World Golf Championships coming to Manatee County course. The ‘Golden Bear’ will be proud
The Concession Golf Course, which will host The World Golf Championships originally planned for Mexico City Feb. 25-28, seems to have been designed for such a major event, given the toughness of the course and its pedigree.
Opening 15 years ago this month, Jack Nicklaus designed the course in association with Tony Jacklin.
The Concession takes its name from the Ryder Cup in 1969, when Nicklaus conceded the final putt to Jacklin, clinching the first tie in the competition’s history. The gesture, during the biennial competition between mens teams from the United States and Europe, is considered one of the greatest examples of sportsmanship in history.
“From the beginning in 2006, The Concession was designed to be different — a championship, privately-owned golf facility with no houses lining the course. The goal was to create a course where tournament conditions were the norm and the natural setting is the star. More than a decade later, the course has evolved, but the setting remains unchanged in its natural splendor, which has been the setting for prestigious events such as the NCAA Division I championships and the biennial Concession Cup,” the golf course’s web site states.
The World Golf Championship had been played in Mexico since 2017. Before then, it had been held as the Doral Open in what is now known as the Trump National Doral Miami, after President Donald Trump bought it in 2012.
On its opening in 2006, the Florida State Golf Association, an administrative arm of the U.S. Golf Association, gave The Concession a 155 slope and 77.6 course rating from the back tees, making it very challenging for players.
“It seems like Jack insists we play from the back tees,” measuring 7,470 yards, Jacklin said when the course first opened. “It’s very long from those tees, very demanding. It’s eminently playable from the members’ tees, which I’d personally prefer.”
Nicklaus, 80, and Jacklin, 76, continue to be frequent visitors to The Concession, located at 7700 Lindrick Lane, east of Lakewood Ranch.
In 2010, Nicklaus, known in golf lore as “The Golden Bear,” was at The Concession for a round of golf with former U.S. Open champion and Bradenton resident Tony Jacklin and Concession owner Bruce Cassidy Sr.
Jacklin said afterwards that changes were being made to the course designed with the average golfer in mind, while still giving the top players a tough test.
“You’re trying, at the one end, make it challenging for the great players,” Jacklin said. “At the other end, your membership is obviously of great consideration. We want members, and we want to attract more members. And that’s what we’re trying to do. And I think everything we’ve done today is moving in the right direction.”
By designing The Concession, Nicklaus joined two other golfing greats, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, as course designers in Manatee and Sarasota counties.
Palmer designed the Legacy Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch, and Player designed Laurel Oak Country Club in Sarasota — both in the 1990s.
“I feel like I’m connected here by the hip, and I want to stay that way,” Nicklaus said in 2010. “And I want to make sure this golf course, if they ever have a problem, all they do is let us know and we’ll be here for whatever you need to do.”
The course concedes nothing to golfers looking to shoot a low score.
“This might be the most challenging golf course in Florida. The 392-yard hole No. 8 has earned the distinction as one of the three best Par-4 holes in the state,” The Concession’s web page states.
The World Golf Championships event, dating back to 1999, has historically drawn some of the world’s best golfers with Patrick Reed winning last year, beating out a field that included Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.
The World Golf Championships was moved to The Concession because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Korn Ferry Tour, which features future PGA Tour players, is holding its 2021 tournament at Lakewood National Golf Club the week before The Concession hosts the WGC event.
This story was originally published January 23, 2021 at 8:10 AM with the headline "World Golf Championships coming to Manatee County course. The ‘Golden Bear’ will be proud."
