World Woods Golf Club is a golf destination facility located in Brooksville, Florida. World Woods Golf Club was developed in 1991 by World Woods Corporation and opened on April 1, 1993. World Woods Corporation purchased its land from Florida Crush Stone, Punta Gorda Isles and several privately held properties for a total accumulation of 2,100 acres.
The golf club comprises two Tom Fazio designed championship courses : the Pine Barrens and the Rolling Oaks. World Woods also offers a nine Hole Short Course featuring seven par 3’s and two par 4’s, Three Hole Practice Course ( par 5, par 4 and a par 3), the Practice Park featuring the circular 23 Acre Practice Range, a 36 hole Two Acre Putting Course and an Iron Range and Putting Greens strategically located near the #1 tee of each Championship Course for last minute warm up shots.
The Pine Barrens Course at World Woods
The course is ranked #26 by Golf Week ” Americas Best Modern Course”. Pine Barrens is a visually stunning blend of native terrain and golf course design.
Named for the many pine trees that line its length, the acclaimed layout is sculpted from an expansive pine forest with surprising and dramatic changes in elevation.
The Pine Barrens course at the World Woods Golf Club an hour north of Tampa has drawn more than its fair share of comparisons to Pine Valley, and with good reason. Visually stunning with large waste bunkers, individual unique holes, rolling terrain, and the solitude offered by a course void of any housing all contribute to Pine Barrens often being referred to as Pine Valley of the South. In fact, golf at World Woods feels more like being in Georgia or the Carolinas then it does in the traditional flatlands of Florida.
The 4th and 15th holes represent two of the finest holes in the Southeast and among the top of Tom Fazio’s long list of impressive designs. Between Pine Barrens and its sister course Rolling Oaks, World Woods represents one of the finest public 36 hole facilities in the country and an opportunity to play Tom Fazio’s best work in Florida.
Signature Hole: 16th Hole – 224 Yard Par 3 – Tons of sand, trees, and challenge; the perfect hole to represent Pine Barrens as the signature. This lengthy par three plays over a waste bunker to a green with sand on the right and more room on the left then is generally seen from the tee. The green feeds from back to front and from left to right while sitting in an amphitheater of trees. A cut shot that starts at the left side of the green is the perfect play on this attractive hole.
The Rolling Oaks Course at World Woods
The course provides the second world-class layout at World Woods Golf Club. An entirely different, yet no less enjoyable experience than playing Pine Barrens, this course’s name also gives clue to its design.
Despite being built directly adjacent to the Pine Barrens Course, differences in soil content allow the land to support giant Oak trees draped with Spanish moss that regularly accent the holes. Sharply defined bunkers filled with bleached white sand contrast beautifully with the rich green fairways. These attributes coupled with the many Azalea bushes present in the landscaping are reminiscent of the famed Augusta National.
The par five 3rd hole is typical of the style on the Rolling Oaks course where bunkers are used to create a more formal, finished look.
The strongest hole at Rolling Oaks comes at the finish, a 503-yard par five that bends twice around gothic stands of trees as it nears the elevated green. Drives played down the right side do not have the best angle to the green so second shots must be placed delicately between the lines of wood. From the left portion of the fairway, the green is accessible but only with a high powerful draw or a low, sweeping, seeing eye hook run through a series of bunkers. The left side of the pear-shaped green is thin and difficult to find even with a wedge. This is an opportunistic hole that might yield a 4 but only if approached correctly.
There’s only one thing for it, you must play both courses, but you’ll be faced with a dilemma… which World Woods golf course do you tackle in the morning?
