Born from a moment of legendary sportsmanship at the Ryder Cup, The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., stands as a testament to the enduring bond between two of golf’s great icons.
This Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, designed in collaboration with Tony Jacklin, derives its name from the 1969 Ryder Cup at Royal Birkdale, where Nicklaus famously conceded a putt to Jacklin.
Set across 520 acres of rugged pine forests, majestic oaks, and sprawling wetlands, the course is celebrated for its Championship-ready conditions and sophisticated green complexes.
The Concession is famous for its "Nicklaus-style" demands: you must hit the correct side of the fairway to have a legitimate angle at the pins, and once you're on the greens, the real work begins.
Here is a breakdown of the yardages and a strategic hole-by-hole breakdown.
Par: 72
The Vibe: No homes, no internal roads—just pure golf through Florida wetlands and pines
Hole #1 | Par 4 | 428 yards
On this slight dogleg left, a precise tee shot is needed to avoid the three fairway bunkers. Depending on the risk taken with the line off the tee, it will leave a short to mid-iron approach. The front portion of the green is guarded by sloped run-offs and a large bunker short-right and a smaller one left. As on many of the greens at The Concession, there are many challenging slopes and hole locations.
Hole #2 | Par 4 | 414 yards
On this slight dogleg right, the best line off the tee is down the left-center of the fairway, avoiding the large fairway bunker on the right side. Club selection is key on the approach as the green is large and undulating, surrounded by deep bunkers, with the lake short right.
Hole #3 | Par 5 | 582 yards
On this traditional three-shot par 5, a drive in the large fairway makes positioning the lay-up shot among bunkers easier to end up at the desired approach yardage. The green is arguably the most challenging on the course and has steep run-offs to the left with several well-positioned bunkers.
Hole #4 | Par 3 | 205 yards
The hole location determines how to approach this longer par 3. The green sweeps from right to left and is protected by a deep bunker short left of the green and two bunkers beyond the green. A hole location on the right side is more accessible but the left side location presents the challenge of one of the shallowest angles with only about 15 yards of green depth.
Hole # 5 | Par 4 | 426 yards
The challenge on the tee shot is threading the needle between two large fairway bunkers on the right and the lake on the left. Players that choose to remain short or close to the bunker leave a mid-iron into the green while players that take on the narrower fairway between the bunker and lake find a short-iron or wedge into a green that is more docile than those holes preceding.
Hole #6 | Par 3 | 183 yards
This mid-length par 3 requires a precise tee shot as the green is surrounded by bunkers on all sides. This raised green has several run-offs which effectively narrows the green width and depth.
Hole #7 | Par 5 | 547 yards
This dogleg left has a fairway that slopes from right to left, toward the long, sinuous bunker on the left side. That makes being just to the left of the single fairway bunker on the right the best target line. Many players with good drives will give the green a go on their second shot or otherwise lay up to a wedge right of the lake and away from the fairway bunkers. Despite the relatively large green size, there are not a lot of easy hole locations due to the significant slopes.
Hole #8 | Par 4 | 379 yards
This “signature hole” is the shortest par four on the front side that requires a precise driver or fairway metal down the left center of the fairway to set up a clear shot at the green. A meandering creek guards the angled green short, right, and long, while three bunkers sit to the left.
Hole # 9 | Par 4 | 440 yards
Shorter hitters will play safe to the left of the large oak trees that tower over the right side of the dogleg right, but face a longer second shot. Driving over the oaks puts the ball in the middle of the fairway and leaves a shorter approach to an elevated green.
Hole # 10 | Par 4 | 370 yards
The landing area is squeezed between a bunker on the left and the lake on the right. A large, meandering bunker sits short left of the green with collection areas surrounding the difficult putting surface.
Hole #11 | Par 3 | 175 yards
This medium length par three requires proper club selection in order to find the putting surface. The green is angled diagonally away from left to right bringing the lake and bunker short of the green into play.
Hole #12 | Par 4 | 349 yards
There’s great opportunity on this classic risk-reward hole, especially for the longer hitter hoping to carry the large expanses of sand and drive the green. The more conventional play is iron or fairway metal short of the center fairway bunker followed by a short-iron approach. The green is small, undulating, and surrounded by bunkers and run-offs.
Hole #13 | Par 5 | 522 yards
This par 5 demands an accurate drive between the bunker on the right and the lake on the left in order to provide an opportunity to give this significantly raised green a go in two. Players should avoid missing the green left where the steepest collection area looms or miss short where a cavernous bunker awaits.
Hole #14 | Par 3 | 154 yards
This par three boasts a bevy of teeing options. Players will operate from the rightmost teeing area on this shorter par three and will be challenged by the greenside bunkers and a multi-tiered green.
Hole #15 | Par 4 | 424 yards
Two large fairway bunkers on the left and water on the right shrink the landing area of this dogleg right, forcing players to evaluate a left-to-right ball flight. The green is protected by two deep bunkers front-left, one bunker long, and a large, steep run-off on the right.
Hole #16 | Par 4 | 413 yards
This dogleg left par 4 circles around a large lake which forces the player to evaluate the best line to take their drive. Choose wisely, as the approach shot is significantly easier the more the lake is cut off from the tee shot. This hole can lead to a number of birdies as well as high numbers on the scorecard.
Hole #17 | Par 5 | 545 yards
Water left and a large, free-form bunker right put the emphasis on a precise drive. Players may take on this green in two carrying the large lake short and left of the green and can use the right bail out area for protection. Players that lay up will seek to identify the best angle to approach the triangular green hemmed in by sand left, right and long.
Hole #18 | Par 4 | 466 yards
This longer par 4 closing hole finally offers a reprieve for the drive as it doesn’t require avoiding water, but the same cannot be said for the approach shot. Championships will be won and lost based on the mid to long iron approaches to this green with water looming short and right and a bunker around the bail out area. The green continues to challenge the players until the last putt drops with considerable undulation.
