NBC Sports' golf coverage is how a massive section of fans consume their PGA Tour and LPGA Tour action. Some faces and voices you’ll be familiar with, others you might not recognize. Here are the experts that form the NBC Sports broadcast team.
DAN HICKS (HOST)
Born and raised in Tuscon, Arizona, Hicks has worked for NBC Sports since 1992 - previously operating as a local sports anchor for radio station KVOA in his home city. Having started at NBC as a play-by-play commentator on golf coverage, he went on to cover American Football and tennis.
After a brief spell commentating on NFL and NBA games, Hicks returned to golf as a tower announcer for NBC before landing the primary anchor role on the broadcaster's sports updates once Dick Enberg left NBC for CBS in 2000.
BRAD FAXON (ANALYST)
An eight-time PGA Tour winner and twice a member of Team USA's Ryder Cup team, Faxon has always been known as one of the best putters ever seen in golf. As a result, he is now Rory McIlroy's putting coach and is trying to help the Northern Irishman add to his Major tally.
Born in New Jersey and now living in Rhode Island, Faxon initially joined NBC in 2010 as an analyst and returned following a spell working for Fox Sports as an on-air commentator.
CURT BYRUM (ANALYST)
Curt Byrum has been an analyst on the Golf Channel, owned by NBC, since 2001 and was tipped as a potential replacement for Paul Azinger following his departure from the network in 2023.
Byrum was a former PGA Tour player, winning a single title - the 1989 Hardee's Golf Classic - but enjoying a career which spanned almost two decades. The older brother of PGA Tour golfer, Tom Byrum, Curt turned pro in 1982 before injuries cut his career short in the late 1990s.
NOTAH BEGAY III (ON-COURSE REPORTER)
Notah Begay III was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and is a former professional golfer on the PGA Tour. He is a former college teammate of Tiger Woods at Stanford University and is the founder of the non-profit Notah Begay III Foundation, whose goal is to provide health and wellness education to Native American youth in the form of soccer and golf programs.
Begay - whose first name in the Navajo language means "almost there" - is one of very few Native Americans to have played professional golf. He is of the Navajo, San Felipe, and Isleta people.
After securing four PGA Tour titles across his career, Begay has worked as an analyst with the Golf Channel and NBC Sports since 2013.
JOHN WOOD (ON-COURSE REPORTER)
John Wood is a caddie-turned-reporter who has been with NBC since 2021. During his time on the PGA Tour, Wood performed Looper duties for Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Mark Calcavecchia and Kevin Sutherland - among others. He was also on Kuchar's bag for his bronze medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
Having previously played golf at collegiate level for the University of California, Berkeley, Wood later picked up the mic on a temporary basis along with Jim 'Bones' MacKay at the 2015 RSM Classic.
SMYLIE KAUFMAN (ON-COURSE REPORTER)
Smylie Kaufman is a professional golfer who has one Korn Ferry Tour and one PGA Tour victory to his name. He won the 2015 Shriners Hospitals For Children Open after coming from seven strokes back and carding a superb 61 on Sunday. Kaufman made his NBC Sports debut at the 2022 Shriners Children's Open and filled in a few more times over the course of the remaining PGA Tour season.
Before joining permanently in January 2023, Kaufman served as an on-course reporter for the channel's digital coverage at the 2022 US Open (Peacock) and 2022 PGA Championship (ESPN+).
CARA BANKS (POST-ROUND INTERVIEWS)
Cara Banks initially joined NBC's Golf Channel in 2015 as a co-host for the network's daily news and lifestyle show, 'Morning Drive.' Previously, she had hosted 'Golfing World' - a weekly program on Sky Sports in the UK - as well as working on Wimbledon, the 2012 London Olympics, World's Strongest Man, and The Open LIVE - a live digital telecast.
As well as fulfilling her duties as one of the post-round interviewers, the Englishwoman also serves as a studio host for Golf Central and Golf Central Live From on site at golf’s major championships and biggest events.
DAMON HACK (POST-ROUND INTERVIEWER)
Damon Hack was born in Los Angeles and graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in history before graduating from UC Berkeley with a master’s degree in journalism. From there, he went on to cover the San Francisco 49ers for the Sacramento Bee, golf and the NFL for The New York Times and golf and the New York Knicks for Newsday.
Prior to joining NBC in 2012, Hack reported on golf and the NFL for Sports Illustrated. He is now a co-host for Golf Today and also serves as an on-site reporter/interviewer at selected PGA Tour events over the course of the season.
