Our Q&A with ESPN's Chris Berman: Boomer gives us his best golf nicknames

USA Today

21-06-2025

Chris may no longer be broadcasting the U.S Open on ESPN as he did for many years but he's still very present in the world of golf. He's an unofficial ambassador at The Sentry, where he has a home in Kapalua and doesn't mind bragging about the time he won the pro-am with Xander Schauffele as his partner. His other longtime home is in Connecticut and he's been involved with the Travelers Championship, the Tour's annual stop at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell for longer than Sammy Davis Jr. As is custom, Berman will serve as emcee of the trophy ceremony on Sunday.
Berman, 70, has extended his contract with ESPN through 2029, which would make him ESPN's first employee to celebrate their 50th anniversary with the company. The 2027 Super Bowl will be the 45th that Berman will have worked for ESPN. Berman joined ESPN on Oct. 1, 1979, and is a six-time National Sportscaster of the Year and a member of several Halls of Fame, including the Sports Broadcasting HOF, the National Sports Media Association HOF and Cable HOF. Golfweek caught up with him earlier this year and shared some of our favorite nicknames he coined, including from the world of baseball: Luis Funky Cold Medina, Bert Be Home Blyeven and Oddibe Young Again McDowell.
Golfweek: You're part of the furniture at the Sentry and Travelers Championship. Where does your love of golf stem from?
Chris Berman: I never really played when I was young. My dad had a set of clubs in the garage and he maybe played three times a year. He'd rather spend time with his boys. But I always liked it, I always watched the Bing Crosby, the Masters and then the U.S. Open in 1974 at Winged Foot was a big deal. I was a freshman in college, I think, and one of my dad's business associates lived near the third green. I snuck on the course all four days and that kind of got me going a little bit. Seve was my guy. Late in my 20s, when we were all working late at ESPN on weekends, some of us would get together and play at a public course at 10 o'clock on a weekday and then roll into work at 4.
GWK: Why do you think golf appeals to athletes from so many sports?
CB: I think it's the ultimate challenge because you're testing yourself. The ball is stationary. NFL kickers and hockey players are the best golfers as a group. Maybe because the puck can be stationary and of course in kicking the ball is stationary.
Sterling Sharpe worked with us on TV. He never played golf until after he retired. He's like a scratch. But not every great athlete is a good golfer. I think they like the challenge of being able to improve.
More: Former U.S. Open host Chris Berman signs extension with ESPN, will reach 50 years
GWK: You're beloved for your clever player nicknames but what player got the most upset with the one you coined for him?
CB: Nobody really in golf. Let me think of the golf nicknames back when I was on the air every day. We had Ground Control to David Toms. He liked it. He'd smile at it. I think he was more kidding, but Mark Lye was Mark 'Unplayable' Lye. He thought I was making fun of his golf game for about 10 seconds. I said, No, it's a golf term.
When Jose-Maria Olazabal first arrived on the scene, we didn't know how to pronounce his last name. We thought it was Oh-loz-uh-ball, and I go, Oh my goodness, it's the greatest golf name ever. Two strokes for a lost ball, you know? And well, it's Oh-lah-thah-bull. I went, shoot, that doesn't work, damn it. Curtis Strange was insert your favorite song. People are Strange, you know, Strange Brew. He liked it because he's a music guy. Joey Sindelar, who I played in the Travelers pro-am with 12-13 times and we became good friends, he was Joey Seven Deadly Sin-delars.
When Xander won (the Travelers in 2022), he demanded that I give him a nickname. I had to chew on it. I went Xander Killing Me Schauffele With His Song, which I think is not bad. He and I won the Sentry pro-am, though I can't take too much credit for that. [As emcee at Travelers media day, Berman attempted to coin one for Scottie Scheffler on the spot. 'I'll be better in June, but off the year you had last year, there's no other way to describe it but 'Top Scheffler.' That's OK? Is that all right for now? Is that like a ball mark on the green?'
'That's great. If it's good with you, it's good with me. That's more your forte than mine,' Scheffler said.]
For Max Homa, I've used Homa is Where my Heart is or Homa Sweet Homa, which anybody could come up with; they're interchangeable. Sam Burns, you can usually go Third-Degree Burns for Sam, I don't know that I've used it yet. I did use Jon CD-Rahm.
I don't think I've gone for the easy one with Jason Day. You know, it's a Beautiful Day or something, as opposed to Glenn 'All' Day, which was not my nickname, but it was very apropos. Adam Scott, I didn't do because it's 'Great, Scott,' that's too easy. Davis Love III was, Might as well face it, you're addicted to Love. You know, a lot of rock and roll ones. [He texted later with two current pros that were top shelf: Patton 'Street Car Named' Kizzire and Sahith It's Not Just the Party, It's Theegala.]
None of mine are derogatory. I'll give you a baseball one that he really wasn't that pissed, but a long time ago Kevin Bass, who played for Houston and a lot of other places, an All-Star a few times, he brought it to my attention that he wasn't fond of my nickname. We were at the batting cage and he goes, 'Can I talk to you for a minute, Chris, because you call me Kevin Large-mouth Bass.' I said, 'Yeah, the fish.' He goes, 'I know, but it makes me sound like a complainer. I said, 'OK, that's actually very fair. I certainly had no intention.' He goes, 'I'm sure you didn't, but it makes me sound like I'm a big mouth and pain in the ass in the clubhouse or whatever.' You know, it kind of stunned me for a minute. We were friendly, and just to show you how quote-unquote upset he was, I said, 'Well, how about Kevin Small-mouth Bass?' He goes, 'Perfect. Go with it.' So that was an easy negotiation.
GWK: Were you too loud for golf?
CB: Oh, hell no. The golfers loved it. Professionally, I've never had more fun in my life. I always covered the U.S. Open with Andy North in the evening, prime time, and that's different. You're trying to bring people in that haven't watched it all day, a lot of casual sports fans. And you know, nobody is for everybody. People complained about Johnny Miller and he forgot more golf than you and I and 100 of our best friends combined would ever know, right?
I'll give you an example. In 2010, they shaved the left side by the green at Pebble on 14. Y.E. Yang hit a shot and it just trickled down the left side into that collection area. And so he took a putter, which you and I would probably do, and putted it up the hill, and it got to the top, and it stayed there for a second, and then it rolled right back down like miniature golf, right back to his feet. He stares at it, he's pissed. He goes to the bag and he gets a wedge to chip with from almost the exact same spot. We've all been there. And he chips it up there, pretty good shot until it runs out of steam. It rolls back down to his feet, and you can see the smoke coming out of his ears. But he's looking at his caddie. He's looking at the bag, he's looking at the ball. He's really annoyed. He doesn't even grab a club for a good 30+ seconds. So, I said, 'And now, what, the ball retriever?' I wasn't trying to make fun of him. He hadn't made a move yet for a club. A couple of golf scribes didn't think that was appropriate. Later that night in the Tap Room, Lee Westwood comes over. He said, 'When you said the ball retriever, I fell off my bloody couch laughing.' So there's your answer. I wasn't trying to make fun of him. It was like, we've all been there. But I wasn't trying to be anybody that I wasn't. I was just trying to do the best job. But that's why they have different flavors of ice cream. Not everyone likes vanilla, chocolate or smurf.
GWK: What's the course you've never played that you most want to play?
CB: I've played Augusta once and St. Andrews once. Seminole is one I'd like to do. I've never played Pine Valley, which is in the northeast, so I should really get there. Pebble Beach is my favorite. That's where God waits for a tee time. I've told them this for a while, but I used to say when I completely retire, I'd like to own the concession and drive the beverage cart at Pebble Beach. That would be fun.