Every home ought to have a backyard golf hole. At least that’s the way Jim Nantz looks at life.
When Nantz built his dream home at Pebble Beach several years ago, he created a replica of Pebble’s iconic par-3 seventh hole, which went viral thanks to his former CBS partner Nick Faldo posting video of his ace there during the 2018 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
“The homage to Pebble Beach’s No. 7 made perfect sense given that from the perch of the tee across the Bay you can see the actual hole off in the distance,” Nantz said.
Three years ago this summer, Nantz moved his family to a suburb of Nashville so he can spend less time on a plane and more time with his wife and two young children, daughter Finley and son Jameson.
That also meant the opportunity to build another backyard golf hole. He spent significant time plotting it out, modeling out different possibilities, including the sixth green at Riviera Country Club, before settling on an homage to the 13th hole at Augusta National with a few twists of his own.
“It makes the backyard a playground,” he said, “not just for my kids but for me too.”
Nantz worked with architect Shane Whitcomb, who flew in from Arizona for site visits, and some of his favorite parts of the project consisted of figuring out the scale and drainage and the hidden truths of golf course architecture. To do so, they ripped up the back yard, hauled in a mountain of dirt, built a base, installed drainage pipes, cut out a replica of a creek bed – his version of Rae’s Creek – before they could shape the nooks and crannies and slopes and lay out the green.
Nantz decorated the property with 15 magnolia trees, an assortment of azaleas and pine straw wherever there isn’t green. Ultimately, his L-shaped backyard meant that the back right corridor was the best spot for the putting surface.
There are five tees in all – there was talk of building a tee off of the second-floor guest balcony but that plan got scratched. “It was an engineering nightmare,” he lamented.
Three tees represent the straight-away layup third shot that golfers would face at Augusta’s famed par-5 13th hole. The one to the far left is hugging the Magnolia tree line, and a difficult spot for the back left hole location but a perfect spot to attack the back-right flag, Nantz said. There’s a straight on tee for the perfect layup and another to the right. Destined to be a crowd pleaser is an elevated shot from the former screened-in porch that has a retractable screen controlled by a remote that is about a 30-yard shot. How would you like to have your own version of a Topgolf hitting bay in your house with heaters in the ceiling and a bar under construction for the full experience?
“I told you, it had to be over-the-top. Come on, coming off the other one (at Pebble)? It had to be,” Nantz said.
The fifth option for a tee is located on the far side of his pool deck, hitting across the pool and over the pool house. It’s a full shot between 55-60 yards, which with the modified-distance almostGOLF balls he uses, is a full swing for Nantz with his 56-degree wedge.
The still-unnamed course (Nantz National has a nice ring to it, does it not?) has been in the works for more than two years. “I like to sit and let it marinate,” he said.
Nor is it completely finished as Nantz pointed out he’s still completing his Comfort Station, replete with a Margarita/Slurpee machine, a Soft-Serve ice cream machine and a hot dog roller/bun warmer.
“I’m getting the industrial version of all of these,” he said. “You get hungry and tired when you’re out playing.”
Indeed, you do.
Those aren’t the only bells and whistles. He’s got his own manual scoreboard in white and green with “Hello Friends” painted in big stencil lettering on top as well as a few directional signs, the type Bryson DeChambeau famously lifted over his shoulder at the Masters in April.
On the leaderboard, his three kids are tied for the lead late on the second nine on Sunday with star-studded names like Woods, Nicklaus and Palmer giving chase. When friends of Jameson, Nantz’s youngest, have come over, he tells them that he’s got the edge because he still has the par-5 15th to play.
“He’s so competitive he’s convinced himself he’s going to win this imaginary golf event,” Nantz said.
(Watch out, Jameson, for that Freddie Couples guys. He and your dad have been known to do a winner’s interview from Butler Cabin.) Nantz noted he’s got Faldo’s name already made for the scoreboard but not yet on display. Outdoor lighting will allow for night play or just to admire the beauty of it all. What do Nantz’s friends who have seen a sneak-peek of the hole have to say about his latest backyard project? “Nobody is surprised, let’s put it that way,” Nantz said. “They’ll say, ‘Of course, you are.’ ”
He’s had this vision for the hole in his head for a long time now. But bringing it to fruition has been a labor of love.
“I remember one time I asked Kevin Costner, what’s it like to be a director? Because I was blown away by what he did with “Dances with Wolves.” He told me, ‘The director sees the film in his head before they’ve shot anything and then you have to go through the process of getting everyone involved in the project to see what you’re seeing, to get them to do whatever their role might be to see that final product.’ How do you get them to see that final vision and dream? That applies to a lot of things in life. It’s about how you lead people whether you’re directing a movie, producing a TV show or building a backyard hole – you need people to see your vision,” Nantz said. “I knew what it was going to feel like, look like and sound like. That’s why every light, every fixture, every speaker, every azalea, every magnolia were all part of the overall vision before we even broke ground.”
Much like the Costner hit movie, “Field of Dreams,” Nantz has gone the distance. He’s outdone himself. Here’s a case that lives up to the saying, “Build it and they will come.”
