Golf guru to tutor local duffers

MANATEE COUNTY — One of the most famous golf coaches in the world, David Leadbetter, has been named instruction advisor at The Concession Golf Club in east Manatee County.

Leadbetter and the David Leadbetter Golf Academy are based out of Orlando, but he will make personal instruction appearances at The Concession. Leadbetter has coached more than 100 top PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Champions Tour and European PGA Tour golfers, according to a release. His past students include six-time major champion Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Michelle Wie.

“To have David elect to make The Concession his 'home away from home' for conducting private lessons and providing instruction to our members is an arrangement whose value is incalculable,” The Concession General Manager Bruce Cassidy Jr. says in the release. “David's expertise is sought after by the game's leading tour pros and highly ranked amateurs. To see him work with students and Concession Club members, on our extensive practice facilities, is like watching an artist.”

The Concession course, designed by golfers Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin, has regularly been ranked a top private course in the country. Its name comes from the final hole of the 1969 Ryder Cup Match held at Royal Birkdale in England. That's where Nicklaus, in what is still considered one of the best acts of sportsmanship in the sport, conceded a two-foot putt to the British-born Jacklin. The gimme led to one of only two ties in the history of the Ryder Cup.