Rendering Preview: Cabot Citrus Farms (Cabot Oaks)
Things continue to progress in Brooksville, Florida at the Cabot Collection’s first United States property, and as we build towards the end of the year and early 2024, more details to continue to be released.
Following Cabot Barrens renderings and the release of the two plans, renderings of Cabot Oaks, the original Tom Fazio-designed Augusta National homage turned Kyle Franz, Mike Nuzzo, and Ran Morrissett renovation, dropped on the resort’s official website.
In contrast to Barrens, this golf course is much more tree-lined, without the sandy expanse of Barrens, once influenced by Pine Valley. The property is more dynamic, and as a result, the land dictates play more, not the bunkering schemes. In the renderings below, green complexes seem to be the emphasis, with some pretty aggressive, intense contours. For an on-hand walkthrough in the dirt, click here, otherwise, you can watch the full renderings video on Cabot Citrus Farms website.
10th hole
With a simple routing switch, the golf course ends on the dramatic uphill par 4, 9th now, meaning the old 18th becomes the 10th. A short 4, possibly drivable for some up the hill, has a green that sees similarities to North Berwick’s famed 15th hole. The surrounding features will certainly wreak havoc for those with chipping woes!
13th hole
For the 13th-15th, the routing is reversed, playing on the same plot of land, just in the opposite direction. What used to be a long uphill par 4 is now a downhill, sweeping par 4 around a low-area pond, with some very interesting contours as the golfer approaches the green. A decision awaits golfers on the tee: hit driver left and get a shorter club, or play short of the hazard and have a longer club in, but an easier tee shot.
14th hole
As a result of the routing flipped, the sinkhole to the right of the old 12th green now comes into play short of the par 3, 14th, working back up the hillside to a green perched on the other side of a depression. Barrens will have more photogenic moments, but this hole at Oaks will certainly carry a lot of the weight in the photography department.
17 in reverse, with the 11th green in the background
Looking back at the old par 3, 8th—now the 17th—with the par 5, 11th green in the background with a dramatic, large-scale bunker. This is the view from the forward tees on 18 in reverse, and really illustrates the contours in the green complex, which severely tilts towards the creek left of the green (right in the below photo).
10th hole (far left), 17th (foreground), and 18th (background)
A good look from high above, with the 10th hole up the left, the par 3, 17th green short, the 18th in the middle, the 11th fairway up the left, and the 9th green also hanging out at the edge of the pond on the left side of the photo.
18th hole
For my money, I’m more excited about Oaks, which has a rolling property with more elevation change and less reliance on dramatic bunkering schemes. There are shades of Alister Mackenzie here, but also, North Berwick, and of course, tradition Florida vegetation to round it out. There is a surprising amount of water on this golf course, coming into play on the 2nd, 9th, 10th, 13th, 17th, and 18th, but from my first-hand experience on site, it is tastefully done, either in the way of natural low-area ponds, or meandering creeks.
Citrus Farms is expected to open in late 2023.
