World Woods Rolling Oaks

The verdict

For nearly three decades World Woods was one of the best kept secrets in Florida golf, a 36 hole Tom Fazio complex an hour north of Tampa near Brooksville. Rolling Oaks was the classical half, a parkland design routed through mature oaks and dogwood that drew frequent comparisons to Augusta National, the gentler counterpoint to its rugged sibling Pine Barrens. Opened in 1993, the pair earned national rankings and a devoted following among golfers who valued substance over flash.

The picture changed in 2022, when Cabot, the Canadian developer behind Cabot Cape Breton and Cabot Saint Lucia, acquired World Woods and began a wholesale redevelopment into Cabot Citrus Farms. The Rolling Oaks routing has been reimagined within the new resort rather than preserved unchanged, so the course you may remember from the World Woods era no longer exists in its original form. We keep this profile for the history and to point traveling golfers to what stands on the land today.

The holes worth the trip

In its World Woods form Rolling Oaks was defined by its trees. Fazio routed the holes through stands of mature oaks and rolling, gently sandy terrain, with white sand bunkering and elevation change that gave it a more traditional, parkland character than the wilder Pine Barrens next door. The comparisons to Augusta were earned by the framing, the pines and hardwoods, the contoured greens and the sense of a course carved from a beautiful piece of land.

The two course pairing was the draw: golfers played the classical Rolling Oaks and the rugged, sandy Pine Barrens back to back and debated which they preferred, a debate that ran for thirty years. The practice facility at World Woods was itself regarded as one of the finest in the country, part of why the complex punched so far above its quiet Brooksville location.

What stands on the land now is Cabot Citrus Farms, a resort redevelopment that has reworked the original routings rather than frozen them. If you are chasing the World Woods experience, the honest answer is to visit Cabot Citrus Farms and judge the new golf on its own terms.

Where to stay nearby

Lodging on the property is now provided by Cabot Citrus Farms, which has built out resort accommodation as part of the redevelopment, the natural base for playing the new golf. Brooksville and the wider Tampa Bay area offer hotels within an hour for golfers who prefer to stay off site.

For a Florida golf trip built around great Tom Fazio design, pair a visit here with the dramatic quarry holes of Black Diamond Ranch nearby, or the coastal Fazio golf at Camp Creek.

Looking for a base near Brooksville? See our recommended hotels and resorts.