Even in the realm of sports commentary, few people achieve a status that resonates with both fans and the sports culture. For 40 years, Jim Nantz has built that status and become what he is now: the undisputed voice of golf. And part of it comes thanks to his love for storytelling, as he explained at the Masters 2025, “I’m always thinking of phrases – not the closing line phrases – but stories that would be appropriately slotted.” That’s something that not only his fans but also his colleagues can attest to.

And recently, Nantz’s colleague and CBS’s lead analyst, Mark Immelman, sat down for an interview on Beyond the Clubhouse. One of his most interesting answers came following the question by the host, Garrett Johnston, “One of his [Nantz] super strengths, you said, is just he believes in the story,” so, “To you, what story has resonated the most this year so far?”

Mark Immelman replied, “Well, first off, to Jim, I think you talk about super strengths. I would say authenticity is one of his as well. And where, if you’ve ever met him, he knows exactly who you are. He’ll remember your name, and it’s not fake. Nothing’s contrived. It’s exactly who he is because he’s got a deep passion for people, and he loves what he does. I mean, it keeps him going. It’s almost like his fuel.”

Well, we don’t have to go too far back in time to understand Immelman’s point. Take Rory McIlroy and his 11-year-long search for his Grand Slam, or Nantz’s 15-year-long wait to deliver an emotional McIlroy story for the moment. Following the Irishman’s Masters win, Nantz shared a deeply moving story about the golfer’s childhood and said, “That was a Masters story that I had planned if we ever got in that position and the time was right, that’s where that story deserved to go.”

The story was from the time when McIlroy’s family was still living paycheck-to-paycheck, when one day they visited the driving range where his father could only afford a single token for 30 golf balls. His father was still days away from his next paycheck, yet when McIlroy said he wanted to hit more balls, his father replied, “Son, that’s all I have. But take those 30 balls and hit every one of them like you’re trying to win the Masters.” And he did.

Now, months later, Immelman admits that when it comes to Nantz’s favorite story, “I think the biggest one, and I believe all my colleagues would agree, was, you know, Rory McIlroy at the Masters and the Grand Slam, the completion thereof.” But Jim Nantz has told more stories and witnessed many monumental moments, delivering memorable commentary over the years. And that, too, during memorable feats.

Take Nick Dunlap’s historic win at The American Express 2024, for instance. On his way to clinching the win, Dunlap not only outdid pros like Sam Burns and Justin Thomas but also made history as the first amateur to win The American Express since Phil Mickelson in 1991. It called for a special Nantz commentary, and he did not disappoint.

“What Nick Dunlap did, we know that it had been done in ‘91 by Phil and in ’85 by [Scott] Verplank, but it felt like a Roger Bannister kind of a moment because the game that has got more depth now,” said Nantz in 2024. Sir Roger Bannister, for those who don’t know, was the first athlete in the world to run a mile in 1954. Talk about Jim Nantz’ iconic ways of giving nods to iconic golf moments!

From the way he delivers a closing line to how he stores decades-old memories for the perfect moment, Jim Nantz lives and breathes golf through stories. But perhaps what makes those stories hit even harder is how deeply he cares about the people behind them—whether they’re legends of the game or colleagues in the broadcast booth.

Jim Nantz bids an emotional farewell to his long-time colleague

This week, former The Open champion Ian Baker-Finch announced his retirement as CBS’s analyst of 19 years. Finch, following his dramatic final moments in his golf career, joined CBS in 2007 and even enjoyed some time commentating for the Masters at Augusta National. In fact, he did so this year as well. Months later, however, he announced, “After 19 incredible years as a golf analyst with CBS Sports and a remarkable 30-year journey in the industry, I am announcing my retirement from broadcasting.” 

Just a few days later, and during the CBS coverage of the 2025 3M Open, Jim Nantz said on Saturday, “Well friends, it’s going to be emotional and nostalgic over this weekend and next. We conclude our season series at the Wyndham Championship and we say goodbye to Ian Baker-Finch, our colleague who announced earlier this week, his retirement from the booth, effective after next week’s tournament in Greensboro.”

This reminder was followed by a montage of Ian Baker-Finch’s career highlights, including his The Open Championship win in 1991. And the voice behind this montage? It was no one else but Jim Nantz. In his follow-up commentary, the Charlotte native said, “What a stud, look at this rockstar,” and then added, just in a bid to lighten up the mood, “This [Wyndham Championship] gives us a chance to go through one dry run, so to speak, before next week. Because I know we’re all going to be a mess.” So, even in Ian Baker-Finch’s last moments in the CBS tower, Nantz did not let go of his friend without doing what he loves the most: storytelling.