Colt Knost spends his tournament weekends sitting beside one of the most familiar voices in golf: Jim Nantz. Nantz has been with CBS since 1985, opening broadcasts with his classic “Hello, friends,” and Knost, a former Tour pro turned broadcaster, was only elevated to the booth alongside him in 2026. So when Knost finally got the chance to turn the tables on Nantz and have a captive audience of his own, Nantz was always going to be the target. Moreover, the two clearly feel comfortable enough to roast each other.
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That roast reached a bigger stage on Monday, October 19, when Knost was inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in San Antonio. In his remarks, Knost told a story about Nantz. It began when Nantz heard about his induction and responded in his own style. Here’s how the banter went, as reported by Golfweek’s Tim Schmitt.
Before recounting the exchange, Knost said he thought he finally had the chance to turn the tables on Nantz, and he was going to use it. So he started by telling him he had a question of his own to ask.
“Jim, I’m just gonna stop you right there real quick because I’ve got to ask you a few questions for once,” Knost recalled. “I said, ‘Jim, you went to Houston, right?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ ‘That’s in Texas, right?’”
Nantz promptly answered yes to both questions, which was exactly what Knost needed for his next punchline.
“I didn’t see your name on the list of Hall of Famers there,” Knost said before adding, “Jim, you just keep doing what you’re doing. Now that I’m going to be in the hall, I’ll write you a letter of recommendation. Maybe we can get you in there.”
The dig was a hilarious one, and it played on the difference in their status at the time. Colt Knost is a kid from tiny Pilot Point, Texas, who now belongs to a hall of fame that one of the biggest names in golf broadcasting, by his account, does not. The jab works because Nantz has earned honors elsewhere. He is in the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame and was the youngest person ever inducted into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
But classic Nantz, he always has a reply. And his response actually came two weeks before the ceremony. Knost recalled receiving a text from Nantz, separate from their usual CBS group chat, that looked like a simple congratulatory message. But he knew Jim would soon deliver a punchline after the congratulations, and he did.
Nantz said, “Hey man, I know your induction’s coming up. I just want to congratulate you. I’m so proud of you. That’s a huge honor.”
“I was, like, that’s kind of weird, like something’s coming,” Knost said. “And all of a sudden I see dot dot dot … this just slid across my desk, and it was the announcement that he’s a finalist for the World Golf Hall of Fame.”
Well, that was a fitting reply to the Texas Golf Hall of Fame dig. For context, the World Golf Hall of Fame announced its finalists for the Class of 2027, and Nantz was named for the first time alongside Justin Rose, Adam Scott, and Inbee Park. The inductees will be announced this December, and the ceremony is set to take place on July 12, 2027, in St Andrews, Scotland, during Open Championship week. So while Knost was teasing Nantz about the state hall of fame, Nantz was a few months away from possibly entering the biggest one in the sport.
That being said, the teasing makes their bond even warmer. Knost joined CBS in 2019 and went full-time in 2021. By December 2025, he had been promoted to the network’s “super tower” broadcast team, alongside Jim Nantz, lead analyst Trevor Immelman, and Frankie Borrelli. Interestingly, Knost was born in 1985, the same year Nantz joined CBS.
In his speech on Monday, Knost said he had never planned a media career and that sitting alongside Nantz was something he had never really imagined.
He also acknowledged his journey in golf, saying he grew up in Pilot Point without a golf course. From there, he went on to win the 2007 U.S. Amateur and make 199 PGA Tour starts before retiring in 2020. He has now joined Stacy Lewis, Dale Morgan, Mark Harrington, and the late Dave Pelz in the Texas Golf Hall of Fame.
“I’ve never thought I would have a hard time talking,” Knost said. “But when you surround yourself with these great people in this room, it’s tough to get the words out sometimes.
“This is a dream of a lifetime.”
Ultimately, for a pair that spends every broadcast weekend together, the jokes are a sign of how close they are. But now, Colt Knost has his moment: he is officially a member of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame.