Sandhill Cranes are large birds with long necks and slender legs. True to their name, they prefer sandy environments and spend most of their time in groups. Their color is gray. Their diet is mainly plant-based. Their cry was likened to a rattling trumpet and was written as karoo.
In Southwest Florida, where sandhill cranes live in large numbers, “karoo” is a colloquial word often used at Cabot Citrus Farms, a golf resort. In addition to two short courses, a putting course and a full practice facility, this luxury resort and residential community features two outstanding 18-hole layouts. The oldest of them is almost two years old now and his name is Karoo.
The course was designed by Kyle Franz, who went on to work on projects ranging from Oregon’s Pacific Dunes to the Rio Olympics under the guidance of Tom Doak and Gil Hanse before starting his own business. His resume includes critically acclaimed restorations of Mid Pines, Pine Needles and Southern Pines, a trio of Donald Ross gems in the Carolina Sandhills. Franz has a big personality. He is passionate, expressive, and not afraid to push boundaries. The same goes for his work at Cabot Citrus Farms.
According to Franz himself, he planned to do something different in the Karoo. His goal was to be creative, not to imitate his mentor. He went out and made a statement. Most importantly, he told GOLF.com, “I wanted to build something really fun.”
During the introductions, Carew’s opening remarks were more of an in-person greeting than a handshake. A par 4 with a slope of 475 yards, the fairway leads over a minefield of sand to a fairway divided by a centerline bunker. There’s plenty of room on either side, but the angle is important. When the flag is in the bowl on the left, the ideal attack is from the right and vice versa. Green is a vast, rolling expanse that foreshadows the themes to come: scale, movement, and choice.
Selectivity It’s a nerdy word, but it applies. The par-3 third hole stretches to a staggering 292 yards or narrows to a delicate 125 yards from the front tee box. Either way, the kicking ramp in front of the green provides a user-friendly alternative to aerial attacks to get the ball to the target. The par-4, par-5 hole with a split fairway and a shortcut in the sand requires the tee box to make a decision: play it safe the long way or go the shorter distance with greater risk.
Then there’s the par-5 No. 6, a hole that embodies Carew’s exuberant spirit. It tumbles over undulating ground and drops onto the vast double green shared with the tenth hole. Two shots can get you an eagle, but the contours around the green are dramatic and defiant. If you hit the ball at the wrong angle, a two-putt can look like a heroic feat.
Sophie McFaul
The par-4 12th hole provides some change of pace late in the round. It’s a stout, straight-shot two-shot that goes downhill from the tee to the wide fairway below and then climbs up again to the green above. It’s a test of old-fashioned execution before the round returns to more gorgeous terrain.
Despite its strong personality, Karu does not punish with punishment. It’s hard to lose golf balls. The challenge is finding the best route forward, there are different routes along the fairway and different paths to the pin.
Franz achieved his goal. This course is a bold statement: minimalist design for the age of minimalism. It complements the rest of the Citrus Farm menu. It’s an established fact in golf development these days that multiple courses turn a property from curiosity to destination. But diversity is also important. The Karoo contrasts with the resort’s other 18-hole course, Roost, which moves more quietly on a brisk canvas of creeks, lakes and old-growth trees. Add to that the short courses—squeeze and wedge—and you have a symphony of style.
But Carew has a voice of his own, like the bird for which the course is named.
