Article in today’s Herald Tribune
Golf Digest names Concession best new private course of 2006
KEVIN MCQUAID
kevin.mcquaid@heraldtribune.com
MANATEE COUNTY — Developer Kevin Daves, fresh from a resounding victory in his lawsuit against his partners in the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, has scored yet another coup — this time for the Concession.
Golf Digest on Wednesday named the 18-hole, 72-par Concession links in East Manatee County the “best new private course of the year” measured against courses nationwide.
In selecting the Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin-designed course, the magazine noted the Concession’s pristine setting.
“The Concession provides an old-Florida experience of saw-grass savannas, palmetto thickets and hammocks of massive oaks mantled in Spanish moss, all seemingly untouched since the days of the Seminole,” the magazine wrote as part of its annual ranking in its January issue.
The 520-acre, 7,470-yard course, which debuted in January, edged out the North Course at Forest Creek Golf Club, in Pinehurst, N.C., for the top 2006 honor, the magazine’s Web site said.
“This really does put us on the map,” Daves said. “It’s been a good month.I expect this will garner us a lot more attention from around the country, and we’ll get an enormous amount of attention now from top pros.
“The award comes as Core Development and partner Property Markets Group, of New York, are beginning lot sales for the second phase of the $600 million project, on 1,230 acres in Manatee County east of Interstate 75.
To date, six of the 122 lots in the second phase have sold, all for in excess of $1 million. Interest in the lots and private memberships also is expected to rise next month after construction begins on the Concession’s clubhouse.
The clubhouse is slated for completion early in 2008. To date, roughly one-third of the 300 memberships have been sold, Daves said.
“I was always certain that Jack and I had created something extraordinary at the Concession,” Jacklin said in a statement.Daves said he is hopeful the magazine will eventually rank the Concession among its annual listing of “America’s 100 Greatest” courses.
