Jim Nantz Confirms He Gets "Hello Friends" All The Time And Talks About Life On The Peninsula

An unbylined Charlotte Observer Q&A with Jim Nantz (tied to Sunday's Panthers game) includes some fun stuff about revisiting his childhood home, fans saying "Hello Friends" to him (so original!), recording voiceovers for Tiger Woods' EA video game (Hello Friends!) and his move to Pebble Beach this year. 

Q. Is it true you live at Pebble Beach Golf Links?

I moved to Pebble Beach full time this year. I’m looking at the seventh green right now. It’s all beautiful. We got married June 9 and we moved in that very night.

Q. You got married in June on the famous seventh hole there. Why did you pick that spot?

In the book I wrote, “Always By My Side,” I wrote a couple of pages about how the seventh hole was such a spiritual setting to me and I always felt my father’s presence there. Every day during the years we covered the Pebble Beach golf tournament, I would march out there before the sun was up and sit on the rail fence there in prayerful introspection and think about all the blessings in my life.

Q. So how much golf do you play living there?

I’ve played twice since I moved here. I practice a lot.

Comments

[Chema]

Nantz is the best in the business, both in golf and football. Although it will never happen, I would love to see him move to the college football and do the SEC games on Saturday.

[Stanley Thompson]

I would like to see him move to Asia and do the cricket games there... on local media.

[metro18]

One for the ages...........
Forget spiritual - go play for God's sake.
Do residents get a special fee - if not, then I guess spiritual will have to do.

[KeithT]

Nantz is very cheesy, let's be honest, but he's a total pro and doesn't ruin telecasts.

[Abu Dhabi Golfer]

He got a bit of an Englebert Humperdink creep factor.

That said, as far as American lead golf anchors go, he is actually pretty good. Not a ringing endorsement, but he passes.

[digsouth]

The Masters religious-like verbage is just too much. Nance is probably a good guy, might be fun to slurp beer with, and etc, etc.

I have a daughter finishing up at UH, and other linkage to the University, so I *try* but Jim just doesn't seem very ''throw the guns in the truck-like''. Slurping pinot at Carmel I can see.

[Double Secret Probation]

To show you how little I pay attention to announcers, I could not have told you that Nantz had a catch phrase.

[Dormie]

Ron Green Jr. combines FB and Golf, two sports he and Nance know a lot about.

[Press Agent]

Nantz's telecasts are tolerable - barely, but what are not tolerable are the Titleist commercials that pack every cheesy thing he does into one 30 second spot. They make me want to NOT buy their golf balls.

[GolfFan]

Nantz is primarily an American Football announcer (which I don;t watch any longer). He is cultivated to be just smarmy enough to rope in as many sports fans of all types as possible to enhance the Nielsen numbers.

Give me the BBC guys who go silent for 5-20 minutes at a time during the Open Championship.

Golf telebroadcasts have far too much time spent on greens and far too much commentary that anyone who is actually a fan of Golf rather than Sports will find somewhere on the scale from relatively a waste of time to a glorious waste of silence.

As for his speaking in person at the banquets I've attended - whilst he speaks I fall into gloriously deep sleep.

[Tighthead]

I heard Nantz on a podcast with Bill Simmons and thought he was good. He is a golfer at heart. Being an anchor is more about playing a role than being a journalist.

The man covers the Final Four and The Masters in consecutive weeks. Nice work if you can get it.

[trapdraw]

Surprised his wife left him with enough for real estate like that, I guess enough discount furniture wharehouse commercials will do that.

[OnTheRoad]

I completely agree with Stanley Thompson! I turn the sound down (very low) anytime he is the announcer!

[Troublelove]

He is Ron Burgundy

[COB]

When Justin Rose putted out on 18 to win the Memorial a few years ago, Nantz immediately began reciting the lyrics to the Bette Midler song, "The Rose". Do I need to type anything else?

[Tighthead]

Is he going to get tapped at "The Point"? Oly shouldn't be a problem.

[Streaky Putter]

The book about his father his relationship with his father and their family dealing with his father's memory loss is excellent. I think since he's moved forward with his personal life his broadcasts have re-emerged as peerless. He doesn't need to dominate a broadcast ala Bob Costas. He feels he's inviting you into the booth with him and presenting the broad stories for the day.

I feel him and Faldo are the best at majors and significant tournaments while NBC is better for run of the mill tour events.

[Bob]

Except for Miller, Maltbe, and Pepper everyone else at NBC is terrible.

[GolfGirl]

Didn't he used to live at Winged Foot?