Talk Birdie To Me

Friday Feedback pod today, and it gets off to a rough start with Mark suggesting that we are overworked and he feels like the kid in Conan the Barbarian.....bit of mayo on that tbh.But onto your feedback!Darren has some comments on Justin Rose after our chat last week. Keith has written in about Marks 'creating space' video (see it here). Carl heard Nick and Mark talking last week about the demise of the bump and run, and had a comment.Fun question from David who wants to know what some nicknames of players were...there aren't too many that Nick and Mark can think of, but there were plenty of caddy nicknames, they reminisce about a few.After the turn, Drew from the US reckons that we all need to give Scott O'Neil some time to get LIV's funding sorted, and Drew is confident that he will. Basically he reckons we're writing it off too soon.Nick has found out what TGL stands for....and it's not what we all thought!Jack has a question on LIV, if it fold, what the legal ramifications might be for players regarding outstanding contracts. Would Nick and Mark take the Saudi's to court? mmmm....perhaps not.Last week Mark posed the question - do people in Turkey eat Turkish Delight chocolates? We've had a couple of wolfpackers write in to clarify.And Alex has sent in a video of one of Mark's fave players with a killer chip that is absolutely world class....Mark is suitably impressed!And a reminder that our annual Talk Birdie survey is open until Sunday, $300 to spend on FootJoys, and $300 to spend at the Golf Clearance Outlet could be yours for taking the 6-7 minute survey! Here's the link.And we end the show with a very funny story from one of Marks sources in the US, albeit going a bit pear-shaped at the end....apologies to anyone who Mark offends.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A bonus Feedback pod today, specifically focused on the news from last week that Golf Australia head honcho James Sutherland revealed on the Talk Birdie To Me podcast, about the Australian Open moving to North Adelaide in a multi-year deal.We've had mountains of feedback from wolfpackers, and it is mixed. Some love the idea, some hate the idea, it would be fair to say that there appears little middle ground, the feelings are strong either way. We start by replaying some of James comments about his excitement about the news, and his confidence that if they get the course right it will be the biggest Open ever.Nick and Mark have been thinking about it since the heard the news, and have some concerns. In a country where we have some incredible golf courses that are world standard in multiple states, courses that players love, it seems a risk to have our biggest event on a course that is not built yet, at least not to Open standard as it's currently a public course. Mark understands that the backdrop of the city, so close to the CBD, will give it something special, however he'd like to know what sort of course it will be, what style of course? Nick has never seen the course, however has a friend who has, and likens it to (for Melbourne listeners) like an Albert Park level course at the moment.The speculated $45 million price tag will be likely to include infrastructure, of which there will need to be plenty, Mark wants to know if that includes fees for some internationals to come here, saying that the $3-4 million Rory was paid to come to Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath will not be anywhere near enough to get him to North Adelaide.Lots of feedback (good and bad) including the legendary Bradley Hughes with his views on the multi-year arrangement.This will evolve, and we're always keen to hear what you think so let us know on socials or comments on the pod itself.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Huge Talk Birdie today, we start with the great win from Lucas Herbert on the LIV Tour, and how his record just gets better. Mark talks about when he played with him in the Vic Open, and Nick shares a story about playing with Lucas on the Gold Coast. Nick describes him as 'streaky' and says consistency is the next goal for Lucas. Unfortunately not in the PGA Championship this weekend which is a shame, and we talk about where he may end up, and have status, should LIV fold.The Korean cheating incident continues, with more coming out about what happened when Inhoi Hur cheated in the tournament and the rules officials completely screwed it up. Nick has received an email from one of the broadcasters at the tournament who listens to the pod, and says that whilst our comments last week were on the mark, there were some more things that happened that he witnessed which we didn't discuss.....he fills in the gaps....holy hell, could this wild story get wilder? You bet it can.He reveals that all four rules officials who erred were Korean Golf Association officials, none from the Asian Tour were involved. He says 'no sane golfer would ever accept a ruling that gave them a mulligan', and confirmed that the Asian and Korean players were all furious with both the officials and Inhoi Hur. He also describes the mayhem at the clubhouse which he witnessed, and that he was there when Inhoi Hur's wife was screaming at officials, so much so that Inhoi took her out of the clubhouse - the only honourable thing he did all weekend to be honest.Nick plays a grab from Sean Connery on golf, which Inhoi Hur could do well to consider in future.Onto the Australian Open. Following our chat with James Sutherland last week with the news of the AO move to North Adelaide, we've had some time to process it, and Nick and Mark aren't entirely convinced. Nick says he has some concerns and worries the course will not have the cache for the big international names to make the trip. Mark is worried that the course has bee committed when it's not even built yet, however he understands from someone who is in the know, that the offer made by South Australia was one that was impossible to say no to. Plenty of feedback on this from you, which we won't do today - given the volume of cheating feedback - but we'll do a bonus feedback pod tomorrow just on the AO.For Hostplus, Nick says that his 'That's a Plus' for golf this week is the career of caddy Mick Doran who has retired this week. One of the great guys on the tour.A reminder of our Talk Birdie To Me annual survey, great prizes up for grabs, it takes about 6 minutes the link to do it is here.For Betr, Marks Top 5 this week is people, some golfers, who were given names by their parents that are very golf inspired, perhaps with an intention in mind. Has he missed any? Let us know.The PING Globals from Nick, plenty of results to run through including a strong performance from Ryan Ruffels who played at the weekend, Mark tells a story about playing with him when he (Ryan) was 14 and being blown away by how good he was. Nick also mentions Boo Weekley who won at the weekend, and we remember the orangutan story....if you missed it, you really need to see it. Here's the link.Feedback today for Southern Golf Club is all focused on the Inhoi Hur cheating saga. We start with a voicemail and then work through just a fraction of the huge amount of feedback we received from you.And a ripping Masterclass for the Golf Clearance Outlet from Nick on rhythm and tempo and why 'matching' the two is important, inspired by Brandt Snedeker.Phew....a big pod today, back tomorrow with an Australian Open bonus feedback pod!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Big week this week with the PGA Championship at Aronimink. Nick has mixed memories of the course, and by mixed, we mean ordinary ones....he's played it a couple of times and in his words the course 'beat him up', Nick and Mark discuss the course, the style, and how it plays. Nick says that it's all about the par 4's on this course, they grind you down, and you need to control the spin.Mark has loaded in all the players he wants to follow on the Find My Player app - it's a ripper, if you haven't downloaded it, well worthwhile - get it at Google Play or the App Store. We run through the power rankings and look at the top 15 or so players, Mark is red hot for Cameron Young saying it is inevitable that he will win a major. And we frame up our Betr multi, which looks on the surface to be a pretty decent shot. Hummer at Betr frames it for us. You can jump on board at the Betr website or their app, look for Betr specials and you'll find out multi there:Scheffler to beat BrysonRory to beat RahmCameron Young Top 10Looks very doable. It'll be a cracker this weekend, can't wait !!!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sheez we've had some feedback on the cheating incident in Korea a week or so ago, and we have some very interesting inside information from someone who was at the course in a role where they saw everything - we'll read out some of what they have said on the main pod this Wednesday....it is WILD !!!We'll also hear a bunch of your feedback on the show, some comments, some questions about that incident, and cheating in golf more broadly. Today though, a couple of voicemails talking about the Korean incident, broadly, one from Owen from Axedale (near Bendigo) on how they deal with this situation at their club, and a second from Chris from Illinois who feels that the way the OB was handled in that tournament was wrong, and the situation may have been avoided by doing what he suggests.Two voicemails for the price of one today !Make sure you hear tomorrow's episode though.....this info we'll read out is quite extraordinary.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A fantastic Monday Mini today where a question has come in from wolfpacker Craig, and it's a ripper. Essentially Craig asks Nick and Mark if, at the peak other careers, or when they were struggling, if they had a phone call from LIV (in the hypothetical scenario LIV was around then) would they have said yes or no.Both Nick and Mark answer the question. And they discuss other players who have gone, and whether it was the right move or not, one Australian player Nick and Mark name and say he timed it perfectly. Another they name and say they feel it may have made the wrong call and had he not gone he may have been the greatest Australian golfer ever.A great Talk Birdie To Me Mini today, off the back of a ripping question from Craig.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tour Pro Scott Laycock was listening to the main pod this week where Nick and Mark were angry about the cheating in professional golf, specifically the incident last weekend in Korea. Scotty also had a poor experience in this vein in Asia when he was on the tour and left a voicemail outlining what happened.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a Talk Birdie 'Friday Feedback' pod today with plenty of great questions and comment, and one offensive one (we're talking about you Greg....).We start with Glenn who has some more info to add to the discussion last week about Nelly Korda and her Australian connection. Onto Ange who has just returned from the US watching The Masters, and poses a fantastic hypothetical question to Nick and Mark about what he might shoot if he played Augusta with some criteria....very funny. Steve, and separately YouTube viewer 'Found1', have some strong views on bifurcation which they put to Nick and Mark.Paul is a fan of pot bunkers. Nick and Mark are not, at least not on some courses and typically not in Australia.....but in the UK? Maybe that's different.Last week a YouTube wolfpacker called Nick and Mark 'berks' over their comments on LIV. None of us knew what it meant, we just thought it was a funny insult, and we all forgot to look it up. But Jim knows what it meant, and it's not good...he lets us know. Safe to say we probably won't be adding that one to the vocabulary.Afte the turn, we read a message from Jules who just listened to the recent mini where Nick was telling stories about playing with Bubba Watson....and she recalled seeing Bubba review AFL star Matty Richardsons golf swing a couple of years ago, and wanted to know if Nick and Mark had seen it....they hadn't, so we listen to/watch it....it is very funny! Whilst the shot didn't quite end how Matty might have intended, there are some positives - Nick and Mark review what they see.Di has written in about Shadow Creek, and other courses in that part of the world....saying there are major issues, and in her view courses will be closing down.Scott wants to know when our next golf day is....good reminder, we need to get our act together on that. Which does remind us about a competition we're in the early stages of designing....one wolfpacker will get to fly to a certain brand new Australian golf course and play a round with the designer, and Mark Allen.....not too much else to say yet, aside from watch this space.Dave has a question about wedges, and the lost art of the bump and run. Bill has tried out what Mark recommended in his 'creating space' YouTube video a few days ago.And we finish with Greg. Bloody Greg. Poor form, and a suspension from the pod may be in order.....Don't forget our annual survey - you could win $300 to spend on a brand spankers pair of FootJoy's, and $300 to spend at the Golf Clearance Outlet, survey takes 6 or 7 minutes, totally painless....and you can do it here: https://access.itsmystation.com/s3/talk-birdie-to-me-2Have a cracking weekend ! Hit em well !We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Big news today with Golf Australian announcing that The Australian Open will be moving to the North Adelaide Golf Club, following a redesign from Greg Norman, from 2028. It is a multi year deal and suggests the South Australian government is very keen to retain top level golf, particularly with LIV's future uncertain.Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen spoke to Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland this afternoon, live from North Adelaide Golf Course about the announcement, and the launch of Golf Australia's 'BIG SWINGS' strategy'.All went well! Until the line went dead (ouch!), but that can happen on golf courses, however James had outlined the key points. A big day for Golf in Australia.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Strap in, this is a big pod - albeit a day late as Nick has been in Queensland - but we got there!Also, before we start a reminder of our annual survey (there are prizes!), here's the link: https://access.itsmystation.com/s3/talk-birdie-to-me-2Onto the show....Mark Allen in particular has come in hot over what happened on the Asian Tour event at the weekend, and we launch into it from the top. Cheating in professional golf. There are at least three instances we know of in recent times, Inhoi Hur's behaviour and actions at the weekend at the Namseoul Country Club were disgraceful. Mark Allen says the facts in this story have shocked him, saying what happened at the weekend has blown him away.Nick and Mark explain what happened, and give their view on why it was a disgrace to professional golf, saying it can only be described as cheating. Essentially, he was given a mulligan on a professional tournament.We compare Inhoi Hur's actions to those of Cam Young at the weekend, who called a penalty on himself incurring a one-shot penalty. Mark says what the penalty for cheating should be for a first offence, and a second offence...Nick agrees entirely. Nick spoke to a Tour Pro who played in the tournament and said that all the players were 'headless' with anger over what happened.Is cheating in professional golf endemic? Well Nick says there was always rumours about the Asian Tour, and both Nick and Mark have experienced it. But there are other recent examples, and Mark names one player who was recently banned in Australia, and simply moved to another tour. And we discuss another Australian pro who was recently caught dropping a ball out of his pocket in a tournament.Phew. Onto LIV. We talk about the Jon Rahm news, and Scott O'Neil's comments about the search for investment for LIV to continue beyond 2026. Does it survive? Nick and Mark give their view.That's a plus for Hostplus this week is an unusual one - the plus for golf is that Inhoi Hur did not win the tournament, that's good for golf, he didn't deserve to and thankfully he didn't.And into the turn, we chat about the Australian Golf Digest's Top 100 golf course rankings list which has come out over the last few days. Do Nick and Mark rate it? We discuss.In the turn - speaking of cheating, Nick and Mark discover that the Tour Pro whose card they refused to sign was the same person! They don't name him, but they give a few clues if you feel like sleuthing....For Betr, Nicks Top 5 is - if you are going to cheat in pro golf (which you should not) these are the 5 most common ways to do it.Feedback for Southern Golf Club - we start with a few on our John Senden interview, could have read 100 out, there were heaps. Question about Adam Scott hitting the wrong ball at the weekend in a tournament, comment about Carlotta Ciganda's slow play, and a couple of LIV comments - there's been heaps, but we touch on a couple.Nick takes us around the world in the PING globals, lots going on, and some great performances. Mark sidetracks the PING globals with a discussion about chocolate bars....which requires your input if you can help.For the Golf Clearance Outlet, Mark's masterclass today is inspired by Cameron Young's wedges, and why he feels high bounce wedges are worth a shot.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Talk Birdie Monday Mini, a short episode where we typically discuss one issue or one question from a wolfpacker. And today, we've had a message from Peter who has disagrees strongly with Nick O'Hern's views on bifurcation which in fairness are largely shared by Mark, but it is an argument Nick has been prosecuting for a long time now.Peter believes bifurcation is a bad idea and would be terrible for golf, he explains why. Nick and Mark give their views on Peter's thoughts and suggestions, which include the possible introduction of pot bunkers, and some other thoughts on distance control.Nick says, as he has previously, that distance is out of control at pro level however many of the issues are caused less by distance, and more by accuracy - specifically the now negligible difference between driver and 3-wood. Mark relays a conversation he had recently with Geoff Ogilvy on this exact issue.We also chat about the ball - this is an area that Nick and Mark disagree on, both give their rationale.Not sure if we've solved the problems in this Monday Mini, but it was fun to kick around for 10 minutes. Thanks for the message Peter, hit em well !!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Friday, and that means time for a Friday Feedback pod, plenty of comments, and some questions , and Nick and Mark run through them today.We start with a comment from Derek whose Dad had the opportunity to meet, and get an autograph from Jack Nicklaus - but chose not to for a very odd reason. Derek explains. Ouch.Anthony is going to take his young fella Connor to the Australian Open later this year, and is after some advice on what the best day (or days) might be to see some of the big names. Adrian played Moonah Links recently, got beaten up by the course but loved it, and wants to know if it will lever host an Australian Open again and if not, why not?Last week we had some feedback about a club in Brisbane charging members who brought their own buggy or scooter, and we had several comments about that. Adam said that his clubs charge an extra fee annually for scooters for insurance purposes. Womble said that clubs charge a 'trail fee' for maintenance of the paths because buggy and scooters are more damaging than walkers. Keith said pretty much the same thing.After the turn. Ian has a question for Nick and Mark about Justin Rose and Lydia Ko's pre-shot routines, why they do what they do and what they're trying to prevent happening. Leads to a great chat about pre-shot routines, and some of golfs more quirky pre-shot routines.We had a comment last week from a wolfpacker who does not like handicaps, and reckons the system should be dumped and we simply play to our level with similar people, or cop a whack in a game. A couple of listeners - John and Sean,each pointed out that there are some other sports that handicap. Frank is a newish listener who is currently working his way through all the back episodes of the show....sheez.....we give him a prize as a thank you, welcome and well done - 250 bucks to spend at the Golf Clearance Outlet, thanks Franky !!!David saw Mike Harwood in action and messaged with some thoughts about just how good he was.And we wrap with a pretty blunt comment from Dave saying that there should be only one mens major in the US.....Nick and Mark respond.Mark casually drops that his monthly medal is on this weekend and he is sensing a course record coming on.....we'll find out next week.A fun Friday Feedback pod today, hope you had as much fun as we did!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Breaking news this morning Australian time, it has been confirmed that the Saudi Arabia PIF is in the process of advising all parties that it will not fund LIV following the end of 2026. This means without significant sponsorship from external parties, LIV will either struggle to continue, or perhaps will continue in a far reduced form.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a great guest pod for Hostplus, we love this bloke - today John Senden joins Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen to talk about his career, playing on the Champions Tour currently, and how he manages his golf given his diagnosis a few years ago with Parkinson's Disease. A fascinating chat with one of golfs good guys.Sendo has an exceptional record. He won the Australian Open in 2006, and he is a two time winner on the PGA Tour in the US - the John Deere Classic in 2006, and the Valspar in 2014. He's currently playing the Champions Tour in the US, and has made 87 out of 91 cuts on that tour if you don't mind !Sendo tells Nick and Mark about the Champions Tour, what it's like, what he enjoys about it. And then we go a little earlier, and he tells us how he first got into golf at Keperra Golf Club in Brisbane where he met his then, and now, coach Ian Triggs. He talks about the relationships and environment at Keperra really got him on his way in golf.Nick tells the story about first coming across Sendo playing the Troppo Tour in North Queensland, and Sendo recalls a hilarious story about Nicks car broken down an hour of Mt Isa on the highway....it's a ripper. But from playing the slightly less curated courses of the Troppo Tour to some of the best courses in the world, Sendo talks about making the adjustment from the Bermuda greens of Queensland to the Sandbelt courses in Melbourne, and what he had to learn very quickly,Sendo is well known for his extraordinary ball flight, both Nick and Mark have admired it for a hundred years, and the boys ask him if it was a learned talent or if it came naturally, Sendo talks us through that.He talks about going to Europe, how he did it and why, and explains why without his European experience he would not have survived in the US. Mark has heard a story about Sendo and Tiger Woods....and is keen to go to the source and find out if it's true.....Sendo confirms that yes it is !After the turn, we discuss his Parkinson's diagnosis. How did he first find out, what were the indications there might be an issue. Sendo explains what he did about it, and how manages it to stay as healthy as he can. He talks about how he handles his nerves when he is playing, and the tremors. Nick is curious to know if the tremors affect his putting in particular. Sendo reveals the area of his game that Parkinson's impacts the most, and how he handles that. And we finish by finding out, what's next for him, what comes after golf?A fantastic guest episode today with John Senden, one of golfs great gentlemen.If you're impacted, either personally, as a carer, or as a friend or family member, by Parkinson's Disease, the best source of information is at the Parkinson's Australia Info Hub here: We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A big pod today, and we start by chatting about Nelly Korda's big win at The Chevron, and it was a clinic, she won by a mile in a dominant display. Mark is amazed that she's only won the 3 majors, it felt like more. As good as Nelly's win was, the crowds and viewership was light, and Mark saw a tweet from Tour Pro Meghan MacLaren who posed the question as to why the interest was down, what is missing? Nick and Mark are huge fans of the women's game and have been for a long time, however we discuss the tweet and kick around what some issues may be.If we were to 'blow up' the women's major structure, what would you do? Mark says Shadow Creek is a no-brainer, and Nick would love to see a Women's Masters type even at Cypress saying it would be huge. Nick and Mark discuss if The Chevron itself is the issue. A good, perhaps not amazing, course. A major named after the sponsor. Nick says it doesn't have the feel of a major.For Hostplus, Mark awards Nelly Korda our 'That's a Plus' for golf, but not for winning the tournament, for something else. And we read a message from wolfpacker David who noticed something interesting on Nellys kit, Mark asks Grok to clarify. For once, Grok works. Marks 50 bucks paying off.What about Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick. What a story. It was a great win, and wonderful to see Alex get some just rewards following the win. We look at where their rankings are on the Find My Player app, if you haven't seen it, we love it. Follow any player on any tour in seconds. Download Find My Player from the App Store or Google Play. And for BMW, Matt Fitzpatrick gets our Touch of Class this week (how many is that!!!).We discuss the LIV news from the last 24-hours which will see a gap in the schedule of 6-weeks, with Louisiana now postponed. What does it mean (if anything). Mark's source, who he spoke to a couple of days ago, has given Mark some very interesting information about the reason why LIV may be slowing slightly - it has something to do with what is going on in Iran. Mark explains.And we talk about the appointment of Jim Furyk as US Ryder Cup captain.After the turn, for Betr, Mark lists the Top 5 courses in the world that would guarantee increased eyeballs were they to host women's majors. Love your thoughts on whether he's nailed it, or missed something.Plenty of action around the world in the PING Globals, Nick runs us through everything, and for Southern Golf Club, lots of feedback today: we start with the PGA cancelling a couple of events and whether this is an opportunity for Australasia to swoop in, Riley has a theory on Min Woo Lee at The Masters, Martin has a question about inconsistent ball striking, Mark has a view on the potential of returning LIV players, John agrees with Nick and Mark from last week that LIV is unsustainable but adds that the PGA's response to LIV has equally been unsustainable. We discuss.Then a couple of whacks. Laurie says that Nick and Mark are 'cheering for the death of LIV'. The boys respond. And Duane says that we're 'berks who are banging on with rubbish'. We respond, and also pay tribute to Duane's use of the word 'berks', and Nick, Mark and Dan kick around some of our favourite insulting words. You might have some to add! (Keep it clean though.....).And Sam wants to know how would LIV working with national opens even work, and why would the players do it?And for the Golf Clearance Outlet a great masterclass from Nick today, on chipping with your left hand low. We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A bonus Mini episode today. Wolfpacker George wrote to us about a comment made by Nick recently where he said something along the lines of Johnny Miller would sometimes oversimplify his putts, he sent a clip to a video which we'd seen before but it is well worth another look.Even if you're listening, rather than watching, you'll get the idea. Nick and Mark discuss the video which involves Johnny and the great Jack Nicklaus which shows say the boys just how 'cool' Jack was. Nick talks about how fascinated he was by Jacks putting style, saying that he is, along with Tiger, the greatest clutch putter ever.Mark tells a story about Jack coming onto the tee when Mark was there with his caddy at an Australian Open in Sydney and what happened, and we hear Nick's great story (which never gets old) about Jack asking to sit with him over breakfast at Muirfield.A short bonus mini today, always great fun to talk about Jack !!!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every Monday we'll do a 'Mini' episode, and you'll never guess the name.....we're calling it a 'Monday Mini'. Nice.Today, Nick and Mark are discussing an issue that consistently comes up, raised by wolfpacker Stockers, on the 'tyranny of distance' and the challenge of the 'big boys' hitting the ball longer all the time. Stockers has a couple of suggestions on this, and on bunkers and how they are treated. It's a ripper point and he has a couple of interesting ideas....but do Nick and Mark agree with them?We discuss Stockers ideas, issues with drivers, bunker treatments, and the old 'bifurcation' conversation. Nick and Mark agree, partly, on how bifurcation should be handled with one significant differing view.Nick has an idea about a tournament he would love to see come to fruition. He says it never will, but he'd love it. And we wrap the show with some footage of Mark and his buggy casually strolling around the Box Hill Golf Club, filmed from the 4th hole green by Dan, whose house backs onto Box Hill Golf Club. If you're listening to the pod you won't see it, but you can picture Mark, putter in hand, strolling along looking very pleased with himself.A fun Monday Mini today on Talk Birdie !We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David from Mornington left a message for Nick and Mark telling us a great story about meeting the great man, Jack Nicklaus, in 1988 and what surprised him about the conversation they had.Great experience David...that's a ripper!Got a comment or thought to share? Leave a voicemail at the link here: https://tr.ee/TbNhhoWe're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every friday we do a feedback pod, and from today we'll call them what they are - a Friday Feedback pod! Today we get off to an average start when Nick and Mark start giving each other feedback on their FootJoy shirts....perhaps they misunderstood the concept of a Friday Feedback podcast. But after we clear up that misunderstanding, onto the good stuff.Ando is from NSW Golf Club and has messaged us about our comments on how windy the course is, he has a story about a Victorian Golf Course which, at least on the day he was there, was so windy the siren sounded and they couldn't finish the round.Luke has a comment on 7 Mile Beach in Hobart.Willow has an observation about Seve Ballestero and his caddy, the legendary Billy Foster. Mark talks about his first ever full-time caddy, and Nick explains how Alana was his 'spotter' when he was looking to hire a caddy. Whilst on caddies - Christopher has a request for us to get Nick's long-time caddy Wilbur on the pod.Ian has some pretty strong opinions on handicapping. We find out if Nick and Mark agree.And then...okay this could go pear-shaped....Andrey wants to know that if Nick and Mark today, at their current age and form, played an LPGA Tour Pro would they win? The answer comes with some caveats, but it's a bit of a 'yes and no' answer - the boys explain their thinking and what they believe would happen.James has a great story about his wife Jo and her performance on a particular hole at Huntingdale a couple of weeks ago. David was attempting to join a club, however they have not allowed him to given he wants to bring his own golf scooter/buggy....and asks about that.And we finish with a ripping question from Craig for Nick about Rory McIlroy and The Masters.Have a great weekend, that's our Friday Feedback pod this week!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well we start today chatting about the incredible Hannah Green, a superstar who just keeps getting better. And at the outset, Mark explains why he is ashamed about something he did at the weekend to do with Hannah's win. Nick and Mark discuss her performance, not only this week, but the year so far, and how good her swing is. Nick reiterates his view that she'll win a major this year which he has been saying for months now.Then. LIV. Well what a few days it has been. After Ryan French at Monday Q revealed that he had solid information that LIV was in trouble, the internet exploded, the media jumped on it, the golf world chatter went next level. In fairness, Scott O'Neil from LIV has said the rumours are untrue, and has said that he feels that national opens may be the new pathways. Mark picked up on Scott's comments about how he speaks to players about LIV, and felt it was a poor selling approach. Nick suggests that the model has always been unsustainable financially.There were rumours about Bryson looking at options during Masters Week, and Mark says if Bryson and Rahm were to leave then LIV is definitely all over. Would the PGA welcome back some players, if so who, and where would the others go? Nick and Mark feel the DPWT would be the obvious path.For Hostplus, Nicks 'That's a Plus for Golf' is the BMW PGA moving to The Lakes. He feels it's a great move.Speaking of BMW our Touch of Class this week goes to Matt Fitzpatrick for how he handled the crowd support for Scottie Scheffler - it was almost like an away tournament, with the crowd right against him, and he handled it beautifully.After the Turn, for Betr, it's our Top 5....this is an interesting one. It was to be Nicks turn, however he's passed the baton to Mark who lists the Top 5, in his view, mistakes that LIV made, and in classic Nick style he adds a 6th one one.....this Top 5 has a reprise though, as we touch on some of the things that we feel LIV has done well.PING globals from Nick, as always plenty of golf around the world to discuss and we take a couple of sidetracks when Mark plays some audio from what we miss (in Australia) through receiving the world feed, Mark has noticed something about Tour Pro Brian Gay's appearance which he finds odd, and Nick has found an updated picture of the 'pool' at Memorial Park Golf Course.Feedback for Southern Golf Club - we've had a heap on LIV as you'd expect, but rather than read it out we touch on the themes. No doubt over the next few weeks, we'll have plenty of opportunities to chat LIV as the situation progresses. Lots of other feedback though: a Gary Player correction from last week, commentator comments, the World Feed, Marks Australian Masters (possibly illegal) Top 5 performance, and a comment on Tiger vs David Duval and slow play.And for the Golf Clearance Outlet, a great Masterclass from Mark, inspired by Matt Fitzpatrick, on chipping on Couch (Bermuda) grass.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We start today's pod with stretching tips from Mark, he's discovered a new technique which is working wonders. And Dan shares with Nick and Mark is shonky shoulder, and that he's been recommended dry needling to fix it. We're all falling apart at Talk Birdie HQ.Onto some comments and questions from wolfpackers. Steve has just returned from playing a bunch of the big Tassie courses, including 7 Mile Beach and gives his review. Era Golf enjoyed the chat about commentators last week, but felt that it was an oversight to not mention Sandy Roberts and the great Jack Newton....we can't recall if we did or not, but if Era Golf says we didn't we'll cop it.Passion has a slightly different take on Hole in One's and when they do or don't count. Do Nick and Mark agree?Sven has heard a rumour about Tiger and his pace of play, and is curious as to whether the boys can confirm it or not. During this chat, Nick reveals a hat that he was recently given which he says, aside from at home, he will never wear in public. We'll work on it.And Jim is excited for Dottie Pepper to come on the show....as are we Jim !!!! We've now locked her in, it'll be in about a month.After the turn, Kristin wants to clarify Nick and Marks comments about some American courses being 'cookie cutter', she says that may have once been the case but is no longer. And a few messages about shooting your age from Mark in New Zealand, Bruce in Ballarat, and Matt in Ocean Grove.A fun question from Craig in Montmorency who wants to know what clubs and gear is tucked away in Nick and Marks garages...he envisages it being like a mini Golf Clearance Outlet....and then.....this leads to Mark telling a story about being wooed by Top-Flite many years ago, and ending up with a specific club that he used in the Australian Masters when he finished Top 5......but the club may have been non-conforming. He explains why. There may need to be an inquiry, and perhaps the record books need to be written to reflect this heinous error.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve left us a voicemail on Monday, he was struggling to maintain his focus when he was close to making par - which he's never done before - he'd get nervy, and his game would fall away. So he hit Nick and Mark up for some ideas on how to address it. Steve went out onto his local course at Ocean Shores near Byron Bay, and put Nick and Marks advice into practise. He left us another voicemail to let us know if the advice made a difference (or not). Over to Steve.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we read through some of your questions and comments, and we start with a comment about Magnolia Lane at Augusta which Nick made last week. Whilst talking The Masters, it was exciting to see the GolfLoot prize drawn on Sunday - Geoff from Moonah Links won a trip to next years Masters with a friend!! Unbelievable !!! Heaps of other great prizes on offer at GolfLoot, including playing with, and having a lesson from, Nick O'Hern. Details here.After Mark revealed on the show last week that he does not eat fruit, not most fruits anyway, Nick and Dan were horrified and thought that nobody else would share this dislike of fruit.....turns out we were wrong. We were inundated with feedback from fellow fruit-hating wolfpackers who were backing Mark up. We read out 3 or 4 of the dozens we received. Which flows into a chat about Vegemite, American bread, Peanut Butter.....this podcast has clearly jumped the shark.So onto the golf. Wolfpacker Mark has some feedback on commentators from The Masters, Paul has a comment about a commentator he loved who was unceremoniously dumped from The Masters coverage after a couple of gags that the Men of the Masters did not appreciate.Bruiser enjoyed the 66/76/86/96/06/16 Masters analysis last week, but suggested the 79 win by Gary Player is equally worth a chat, he's not wrong, it was a ripper. Mark makes a diary note to do that in 2029. Fair chance he'll forget. But we do kick around the 7's...Roy loved the recent chat with Mike Harwood, if you haven't heard it or watched it - worth a look/listen, Mike is a gun.And we finish on some memories of one of the gentlemen of Australian golf, Alex Mercer, who turned 92 a few weeks ago.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Masters Review this week, and we start of course by discussing Rory. Where does he sit in the pantheon of Mens Golf? Mark saw a tweet from Flushing It that he reads through which outlines his wins beautifully. Is he the best European golfer in history? Nick and Mark discuss, and list the other Europeans who would be in the discussion.Rory was brilliant, but he had a couple of wobbles on Saturday, we chat about some of the players who were coming for him - Cameron Young and Justin Rose in particular. We talk about the influence the great man, Jack, may have had on Rory's approach.Mark says that of all the majors, Augusta is the 'choke' venue, and explains why. Which is one reason why Rory played the venue for 2-3 weeks prior, he explains why, we play the audio, where Rory also outlines Tom Watson's advice to him on how to play Augusta.Nick says Scheffler made the greatest Birdie he has ever seen on the 15th hole, and talks us through it.Our Betr multi was looking a shot early on Sunday when Ludvig got off to a good start, unfortunately he fell away.Nick and Mark discuss the LIV players performance in The Masters, particularly Bryson and Rahm, who played poorly. And we look at the Aussies - Cameron Smith, and Min Woo Lee - both had a tournament to forget. Nick gives some thoughts on where Min Woo's game went wrong.For Hostplus, our That's a Plus for golf was Jason Day's performance, he was in the hunt and playing well. Almost an 'anti plus' was Sergio Garcia's tantrum which Nick and Mark refer to as child like, Nick says he definitely would have received a warning.BMW Touch of Class this week goes to Phil Mickelson for his gracious congratulations to Rory on the win, despite the history the pair have.After the Turn, we give a shout out to our friends at Te Arai in New Zealand who had a nasty fire at the weekend which burned down one of the restaurants. Clearly they need a Switchstar installed. Check them here.Marks Top 5 for Betr is the Top 5 'choke' holes at Augusta. The PING Globals is nearly all Masters, plus a Japanese tournament. Feedback is all Masters, comments and questions on Rory, Rory's caddy Harry, Sergio, Min Woo, Bird Noises, Commentary, and Broadcast coverage.And Nick's masterclass today for the Golf Clearance Outlet is on committing when you're hitting on a slope.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A mini today where Nick and Mark have a listen to a voicemail from wolfpacker Steve whose goal is to break par for the first time, yet whenever he gets close, nerves take over. Steve is keen to know if Nick and Mark have some tips for dealing with the nerves in this pressure situation. They do!Nick explains how he'd deal with nerves and relax himself when he was on tour, and Mark talked through his approach. Mark tells a story about when exactly what Steve is talking about happened to him recently, and Nick explains the time it happened to him playing in the US Open!!Oh and we talk sitcoms. Mark and Dan are unimpressed with Nick's sitcom of choice....not that it's a bad show, but it's not up there with Mark and Dans preferred sitcoms.A fun mini, thanks for the voicemail Steve!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A feedback pod today, and we start with a very blunt question from a wolfpacker about Marks eating habits - following the revelation a week or two ago that he has never eaten a cucumber. And we find out some other, surprising, food items he has never (and says he will never) eat.Mark tells a very funny story about playing in a tournament , about to be called to the first tee, when his mother turned up with something he had forgotten to bring...hilarious, but also quite sweet.But enough food chat. Onto golf. Feedback from a wolfpacker who saw Steve Bowditch play live and said, until he did, he wasn't aware of how much of a flusher he was. Ken saw Bubba play at Coolum with Nick and shared that memory. And Colin from New Zealand has a very important question about a hole in one...and whether it counts or not. Nick and Mark give their view.And we have a NSW wolfpacker who is a sparky and given Marks challenge in being able to find one locally to install his Switchstar, has offered to fly down and install it if Mark takes him for a round at Kingston Heath....mmm interesting idea.After the turn, we have a comment and a question from Phillip regarding the worst shot ever in a pressure situation, with Rory the one being nominated....Nick and Mark discuss, and Mark talks about the famous Jean Van Der Velde incident at Carnoustie saying he feels Jean was horribly unlucky and only hit one bad shot.Nick and Mark reveal what they believe to be the worst shot they each ever hit in a tournament....funny (for us not them).We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A mini today where Nick and Mark have a listen to a voicemail from Mick in the UK who has a suggestion for a Top 5, in fact two Top 5's. We don't do the first one, and the second is impossible, because we cannot fit the answers into just 5.....Mick has asked Nick and Mark to name their favourite commentators, on or off course.As we talk, more names come to mind, and a Top 5 is simply impossible...but what a wonderful chat about some legendary people in our game.If we've missed anyway, let us know!And we end this mini with a very special piece of audio. If your life has been impacted by Alzheimers, or you've lost your Dad (or Mum), it's worth a listen.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Phew this is a big pod today, one of our longer ones....we try to keep the main pod no longer than an hour, but it's a tad hard in Masters week! We start today with Mark asking Nick how he prepared for The Masters given he played it 4 times. Nick explains what he did, and he talks about the first time he saw the course, and what he did. He explains the how the wind works on 11,12, and 13. We talk about preparation in the lead-up, and Nick explains why living at Isleworth in Florida was the perfect preparation - if you know why, the story is worth hearing again, if you don't - it is wild. Mark asks about the risks of overdoing your preparation when you arrive at Augusta, particularly as the course is so hilly.The facilities have had an upgrade at Augusta (of course they have, they're loaded), and we hear about the new carpark for the players....sheez.Onto the Ryder Cup, with Tiger now not in consideration, who will be the captain for the US team? We talk about the names being mentioned and Nick and Mark suggest who they think it will be and why.Mark runs through The Masters '6's'. That is: 1966, 1976, 1986, 1996, 2006 - all years where extraordinary things happened. And he tells a great story about Greg Norman from the 96 Masters, not great for Greg, or for Australians, but amusing in hindsight.What about the Augusta National Women's Amateur - 18-year old Raegan Denton from Adelaide finished T4, the highest ever finish by an Australian in the tournament! A star on the rise for sure, and we award her our Hostplus 'Plus for Golf' this week. She certainly is.After the turn, into the back 9....sorry, Masters week so it's the second 9. We hear about a few of the rules at Augusta, overall they are strict but they all add to the prestige.For BMW our Touch of Class goes to Justin Rose, Nick watched his interview at Augusta and given the pressure he must be feeling, it really was a classy interview.Then, for Betr, Nick lists the Top 5 memorable moments from the 12th hole at Augusta...there are some absolute rippers!Feedback for Southern Golf Club is Masters centric this week: comments from you on 1986, on Rory from last year, The Shark in 86, Nick's results, and a great story from David in Brasil about Jack Nicklaus in 86, which Mark follows up with an amazing Golden Bear stat.Lots of results for Nick to run through in the PING Globals today....we divert slightly from them to hear a story of Nicks run-in with US Police, and how he got out of it....sneaky...And finally, Mark's Masterclass for Golf Clearance Outlet is on lag putting - when the greens are running hot, and there are undulating greens, lag putting is your friend. Nick and Mark discuss.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Masters week and today Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen preview the tournament. You'd think we'd start off by chatting golf, but no, Mark brings a fun fact about trees (albeit Augusta trees) to the table, and Nick counters with another 'tree trivia' item.But after we get 'tree chat' out of the way, it's onto the real stuff. Nick and Mark discuss the Aussies and Kiwi, and what their chances are. Nick likes Min Woo the best of the Aussie and Kiwi players, Mark feels Adam Scott is in a purple patch and is the most likely of them. Each give their reasons.What about Jason Day, can he win even with a toned down outfit on? And Cam Smith? The boys are not confident. Does Ryan Fox have the game to compete at Augusta? We discuss.Then onto the power rankings, and we look at the big US and international players from 1-12-ish, deliberately skipping over one player who neither Nick or Mark enjoy watching. Nick wonders if, with the monkey off his back, Rory might go crazy this weekend, and we discuss how Scheffler might play with a new baby having just arrived. Mark is red hot for one particular player, saying he believes in 'magic' at Augusta, and this player winning would be that. Then we construct our Betr multi...and there is trouble in paradise. Nick and Mark agree on two of the legs, however have a disagreement on the third....so we 'rock paper scissors' it to see which we'll go with.After the turn, an Augusta weather update from Nick 'meteorologist' O'Hern, then we hear back from Hummer on the pricing for the multi....it's pretty good! And Mark reckons we're on a roll so it's a good one to get on board. Mark might be whacking some mayo on what defines 'on a roll', given we won our last one, and we're hardly stringing multiple wins together, but hey, let's go with it.Get on board at the Betr website here, or on the app - search Betr specials and you'll find the Talk Birdie To Me multi there.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Masters week and today Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen spend some time reminiscing and sharing their memories of what is, in many eyes, the greatest golf tournament ever played - the 1986 Masters, during this week, it's 40th anniversary.Nick and Mark focus on the Sunday, when Jack Nicklaus started the day with 7 (incredible) players ahead of him and through the course of the day chased them all down.We hope you enjoy this Talk Birdie To Me where we go down memory lane and enjoy the wonderful memories, and hear some of the amazing shots, from players like Jack, Seve, Kite, Shark.And happy Masters week!!!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Talk Birdie Mini today where we read out a handful of the hundreds of messages we've received on what your first ever set of clubs were!It's fun to reminisce, and to simply hear some of the old brand names again...some flashbacks to an earlier time! And of course, your messages on clubs lend themselves to some interesting stories from Nick and Mark....including finding out that one of the two had 'cleaning golf club toilets' as their first ever job! Sheez.....We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on the pod we have a special guest. Jayden Hunt is a former AFL footballer who played 172 games for Melbourne and the West Coast Eagles, you don't get to that number of games unless you're a gun! These days, his (sporting) life revolves around golf, and he has embarked on a challenge to play 52 of the Worlds Top golf courses in 52 weeks.....we wanted to find out why, how, the plan....so many questions!We start with Jayden telling Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen how he got into golf, where the bug came from....and he talks us through his handicap journey over the last few weeks, it is mind blowing...he tells us the amount of golf he is playing to achieve his current handicap. He went to Q School last week, he tells us how he went, and his plans to return.He's working his way through 52 of the Worlds best 52 courses at the moment, he heads off to the US on Monday - and whilst there will be attending The Masters. But of all the courses he is playing, which one is he most excited about? And, how on earth is he managing to get on these courses ?!?!?He explains the backstory of how he did it. Which is fascinating. Jayden also talks through his partnership with GolfLoot, a new Australian company where memberships provide the chance to win some quite extraordinary prizes, with a focus on 'bucket list golf trips', there are a number on offer - the big one right now is a chance to win a trip to the 2027 Masters for two people - flights, accom, tickets - amazing prize, the winner is drawn on Masters Sunday (12th April) so well worth entering now...you can find out more details here: https://www.golfloot.com.au/Jayden talks about his fascination with the mental aspect of golf, and Mark suggests that it would be great for him to play some tournaments over the next year or so.A great chat with Jayden Hunt , clearly a great footballer, and now an excellent golfer.....we'll keep in touch with him as he works his way around the world through these 52 courses!And have a look at GolfLoot, the monthly fee is very reasonable considering what you'll get - and the chance to win a trip to The Masters in 2027 is worth it just on its own!! https://www.golfloot.com.au/We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another massive pod today, we start with Mark reviewing Huntingdale, he played it at the weekend. Does it play as good as it looks? He tells us.And then. Gary Woodland. What a performance, what a story, and what emotion. A fantastic and very popular win in Texas, nobody deserved this more. Nick and Mark discuss his performance and how he has come to this point. We listen to/watch the winning putt, and hear some of the post win interview.Are challenging pin placements late in a round good or bad for golf? That might depend on whether you're playing or watching. Certainly Karl Vilips might have some strong views after he ping-ponged across the green at the weekend. Nick and Mark give us their thoughts.Tiger. We have to discuss Tiger. And we do. The BMW Touch of Class this week goes to Min Woo Lee after his extraordinary bunker shot at the weekend. And we award the Hostplus 'Thats a Plus' for golf to, who else, Gary Woodland. 7 Mile Beach. Nick and Mark have heard contrasting reviews - some love it, some feel it's very tough, maybe too tough. We discuss the reviews.After the turn, for Betr, Mark lists his Top 5 'gotcha holes', those holes that lull you into a false sense of security and you think you've got them, but then BAM they nail you.Nick takes us around the world in the PING Global Results.And in feedback for Southern Golf Club, plenty of whacks....some for one member of the team for something on last weeks pod, some for the entire team after something different on last weeks pod. And Mark reads out a text from a Tour Pro who listened to last weeks show where we discussed the Monday Q story on the player suspended for cheating, and makes some WILD accusations. We wrap the show with a masterclass from Nick - he calls this a 'combination masterclass', and it's a ripper.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We must apologise for the start of today's pod. Mark and Dan were ready to go, Nick was extremely unprofessional and decided to send a text just as the show began, so there's a slight delay while Nick finishes his extremely important, far more important than Mark, Dan and the Wolfpackers, text message.But...once we get through this hiccup in the Talk Birdie Zen, we get on with the show! JH has a request for Nick and Mark which the boys don't mind....and this leads onto a chat about a very famous, and very funny, movie that Nick has (embarrassingly) never seen !?!?!?! He really is having a shocker today. Onto Andrew, who has a comment on 'golf farces'. Tony heard Mark talking about his desire to travel to Ireland, and has some course suggestions for him. Whilst in the UK, Craig played the London Club last week and gives a report on the conditions. Trevor has messaged us about slow play and aim point, and believes a particularly massive Tour Pro is guilty of the former - but is a protected species.Mark has been shopping on Temu again....sheez.Alex has a question. His club head speed isn't great and he has found a way around it that works for him, and is interested in Nick and Marks thoughts on it. Peter watched John Senden play a few months back in the Australian Open, with Parkinsons, Peter also plays with Parkinsons and has asked if we can get Sendo on the pod to chat about how he does it, some of the tools he uses. Mark tells a great story about playing with Sendo in New Zealand where a shot went extremely pear-shaped.And Chris from Toronto writes in to let us know he enjoys watching the pod on YouTube, and has a recommendation for another pod we should check out....we've not heard of it, but when we google it, it is massive!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter from Commonwealth Golf Club in Melbourne left a brief voicemail on Sunday outlining something quite special that happened at Commonwealth at the weekend.....surely this is a record? Have a listen to Peter's voicemail and let us know if you have ever seen or heard anything like it previously. We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We love chatting with legends in golf, and today we have a cracker of a guest - Mike Harwood won 3 huge events in Europe, came second in The Open Championship, and has played with some of the biggest names in international golf. Today for Hostplus, we host Mike Harwood on the Talk Birdie To Me.We start with Mike telling Nick and Mark how he got into golf, how it all started and how he caught the bug. He tells us how old he was when he first shot under par. Get ready to be simultaneously impressed and envious.Mike talks about playing the Troppo tour in Queensland, his recollections about playing with the various characters who were on the tour at that time.Mark asks Mike about the time he took Greg Norman down at Castle Hill and what happened - Mike reveals something about that tournament that we've never heard and blows us away! He talks about the four big wins he had, and his performances in Europe. Mike discusses his 'attitude' when he played and why he always expected to get results.Mike is very tall, and Nick is curious about how this impacted his clubs in the bag, in answering Mike reveals what the worst thing he ever did for his golf swing was, and why he feels it hindered his career.Of course, we have to discuss The Masters. After finishing second to Ian Baker-Finch in The Open Championship, Mike was not offered an invite to The Masters. Nick and Mark want to know why not and how he felt about it. Mike answers both questions.Mark asks Mike about playing with Greg Norman at the World Series of Golf, and what happened when he was announced to the tee. Very funny.And we wrap asking Mike about what's next for him? He's helping out at Southern Golf Club, and explains how much he enjoys that, and there's plenty of family time.A great chat with a legend of Australian golf, fantastic to host Mike Harwood for Hostplus on Talk Birdie To Me !We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Short feedback pod today. Lots of comments on our Bubba Watson mini - if you haven't watched or listened you can find it in the feed here - fair to say he is a polarising character! Tour Pro Paul Moloney enjoyed the recent reminiscing about Pantales Nightclub, where the Pros would hang out in the UK.We spoke last week about shooting under your age, and have a couple of messages to read out - have we found the record ? It may be, or may not be, but they are impressive either way. Leads to a chat about Nick and Mark playing Clearwater in Christchurch.A question about players not defending their titles, is there any excuses or is it poor form?And a wolfpacker has heard us talking about Switchstar, the charger that turns off after 8-hours of charging your buggy - thus protecting your house, or golf club - but he kept missing the name. It is Switchstar, and you can check it out here.Last week Nick was giving tips on playing in windy conditions, and we had two wolfpackers write in - one with some info that he heard Sir Nick Faldo give on windy conditions, and another with his own tip....which Mark rates.Did Mark's caddy who bet against him (many years ago without Marks knowledge) share the winnings? We find out.A while ago we listed some of the yippiest moments in golf.....but, according to one wolfpacker there was a massive one that we missed, in fact he feels it should be number one. We listen/watch.A comment on the NSW Golf Club from someone who has a view on whether it is worthy of an increase in ranking, or not.And we wrap with a final message from Craig on a fantastic 'shooting below your age' record, which may well be the record.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We start today's show as we did last week - by congratulating Hannah Green, 3 wins in a row and she appears well on track for a major in 2026. Nick and Mark discuss how she looks so comfortable and in control at the moment, Nick awards Hannah the Hostplus 'That's a Plus' for golf this week...hard to argue.Matt Fitzpatrick played beautifully at Valspar to win, he's in great form. However it wasn't all smooth sailing as he was frustrated by the slow play of his playing partner Adrien Dumont de Chassart who played with the speed of a slow moving turtle. Matt has spoken about this before, and he was clearly unhappy after the tournament - and rightly so. Nick and Mark discuss what the punishment should be, and why the powers that be seem to never do anything about it.An alarming story, that Nick and Mark were unaware of until they saw it on the Monday Q Twitter account about a young Tour Pro being banned for 6-months for cheating, however playing in a tournament in China at the weekend. We talk through the problems with this, and how the governing bodies could better approach it (rather than keeping it secret) to both act as a deterrent and a punishment, but also provide a path to redemption for one mistake.Jon Rahm's appeal has been dropped, what does it mean for the Ryder Cup?Rory McIlroy's menu for The Masters dinner is all over the internet, we discuss it - particularly the wine. Nick awards the BMW Touch of Class to the wine list. Leads to a chat about Nick and Mark playing at the weekend with Hostplus honcho's David and Mark at Victoria Golf Club, and particularly how it ended in the clubhouse!After the turn, Nick lists his Top 5 fast swings on the PGA Tour for Betr.Then into feedback for Southern Golf Club: feedback today on Tiger, Cheating from Tour Pros, clarity on our legal terminology that we mangled last week, Hawthorn's Mitch Lewis and his amazing round at PK North last week, and lots of comments on Radar - including some feedback from one particularly big name!Nick takes us around the world in the PING Global results, and Mark's masterclass for Sam and the team at the Golf Clearance Outlet is inspired by something Ludvig Åberg does in his pre-shot routine. We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some more feedback today, we start with Scarby who loved The Ox's random drop in a couple of weeks ago, and reckons he should be a regular guest. Not the worst idea we've heard to be honest.Nathan asks for clarity on the difference between Australian style and American style courses, after a chat he heard on last weeks show. David played Bonville recently and after hearing the discussion about it last week had some thoughts following his recent visit. Keith reckons Kooralbyn Valley was always under-rated, and had it been on the Gold Coast would have been far higher regarded, however he feels it's condition presently isn't what it could be.Leads to a chat about some Australian golfers who went through Kooralbyn Valley, including one very famous one, and another who was extremely talented however had some personal challenges that got in the way. Mark has a story about the latter which he wants to consider whether it's appropriate to tell, he'll decide after the turn.Wolfpacker Greeny played NSW recently, and talks about the wind! And James 'vents' on duffers and how they drive him (as a self-confessed duffer) crazy.After the turn.....Mark decides to tell the story. Steven Bowditch had all the potential in the world, and remains a very, very good golfer. He has had some well documented challenges with alcohol, which is the context of the story that Mark tells from a tournament in New Zealand. We'll note here that Steven has spoken openly about his struggles over the journey, and from all reports is in a good place at the moment and healthy, which is what we all want.Then we get Craig, a Brisbane wolfpacker, on the show who tells us all about the redesign at his course, Indooroopilly, which has it in schmicko condition! Craig explains what was done, how it's changed it, and if the members are happy with the results.And we wrap with a comment from Paul on Denis Brosnan, of Brosnan's fame, and he has a wonderful bit of trivia about Denis that we share.....leading to Mark giving you some homework!!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've been talking a bit about a new product called Switchstar lately, and for good reason. There has been a number of incidences in Australia of lithium iron batteries catching fire with catastrophic results - not only at golf clubs, but in nursing homes, garages, without being overly dramatic, it can be devastating.Given Mark currently is charging his MGI buggy in his garage, he thought we should get John O'Callaghan, the guy who invented Switchstar, on the pod to explain what it is, how it works and why it solves the problem. Mark has had several instances where he's woken up in the middle of the night and realised he's left the buggy on charge for 3-days, and ducks downstairs to turn it off.John explains why batteries can explode, what causes it. And he explains how Switchstar can prevent this happening by automatically turning off after 8-hours, or when it identifies the battery is fully charged - removing, to a significant degree, the risk. He explains what items this works for, and what it isn't appropriate for, and how easy the install process is.John explains that there are insurance benefits to having Switchstar installed which potentially can result in more savings than the cost of the unit.Eagle eyed Mark spots an opportunity for golf clubs, in particular his, to install a heap of these and charge members a fee to leave their buggy at the club - at the moment buggies have to be taken home given the risk, but with Switchstar, they can be safely left at your club - very handy.It's a cracking idea, and you can find out more info at the Switchstar website here: https://switchstar.com.au/We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we run through some questions from you and kick them around.We start with a message from a wolfpacker who seems to be a Tour Pro, and has written regarding Nick's story about not signing a card of a player in Asia some years ago, he had a similar story about playing on the Korean tour involving both a player and a rules official. Another wolfpacker asks Nick why he waited until the end of the round to raise the issue, rather than addressing it whilst on course.New listener Lee is working through the back catalogue of shows, and has a question about Marks recent masterclass on wedge distance control.And as we go to the turn, an update on young Sophie, a 9-year old wolfpacker who listens to the show with her Dad Travis, and sent her swing in a month ago....Travis has written in with some news on Sophie's golf.After the turn, Shankedit has written in, he's just moved to Perth and is after some advice from Nick on playing golf in a region (like Perth) where it is incessantly windy.Peter has a question about Tour Pro's swapping clubs during a tournament, leading to a chat about Justin Rose, and the PGA money winners list.And we finish with a couple of comments about Wayne 'Radar' Riley, one from a listener who rates him, and another with a question about his appearance....mmmm....We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A voicemail today from wolfpacker Tim, who plays of 5 at the mighty Southern Golf Club in Melbourne, he heard Nick and Mark discussing Royal Dornoch last week and their eagerness to play it, and left a message running through his experience on his Scottish golfing tour with his Dad playing Royal Dornoch, Carnoustie, Tain, and Panmure. Wow....slightly envious truth be told. Great voicemail, and Tim goes into fantastic detail about the trip.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week we say it's a big week in golf, but this one might just take the cake. Try this on for size....We have to start with the amazing Hannah Green, winning the Australian Open, a wonderful display and she was the player to beat from go to woah. We also discuss how great Kooyonga looked, what a golf course it is. Whilst Hannah, rightly, deserves great praise, we do discuss Cassie Porter's wonderful tournament, specifically her sunday where she shot a course record by a mile.We take a moment to bask in the glory of rinsing Betr this week with our multi coming off....good fun. The multi was on The Players, and we discuss plenty of that on the show. Cam Young was sensational, and his drive on the 18th...wow....that's our BMW Touch of Class for the week - one of them - the other is Cassie Porter....two Touches of Class! On The Players, Ludvig looked great, until he didn't. Thursday through Saturday, brilliant.....Sunday, it all fell apart. We discuss the comments that Jonathan Yarwood and Brandel Chamblee made about Ludvig's swing, and have a look at it. Also some comments about Scottie Schefflers swing, he's off a bit at the moment by his lofty standards.Hostplus 'That's a Plus' for golf this week - in a week of highlights, it can only be Hannah Green. She is absolutely a plus for golf....a superstar.You may recall we had a discussion about Travis Smyth last week in New Zealand and our view that golf's governing bodies are not effectively policing the rules. Travis wasn't happy with our analysis and reached out, whilst he didn't want to come on the show (we invited him) he did send in some comments about what happened, from his perspective. In the interest of transparency and offering him the right of response to our discussion, we read out his comments in full and unedited. Onto the Betr Top 5 and Mark's doing it today - he takes some inspiration from Nick and makes it a Top 6, and runs through the 6 key points that Brian Rolapp has announced for the revamped PGA Tour. We discuss the changes, what they mean, and whether they're positive. Nick and Mark believe that they are overwhelmingly positive.Nick runs us through the weeks results in the PING Global results. And then for Southern Golf Club, some feedback and questions from you. Themes include The Australian Women's Open, Akshay - anchoring or not, Travis Smyth, and our recent conversation on farces in golf - one wolfpacker reckons we've missed an obvious one and gives us a whack over it.And for the Golf Clearance Outlet, Nick's masterclass today is a combination of Cam Young and Hannah Green....now that's a decent combination !We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Talk Birdie Mini today where we have a question from Wolfpacker Dermie for Nick O'Hern. Dermie was a little tacker and went to the 2005 Australian Masters at Huntingdale, and remembers following the grouping with Bubba Watson and Nick O'Hern - and being amazed at some of the golf he witnessed. Dermie wants to know, from Nick's perspective, what it was like playing with Bubba.Nick talks about that tournament and some of the shots he saw Bubba hit close up, he also talks about shots he watched Bubba hit at Memorial, and some of his idiosyncrasies - of which he had many. Nick also reveals the very famous golfer whose house Bubba bought! And he tells Mark Allen why he was surprised that Bubba won two US Masters.Some great stories, and a lot of fun on todays Mini!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feedback pod today and we start with a video that a wolfpacker has sent in of their swing - Ian from Lancashire has sent a short video through to Nick and Mark and you will not believe the course that he filmed it on!!! Nick and Mark (and Dan!) are veeeeery jealous. Even though it's analysis of a video, if you're listening, the feedback will still make sense. We give Ian 3 things to take away and work on.Whilst in the northern hemisphere we head over to Portugal where wolfpacker Laubie is comparing Melbourne's sandbelt courses to the Portugal courses...Nick has played plenty in both areas, does he agree? Rob feels that 14 clubs in the bag is too few and would like a 15th. Nick and Mark discuss. Then back to to UK where Craig has a question about playing in Bermuda.Lee is new to golf and wants the boys to drop in and check out his club, Alex heard us discussing great comebacks a couple of weeks ago and feels that an obvious one was missed....it's pretty impressive....and Geoff has a different sort of comeback to mention, and has a question about a possible bazillion dollar deal for Scottie Scheffler to endorse Brosnan Taipans (now that's a flashback!).Nick and Mark reminisce about the first clubs they ever had. Good times.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recently Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen listed the official Talk Birdie To Me Top 20 list, and the feedback has been off the charts...some of you thought it was spot on, some thought it was off the mark, some felt it was good, but needed 1 or 2 position tweaks. Thanks for all your feedback and keep it coming. Today, we have a look at a random selection of comments from a few wolfpackers.We hear thoughts on The Grange, that it should have been in the list. Also Royal Canberra.Some thought Metropolitan was too high, others thought PK South was too high, and another was pleased PK South was recognised.Commentator Paul Gow says that NSW is incredible and is in his Top 3, possibly #1 for him.One wolfpacker says that Kingston Heath was too low, we had it at #2, Mark and Nick give their view on that comment.We heard from someone who played the new Huntingdale a couple of weeks ago and has it as their #3 in the country now.Phil wants Nick and Mark to commit to play NSW, Royal Sydney, 7 Mile Beach, Kangaroo Island, basically all the contenders, before redoing the list in 12-months. They agree.A comment about The Australian and how some are not a fan. Mark disagrees and explains why.We had a number of comments about Bonville, so we find out where the guys would rank it and why. Nick hasn't played it, and Mark doesn't have it in his Top 20, however he said it makes the Top 3 for one particular category!And we wrap the pod by discussing great golf trips, of which there are plenty, and we decide to dedicate an upcoming podcast to exploring the great golf trips available.If you haven't listened to our Top 20 lists - two pods, 1-10 and 11-20, you can find them in the feed here, just click on your preferred platform: https://linktr.ee/TalkBirdieToMeWe're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Always an exciting week, it is Players Championship week, and today Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen are previewing the tournament.We all love the week, Mark refers to it as 'the fifth major' and he's like a kid in a candy story. Nick tells us about playing the tournament , which he has done multiple times, and how it plays, how you feel as a player - and he explained how his feelings coming into the 17th island hole were quite different from day to day and why. Mark has not played a tournament there, but he has played the course and says that it was something quite special.Given he knows the course so well, Nick talks us through the kind of player he feels will win this tournament. We look at the power rankings, which seem a touch odd this week, but nonetheless we kick them around. Nick and Mark give their tips, their dark horses, and give thoughts on the Australians in the field.After the turn, we construct a market for Hummer at Betr to have a Talk Birdie Multi on....we've given him no notice so during the record of the show he confirmed the multi, but needs some time to frame the odds....it will be good, but probably a little shorter than usual as this one seems a likely win (to the extent you can think that). Download the Betr app or visit the website and look at Betr specials for our multi....by the time this episode is live the odds will be there...jump on board and remember to gamble responsibly!We wrap the show with a very dodgy story from Mark about his caddy many years ago regarding a bet on Mark....it would be illegal today, and rightly so, but it's a funny story.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Phew this is a big show today, plenty of stuff that has happened, and plenty that is about to.We start with the Bay Hill tournament, a course that Nick has played many times and isn't fond of, he explains to Mark how differently the golf ball plays on Florida courses and why. We discuss Akshay Bhatia's brilliant shot on the par 5 16th hole, did he plan it that way? Doesn't matter....amazing. Mark was amazed about Rory's shot over the gallery, the footage is on the YouTube version of the show, it is wild.But back to Akshay. We have to discuss his putting. Is he anchoring? Nick says it looks like he may be but he'd give him the benefit of the doubt, Mark says he absolutely is. But Mark doesn't blame Akshay, he holds responsibility elsewhere, and explains who and why.We grab a broomstick putter at Titleist HQ and Nick shows us illegal and legal usage, and some of the nuances.Speaking of bending the rules. Travis Smyth. Did he improve his lie in Auckland at one point? A wolfpacker sent us in some vision from Kayo and we have a look, Nick and Mark give their views.Nick tells a story about the time he refused to sign the card of a pro he was playing with in a tournament.The BMW Touch of Class, Nick awards it to the Australian Women's Open, or particularly Kooyong, one of his favourite courses and he is excited to see it this weekend. Fingers crossed one of the incredible Aussie women get up for the win!Mark's 'That's a Plus' for Hostplus goes to Luke Donald, announced as European Ryder Cup captain again, obviously he was always going to be, but Nick and Mark both say he should remain captain for a little while yet, he's that impressive. Who will be the US captain? Nick and Mark give their preference, it's an obvious one.We discuss the LIV Clutch player of the year demonstrating his clutchability (it's a real word, look it up), and how it is a shame he won't play Ryder Cup. After the Turn, for Betr Nick lists the Top 5 rules that players take advantage of, the grey areas. For Southern Golf Club, plenty of feedback - this week focused on Marks criticism of the NZ Open's ProAm structure, and our bonus video ep on Huntingdale's redevelopment. Plus a bit of feedback on something from last weeks show from a English LIV player.Nick runs through all the results in the PING globals, and there are heaps!And we wrap with a masterclass from Mark, for the Golf Clearance Outlet, on how experimenting with your backswing length can give you greater distance control.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Talk Birdie Mini today where Nick and Mark consider an excellent question from wolfpacker Andrew, who has essentially asked if Tour Pros damage their game and their creativity through a continual search for the perfect swing. There are of course many examples over the years of players changing their swings and it working out beautifully and, in some cases, not working out.Nick and Mark feel is different for the men and women players at the moment and explain why, and they talk about the role flexibility plays and the Tour Pro who Mark says is a 'flexibility freak'. We discuss which players on tour have the highest performance looking swings at the moment, and who is a touch more home made.And we talk about Ian Baker-Finch and when he spoke to us recently about addressing his swing challenges during his career - Nick played with him a couple of weeks again and said that whilst Finchy is still working on his swing, he was hitting them beautifully! A fun little mini today, thanks Andrew for the question!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Great voicemail from wolfpacker Andrew in Perth about a recent experience on his local driving range, and how he has played a significant role* in a Tour Pro winning a tournament. Great message, love it Andrew!*role may be slightly overstated.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.