Jim Nantz: A voice unlike any other

Jim Nantz joins the Zoom call in precisely the way you would hope but dare not dream.

“Hello friends,” he smiles, with that unmistakable warm burr. It is the mother of all ice-breakers, a catchphrase and a voice as familiar to any sports fan as the back of their own hand.

The veteran sportscaster is in Nashville, Tennessee, having spent most of the previous week in Buffalo where he called the action between the hometown Bills and the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL’s Divisional Round.

Once football season is over, the 65-year-old’s focus switches fully to golf as the weeks tick down to the first major of the season: The Masters. To Nantz, it’s more than a tournament. It’s a reminder that dreams come true.

Unlike most boys his age, the majority of whom fantasised about holing the winning putt and receiving a green jacket, 11-year-old Nantz aspired to describe those moments.

As he prepares for his 40th consecutive time doing precisely that, this feels like an appropriate time for reflection.

“The boyhood dream,” Nantz tells bunkered, “was to one day, somehow, get discovered by CBS Sports, and that would be my vehicle, to perhaps be given the chance to be one of the voices on the broadcast of The Masters.

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“In fact, it wasn’t just a boyhood dream. It was a boyhood obsession. I thought about it endlessly. And fortunately for me, just a few years out of the University of Houston, I got the chance, in the fall of 1985, to be hired by CBS. Nine months later, I was part of the 16th tower broadcast at The Masters at the age of 26.”

Like every golf fan, Nantz remains spellbound – enraptured, even – by Augusta National.

“The aura of the place, for some reason, resonates with me and a lot of people,” he adds. “The beauty of it, the history that’s been cemented there, the things that are etched in our mind, the moments, the highlights, the list of champions, and then it all kind of gets back to that word ‘tradition’.

“It’s a big word around Augusta National. A tradition unlike any other, as someone once said. It’s all these things together, the perfect blend of what you’re looking for as a golfer, the perfect backdrop, ideal conditions, the history. It’s all in the air. And I don’t know, I just get more excited about it every year. I love and cherish every second of it.”

Nantz has called some of the most iconic moments in Masters history, his rich vocabulary and ability to choose precisely the right words not just complementing but elevating the action.

However, it was his decision to say nothing at all in the immediate aftermath of Tiger Woods’ victory in 2019 for which he will – in all likelihood – be best remembered.

As Woods tapped-in to clinch his 15th major victory, and his first in 11 years, Nantz proclaimed it ‘the return to glory’ before falling silent for the next two-and-a-half minutes, allowing the pictures – Woods’ embrace with his son, his daughter, his mother, his team, his triumphant march from the 18th green to the clubhouse, high-fiving fellow players along the way – to breathe.

It is an iconic piece of television worthy of an iconic moment in sport. And it was totally organic. Nantz says he only made the decision to fall silent “the minute the ball dropped in the hole”.

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“There was nothing left to say,” he adds. “Anything that was uttered after that moment was pure clutter. It really needed its own space and time.

“This is not something most people are aware of but, on that occasion, I called the 18th hole from the catacombs of the Butler Cabin, down in the basement, preparing for the ceremony there. I was not right next to the green like I have been so many times. But Sir Nick [Faldo] was in the tower, so we were communicating without looking at one another, which can be difficult and tricky. It can lead to cross-talk, which you don’t want, and certainly not at a moment like that.

“As soon as it went in, I said ‘the return to glory’. I really, truly never had any idea what I was going to say until it pretty much left my lips. But I hit a little switch that we have where our headset panel is, which goes right to the producer, Lance Barrow. He’s retired now but I said to Lance, ‘I’m not going to say anything for a long, long time, and please let Nick know that as well. I think we should remain silent.’ He said, ‘Absolutely.’ And I said, ‘Tell Nick that I will go first, so that, you know, two minutes down the line, we don’t start talking at the same time.

“We waited and waited and waited, and it ended up being two minutes and 38 seconds. I only know it because I’ve been asked about it a few times.

With a laugh, he adds: “People have said, in my 40-year career, that’s the best two minutes and 38 seconds I’ve ever done.”

Everybody who has ever been to Augusta National has a favourite spot on the property. Nantz is no different.

“I am drawn to Amen Corner, specifically walking across the Hogan bridge [towards the 12th green] and then exiting on the Nelson bridge [to the left of the 13th tee],” he says. “It’s become a ritual for me. I’m a guy that believes in traditions, rituals, whatever you want to call it.

“I have a high quotient of sentimentality that runs through my veins. It’s just the way I’m wired. I got it from my folks, especially my mum. She was as nostalgic as they come. That’s a perfect fit for Augusta if you care about history and all the exciting and emotional moments of the past. It activates all of that for me when I get to Augusta and on the ground.

“So, on Wednesday every year, as the Par-3 Tournament is taking place, the big course is going through its final prep. As the last players are finishing up their practice at 17 or 18, down at Amen Corner, there are a few folks that are still kind of mingling about and taking pictures. I go off to the side, park a golf cart down there, and duck under the ropes. Thankfully, I’ve got a credential that allows me to do that. I walk down to the creek fronting the green, walk across the bridge, and I allow myself a quiet moment of reflection.\

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“It’s a spiritual thing, more than anything. It’s a moment of prayer and introspection, and I just give thanks for the gift of being here. I’ve never taken it for granted that I have a chance to do exactly what I wanted to do as a young boy. So it’s a moment of thanks and gratitude and prayer. And then, you know, when the time is right, and I’ve said everything in my head that I want to say, I walk across the Nelson bridge and head on back. I’ve done that every year.”

It’s hard to imagine The Masters without Nantz. He has, even if he is too modest to admit it, become part of the tradition.

That time, though, will come. Previously, Nantz has indicated a desire to continue until 2036. His 51st Masters would also be the 100th edition of the tournament.

“A lot of things have to happen for that to occur,” he admits. “First off, my health would have to hold up. Secondly, CBS and Augusta National would have to want me to come back. But if all the stars aligned, right now, it feels like a pretty good exit point. April 14, 2036. That is my scheduled retirement date. It would be a perfect place to walk out – but I know what’s going to happen. I’m going to get to that year, and I’m going to say, ‘You know, maybe I could do this for a while longer.’

“We have broadcasters over here that have gone on well into their 80s, so that’s one of those ‘wait and sees’, I guess.”

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This interview first appeared in issue 220 of bunkered (March 2025). For more like this, why not take out a subscription? International subscriptions also available?

Michael McEwan is bunkered's Head of Content and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Head of Content