CBS Sports commentator Jim Nantz to receive the ASGCA Donald Ross Award 

For four decades, hearing the voice of Jim Nantz has meant an important sporting event was taking place, according to the American Society of Golf Course Architects. Since joining CBS in 1985, Nantz has been a familiar face and voice in the professional sporting world, sharing his love of sports and storytelling in everything from NFL games and Super Bowls to NCAA basketball games and PGA Tour events. His voice has served as the soundtrack to unforgettable moments from some of the country’s greatest golf courses, creating memories forever etched in the game’s history. 

The ASGCA stated his insights and unmistakable passion for golf have helped millions develop a deeper appreciation for great course design. Beyond the broadcast booth, Nantz has brought that passion to life through hands-on design projects ranging from his backyard golf holes to courses such as Tepetonka Club in Minnesota. Nantz currently serves as a golf course design consultant for Tepontka’s short course, which is being designed by OCM Golf. 

Nantz’s positive impact on the game make him a worthy recipient of the 2026 ASGCA Donald Ross Award. The organization’s highest honor recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to the game of golf and the profession of golf course architecture. Nantz will receive the award during the ASGCA Annual Meeting in October. 

“It is fitting that Jim Nantz is the first broadcaster to receive the Donald Ross Award,” said ASGCA president Mark Mungeam. “He has been and is the ‘voice of golf’ for multiple generations of fans. His love and respect for the game — and the courses it is played on — is evident in all of his broadcasts. Jim’s appreciation of golf history and his innate storytelling ability grow more impressive each year.” 

A member of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame and the youngest ever to be inducted into both the Pro Football and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Nantz is a four-time Emmy Award-winner and five time National Sportscaster of the Year. In 2025, he was named Honorary Chair of the First Tee. He graduated in 1981 with a degree in radio/television from the University of Houston, where he was recruited as a member of the golf team. 

Nantz joined the CBS Sports golf team in 1986 and has anchored CBS’ golf coverage since 1994. He spent 32 years as CBS’ lead play-by-play announcer for NCAA men’s college basketball, and this fall, he begins his 23rd season as the lead play-by-play voice for the NFL on CBS. 

“My admiration for the American Society of Golf Course Architects runs deep,” Nantz said. “I have long studied their work and the thoughtful process they use to shape their masterpiece landscapes. To be recognized by this extraordinary group is truly an honor.” 

In 2011, Nantz worked with Houston Methodist Hospital to create the Nantz National Alzheimer Center (NNAC), dedicated to funding innovative diagnostic discoveries for early and accurate detection of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementing illnesses. The center was named in honor of Jim’s late father, Jim Nantz Sr., who lived with Alzheimer’s disease for 13 years. 

The Nantz family journey was the basis for the New York Times bestseller “Always By My Side,” whose foreword was written by 2018 Donald Ross Award Recipient President George H.W. Bush.