HEATHROW, Florida – ConcertGolf describes itself as “a boutique club hospitality company. ‘’
It builds its own capital to fund new projects and add amenities. Also, pointed out vice president of public relations Michael Abramowitz, “we never give an assessment.’’
That formula has worked since Pete Nanula and Susan Dunnavant left Arnold Palmer Golf to start their own company. Nanula remains the chief executive officer and Dunnavant the chief operations officer. They wanted to acquire 10 private courses at first. Now they have 37 with No. 38 soon to be announced.
This is the story of their first one, near the company headquarters in Lake Mary, FL. It actually started as two clubs in 2011. Heathrow Country Club and The Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes are just a mile apart. Now they are one – Heathrow Legacy Country Club.
Heathrow has an 18-hole course designed by veteran Florida architect Ron Garl. Legacy has a tricky layout designed by Tom Fazio. In between is a tennis center that once was a stop on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Billie Jean King all competed there.
The two clubs were purchased in 2011 and were operated separately for 10 years. Now they are one. Legacy may be the more challenging course but the late Payne Stewart was one of the first touring pros affiliated with with Heathrow and Jim Thorpe, a long-time PGA Tour regular, has been a member for nearly 20 years. Annika Sorenstam’s junior invitational has also been played there.
Legacy had the most memorable golf event there, however. Tiger Woods was just a budding star in 2001 when he was recruited to do a commercial for Buick there. Woods, along with camera crews, hid in the woods behind the par-3 12th hole. When a foursome came to the tee Woods walked out and challenged them to a hole-in-one contest. No surprise, he won – by hitting a 7-iron with a left-handed club to 10 feet. The commercial became famous and Woods’ path through to the tee has been dubbed the “Tiger Trail.’’
Shawn McGuigan was the Legacy’s head professional then. Now he is the assistant general manager and director of golf for both facilities. He’s especially proud of the Top Tracer range that has become a special attraction and the first in Central Florida.
Concert is growing fast. It added six new clubs in just over a year and brought in four in 2024 alone.
Those six were The Club at Pasadera in Monterey, Calif.; TPC Hasna Polana, in Princeton, N.J.; Golf Club of the Everglades, in Naples, FL.; The Georgia Club, in New Athens, Ga.; and Walden on Lake Conrow and Northgate, both near Houston.
“We’re not going out and saying we want to buy 100 clubs,’’ said Abramowitz. “We have a criteria, but we certainly want to grow.’’
Heathrow Legacy has 2,100 members, but size isn’t the only criteria to determine acquisition.
“Every acquisition we poll members and see what their biggest desires are, ‘’ said McGuigan. “In every acquisition we send our professionals there to make sure the transition is perfect. Lately we’ve been trying to pair clubs together.’’
When a club faces a crisis it’s Concert that takes care of it, not the club members via what can be annoying assessments. West Lake, in Augusta, Ga., for instance, endured the brunt of Hurricane Helene. The storm knocked down over, 1,100 trees, but nine holes reopened in just two weeks and all 18 a few weeks later.
All the clubs in the Concert portfolio are private. They’re sprinkled across the country. Eighteen states have Concert clubs with Florida leading the way with nine.
Dunnavant describes “The Concert Way’’ as an innovative, multi-step program that facilitates smooth transitions for both club members and the previous ownership.
“Concert makes annual capital investments in our clubs aimed at elevating the amenities, service levels and overall member experience while building and maintaining a thriving club environment,’’ she said.
