If I can I like to start off a new year on the golf course. And, that is how I began 2021 – with a 7:45am tee time and a full day of golf! An Instagram friend was visiting Central Florida this holiday weekend and we were able to work things out to meet up for all 45 holes of golf at World Woods Golf Club. We started out on Rolling Oaks, squeezed in the short course and then finished up on Pine Barrens. This review will cover Rolling Oaks.

Years ago when I lived in Florida I was able to play the main eighteen-hole courses at World Woods. I never made it to the nine-hole course, but recall liking the Rolling Oaks and Pine Barrens courses. Unfortunately, that was about all I remembered so I was excited for a return visit and plenty of pictures!

After a couple chilly days last week my friend and I caught a sunny, warm day to play. It was comfortable all day and I think the high got close to 85 degrees. I was a bit surprised that more people weren’t out enjoying the weather, but I think the higher winter prices (starting the day we played) scared some folks off. Still, we paid ~$179 to play Rolling Oaks/Pine Barrens and ultimately I didn’t think that was too bad for what we got.

World Woods opened in 1993 and the courses here have received quite a bit of praise over the years. These days you don’t hear as much about World Woods, but both eighteen-hole courses have such great bones to them. Tom Fazio is listed as the architect, but from what I’ve heard the late Mike Strantz heavily influenced the layout of World Woods. I believe Strantz was the lead shaper for Tom Fazio at the time. So, there are tons of Strantz vibes at Rolling Oaks!

And, those Strantz vibes are what I loved the most about Rolling Oaks. To me, Rolling Oaks has a few similarities (interesting greens and good bunkering) with Tot Hill Farm Golf Club, which is one of Strantz’s solo pieces of work. Rollings Oaks is nowhere near as wild, but a couple holes – the 8th, 12th and 13th – have a rocky look to them and all boulders sprinkled into the course had me thinking about Tot Hill Farm as well.

That 8th hole is the signature hole at Rolling Oaks and one of my personal favorites at World Woods. We played the green tees (70.3/121/6438) and from those tees the hole is a 143 yard par-3. However, the tees were back for us so it was a bit more challenging. It plays slightly downhill to a great green complex. The green is narrower and guarded by water left and a rocky hillside to the right. Lots of fun!

The other standout feature about Rolling Oaks is – as the name indicates – all the beautiful oak trees that line the course. The front nine is more open and while it has a few prominent oaks, you’ll really get a first hand look at all the oaks on the back nine. Possibly after driving your golf ball into them! The back nine is tighter than the front with sharper doglegs so you have to be on your game to keep a good round going.

The conditions on Rolling Oaks were about average for the price. I hoped for more, but everything was playable. The fairways had good coverage with a light overseed, however the ball seemed to sit down more than up. The greens rolled well and at a medium pace – some edges were sanded but that looked to be mostly cosmetic.

Overall, Rolling Oaks is a solid course with good par-3’s. Rolling Oaks takes a back seat to Pine Barrens and rightfully so – because on every level Pine Barrens is the better course and the one you’ll want to play at World Woods. However, if you are here to play Pine Barrens then I’d recommend a round on Rolling Oaks.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):