The Fairways of Citrus Hills

Citrus Hills is an award-winning Florida community that combines the traditional country club lifestyle with new amenities and member-driven activities, welcoming retirees and working families in style.

“The Villages of Citrus Hills is a development started by visionaries in the late 1970s, well before the concept of master-planned communities aimed at retirees and snowbirds became a common idea,” says Lisa Malone-Carmain, Director of Club Marketing for Citrus Hills. “Over the years, we’ve grown to about 8,000 homes of different sizes and floor plan designs in a variety of neighborhoods that range from suburbanstyle to gated active-adult communities.”

Many of those residents were initially attracted to the four golf courses at Citrus Hills that offer 63 holes of top-flight play. The first two are the 18-hole layouts located at Citrus Hills Golf & Country Club—The Oaks and The Meadows.

“The Oaks course is a classic design with rolling hills and fairways defined by mature live oaks and tall loblolly pines,” says Citrus Hills head golf professional Wayne Larsen. “With dramatic elevation changes and gorgeous views, golfers may feel like they’re playing in the Sandhills of the Carolinas rather than on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

“The Meadows course features beautiful fairways with gentle doglegs, which lead to large, undulating greens,” he continues. “It’s a traditional course design that challenges more experienced players from the back tees, but is also ideal for the novice golfer looking for a relaxing, enjoyable round.” Larsen and his staff offer free monthly clinics that introduce new players to the game and help them to improve their shot-making skills.

Skyview at Terra Vista is home to The Skyview Golf Course, the longest and most challenging of the three 18-hole layouts at Citrus Hills. The name derives from its unique claim to fame: the tee box on the 17th hole is the highest point on any golf course in Florida and offers clear-day “sky views” all the way to the Gulf of Mexico on the horizon.

Skyview’s head golf pro Parker Hewit has overseen the most significant recent change to the course—switching the opening and closing nines back to their original configuration. “The biggest factor in that decision was logistics,” Hewit says. “Now we can see the first tee from the pro shop, and the course opens on the first hole with a long par 5. That helps us to better space groups from the start and set a good pace of play right out of the gate. And our members now finish their rounds on a very challenging signature 18th hole, which is the way it should be.

“We are constantly looking for ways to improve our golf course and player services here at Skyview,” he says. “Our goal is to offer a fun playing experience with immaculate course conditions for our members.”

Hewit and his Skyview staff are also growing the game in the Citrus Hills community that includes many young families. “We offer a junior golf camp every summer,” he says. “It’s a great way to introduce kids to a game that they can enjoy for a lifetime.”

While competitive league play for men and women takes place nearly every week on the three Citrus Hills championship layouts, the fourth venue at the Brentwood Golf Course is all about having a good time. “Brentwood is a great little nine-hole course,” says Hewit, “that offers an enjoyable experience for everyone, from seniors who like a quick round in the morning to members who want to play a late nine after work.”

Two high-tech additions are helping Citrus Hills members keep up with the times. The first is the club’s new Lightspeed Golf tee-time system, which allows players to book or cancel tee times and get other course information on their phones. Equally popular extras are the two new Golf/Sportsplex Simulators soon to be located at the Citrus Hills Activity Center. This state-ofthe-art technology allows residents to virtually play more than 81 of the world’s most famous golf courses and compete in 13 other interactive experiences, including baseball, football, and basketball challenges.

Flexible golf, fitness, and social membership programs are available that allow play on all of the Citrus Hills golf courses and access to other first-class community amenities. Topping that list is the luxurious BellaVita Spa & Fitness Center for residents who want to look and feel their best. This 50,000-sq.ft. wellness center handles the first with a Mediterranean-style private spa offering a full range of massage, facials, and salon services. The fitness center follows up with an indoor pool and whirlpool, steam rooms and saunas, and free fitness classes ranging from Aqua Tone and Pilates to yoga and Zumba.

Members can join in lively league competitions on the courts at the Skyview Tennis Center and innovative training programs at the PrimoVita Fitness Center for additional spirited exercise. And the Citrus Hills Activity Center is another hub of community activity that features eight pickleball courts, a heated pool, game rooms, and plenty of meeting space.

“We have close to 50 community clubs that our members run,” says Malone-Carmain, “which make it possible for them to learn new hobbies, make new friends with similar interests and expand their horizons with new activities.

Along with educational classes and volunteer activities, we also have live entertainment, farmers markets, classic car exhibitions, travel opportunities, and a year-round calendar of social events.”

Citrus Hills members can enjoy fine clubhouse dining and music at The Skyview Restaurant and more casual fare with dancing and themed events at The Grille Restaurant. Just outside is everyone’s favorite “19th hole,” the huge thatched-roof Tiki Bar featuring games on 10 TVs, karaoke nights, and weekly live entertainment. The Citrus Hills Auditorium seats up to 300 for music concerts when more space is needed, and the Hampton Room hosts comedy, magic, and dinner shows.

Located in the heart of Florida’s Nature Coast region, Citrus Hills is just 10 minutes from Gulf of Mexico beaches and sport-fishing marinas. Nearly 50 percent of Citrus County is a natural habitat that’s protected from development and features the 46-mile Withlacoochee State Trail for hiking and biking excursions. Nearby Citrus Memorial Hospital and Seven Rivers Hospital are top-rated healthcare centers, while all of the cultural arts and popular attractions in Orlando and Tampa are just a little over an hour away.

The Villages of Citrus Hills has been honored with numerous awards over the years, including recent recognition as the top master-planned community in Florida by the authoritative Real Estate Scoreboard online magazine.

“Those accolades are not only a big plus for Citrus Hills,” says Malone-Carmain, “but also for the whole of Citrus County as an area with top-quality developments. And that’s what we hope they’ll discover at Citrus Hills.”