Patrick Mahomes Tried Out Jim Nantz's Backyard Par 3 Earlier This Year

Patrick Mahomes attempted to hit a hole-in-one on Jim Nantz's back-yard replica of the seventh hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links earlier this year.

In a pre-quarantine world, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had the chance to add his name to a rock in CBS Sports broadcaster Jim Nantz’s backyard.

It almost happened, as Mahomes told GQ Magazine staff writer Clay Skipper in an interview leading up to a cover story detailing Mahomes’ superstar status in the NFL. 

Nantz has a half-size replica of the Pebble Beach Golf Links' seventh hole at his house, located not too far away from the real course. He challenges athletes and fellow reporters to hit a hole-in-one on the Par 3, earning a spot on a rock that sits close to the tee box if successful. 

"It had been a nasty, rainy day, and it was already getting dark by the time Mahomes started teeing off, so Nantz remembers having to turn on the stadium lights he keeps back there. Though Mahomes nearly aced his first shot—it lipped out on the opposite side of the hole—he says he was nowhere close after that. Even still, he must have taken 40 or so swings, not willing to give up."

Since Nantz and Mahomes had accompanied each other through rounds at Pebble Beach and Cypress Point earlier in the day, sunlight ran out. Mahomes kept going.

Skipper wrote the quarterback’s efforts were eventually halted by his girlfriend, Brittany Matthews. She wanted to ensure the couple would make their flight back to Dallas the next morning, facing COVID-19 related uncertainties of what would happen if they missed the flight. 

"It was hard to pull him away, but Brittany eventually succeeded. “I'm going to be back,” he told Nantz on the way out, vowing to hit a hole in one."

"And why wouldn't he think that? He was a baseball player with pro ambitions who decided to become a professional football player. In his first season starting, he didn't win the Super Bowl (just the league MVP), so he kept plugging away, practicing, putting in reps, and then, the following year—boom!—wouldn't you know it, a Super Bowl. For Patrick Mahomes, the question is not so much “Can I do it?” but “How many times will it take before I do?” Nothing's impossible until we make it impossible."

Names on Nantz's rock of fame include professional golfers Phil Mickelson, Billy Horschel and Sir Nick Faldo. 

Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and Nantz's partner in the booth, Tony Romo, is also on the list. 

Mahomes could have a shot one day, as his golf skills at the American Century Championship showed.