71 Nuzzo’s design aims to isolate the golf from the surroundings to make the courses feel like an escape or retreat. A large berm system shields the town of Ponce de Leon from the course and the site’s infrastructure. It was created with material excavated for large waste areas, dramatic features for both courses. Both courses were originally planned as nine holes. “The preliminary plan had a little bit of a walk to and from the last one-shot hole,” says Nuzzo, of The Ten. Cabot’s Ben Cowan-Dewar asked if there was enough room for another hole. “At the time I was considering a tenth hole on the par-three course, so it struck a great balance for Cabot to have ten plus ten,” says Nuzzo. As it happens, another par three was added to The Ace, which Nuzzo says: “allowed for the routing to tack the property and add more dramatic features.” While The Ace is a par-three course, Cabot’s scorecard for The Ten does not list pars. “Once the best use of the land was determined to be more ‘half-par holes’, or holes of less traditional lengths,” says Nuzzo. “The goal was to add as much interest to each hole and emulate some of the great short holes in the world. We took some ingredients from my favourites and also concocted some original ideas. “One of the challenges was working with the old four-sided range. By eliminating the east and west tee pods it allowed The Ten to route around the new range. The first hole aided the transition, it is somewhat wide and uses the old terrain to have a superrumpled and interesting approach and green complex. “The second green rewards the safe play to the left side. The player who challenges the green will have to avoid the trouble to the right before arriving at a green that will slightly curve the ball left. The third has a waste bunker the size of a Publix! The hole has a slender green that slopes away from the tee with a very steep left side. It is highly dramatic, and the first thing visitors will see upon entering the site. “The fourth hole is 560 yards and feels like it was born in Ireland. The pronounced dunes running the entire left side of the hole create a fairway strongly canted left to right. Strategically, the green rewards players when playing from the left side.” Nuzzo expects the fifth to become a favourite. “The fairway is quite wide with a portion in the middle that is obscured by views of bunkers that Photo: Cabot Citrus Farms Looking back on the third and second holes on The Ten at Cabot Citrus Farms “ The goal was to add as much interest to each hole and emulate some of the great short holes in the world”
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