Colt Knost Q&A on his growing TV role: ‘I honestly feel like this is what I was meant to do’

To borrow a phrase from his own vernacular, Colt Knost is about to “get amongst it” with CBS Sports. The 36-year-old former PGA Tour pro went from a part-time role last year to a full-time gig beginning this week at the Farmers Insurance Open. Knost, who also co-hosts the Sirius/XM Radio show “Gravy and The Sleaze,” with co-host Drew Stoltz, has become golf’s latest media darling.

“He has the perfect blend of humility with his self-deprecating humor combined with a true knowledge of the game, and his resume speaks to that being a U.S. Amateur champion and Walker Cupper,” Sellers Shy, lead producer at CBS, said of Knost. “Plus, he has an incredible relationship with today’s players.”

Perhaps no commentator has his pulse on the Tour better than Knost – check out his podcast Sub Par (also with Stoltz) if you haven’t already. He also continues a youth movement at CBS that began with the remaking of its broadcast team a few years. Expect him to become one of the faces of CBS’s golf coverage for years to come.

“I honestly feel like this is what I was meant to do,” Knost said. “Playing on Tour for eight years was just the thing that transferred me into being what I’m supposed to be and that’s being on TV.”

GWK: What's the best part about being a retired PGA Tour pros?

CK: I never miss a cut. I get a check every week. It’s great.

GWK: What was more graceful: You surfing down a giant sand dune in Dubai or riding on the back of a Phat scooter?

CK: The crash on the surfboard was much softer than the crash on the Phat scooter.

GWK: Does anyone have a better nickname than you in golf than Big Gravy?

CK: Yes, The Seagull, Charlie Hoffman.

GWK: That is a good one. What did you think when Steve Elkington gave you yours?

CK: Well, I had no idea where it came from or anything like that. I mean, he said it on Twitter one day, and I was just like, I have a feeling this one’s gonna stick. It’s one of those ones that I think some people would take insulting, being a bigger guy. But at the end of the day, it’s pretty funny because everything’s better with gravy. But you know, I just embrace it. You know, when you hate your nickname, it has a much better chance of people wearing you out about it. But you know, I like it.

GWK: What is it about doing golf on TV that you find satisfying?

SPRINGFIELD, NJ – JULY 26: (L-R) Colt Knost of the United States, Jordan Spieth of the United States and Phil Mickelson of the United States wait on a tee during a practice round prior to the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club on July 26, 2016 in Springfield, New Jersey. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

CK: I’m still out in the arena is the biggest thing for me. I get the adrenaline, I get excited being out there. You know, the few times I was in contention on the PGA Tour, I mean there’s nothing better. Feeling those nerves feeling those butterflies and going out there and watching the guys that are the best in the world, week in and week out, do it and being out there while they’re doing it, I get a thrill from it.

And you know, I’ve always considered myself a student of the game. I’m a huge golf fan, I watch golf nonstop. I just enjoy it, it’s the game I love and I just love being out there with the guys. I mean, Tuesdays were always like my favorite day of the week going out there and talking trash, playing money games and stuff like that. And you know, now doing TV, I have no stress. As long as I don’t say anything offensive on-air, you know, things are pretty good. I’m going out there and talking about something I really know. And the guys have been so awesome to me. They talking to me going down fairways telling me how great of a job I’m doing and just having fun with me. And you know, I think that helps the broadcast out as well.

GWK: Compare the feeling right before you go on air to how you felt stepping on the first tee as a player.

CK: Early on doing TV, I’d say similar. I was very, very nervous. You know, heart rates up a little bit, mouth is very dry. When I did the PGA Championship at CBS last year, the first time Jim Nantz sent it down to me like that was a pinch-me moment. That was probably the most nervous I was last year just because I’ve talked to Jim, but I’d never worked with Jim. And for him to send it down to me that was just so cool. Because I mean, he is obviously an idol of mine and someone that I think the whole sporting world looks up to and respects.

But now I’m so comfortable doing it, honestly, I just feel like that’s where I’m supposed to be. And I really don’t get nervous now. If I get to be on the main show at Augusta at the Masters at some point, that feeling might come back again, because that’s the ultimate. But you know, as far as like getting ready for Torry here this weekend, there’s really not that many nerves. I honestly feel like this is what I was meant to do. Playing on Tour for eight years was just the thing that transferred me into being what I’m supposed to be and that’s being on TV.

GWK: Were you ever bothered by anything that commentator said about you when you were playing?

CK: I don’t think I was on TV enough for anyone to talk about me. No, I don’t think so. I’ve always understood that the job is to give an opinion. I feel like I played out there long enough. I know I didn’t win, but I know what it’s like to play out there. I know what it’s like to be in contention in a big tournament. And I feel like I can give my opinion and you know, I’m never gonna be rude to a guy. But if he does mess up or if it’s a bad shot, like it’s my job to call it.

GWK: Did you did you have a favorite commentator growing up?

CK: I’m not the biggest NBA fan. But I would watch Inside the NBA because of Charles Barkley, who was a guy that I look up to as much as anybody in the broadcasting business. I love him. He makes it fun. You never know what he’s going to say and the guy gets away with more than anybody.

One time he criticized Kobe Bryant and Kobe called him 47 times that night and just wore him out about how inappropriate it was and all that. He goes, it’s funny, I praise the guy the other 90 percent of the time, and he never called me and told me thank you. It’s a great point. Like, they only hear the bad stuff.

GWK: Who’s been the biggest help to you in breaking into this side of the business?

CK: Gary McCord was huge. Amanda Balionis and Frank Nobilo are always in my ear giving me advice. Tony Romo has helped me out quite a bit with the higher-ups at CBS.

I’ve been so lucky to go from playing on the PGA Tour to doing TV. Not just me, but all athletes in general, most of us don’t have a Plan B. And I really didn’t either. And, you know, once I started working for SiriusXM, and then worked my way to CBS, and Golf Channel, like, things just happened so fast and so easy. I was very, very lucky.

GWK: You did take like a bit of a gamble, right? You started out with a part-time role. What made you bet on yourself that you could do this gig?

CK: Yeah, I guess I did bet on myself. My first couple of events that I did on TV were in the booth and they weren’t that great. They were OK. Then I got an opportunity to go down on the ground at the PGA Championship at Harding Park. In about two holes, I knew that’s where I was supposed to be. Like, I just felt comfortable. I was out there, I was reacting as a player. And I knew that I could do this.

Hearing other players praise you is the biggest compliment. A lot of these guys like to act like they don’t watch golf. But when you have guys like Justin Thomas tweeting, you know how much he enjoys listening to me and how I should be the next guy to be signed up by a major network and stuff like that, it means a lot. I walk up and down the range and random guys will pull me aside and be like, Dude, I was watching the coverage yesterday and you were great. That means more to me than anything. Knowing that those guys that I used to compete against are out there listening and they want to hear more of me – I just love it. I can’t thank them enough.

GWK: At the PGA this year, you dropped a Varsity Blues movie quote on Nick Faldo. Do you remember that?

CK: Things change Mox.

GWK: Yes, that’s the one. It seemed to go over everyone’s head. Did anyone ask you what that was about later? And can we expect any more Varsity Blues references in the telecast this season? Because your fans are telling me they want it.

CK: You know, I love throwing famous movie lines out there and stuff like that just to bring, I don’t know, it’s something different than 7-iron from 175. The problem is Faldo is foreign, so he doesn’t understand a lot of American comedy. I mess with him about it all the time.

GWK: When did you know that you had the talent to be a PGA Tour pro?

CK: Probably my senior year in college. I was ranked in the top 10 in the country in college my senior year. But when I Monday qualified for the Byron Nelson and played really well on that Friday and got into the top 10 heading into the weekend, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. Playing in that Tour event as an amateur was just so huge for me and my confidence.

GWK: You turned pro before the Masters something almost no one ever does and gave up that opportunity. What was the rush for you?

Colt Knost plays his shot on the first hole during the first round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on January 30, 2020, in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

CK: If you look at what I did that summer, I was the No. 1 amateur in the world and my stock was never going to get any higher. I got offered things financially that I didn’t think I could turn down and I didn’t know if they would still be there if I waited until Augusta in April. I got three starts in the fall on the PGA Tour. I went to Q-School and ended up getting my Korn Ferry card. I just felt like the way I was playing, why not get out at one of these PGA Tour events? I might win the way I was playing. So, I just thought the time was right.

GWK: Have you ever played Augusta National?

CK: I played it in November for the first time. I emceed Kevin Kisner’s charity event and then he got me on the next day. It was really, really cool, but it is way too much golf course for me.

GWK: How do you feel about the term journeymen pro?

CK: I played what 12-13 years of professional golf, so I guess you could say I was a journeyman. I’m proud that most of the events I played were on the PGA Tour. I’m a guy that’s very, very happy. I achieved a lifelong goal of playing on the PGA Tour, and I did it for several years. I wish it would have gone better. But like I said, I think professional golf led me to doing what I’m doing now, and I’ve never been happier in my life.

GWK: You got to No. 92 in the world. That’s pretty amazing when you think about it, to be among the best 100 people at something in the entire world. But after your stellar amateur career, some people would say you underachieved. How do you look at it?

CK: Yeah, I honestly agree I underachieved. I played so great in 2007, I go out on the Korn Ferry (Tour) in ‘08 and win twice. And I finished, I think six or seventh on the money list out there. Get out on the PGA Tour and I’m thinking this is just going to keep happening. Everything was so easy. Golf was not hard for me for a two-year stretch. And, you know, I didn’t work hard, I got distracted. That’s one thing that I’m happy to talk to young kids about – there’s a lot of distractions on the PGA Tour and I didn’t work the way I needed to. And it took me several years to get back to that. And then 2015-16, I finally played well and was getting comfortable out there, I was getting very confident.

I think I made my first 11 cuts in ‘16 to get off to a really good start in the year and it kind of just built and then I had the injury to my left hand, which basically ended my career. I was trying to play in 2017 injured, finally ended up having surgery, came back. It wasn’t fixed, and then had to sit out again. But those injuries are what led me to this media side. That’s when I got the call from Sirius XM and I got the chance to do a few events for Golf Channel and CBS. So, the injury was a blessing in disguise. It sucks that I was playing the best golf of my PGA Tour career when I got hurt but at the end of the day it’s probably a good thing.

GWK: Is there a tournament where you felt like you should have won?

CK: I thought I should have won Reno Tahoe one year. I finished third there. At the Byron Nelson, I finished fourth after playing really well at the Players. I played really poorly on Sunday of Hilton Head when I had the lead all week there and finished third. The Players is probably my best tournament in my career finishing third there, three back of Jason Day.

GWK: Do you think you’ll ever play in a PGA Tour event again?

CK: I don’t know. My game sucks right now. I just don’t play enough anymore. I’ve played 199 events. I would like to play one more just to say I played 200, but at the same time, I mean, if I don’t, it’s no big deal. My game just doesn’t fit what the PGA Tour is doing nowadays. That’s why I give so much credit to guys like Brian Gay. Even Brian Harmon, he isn’t a short hitter but he’s not the longest hitter out there. For what they do, it’s so special because you know, the groups that I follow mostly are Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, John Rahm and I mean from where these guys play from – it’s a different game.

It would be really, really hard for me to go out there and compete. But if someone wanted to give me a spot, you know, just for some cool coverage or, you know, to do something fun. Yeah, I’d tee it up. I mean, I probably wouldn’t make the cut, but I’d give it my all.

GWK: On those occasions when you were trunk-slamming on Fridays, who would be on your first-team All-Hang-Out team?

CK: I think I was on a lot of guys’ list. As soon as I tapped in on 18 for a missed cut, my phone started blowing up. Gary Woodland is one of my best buddies in the world. He’s up there. Max Homa, Pat Perez, Kevin Kisner, Kevin Chappell. My move was just to scroll to the bottom (of the leaderboard) and start looking and be like, Oh, that guy’s fun. Let’s text him and see what he’s doing.

GWK: If you could be on any golfer’s bag as a caddy, who would it be?

CK: For financial reasons or for fun reasons? There’s two different answers to this. For financial reasons, Jon Rahm. He is starting to separate himself as the best player in the world. Fun wise, it’d either be Kevin Kisner or Pat Perez just because they both say whatever is on their mind and I just love being around both those guys.

GWK: What’s your go-to golf course drink if you need to make more birdies?

CK: Transfusion.

GWK: I'm told you’ve got some pretty mad skills at anything that requires hand eye coordination. What bar game are you best at?

Colt Knost plays his shot from the fourth tee during Round One of the 2018 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Spyglass Hill Golf Course in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

CK: Beer pong, for sure. People will never believe it, but I would always go in the gym with the guys and shoot three-pointers. And I was really, really good. I would never play a game to get there because that requires running, but if you sat me on the 3-point line, I was deadly from way downtown.

GWK: How come you’re about the only one left willing to engage in a Twitter spat?

CK: That’s probably going to end. I have a feeling the higher-ups at CBS don’t really like it.

You know, I’ve loved and I’ve hated Twitter. Most of the Twitter stuff is just haters and keyboard warriors. But I’ve just never been a guy who’s really scared of that confrontation. When I was playing and struggling and missing cuts, I’d go out on Friday night and have a few and I’d start seeing these mean things said about me and it triggers something. And the next morning, I’d wake up and I’m like, damn it, what did I just do?

Social media, it’s tough. I think everybody wants people to be involved in social media, but not much good comes out of it.

GWK: You’ve played Augusta National now. Is broadcasting there the dream now?

CK: Oh, yeah. I’ve made that very clear to them. That’s my No. 1 thing. You know, I did the feature groups coverage from there last year. But that’s in a room, not out on the golf course. I know they started the last couple years to have Dottie Pepper on the golf course, which is the first time that’s ever happened. Normally everyone’s in a tower. But yeah, that’s the ultimate, no doubt. I’ve gotten the chance to cover the Asia-Pacific Amateur and then the Latin American Amateur this past week, I’ve spent a lot of time with the people at Augusta and gotten to know them. I hope it’s trending in that direction. It’d be cool you know, I know the Masters is old-school, it’s traditional. But I think it would be cool to get someone with a younger perspective out there. I don’t know how the people there feel about, you know, my decision back in ‘07. I hope it’s nothing that they hold over my head or anything like that. But yeah, that is an ultimate goal of mine is to be, you know, on the main CBS broadcast at Augusta. That’d be a thrill of a lifetime for me.

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