Jim Nantz

My first column for Golf Digest, and why 100 is in the air.

I don’t like hot takes any more than I like hot cakes. I’m more likely to quote the golfer George Burns than the legendary late comedian by the same name who lived to be 100. But it was Burns the latter who once said, “I would rather fail at something I love than succeed at something I hate.” -- So here I am writing my first column for my all-time favorite publication—Golf Digest—hoping not to fail, because as most of you know, I love golf like I love oxygen. We’ll cover a lot of ground in the coming months. Insights into Pebble Beach and the PGA Tour, my experiences calling golf for CBS Sports, and my associations with the many remarkable people I’ve gotten to know over the years. Some history, some views on contemporary subjects and some looks into the future.

For some reason the number 100 is in the air these days. Maybe it’s because I’m living at Pebble Beach, where we’ll mark the 100th year of our historic golf course in 2019. Birthdays, anniversaries and milestones always receive special treatment in my nostalgic broadcast universe. As a storyteller, dates and time equal context. So this is the right time to pay homage to an organization that is on the move and one whose membership is close to my heart. More than likely it has to do with the world gathering at Bellerive Aug. 9-12 for the 100th playing of the PGA Championship.