40 years after his first Masters broadcast, Jim Nantz recalls fearing he made a mistake that would have kept him from ever being invited back.<\/p>\n
For all the incredible moments Nantz has witnessed over his four decades calling the Masters, that first one still might be the most amazing. Nantz was just 26 years old when CBS gave him the opportunity to be in the 16th tower during the 1986 Masters. And despite being less polished and experienced than he is today, Nantz met the moment when Jack Nicklaus did the unthinkable, and birdied the 16th hole en route to winning his sixth Masters at 46 years old.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bear has come out of hibernation,\u201d Nantz famously said as Nicklaus made that birdie putt on Sunday afternoon during the 1986 Masters. And while everyone can look back now and credit Nantz for what was a great call, he was immediately concerned that line might prevent him from ever calling another Masters Tournament for CBS.<\/p>\n
Monday morning, Nantz joined Gary Williams\u2019 5 Clubs on The Golf Channel, where he reflected on his 40 years at the Masters, beginning with initially fearing he wouldn\u2019t be invited back to Augusta National for a second time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI walked back dejectedly to the compound. Because I had uttered the line, when Jack knocked in his birdie putt, that \u2018The Bear has come out of hibernation.’\u201d \u2013 Jim Nantz explains one of his most famous Masters calls pic.twitter.com\/9yuDiINlWb<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI walked back, to be honest, dejectedly to the compound,\u201d Nantz admitted to Williams. \u201cBecause I had uttered the line, when Jack knocked in his birdie putt, that \u2018The Bear has come out of hibernation.\u2019 And I didn\u2019t know where that line had come from. I didn\u2019t have anything written down, I didn\u2019t have anything preplanned. But it just kinda dropped out of the sky and into my head and left my lips and as soon as I said it, I thought, \u2018Where did I come up with that? Oh, I know\u2026maybe someone else already said it. That\u2019s why it was fresh in my head! I just plagiarized someone else\u2019s remark. Not good! I\u2019m never coming back here again!\u2019 I had all these doubts that were overtaking me for a moment. There was the euphoria of watching what Jack had just done, and then the despair of maybe I had not said something original.\u201d<\/p>\n As Nantz was dejectedly returning to the compound, a golf cart came racing up beside him. It was former golfer and his future broadcast partner Ken Venturi. And Nantz recalled a euphoric Venturi quickly asking his age.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said, \u2018I\u2019m gonna tell you something right now, you may one day be the first to ever broadcast this tournament 50 times, but you will never live to see a day greater than this around Augusta National,\u2019\u201d Nantz recalled Venturi saying. \u201cWell, that moment in that golf cart really kinda crystalized what my goals were going to be in my career. He made this outlandish prediction of 50 Masters.\u201d<\/p>\n Nantz said he returned to the compound after his conversation with Venturi where he saw longtime CBS Sports golf producer Frank Chirkinian who immediately complimented his performance on the broadcast.<\/p>\n \u201cI told him I feared I maybe said something that had been used earlier in the broadcast,\u201d Nantz recalled of his debrief with Chirkinian. \u201cAnd he said, \u2018Nope, only you, son. Only you. You\u2019re gonna be here for a long time. And truly, no one else had used that line. The man upstairs gave me a line and I went with it.\u201d<\/p>\n 40 years later, Nantz can look back on that call fondly, with it continuing to be one of the most replayed moments in Masters history. Nantz is now just ten years away from seeing Venturi\u2019s outlandish prediction of 50 Masters come true, having repeatedly stated his goal is to retire<\/a> after calling his 50th Masters in 2036. And if Nantz does get to call his 50th Masters, he should only hope he can look back on it as fondly as his first one.<\/p>\n \t