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Courtesy of Cabot/Carolina Pines Golf
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Courtesy of Cabot/Carolina Pines Golf
Courtesy of Cabot/Carolina Pines Golf
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Courtesy of Cabot/Komo Golf
Courtesy of Cabot/Komo Golf
Carolina Pines Golf
Komo Golf
Carolina Pines Golf
Cabot Citrus Farms: Roost
Brooksville, FL•Public
Panelists Score
Cabot Citrus Farms: Roost
17590 Ponce de Leon Blvd
Brooksville, FL 34614-0809
United States
Telephone
Overview
The second course to open at the old World Woods property an hour north of Tampa is a sublime counterpoint to Cabot's more volatile first course, Karoo, the ego to that design’s id. All the golf at Cabot Citrus Farms is big and expressionistic, but The Roost also possesses an elegant coherence, partly derived from its tranquil setting amid moss-draped oaks, a surprise given that four designers had input. Whitman, architect of Cabot Links in Nova Scotia, shaped the greens, and his artistic sweeps and dips and fades at holes like the par-5 third and par-4 15th carry the day, pushing right against the edge of extremity without stepping over.
About
Golf Digest Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 Greatest / Best In State Scores
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“Fantastic land movement and a great variety of uphill and downhill holes. Undulating greens and several centerline trees come into play which creates intrigue. Beautiful Florida setting with interesting green complexes with plenty of defense for the better players while still being playable for your recreational golfer."
Read More2026
Review
“The Roost is a redesign or the former World Woods Rolling Oaks course. The most notable feature are the large, dynamic green complexes that can at their most aggressive, look like ski moguls. Because of that, the greens don't roll overly fast, creating excellent birdie opportunities if you are putting from the proper level. The fairways are very wide and rollout and are protected, at times, by centerline bunkering. This offers some decision on the tee to either lay up short of the bunkering, try to clear it, or just pick a side. Approach shots do not require a lot of variety as the mounding around the greens requires fairly precise approach shots. With that said, the greens often offer kickboards (17th especially) that will funnel shots toward the center. While there is some variety as it relates to the holes, based upon uphill/downhill configurations, the player is often hitting the same club into the green. The back nine provided more character with standout holes being both of the the shot par 3 14th, the short uphill par 5 16th, and the aforementioned downhill 17th."
Read More2026
Review
“A little ratty looking around the edges and cart paths. Wet conditions but it hadn't rained."
Read More2026
Review
“Solid and unique course with some clear features of the course which it replaced."
Read More2026
Review
“There is a cool kick slope for the front hole location on #1 - this is a theme as there are a ton a great slope throughout the course that you can use. Great slope left of 9 green that can take water out of play but can work the ball onto the green. Great trees in fairways on 9, 13, 15 that dictate line of play and strategy from the tee shot and into the green. Good driving course that provides and lot of options and introduces a variety of risks off the tee (like holes 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, and 18). Great options and opportunity for reward on a number of approach shots throughout the course. Lots of shots where going directly at the flag isn't the best way to get the ball close to the hole. Lots of centerline bunkers or obstacles to carry off the tee. Short grass is everywhere which give you more options around the greens. There are a lot of trees but they don't dictate play like other tree-lined courses. There are a ton of teeing options that could make this course really enjoyable even if staying and playing several days in a row. The forward tees are WAY up there and the back tees are WAY back there. The teeing grounds, fairway lies and greens are varied enough that I'm not sure you'd ever get tired of playing the Roost. There are so many interesting tee shots, short game shots, and things to stay away from that it will keep your attention throughout the round. The course doesn't feel overly penalizing and outside of a few water hazards, it would be difficult to loose a golf ball. This would be a great course to play a few times with your buddies - could do a scramble, stroke play or match play depending on the choice of tees. There are shaved banks on hazards on 9 and 13 making the hazard play larger than it is. It is a long course if you're playing farther back and the greens are complex (ah la Donald Ross courses with large contours and many small pockets to place the pin). Defenses include length, penalizing centerline fairway bunkers, undulating greens, uneven lies, trees intruding into holes and fairways, water hazards and steep runoff areas. Fairway bunkering is very good to capture errant shots but at times you may be able to advance to the green. Greens are very undulating and often times approaches into them are best from a particular angle (3, 6, 13, 15, 16). Lots of elevation change throughout the round and the wind is almost certain to blow. Great variety in teeing options and location that can change the look, feel and strategy from hole-to-hole. There is good overall layout variety where holes play differently throughout. 9 & 10 play the same general direction, 15, 16, 17, & 18 all play the same direction. Great land with varied uphill and downhill holes and elevation changes. The land movement within the holes is very good as well (particularly on 1, 2, 10 and 11). The greens are varied - some long and skinny, others wrapped by hazards or bunkers, there is the bunkerless 12th hole. The par threes are varied in length but aren't very memorable. Great variety in the hazards on the course. The par 4s are really good in terms of variety and par 5s are pretty good too. There are large old oak trees scattered around the property that define the strategy and the aesthetic of the place - make the course feel much older than it is. Several beautiful water hazards in play on 9, 10, 13 and 18. The old quarry on 14 is cool and brings a different look to the course. Long expanses of short grass interrupted by large blow out bunkers. Great combination of large undulations, waste areas, and huge trees. The greens roll okay, but not great. The green firmness is really good where shots almost always roll out. Long irons roll out a lot, as expected. Mid irons roll out a good amount (more than expected). Short irons and wedges take a big bounce and stop - only able to spin one short wedge backward the whole day. Fairways are probably soft of ideal - drives into the wind don't roll hardly at all and drives downwind down roll enough. Some minor bare spots on some greens (2, 10, 15) and some bald spots on fairways, mostly out of the high traffic areas (3, 4, 11). They took the old Pine Barrens course at World Woods to create the Roost - injected some Pinehurst into the place and some intrigue into the tee shots, approaches and greens. Outside of maybe Streamsong, this is different than most of the golf in Florida which is plagued with flat ground, too many water hazards and uninteresting greens. There is going to be a village built around the course that has the potential to impact the experience (negatively, in my opinion). The small village that is on site is very utopian feeling."
Read More2026
Review
“Cabot Citrus Roost has an old-school feel with gently rolling terrain, thoughtful (right where you want your shot to land but also playable) bunkering, and greens that reward precision and creativity. The architecture leans into classic shot values, asking you to shape approaches and control distance rather than simply overpower the course. Subtle elevation changes (for a South Florida resident, these changes were significant) and firm conditions make club selection deceptively tricky throughout the round. It’s a course that feels approachable at first glance but steadily reveals its challenge the more you try to score well. Very enjoyable the third time I played it - be patient during your first round or two!"
Read More2026
Review
“I think they are trying for too many things here at the Roost. Publicity talks about early Augusta National and Aussie Sandbelt influences. At the same time it's clear the course is derivative of other modern design. While overall not even changing the original routing in meaningful ways other than removing a vast vast amount of trees and putting some pretty wild green complexes in. It is both fun and confusing at the same time. Quite difficult or not so bad depending on pin positions. Perhaps with more time it will form it's own unique identity but for now I remain a bit puzzled by what the team of architects was trying to achieve. And maybe that's the point, because with so much collaboration it's clear there are multiple visions of this course at work."
Read More2026
Review
“I felt the course takes a while to get going. It could be due to the poor conditions of the grass but there was not a lot of definition to the holes. It was hard to see where the hole was going and I don't think that was the intention. Green complexes were very good and difficult with ridges placed near most pinnable locations. I'd like to go back when conditions were improved to see if it would be more visually interesting."
Read More2026
Review
“My biggest problem here is that the turf conditions do not seem to match the style of play that seems to be asked for (ground game, links style). Many times I (and playing partners in my group) tried to run it up, yet the turf really would not allow this--with soft sticky turf present short of the green. The greens ranged from challenging and interesting (need to approach it or land it in the correct location--#1 was a great example) all the way to "silly golf" on a number of greens (#2 set the tone for this). Great land, interesting looks, walkable, and while it was one part fund, it was one part frustrating as aspects of the design appeared somewhat overdone. Could make for a fun place for a buddy trip with the various courses, greens, and practice areas, but don't come here expecting to score in any way similar to what you normally score."
Read More2026
Review
“I struggle to evaluate this course. My biggest problem is that the turf conditions do not seem to match the style of play that seems to be asked for (ground game, links style). Many times I (and playing partners in my group) tried to run it up, yet the turf really would not allow this--with soft sticky turf present short of the green. The greens ranged from challenging and interesting (need to approach it or land it in the correct location--#1 was a great example) all the way to "silly golf" on a number of greens (#2 sorta set the tone for this). Great land, interesting looks, walkable, and while it was one part one, it was one part frustrating as aspects of the design appeared somewhat overdone. Overall, I feel like this was an attempt at modern course design (Doak, Coore-Crenshaw, Streamsong type approach) that missed the mark."
Read More2026
