage carefully before wedging on.

Hole 10
Par 4 (Hcp. 14, 371/332/321)

A short par four, the 10th features the kind of green an “easy par four” should: WILD.

Just 320 yards, the green on 10 is narrow with a series of rolling knolls surrounding a putting surface that’s multi-tiered from back-to-front.

I thought this was a really fun golf hole.

Hole 11
Par 5 (Hcp. 12, 616/568/515)

Maybe my favorite architectural nod on The Roost is found in the driving zone on 11: A principle’s nose-like bunker complex that separates the higher, left side of the fairway from the right.

A long par five that tips at 616 yards, the 11th is a true three-shot hole or more as the most pivotal swing will come on the second when players will need to decide if they can carry the creek. Carry it and you’ll have 155 yards or less in, but lay up and it’ll be significantly longer.

I thought I nutted a three-wood over it, only to come up short in this chasm. It then took me two to get out.

The green on 11 is the most dramatic back-to-front putting surface on the course – there’s nothing easy about this holel but it is certainly a fun challenge.

Hole 12
Par 4 (Hcp. 6, 537/467/430)

Again passing by the comfort station, the 12th tees off downhill to a left-to-right fairway bordered by trees.

Without a single sand trap on the entire hole, this long, bunkerless par four then plays uphill to another of the course’s most contoured greens complexes.

Low approach shots are recommended on 12, allowing players the best opportunity to run one on.

Hole 13
Par 4 (Hcp. 8, 478/429/398)

Left-to-right downhill, the par four 13th plays toward a large specimen tree in the middle of the fairway with water lining the right side of the approach zone.

The grove of trees left of the green are a perfect leave-behind from the former Rolling Oaks course – they have a wonderful aesthetic that frames the green just right.

Hole 14
Par 3 (Hcp. 16, 165/149/128)

The newest All-American par three in the United States is the 14th on The Roost.

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Played over a deep sinkhole, the tee boxes are wonderfully staggered and the green is wide, narrow from front-to-back and well-rippled.

Featuring a harrowing tee shot, favor the left side of the green for pins on that side for a chance at rolling one on off the slopes to that side.

I loved this golf hole and it actually reminded me a bit of the 15th at one of my favorite Wisconsin golf courses, Wild Rock.

Hole 15
Par 4 (Hcp. 2, 437/383/360)

With a wide, open fairway, the 15th is a manageable par four with another heavily sloped greens complex.

The location of this green is of particular interest as it runs away from the fairway – and shots coming in hot are liable to wind up in the craggy bunkers situated beyond it.

Favoring the left side of the fairway will produce the best approach angle into the green, while the higher, right side will force players to put a little spin on the ball to hold it.

Hole 16
Par 5 (Hcp. 4, 490/463/445)

The shortest par five on the course (many of its par fours can actually play longer than it), the 16th plays long. Really long.

Uphill the entire way, the push-up green is well-elevated above the playing surface and crowned on all sides, making a long approach shot with fairway woods or low irons next to impossible to hold.

The deep trap front-center of the green’s entrance adds another layer of difficulty.

While the course considers this a half-par, I think it’s a rather stout three-shotter.

Hole 17
Par 3 (Hcp. 10, 206/178/171)

The first hole on the course that truly captivated me (after driving out to the comfort station early-morning – there were plenty of others that did later!), the 17th is a wonderful downhill par three played from the common area shared by the seventh and 16th holes.

With a ravine/creek running the periphery of the elevated greens complex, the hole plays as a 170- to 180-yard shot with a high intimidation factor.

The long views on the 16th green and 17th tee, by the way, are really special.

Hole 18
Par 4 (Hcp. 18, 538/510/440)

It’s rare for a championship course to have its final hole as the easiest on the handicap scale, but The Roost does just that. I personally don’t see it – there is plenty of bite to this finishing challenge, especially via its length (510 yards from the green tees) and all the mounding near its green.

The fairway is as wide as they get on The Roost, though, so it’s bombs away here as long as you don’t pull anything left into the pond or find the spattering of cross-bunkers in the driving zone.

The Roost’s Rise: A New Era for Cabot Citrus Farms

The Roost at Cabot Citrus Farms is a testament to the transformative power of great golf course architecture.

From the moment you step onto the first tee, it’s evident that this course is something special – something that doesn’t just blend in with its surroundings but enhances them.

Kyle Franz, Mike Nuzzo, Rod Whitman and Ran Morrissett have crafted a layout that seamlessly merges elements of classic design with modern playability, delivering a golf experience that feels both timeless and refreshingly new. The Roost maintains the raw, strategic beauty that has defined Cabot’s vision for this property, yet introduces a different kind of challenge – one that relies as much on precision and course management as it does on bold shot-making.

Unlike the stark, sandy expanses of Karoo, The Roost embraces a more refined, parkland-style design where towering oaks, dogwoods and native wildflowers create a sense of intimacy and character.

The rolling terrain provides elevation changes rarely found in Florida golf, adding to the uniqueness of its layout. The greens are massive and wildly undulating, demanding creativity on approach shots and a daft touch (not saying I have that, of course!) with the flat stick.

While sand blowouts are still a defining feature, they’re more strategically placed on The Roost, shaping the visuals of tee shots and forcing players to think through each hole. I think this wonderful balance of artistry and strategy makes The Roost a course that will only become more beloved as players learn its nuances over time.

Though still in its infancy, I believe The Roost is poised for greatness.

Much like The Squeeze and The Wedge before it, The Roost is still in its “preview play” stage, with the turf continuing to grow in and the native areas still maturing. But if those short courses are any indication, a year or two of seasoning is sure to elevate The Roost to a level that rivals the best public golf experiences in the southeast.

Already, the greens were rolling true and the fairways offered enough firm and fast elements to keep us from ever saying “this course is a slog,” even with an intense rain throughout the previous night and that morning.

With Director of Agronomy Steve Blake at the helm, the future of The Roost’s conditioning is in excellent hands, and there’s little doubt it will be one of the premier plays in Florida sooner rather than later.

Dan McGuire: Exceptional Service & Hustle

Beyond the fantastic golf, Cabot Citrus Farms offers a world-class experience that extends to its exceptional staff, including their caddies.

Having played here in back-to-back years, I was thrilled to once again have Dan McGuire as our caddie. A veteran and advocate for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, Dan is as good as they come – always a step ahead with reads, club selections and course knowledge. His energy and enthusiasm made our round even more enjoyable, and he’s a huge asset to the Cabot team. If you’re planning a visit, I highly recommend booking Dan in advance – you won’t regret it (and thank you, Dan, for the cool flask!).

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Perhaps what makes The Roost most exciting, though, is what it represents within the larger transformation of Cabot Citrus Farms. This property, once known as World Woods, has long been a hidden gem in the Sunshine State, a place where golf deviated from the typical Florida blueprint of water-lined fairways and cookie-cutter resort layouts.

Under Cabot’s stewardship, it has evolved into something truly extraordinary – a destination where design, strategy and natural beauty converge to create an experience unlike anything else in the region outside of Streamsong. The Roost embodies this ethos, delivering a course that feels inspired, intentional and unforgettable.

If this is only the beginning, the future of Cabot Citrus Farms is bound to be truly special. The Roost is already a must-play, and as it matures it will cement itself as one of the finest public-access courses in Florida and I think a shoe-in for top 100 public course rankings in the US.

Whether you’re a golf architecture aficionado, a Cabot loyalist or simply somebody seeking an incredible round in the heart of Florida, The Roost belongs on your must-play list.

Interested in setting up your own visit to the fabulous Cabot Citrus Farms in Florida? Check out their website and get things in the works – this is a resort golf property you will be hearing a lot about in the very near future!

The Roost at Cabot Citrus Farms website

All photo/video content in this article by Paul Seifert, Brian Murphy and Troy Giljohann for WiscoGolfAddict.com