Damon Hack had a great gig. It doesn’t get much better than covering the NFL and golf for Sports Illustrated.

However despite a professional career as a sportswriter, Hack always wanted to get back to the broadcast side. Monday, the Golf Channel offered him the opportunity.

From the network:

He will serve as a “Golf Channel Insider” for the network’s news programming, including Morning Drive and Golf Central, and as a senior writer for GolfChannel.com. He also will be seen occasionally on NBC Sports Network, reporting golf.

I covered a few golf tournaments with Hack during the day. So naturally, I had to give him Monday grief when he mentioned he had “a broadcast agent.” Don’t get too big, big guy.

Actually, the Golf Channel opportunity came somewhat out of the blue. A few weeks ago, he served as a substitute host for Morning Drive. Apparently, he did a good job.

A subsequent GC offer coincided with Sports Illustrated looking for staff to take buyouts. So Hack even got a nice going-away prize.

“When it all came together, we thought, ‘Maybe this is a sign we should do something different,'” Hack said.

Even though Hack has spent 18 years as a sportswriter, he studied broadcasting as an undergrad at UCLA.

“I wanted to be the next Chick Hearn or Vin Scully,” he said. “I always had a quiet dream to do broadcasting, and golf is my favorite sport to cover. It couldn’t work out any better.”

Hack said his exact TV role has yet to be defined. The GC still hasn’t named a permanent co-host to join Gary Williams for Morning Drive.

Would Hack be interested?

“Definitely,” he said. “That would be great. I had a lot of fun doing the show. I think the plan for now is to get me down there and see where I fit.”

The GC also hired Ryan Burr from ESPN as an anchor for Golf Central.