Gracious Golf: World-Class Course Celebrates Historic Ryder Cup Concession

By Scott Ferguson | Photos Courtesy of Concession Golf Club | June 2024

The year was 1969, the course was Royal Birkdale in Southport, England. Competition was fierce in the Ryder Cup, a competition of two 12-member teams made up of top golfers in the United States and Europe, played in odd-numbered years since 1927.

The match was deadlocked with two putts remaining on the last hole — the first from Jack Nicklaus of the American team and the last from British player Tony Jacklin. Nicklaus, playing in his first Ryder Cup, made his four-foot putt. Jacklin was left with a two-foot putt. Impulsively, Nicklaus turned to his opponent and conceded the final putt before Jacklin had a chance to make it, ending the match in a 16-16 draw between the two teams. 

 Later Nicklaus told him (as recalled by Jacklin), “I don’t believe you would have missed that, but I’d never give you the opportunity in these circumstances.” Known ever after as “the concession,” it’s one of the most famous acts of sportsmanship in the history of athletic competition — and remains one of only two ties in almost a century of Ryder Cup play (the second was in 1989).

Fast-forward to 2006, when The Concession Golf Club opened in Bradenton, Florida. Nicklaus and Jacklin teamed up to design and create the 520-acre course, dedicated to the spirit of sportsmanship displayed at the historic 1969 Ryder Cup match. 

Although there is a stunning residential development near The Concession Golf Club, there are no houses lining the course. As the club’s website describes it, “the setting is the star.”

“This place is natural Florida,” says Brian Weimann, the club’s general manager. “Everything you see here, grows here, but it has a different feel to it than many Florida courses — a lot of pine trees, pine straw, ponds, all natural elements.” 

The private club has a non-refundable initiation fee, annual dues and a waiting list. There are roughly 320 members; all of whom are serious about the game.

“We’re about golf, golf, golf… and really good food,” Weimann explains. “Our mantra from day one was that we were going to be a golf club, not a country club. The people who play here are all like-minded. They’re here for high-end golf in Florida, with the relaxed elegance we have here at the club.”

Weimann describes the course as one “where a really good golfer will be challenged, but a more casual player else can still have a good time.” He says the pace of play at The Concession is brisk.

“Out here, most everybody plays fast. You can expect a round of golf to last three hours and 45 minutes or four hours here, where at another course it may take four and a half to five hours, or five hours plus on a busy Saturday in season. So you get more of an intimate feel; it’s not overcrowded. You don’t have to enter a lottery for tee times. This is very much a traditional golf course, a traditional membership of people who really are here for the enjoyment of the game.”

Two 10-foot Rolex clocks are featured on the course — a rare honor for a club. The prestigious Swiss company, the official timekeeper for major sporting events around the world, chooses the courses where it will place its clocks and selects the clocks’ locations on each course. The Concession is in good company; clubs with Rolex clocks include St Andrews Old Course in Scotland, Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina and Pebble Beach in California.

In addition to the 18-hole main course, players can hone their skills on a nine-hole par three course and a lighted one-acre putting course. 

Just south of the club is the 1,200-acre home of The Concession Residences, a gated community with 236 home sites. All of the lots are sold and many already have houses. Close to the clubhouse, lodges and cottages are available for temporary stays by members and guests.

Since it opened, The Concession has regularly received national and regional accolades. Golf Digest named it “Best New Private Course in America” in 2006, its first year, and ranked it #6 in “Best Courses in Florida” in 2021. In 2014 it was listed in the “Top 100 Golf Communities” by Travel & Leisure. Golf Magazine called it one of the “Best Golf Courses in the Southeast” for 2022-23. And every year since 2013, the Tampa Bay Business Journal has named The Concession “the toughest course in the Tampa Bay area.”

Golfers of all ages and backgrounds — including players ages 12-19 in American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) play, senior golfers age 50 and up, and racially diverse players — compete in major tournaments at The Concession. In May 2024, the Nelly Invitational for girls, named for LPGA tour champion Nelly Korda, was held at the club. The winner was 14-year-old Aphrodite Deng. 

The Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA), with a mission of bringing greater diversity and more minorities to the game, held the Billy Horschel APGA Invitational at The Concession in October 2023. Eighteen of the top APGA Tour players competed; Gabriel Lench of Lake Mary, Florida, took home the trophy. 

In December 2023, The Concession hosted the inaugural World Champions Cup, a three-team, three-day stroke play tournament sanctioned by the PGA Tour. Major golf champions, Hall of Famers and legends of the game over the age of 50 came together to form Team USA, Team International and Team Europe. The team with the highest point total — Team USA in 2023 — wins the World Champions Cup. The tournament is scheduled to return to The Concession in December 2024, and again in 2025 and 2028.

Weimann notes that “for the World Champions Cup, the teams are made up of Ryder Cup players who are major winners, or golfers who play their way onto the team via their point standing for the year. In the inaugural tournament, we saw golfers playing on our course who were the best in the game over the last 20 years. It’s exciting. The Concession showed itself well and it came down to the last hole on the last day. It was a great event.”

Weimann thinks the World Champions Cup will grow in stature over the years. “I think as players start to get into the 50-year-old-and-up mark, we’ll see some of the names that have been dominating golf in the last 10 years become eligible for this tournament.” 

Summing up the theme of The Concession, Weimann says, “Our logo tells a story. It shows Jack Nicklaus walking off the 18th green at Royal Birkdale in 1969 with his arm around Tony Jacklin after he had just conceded the putt to him, which went down as one of the most gracious moments in the history of the game. And we play off that theme here, with the camaraderie and the sportsmanship of healthy competition. Jack and Tony came together years after that event to design a place that captured what the moment meant to them, and that spirit is alive and well here at The Concession.”

For more information about membership and upcoming events, visit TheConcession.com. To learn more about The Concession Residences, visit TheConcessionRealEstate.com.