Some broadcasters become part of the background. Dan Hicks was never that kind of voice. For more than 25 years at NBC, he was one of the defining sounds of golf coverage, the steady guide through major moments and long Sundays that helped frame how fans experienced the game.
Hicks died on Nov. 11 at age 64. The news marked the loss of a fixture in golf broadcasting, someone whose work stretched across more than three decades and included some of the sport’s biggest stages. He joined NBC in 1992 and assumed the network’s lead play-by-play role in 2000, a position he held through nearly two decades of major tournaments and signature moments.
A voice attached to golf's biggest stages
Hicks’ resume was built on the kind of events that define a broadcaster’s legacy. In 2008, he called Tiger Woods’ victory at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, one of the era’s most memorable golf broadcasts. More recently, in 2025, he interviewed Rory McIlroy after McIlroy won a playoff over J.J. Spaun at The Players Championship, another reminder that his voice remained central to NBC’s biggest golf moments.
That is what made Hicks more than just a familiar presence. He was part of the rhythm of the sport, a broadcaster whose narration carried across PGA Tour events and international golf competitions over multiple decades. In an era when sports television often chases volume, Hicks stood out for steadiness. The job was never to make himself the story. It was to make sure the story landed.
What NBC and the PGA Tour said
Hannah Storm said the family was heartbroken by the sudden and unexpected passing of Hicks following an acute illness. She described him as a devoted husband of over 30 years, a loving father to their three daughters, and a cherished friend whose loss is immeasurable.
The PGA Tour said it was devastated by the sudden loss of Hicks and noted that, for more than 25 years leading NBC golf coverage, his voice filled living rooms with steady narration of countless broadcasts, including some of the game’s biggest moments. The tour added that the warmth he brought to the broadcast was matched only by the kindness he showed those around him.
That wording matters because it gets to the real legacy here. Hicks was remembered not only for calling golf at the highest level, but for how he called it. His voice became woven into the memory of the sport, and for a generation of viewers, that is what a major broadcaster is supposed to do: make the big moments feel bigger, and the long ones feel worth staying with.
Dan Hicks leaves behind a broadcast footprint that will be difficult to replace. In golf, where the best calls often arrive in the quietest moments, he was the voice many people trusted to tell them exactly when the game changed.
