Pine Barrens at World Woods is a world away from most courses you
Let me say right off the bat that I like playing golf in Florida. But what I don’t like is how many of the courses have a similar look and feel to them: wide open, pancake flat, palm trees, abundant water hazards, housing communities…I get it.
If you feel the same, and you’re looking for a little variety on your next Florida golf vacation, head to the Tampa area and World Woods Golf Club.
About an hour north of the city, World Woods sits on two thousand acres of heavily wooded, rolling land in rural Brooksville, Florida with nary a house or condominium (or palm tree) in sight. For the ultimate out-of-Florida experience, play its Pine Barrens course, the best of the four layouts there.
Tom Fazio designed the Pine Barrens course as an ode to (but not a copy of) New Jersey’s Pine Valley Golf Club, where he is a member. Devoid of of traditional sand traps, Pine Barrens’ vast sandy waste areas edged with tall grasses form the primary hazards on this wonderfully varied, target routing, one of the most strikingly different looking ones you can play on a Florida golf vacation.
While the tee boxes present wide-open views of the challenges that lie ahead, the difficulty comes on the approaches, as the targets constrict around the quick, undulating greens.
Every hole is a treat, but for sheer risk/reward drama, nothing tops the short, par-four 15th. The hole sets up as an extreme dogleg right, but long drivers can go for broke by firing straight toward the green over a deep, snarly waste area and wetlands.
In 2002, during Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf match between Phil Mickelson and David Toms, Toms did just that, but was it was not enough to best Mickelson’s final score of 68.
It’s understandable that you’d want to get to a course this good as fast as possible, but if you decide to play Worls Woods’ Pine Barrens golf course on your Florida golf vacation, pay close attention to the constantly changing speed limits along the way (Veterans Memorial Expressway and Route 98).
Apparently, so many people get pulled over for speeding on the way to the club that management thought it necessary to put a warning (and a link to speed traps) front and center on the “directions” area of its website.
If you do get snagged, try telling the officer where you’re playing and that your excitement got the better of you. If he’s a golfer, you might just get off with a warning…and an police escort.
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