Metropolitan GCSA honors Jim Nantz

The Metropolitan Golf Course Superintendents Association (MetGCSA) has selected Jim Nantz as the recipient of the John Reid Lifetime Achievement Award. Nantz will be honored at the MetGCSA's Annual Winter Seminar Luncheon at Westchester Country Club, Rye, New York on January 14.

"We are very proud to add Jim's name to our venerable list of Reid Award recipients," says awards committee chairman and past MetGCSA president, Will Heintz. "Through the years, Jim has been complimentary to grounds crews and superintendents while covering golf tournaments on national television. His impeccable image and reputation, along with his support has helped to promote the professional image of the golf course superintendent, the very premise on which the Reid Award was founded."

Nantz will be the 19th recipient of the John Reid Lifetime Award. The award is presented to an individual who, through a continuing lifetime commitment, promotes the science and art of golf course management and the professional image of the golf course superintendent. John Reid, "The Father of American Golf," introduced the game to America in 1888, founded Saint Andrew's Golf Club (America's oldest enduring golf club) in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York and later assisted in the formation of the United States Golf Association and Metropolitan Golf Association.

Nantz has covered multiple CBS Sports events including NFL football, NCAA basketball, the Winter Olympics and is the anchor for the network's golf coverage. As the "Voice of the Masters," Nantz has created award-winning broadcasts as he provides thoughtful commentary that extends beyond the golf professional to the role of the golf course superintendent.

"I have always felt that the golf course superintendent is the unsung hero of the sport," Nantz says. "I am particularly impressed by those who have made golf in the Metropolitan area so special. Here, you deal with all forces of Mother Nature, yet we are blessed with the greatest assemblage of golf courses anywhere in the nation. We owe a great debt of gratitude to the men and women who've ensured that golf in the Metropolitan area represents the best of the best."

One of his career highlights came in 2007 when he announced the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four and the Masters all within 63 days, Nantz is the only announcer to ever achieve that feat. His 2008 book, Always by My Side: A Father's Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike any Other, made the New York Times best-seller list