Talk Birdie To Me

A fun mini today, Pat from Nashville has sent a couple of videos of his swing through for Nick and Mark to review. If you're listening, obviously you won't see the videos however we talk through what we're seeing in detail so you will definitely get the idea and the tips and comments will make sense.

Nick and Mark are very impressed with Pat's swing, he's self-taught aside from a few lessons from his GrandDad, has been playing for 3-years, and is off scratch.....seriously impressive stuff. He is a lefty, and Nick and Mark discuss...

Feedback pod today with some ripper questions and comments from the Wolfpack.

We start with a comment about the OWGR points and the discrepancy between The Australian Open and Tiger's Bahamas event. Then Brian has a question for Nick and Mark about 'green spotting' during tournaments.

Last week Mark raved about Royal Adelaide, and there was plenty of feedback on those comments - the vast majority agreeing with him. There was also a fair bit of feedback on Nick's most 'interesting' hole in ones (or is it holes in one?) and there were...

What a weekend......The Australian Open was sensational, and we are going to spend the next hour reliving it.

Mark is in Queensland with the family, Nick and Dan at Titleist and FootJoy HQ in Melbourne, so the show sounds a tad different today. Onto the AO. Nick and Mark loved it. The Australian Open is back, and it was an event that everyone involved, and golf fans broadly, should be very proud of.

Mark says last years Open was a 2/10 rating, this years was an 8/10, and he has a Top 5 later in...

A very exciting episode today, we are hosting the legendary Ian Baker-Finch, Australian golfing superstar, former CBS commentator in the US, and the Chair of the PGA of Australia.

This is a wide-ranging and open chat with Nick and Mark, starting with Mark asking Finchy about winning the NSW Open by 13 shots in 1984 !! How did it come about that he played it so much better than anyone else?

Finchy reveals some behind the scenes information about the famous St Andrews Greenkeeper story.

The late, great Peter Thomson was renowned for...

The Australian Open starts tomorrow, and today Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen are live from Royal Melbourne. We start with a special guest - Tour Pro Elvis Smylie has dropped him and Nick, has just come from a weather briefing and runs through for Elvis what they've just found out about tomorrow's weather. Warm and Windy......the warmth was expected, the wind was not.

We ask Elvis how he's planning to play the course, and how the greens are playing in his practise runs. Mark has had a couple of spies watching a number of players...

It's Australian Open week, and we're excited...but...we start by chatting about the BMW Australian PGA at Royal Queensland. Fantastic win by David Puig, and an exciting tournament to watch. Mark asks Nick how the LIV / DPWT arrangements work and how Puig will manage his schedule now. Both Nick and Mark raved about how Puig constructed his tournament.

Without any notice for Nick to take cover, Mark comments that he loves the commentators, but he has an issue with how the coverage is put together, and he launches in with poor Nick completely unawares.

The BMW Australian PGA last weekend was excellent, and this week our attention turns to The Australian Open at Royal Melbourne.

We start with a chat about the weather, it has been very wet in Melbourne, although the forecast for the day prior to the Open is for a hot and dry day, nonetheless the course has had plenty of moisture, what does that mean for it? Nick and Mark discuss.

We run through some of the field, and Mark wants Nick to give a view on how some of the big boys...

Today on a Talk Birdie Feedback pod, we have some comments from wolfpackers about Nick and Marks discussion a week or so ago in which Mark said that Brooks Koepka would not get back to top form unless he returns to the PGA tour. Some had a different view, and felt there was context around his form over the last couple of years that was relevant.

Nick comments that for some players (Bryson) LIV feels a great fit, and muses that he feels Rahm might prefer to be back on the PGA Tour.

...

A Talk Birdie Mini today, no time for a longer pod as Nick is commentating at the BMW Australian PGA and Mark is glued to the TV watching it....but we can sneak a mini in!

Today, after Mark saw a tweet from a guy called 'Rick Golf' (Twitter page here) on how golf carts have 'destroyed' US Golf, he wanted to discuss carts with Nick.

Both Nick and Mark are 'walkers' although Mark doesn't mind using a cart for 9 holes if he's playing 18, but both enjoy the walking element of playing golf...

The BMW Australian PGA starts today at Royal Queensland and we sat down with the Australian PGA CEO Gavin Kirkman for a chat about the tournament and what he is working on currently to grow golf.

We had to start with an update. Brisbane has been hit by some quite severe storms last week, and as recently as Monday this week, was the course damaged, and have the storms caused any issues with, or changes to, the structure of the tournament? Gavin gives us the latest information and looked at everything having just walked the course...

It's a massive fortnight in Australian golf, the BMW Australian PGA starts in a day at Royal Queensland, and next week the Australian Open at Royal Melbourne. What a time to be a golf lover!

Today Nick and Mark run through the field for Brisbane, and it's impressive. Some wonderful Australian players of course, but the international field is very strong. We run through a few of the players who could mount a claim for the win. Nick produces a great stat regarding international vs Australian winners of the tournament....which helps to frame the discussion...

Huge pod today, for a number of reasons. Firstly we welcome Hostplus as a major partner, Hostplus have been a huge supporter of golf for a number of years, and we're excited to be partnering with them at Talk Birdie To Me.

Secondly we have a very special guest on the masterclass with Nick O'Hern today, he has a legend of Australian golf giving a putting masterclass later in the show. You don't want to miss it.

But the drama....the stories....the emotions...of the final US Tour Event and those players...

A Talk Birdie Mini today, and we have a question from Matthew in Nebraska who asks for Nick and Marks thoughts on what he calls 'a rather uncompetitive year' for Brooks Koepka.

Nick has been surprised, saying that he felt the LIVG structure and style would have suited Brooks, however it seems to not have. Mark says that his swing, his putting, everything else is still the same - aside from the scores.

Mark says that in his view 'LIV has stuffed Brooks game, and the move has backfired for both Brooks and...

It's a Saturday morning (in Australia for international wolfpackers) and we're live from the Golf Clearance Outlet's brand spanking new store in Mornington, Victoria.

The Australian Open is now a fortnight away, and to see how Royal Melbourne is shaping up both Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen played it this week, and compare notes on how it looks and how it plays. Mark said a few months ago that it would need a 'minor miracle' to be ready in time....he gives his verdict on whether that miracle has occurred or not on the pod today.<...

Okay....so some context here. Last week Mark Allen's Top 5 was, shall we say, slightly controversial. He listed the Top 5 (which became a Top 20) things that Pro Golfers laugh at Amateurs for doing. Some of the Wolfpack loved it, some didn't....and were not backwards about expressing their view on the list.

So today, in the first half of the pod, we read out some of the feedback we received....these whacks are as big a whack as we've ever received so the Top 5 certainly hit a nerve! But we're always prepared to face the music...

Nick and Mark have come in with plenty to discuss, they both watched a heap of golf over the weekend and have seen some great performances that they want to discuss. The one-handed putting of Adam Schenk a highlight, and we discuss one-handed putting. Nick has been reading about a new technique called 'heads up putting' that he explains to Mark.

Young pro Max Charles performed well at the weekend and Mark was particularly proud of how Max went given he has been giving him a few pointers, and pinching (with credit) some of Nick O'Hern's...

An interesting Talk Birdie Mini today. Wolfpacker Mike has reached out, he's currently a 12.4 handicapper and plays 2-3 times a week. However, in February he is having his first baby and his expectation is that is golfing will come down to once a fortnight....with a new baby that might be a tad optimistic, but fingers crossed Mike! His question is this....for new parents, are there some tips and tricks that Nick and Mark can suggest to help him lower his handicap in a situation where he is playing far less golf..

Nick and Mark...

Wolfpacker Mick from Bedford in the UK watched this weeks Talk Birdie To Me, and took umbrage at something Mark said. Mick left a voicemail explaining what that was, and giving Mark a clip around the ears.

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Feedback pod today and we start with a comment from Jeff who watched the Abu Dhabi tournament at the weekend and found some of Wayne 'Radar' Riley's commentary on Aaron Rai amusing. We chat about Radar and how much Nick and Mark love him.

Peter has a comment about players on the Champions Tour using carts. He doesn't like it. What's Nick and Mark's view?

Clinton is keen about what caddies get paid, and Nick and Mark outline what they used to pay their caddies when they were on tour, and how the...

Fun bonus pod today. We've been running a huge competition with our friends at FootJoy to give away a spot as the official Talk Birdie To Me entrant in this years Vic PGA Pro Am, being held at Moonah Links on the Mornington Peninsula in December.

The prize includes entry (obviously) into the tournament, plus accomodation, transfers and if the winner is from interstate or overseas return flights to Melbourne. Plus Snowy at FootJoy will kit out the winner so they're looking the part as well. Massive prize!

Today, Snowy is on the...

Todays pod starts with a discussion about Aaron Rai, clearly an excellent player, and a big win at the weekend in Abu Dhabi for him - however Mark tells Nick that Aaron 'makes me laugh', and he explains why. One of the reasons is wearing two gloves, and Nick explains why he does.

That said, a fantastic win at the weekend by Aaron, at a course Mark describes as a 'fake links course', and he has a theory on what any 'fake links course' needs to do in order to improve the look of the course...

Bonus pod today with Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen previewing the DP World Tour Championship this weekend in Dubai at the Earth Course.

We discuss who is coming in with good form and whilst there are plenty of great players in the event, Nick and Mark believe the combination of Rory's form coming in, and the type of course it is - which Mark says is 'built for Rory' - means he is an excellent chance of winning.

Nick says the Earth Course suits long hitters perfectly. So he agrees that Rory looks...

Last week Gary Player was interviewed and asked about the best golfers in history and made the statement that while Tiger and Jack were 1 and 2, there was no doubt that he was #3 of all time. There is an argument for that, but it did generate plenty of discussion, so today a Talk Birdie Mini where Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen discuss if indeed Gary is #3 or, if not, who is and what criteria is used.

The boys share some stories about Gary, and do their impersonations of him. Mark talks about meeting Gary at The Vines...

Tour Pro Scotty Laycock was listening to Nick and Mark chatting about US golfer Jerry Haas getting the yips when Mark was playing with him, and had a story to share about a player he saw having the yips some years ago in Brisbane. Ouch!

Hear Scott's voicemail here.

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A feedback pod today and we've had a few whacks come in, so we thought we'd take our medicine and spend the first half of this pod copping a serve...and a few wolfpackers have not held back!

Well it might be a quiet time for tournaments, but goodness there is plenty of golf news to discuss this week!

But first today, a reminder of our Victoria Pro-Am comp. We're looking for one wolfpacker to be our official player in the Vic Pro-Am in December, send us a pic or video of you rocking a pair of FootJoys, your handicap, where you play, and all eligible entrants (ie: who have a handicap and aren't a pro) will be in the draw next week on the show. If you're in Melbourne great. If you're interstate...

Big news from LIV Golf today with the announcement of a move to 72 hole tournament in 2026, we read the statement that LIV released. Nick and Mark discuss the implications, why they've done it, and what it may or may not mean.

How will it work within the Teams & Individuals structure?.

Could a cut be on the cards in LIV tournaments?

Why are they doing it? Mark believes it is designed to put pressure on Trevor Immelman who basically oversees the OWGR these days.

The PGA are yet to respond...

A feedback pod today and we start by looking at a tweet from golf stats guy Lou Stagner that a wolfpacker sent in, both Nick and Mark enjoy Lou's insights usually, but this time he has made a comment that they both vehemently disagree with regarding the St Andrews Old Course.

We discuss the Old Course and why it is special.

Mark brings up the 1984 Open Championship, famous for Seve, but tells the story of what happened to Ian Baker-Finch on the last shot of the day as a result of the sprinkler...

Big pod today, we start by discussing the great win by the Australian Women in the International Crown in South Korea. Sensational! A wonderful performance.

Speaking of fantastic womens golf, Nick was excited to see Yani Tseng back in the winners circle, and what a finish it was. It's been a long time, great to see her back.

Mark has a history of, from time to time, teeing off on local councils. And today he has a bee in his bonnet about a local council and what they have done to a suburban...

A bonus pod today with Damien de Bohun, Golf Australia's General Manager - Clubs, Facilities, and Places to Play. Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen have two items on the agenda to discuss with Damien today:

Firstly, the new Golf Australia handicap system and how the rollout is going. We've had mixed feedback from wolfpackers. Many love it and think the change is excellent, however some are critical of some of the bugs that have emerged, and importantly we've had a number of listeners who have suggested their scores are not being captured correctly - including wolfpacker...

This past week we received a message from wolfpacker Martin on a subject that Nick and Mark have strong views on - the introduction of a 5th major. Mark has held the view for some time that The Players Championship should be given major status, Nick loves the event but disagrees. Martin believes Mark is wrong and it would be a bad move to give The Players major status, and he has a number of points to make to support his view.

In a Talk Birdie Mini today, Nick and Mark discuss how a 5th major...

Michael from Stawell in Victoria was listening to our chat about Club Championships a couple of weeks ago and left a voicemail with his experience....it went right down to the wire!!

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A big feedback pod today prefaced with a warning. A wolfpacker wants to give one of the two a massive whack. Is it deserved? We'll find out when we get to that after the turn.

Firstly - Greg has messaged in about our recent question on people who inspired your golf, and he has a family of people to mention....four tour pros in the one family! John has written in about a song at his club The National in Victoria, and that reminds Mark that he got a slap around the choppers last week when...

Back for another week, and even on weeks when it feels golf might have been a little quiet, there always seems to be plenty to discuss. We start this week with a reminder about our Talk Birdie survey....we want to know your opinion on the show: good, bad, or indifferent - and one respondent will win $300 to spend at FootJoy, and $300 to spend at Golf Clearance Outlet. The survey takes 8-minutes tops, probably less, and you can find it here. It closes on Friday October 31. We'd appreciate it!

Onto golf news. Mark has been reading...

Paul watched the WA Open at the weekend and enjoyed it, however has a question about how the commentary team referred to Marc Leishman. Have a listen to his message.....fair point from Paul, or is he over-analysing it a bit?

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Feedback pod today with a number of questions and comments for Nick and Mark to discuss.

Jeff makes the observation that he feels golfers need to 'lower their expectations' in order to achieve better results. His message explains his thinking, and Nick and Mark discuss. 'Tramspotters' has a mate who he says plays practice rounds like comp, and comps like practice rounds and it causes issues. Nick and Mark talk about where you should do your 'tinkering', why, and how they do it.

Feedback on our Mini last week where we read out...

Cameron from Brisbane left a voicemail after hearing Nick and Mark discussing Club Championship horror stories....his story is indeed a horror one!!

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Hosted on Acast. See...

Big show today, we're back from the Gold Coast after a great time at Links Hope Island with 80 or so wolfpackers, although Nick has headed back for a BMW event at - would you believe it - Links Hope Island! So Nick is on WhatsApp from Queensland living the good life whilst Mark and Dan slave away at Talk Birdie headquarters keeping the engine running.

We start with a couple of stories from the Talk Birdie golf day, and if you haven't watched the video of the day, check it out here, worth a look. Thanks...

Feedback pod today and we start with a comment from wolfpacker Dave on pace of play in the womens game. Which provides a sweet opportunity for Mark to do one of his favourite things - have a crack at Keegan Bradley, which he accordingly does.

Martin from WA has a dodgy knee and wants to know if there is anything he can change in his swing technique to be less intense on his knee. Greg has just got back from Vietnam, flying on the same flight as Nick, and is curious as to Nicks favourite course...

On Wednesday Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen were at the beautiful Links Golf & Wellbeing at Hope Island for an 18-hole Talk Birdie To Me golf tournament with around 80 Wolfpack members. We loved it! So much fun. A chipping and putting clinic in the morning, lunch, then the tournament, along with dinner and presentations to the winners. And then we did a 30-minute live Q&A with everyone.

As you would appreciate not everything discussed at an event where no question was off limits is 'publishable', so this audio isn't the entire Q&A, but we thought...

We're enjoying doing our Talk Birdie 'Minis' lately, a short episode focused on one theme or question which runs 10 minutes or so (we went a bit long today....).

Todays mini is a question from wolfpacker Fred in Queensland who is a scratch marker having a very specific challenge with his game, and he would like Nick and Mark to give him some thoughts on he might address it.

It's a great question and one that all golfers deal with at some point, even Nick and Mark, who talk about how they handled the...

Voicemail today from John who plays at the mighty Box Hill Golf Club in Melbourne, with a story of what he says is the most amazing round of golf he's seen in over 50 years. When you hear the story, you may well agree!

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Plenty of golf to discuss, as this episode goes to air Nick, Mark and Dan are on the Gold Coast at Links Golf and Wellbeing playing our first Talk Birdie Tournament with 80 or so wolfpackers.

We were particularly excited with Wade Ormsby's performance at the weekend...what a win in Jakarta! But in Australia, it is club championship season, which is always exciting, and we discuss what it means to clubs and how they structure it.

Nick played at the weekend and had a great time, and we hear a few stories from...

After dropping into the Talk Birdie studio last week, Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland has briefly come back with a couple of players who have just signed on for the Australian Open, and he reveals them to Nick and Mark and hints at some DP World Tour names to be revealed shortly.

He gives an update on ticket sales saying that this is not a normal golf event, and that is what they're seeing in ticket sales with under 1,000 GA tickets left for the sunday which is well ahead of the same time in previous years. <...

Today on Talk Birdie we have a guest in studio, the boss of Golf Australia James Sutherland, who is in to talk about a few things - not the least of which is how he got Rory to sign on for the Australian Open, and the new handicap system, website, app, which has launched in the last day or so.

We start with the Australian Open, and James talks about how the Rory appearance has changed the ticket sales profile, rather than tickets being bought late as usual, they are being bought very early and that...

Well....there's a bit to unpack today. The Ryder Cup had everything. Incredible golf, clutch shots, comebacks, drama, and appalling behaviour from fans....where to start...

We start with Shane Lowry's incredible cup retaining putt. Followed by an equally incredible celebration, and after what he had to put up with from the crowd, he deserved that moment. Nick and Mark watched plenty of it over the weekend and loved it. Mark said that he was up and down on his couch like anything.

Nick praised the leadership of Luke Donald, particularly his speech...

Feedback pod today and we've got some cracking questions from wolfpackers to run through.

Mick has a question about slow play at his club, particularly as they have some older members.

Jack is looking forward to the Australian Open and, aside from Rory, wants to know has there been any other big names revealed as coming.

Wayne asks for Nick and Marks thoughts on the best Australian Open finish they ever saw.

Mike once saw New Zealand's Ryan Fox hit a policeman with a wayward drive, we find out if...

After last weeks Talk Birdie Mini where Nick and Mark selected their 'dream teams' consisting of one player from each of Australia, the US, Europe, and an International to face off at Royal Melbourne Composite, en-route to the tournament, there has been an incident rendering all 8 players unable to play, and the venue now out of action.

So, excluding the original selections of Shark, Karrie, Tiger, Jack, Seve, Faldo, Player and Locke - Nick and Mark need to select their team to come off the bench.

Listen to Nick and Mark muse, discuss...

What a week....big week in golf, plenty to discuss. We start with a chat about one of our favourite young players, Elvis Smylie who nearly won the French Open at the weekend! Absolute gun.

And Mark tells us about giving some advice to a couple of golfers at his club last night, he explains the tips he gave them with their putting and runs them by Nick - does Nick rate the tips? Mark certainly does, suggesting that, were it to exist, he deserves a Nobel Prize for Golf based on the advice he gave...

Well it's here, the week before one of the great golf weekends - the Ryder Cup. But before we get to our preview, a reminder about our Talk Birdie To Me Golf Day at Links Golf and Wellbeing at Hope Island on the Gold Coast, it's now two weeks away (Wednesday October 8th), Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen will be playing the tournament along with 80 or 90 wolfpackers. A few tickets left here. The prizes are brilliant:

FootJoy vouchers;

⁠Titleist GT Driver and 3 wood with a custom fitting with a Titleist Fitting Specialist;

⁠A se...

It's Ryder Cup week and fittingly we start todays feedback pod with an historical question from wolfpacker Ben on the Ryder Cup. Ben asks Nick and Mark for their recollection and thoughts on the controversial Paul Azinger incident in the 1991 Ryder Cup, it was called the 'War by the Shore'.

Marek has an idea about how the 'big guys' could use some of their cash to help young players. Could it work? Would they do it? Nick and Mark give their response.

Chad has a question about the use of (or lack of...

We've been asking for you to let us know who the local hero is who helped you develop your game, maybe as a kid, a teenager, or later - the local unsung heroes. We've been receiving plenty, and we'll post some here, some on socials, to celebrate these very special people. This voicemail from Anthony in Ballarat is a ripper telling us about someone who was very generous with him and his development.

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So we've decided to do, from time to time, Talk Birdie To Me 'mini's, which run no longer than about 10-minutes and see Nick and Mark discussing only one issue, or answering one question.

This one is great fun. Wolfpacker Joseph, a greenkeeper from New Zealand has asked Nick and Mark to construct their team to face off against the others. For their teams, here are the rules:

A couple of weeks ago Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen listed golfers they disliked playing with, and wolfpacker John was surprised Greg Norman didn't get a mention, in fact Nick said he enjoyed playing with Greg. Johns rationale was, in part, Sharks treatment of Lucas Parsons as a young pro in the early days. So, there's only one thing for it, let's get Lucas on to explain what happened.

We start with some background, how Lucas' career started back in Orange, some of the greats he played with, and some of his greatest achievements....which were...

Nick's back from Vietnam and he's rocking a tan, which he is happy to show all of us. Mark says golfers tans are the worst, given the time on course and the kind of gear you wear. Nick gives us a run through on the Vietnam trip he did, the courses he played and the fun they all got up. Mark, as it turns out went to Wagga Wagga for the Pro-Am, and had a great time! He tells us about the Wagga trip - and one particular thing he loved about Wagga that he says all golf clubs...

Wolfpacker Paul left us a voicemail with a prediction about the venue for the 2028 Australian Open, sure it's a way off yet, but there's a reason why he has indicated 2028, and he explains in the voicemail message. Much like Steve in The Castle, Paul is an ideas man! See what you think of his suggestions.

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We start today with some awfully sad news, long time wolfpackers would know our rules guy Stu McPhee, whenever we needed anything clarified, Stu was our go to guy - what he didn't know wasn't worth knowing. Sadly, Stu passed away last week from cancer, and we acknowledge him on the pod today, and our thoughts are with his family at such a difficult time.

And then, as Stu would have expected, we get on with the show.

Michael had a question about bag maintenance on course, and who drives that - player...

Slightly different pod this week, Nick is in Vietnam for the week with a bunch of lucky golfers playing a number of courses there, so he is coming to us from his (undoubtedly luxurious) hotel room for the pod. We get a run through of the courses he's playing, and how he's dealing with the humidity.

Leads to a chat about the ideal golfing holiday, Nick and Mark share where they'd love to go for a golfing trip and the courses they'd love to play. On that topic, Mark reckons he may have found a way...

This week on the pod we had a question from wolfpacker Deryck about players smoking on course (in the older days), and it reminded Shaun from Ashburton in Melbourne about a nasty incident in the US that he witnessed, and none other than our very own Mark Allen was there as well!

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A feedback pod today, and we start with some iron covers chat - couple of pieces of info, and do Nick and Mark soften their stance on iron covers as a result?

Message from wolfpacker Deryck who is curious if Nick or Mark ever played with the cigar smoking Darren Clarke or Miguel Jimenez, and he has a ripper story about Darren. Mrs talks about warming up once behind Miguel, in the early days, and thinking he was a complete hack!

Andy dislikes some of the celebrations he sees after tournament wins, and...

Last week Tiger Woods was asked to name the four players he'd have on the Mount Rushmore of Golf, and he gave his four names. Today we do a new sort of Talk Birdie To Me, which we're calling a 'Talk Birdie Mini', which is an ep which runs around 10-minutes or so, not more.

Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen discuss Tiger's names, and then give their own personal Mount Rushmore names - themed as players who influenced their golf the most. And then we name the Talk Birdie To Me Mount Rushmore four.

With the Ryder Cup teams for the US and Europe now a lock, a little later in the show we discuss the makeup of the teams and who will win. Mark says the European team is very strong, and tips them to win, Nick feels it will be close and the crowd may play a role.

However, we start today talking about one of, if not the, greatest courses in the world - Cypress. Stunningly beautiful, and the venue for this weekends Walker Cup which is not being shown in Australia, much to Nick and Mark's...

Voicemail over the weekend from Sandy in Belfountain, Canada, which is just a little north west of Toronto. Sandy was listening to Marks comment that Rory's shot in The Masters was the greatest ever, and whilst he agreed it was great, had a different shot that he feels qualifies for that award - and it involved an Australian!

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So this weekend we're checking in with wolfpacker Steve in his quest to get under a 5-handicap, we'll get to that shortly. Firstly though, a couple of comments and questions.

Wayne asks whether Nick and Mark would have benefited from a TPI swing analysis in their pro days, and he has an idea for the Australian Masters involving LIV and the DPWT. Whilst on LIV, Jake is curious as to why the flow of big name signings is not what it was, and have they changed their approach to now sign younger players.

...

We love receiving your voicemails, and Craig left us a message about the recent conversation regarding male scratch golfers and whether they could compete with an LPGA Tour Pro. The discussion got a lot of feedback, most people agreeing with Nick and Mark's view that there is zero chance the male scratch golfer would win, and a few disagreeing. Craig gives us his view, with an example.

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We saw some great audio and vision of Johnny Miller and Jack Nicklaus this week talking about Scottie Scheffler, and Nick saw some of Scottie talking about playing Tiger. We were all chatting about it, and thought, let's smack out a few thoughts as a bonus pod. As the great poet Hilary Duff said....why not?

We start though with a couple of questions. Nick and Mark become medical experts* when wolfpacker asks about his tennis elbow. Hadn't realised that we were qualified to give medical advice, but hey there you go. Tom from Arizona has...

For a bit of fun, we thought we'd drop into your feed with a feedback pod today. We start with a couple of comments, including two conflicting ones about a certain recent movie that may or may not have received mixed feedback from different Talk Birdie team members.

Then onto some questions. An idea from Rohan on the Bryan Brothers, particularly Wesley Bryan and LIV.

Alex has some thoughts on Adam Scott and his chase for 100 consecutive majors.

Tony has a view on what he refers to as the dilution...

What a weekend! None of us have gotten as much sleep as we'd like with the Tour Championship on, but Tommy Fleetwood....what a star, and the entire golf world was celebrating his first win. Wonderful. Mark describes the final couple of holes as Tommy playing for his life, as he's not sure how another capitulation would have impacted him.

As impressive as the win was, and as consistent as Tommy has been, Mark makes the point that - as with Jon Rahm and LIV last week, he doesn't believe that Tommy should be the Tour...

Tour Pro Scotty Laycock often sends voicemails with stories from his time on tour, or incidents he's been told about. This one's a ripper. Tiger Woods, with a restless crowd at the 96 Australian Open and him hitting driver on a hole he probably shouldn't have.....but Tiger does what Tiger does!

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A bonus pod today with two guests, Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen chat to Tom Fisher, Titleist's Global Product Line Director, Metalwoods and Irons, and Marni Ines, Titleist's Director of Product Development, Irons. We've got them on to chat about the new Titleist T-Series which are spectacular, so good that Mark's first time using them he shot 10 birdies in one round (we'll forget that he hasn't shot a birdie since....).

Tom and Marni tell us the biggest improvements in this series, and the process of testing....how do they do it, who does the testing? Mark...

We open today's pod discussing the magician who is Scottie Scheffler, he really is extraordinary at the moment and we discuss his performance at the weekend in the BMW Championship, and look at his stats. Just wow.

Speaking of BMW, this week we welcomed BMW on board as a major partner, Nick is driving an X5 - and can't stop talking about it after his trip to Cathedral at the weekend in it! And we have an update on our Talk Birdie Golf Day at Links Hope Island with a former star footballer telling Mark he's...

Today we preview the Tour Championship this weekend in Georgia, and what a tournament it is shaping up to be with all the big names lining up.

Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen discuss the East Lake Golf Club course in Atlanta and the kind of players it will suit.

Mark can't go past Scottie Scheffler this weekend and can't see anyone beating him. We look at his stats. Unbelievable. The greens may play a role and Nick and Markl talk through that.

Afte the turn we frame a Betr multi...

A massive pod today for two reasons. Firstly, we welcome a new partner on board - BMW, who have a long and proud history with golf, and we're rapt to be partnering with them on Talk Birdie To Me. BMW provides you with the luxury and comfort you need after a day on the course.

Secondly we have a very exciting guest today, the man Nick O'Hern named as the most famous caddy in history in last weeks Top 5, Steve Williams. Steve's pedigree needs little introduction, he has caddied for some of the biggest names in...

In the main pod earlier in the week we read a message from Tour Pro and wolfpacker Paul Moloney who had heard Mark talking about being blown away by seeing a 21-year old Tiger Woods could do when he played the 1996 Australian Open. Paul played with Tiger in part of that tournament, and whilst we couldn't get hold of him in the main pod (something about being in a meeting, we reckon he call screened us) we got him to buzz through today.

Paul tells us about playing with Tiger and watching him close up, saying...

Big pod today, we kick off with an update on our Talk Birdie To Me Golf Day at Links Golf and Wellbeing at Hope Island on the Gold Coast. Wednesday October 8th is the date, tickets have, in less than 2-weeks, nearly 50% sold out so if you'd like to come, all the info is here.

Mark's excited about his cousin Steve having another win over the weekend, it's great to him doing so well, and Nick points out that Steve Allen has now joined an elite group of Aussies on the Champions Tour and explains why...

Hold everything.....today's feedback pod gets off to a bad start when, just prior, Nick O'Hern decides to do some stretching but doesn't consider the angle that Mark and Dan have of his 'parts' when he is doing the stretches. Very nearly derails the entire pod. Some things cannot be unseen.

But, like triathletes, or footballers in a big game, we push through the pain and hook into the pod. We start with a wolfpacker suggestion of a few great Irish courses that you can play on a budget. And then a question about putting tips...

Well after Mark was in shock last week that Nick O'Hern had not found time to watch Happy Gilmore 2, homework was set. Nick (and Dan) both had to get up to speed....no excuses....and watch it.

What was the verdict? We find out the entire Talk Birdie To Me teams views of Happy Gilmore 2, we rate our fave cameos, we discover if Nick and Mark are about to have a rib muscle removed to get more distance, we hear some of your thoughts - and who was very famous actor in the movie who Mark...

Fun pod today. Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen kick it off by discussing our reworked set - still at Titleist and FootJoy HQ but in a different space.....a change is as good as a holiday. Speaking of holidays, tickets are selling well for our Talk Birdie To Me Golf Day at Links Golf and Wellbeing on the Gold Coast on October 8th, after being on sale for about 5-days, nearly a third of the tickets are sold, so the day will sell out - we'd love to see you there, tickets available here.

We discuss...

After hearing Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen talking about Links Hope Island last week and the story of Michael Long calling a penalty on himself, giving Ernie Els the win, Tour Pro Scotty Laycock had a further couple of stories to share, and left a voicemail.

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A feedback pod today where we read through a bunch of your questions and comments.

We start with a couple of comments on Cam Smith following Nick and Mark's chat last week on his form.

Last week Mark listed his 'Irish Bucket List' courses, and we've had a big reaction with people suggesting other courses in Ireland to play, and saying that he needs to extend his trip to get them in. Leads to a chat about Tour Pro Eamonn Darcy who Nick played with a couple of times. And then we have a...

Massive pod today, and we start with a bit of news that Nick and Mark have heard from an industry insider who is very high up in the golf world, about the new ball that is being developed and due in 2028. It is currently in testing and apparently the testing has not gone to expectations, with the results being far from ideal. Longer hitters with high launch and low spin aren’t impacted much, whereas the shorter or midrange drivers are impacted - not the intended outcome.

Onto the golf. Nick and Mark discuss Lottie Woad, wh...

Another feedback pod today, we're getting plenty of comments and questions so keep them coming.

We start with a comment from Timothy in reference to our 'hardest opening holes' conversation last week, with a great (ie. funny) story about playing at Latrobe in front of a crowd and what happened.

Then a voicemail from Paul in Wollongong with a question on grip pressure.

Jamie wants to know why a US players caddy was refused entry into the UK for The Open Championship due to a 30-year old drug charge, yet...

Nick and Mark always enjoy your feedback and questions, and we've got some rippers today,

We start with a message from Timmy, who has sent in a video of his swing and is after some tips on where he can improve, and he has a question around a soft or firm grip.

Aitken has a question about whether, if it was an option 30-years ago, Nick and Mark could have played LIV in Asia and qualify for majors via OWGR points, they would have done so in order to remain Australian based rather...

Well we called it. Scottie monstered the field in The Open Championship.

Okay, we didn't call it, in fact our Betr multi was a bust on every leg....we will make formal apologies at some point on today's podcast, you deserve nothing less.

But.....Scottie was magnificent, and controlled the tournament, certainly over the weekend, and we start today with Nick and Mark discussing some of the most impressive parts of Scottie's performance: his putting, his recovery from poor shots, his composure. Exceptional. Nick says the player interviews post the tournament and prior...

Voicemail from Mick in the UK who has some strong opinions about LIV golfers and whether they should receive OWGR points. You might agree with Mick, you might disagree. Love to hear your feedback in the comments.

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A feedback pod today, we start with a question from wolfpacker Ross on The Shark vs Rory. Michael asks about blades on tour these days. Ed has a nomination for the Top 5 injury comebacks list from last week who he believes we overlooked. And a suggestion for a Top 5 on 'unsportsmanlike' actions on the tour, we kick it around.

We chat about pros breaking their caddys fingers. Apparently it happens a bit, and we hear about one time it happened and who did it, and Mark tells a story about when he nearly broke his caddys...

Grace Kim. What. A. Star.

That was really one of the great finishes in a major, Grace was so calm, cool and collected and nailed the win. Nick and Mark discuss the tournament, obviously the final day in particular and what they loved about Grace's performance - the recovery after hitting it into the water, the chip shot, so much to be impressed with. Mark asks if anyone has ever hit three eagles on day 4 to win a major? He can't recall it happening. And Mark notes that credit must go to the PGA and Golf...

It's the week of The Open Championship, or the British Open, depending on how you say it. Before we get to that though, we have to touch on Grace Kim's fantastic win, we'll go through it in great detail on tomorrow's main podcast, but we had to acknowledge it today given how incredible the win was, particularly the finish!

Onto The Open. Nick and Mark discuss what Royal Portrush is like, how it plays, and how well one of the players they like this week - Shane Lowry - plays this course. Mark is concerned about...

This week we have a bit of fun, we've invited Australia's longest driver Jordan Bovalina into the Titliest / FootJoy simulator at Talk Birdie To Me HQ to see what he's got in the tank. Nick and Mark are interested in how he goes about hitting the ball, what he's looking to do to obtain distance balanced with accuracy, and we look at his numbers live in the simulator as he hits a few balls.

The audio version is great - the video version of this one has to be seen to be believed.

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Tour Pro Scotty Laycock is a regular voicemailer and always has great stories from his time on the tour, after hearing Nick and Mark talking about Aaron Pike, a Northern Territory (originally) tour pro, he left a voicemail with a fun story about Northern Territory Tour Pro Unho Park & Indian Tour Pro Jeev Milkha Singh swapping drivers on the range.

We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:

A feedback pod today, and we look at a few comments from you in response to Marks statement last week that he feels Royal Melbourne will need a small miracle to be ready for The Australian Open. He has heard some further information that is concerning, and unhelpfully says this on the pod, but refuses to divulge what that information is, leaving Nick, Dan and the wolfpackers all hanging. Poor form from Mr Allen and he should know better.

That said, Harry has messaged in saying he has seen Royal Melbourne recently and agrees with Mark...

It's a great time of the golfing year, the Scottish Open this week, and The Open Championship next week. And the Evian is on this week as well, Nick and Mark discuss the course (which they both dislike) and ask does anyone actually like the course?

We chat about Links Golf in the UK. Nick and Mark love the UK's links courses, particularly the smaller ones that are lesser known, they discuss what they like about them, one of the things is what they call the 'honest bounce' you get on UK Links courses. Mark recommends...

Bonus pod today with only two things on the runsheet.

Before we get to that, Nicks been hitting balls, giving his new blades a workout at Long Island, Mark was at the range and has suffered the ignominy of both putting his back out using his 7 iron, and his son getting better club head speed than Mark. Awkward.

But to item number one on the runsheet. An email from wolfpacker Alistair, who met Nick recently at Cathedral, has asked the boys if there was one hole anywhere in the world that they would...

Farah is married to Ray Mak who gets regularly mentioned on the pod, and Ray played a round with Nick O'Hern a few days ago....did it go well for Ray???

Farah left a voicemail and explained what happened....it doesn't sound pretty (for Ray).

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A fun feedback pod today, with a few comments and questions, and after the turn a special guest - a 9-year old golfer with a handicap of 7.8 !!!!!

Before we get to our chat with Jasper, we hear from the Wolfpack.

Mick loves the stories about Texas Tech from Mark, and asks if there are any about the 'Liver King'. We don't know who that is, unless it is referring to Mark's drinking when he was at Texas Tech, which is probably accurate.

Marty got a fitting from Matt Austin at...

Hold everything. We start today's pod with an update on Marks investigation into the debacle of the recent Top 100 Golf Course list. The person Mark suspected of being responsible, he has discovered was not, and he names the person who he says is responsible for it. Marks contact has gone to ground, and he is hitting a brick wall, particularly now he is enquiring about this named person.

Mark puts the invite to the Top 100 Course people, that we'd like them to come onto the podcast to discuss the list. Open invite. And to make it...

A feedback pod today, lots of great comments and questions, and plenty of fun.

We start with Tim from Sydney who has sent in two pics for us, one of a number plate on a car at Royal Sydney relevant to the podcast, and one of him and his Dad which is a ripper. How good are Father/Son days at golf clubs, or Mum/Daughters, or Parent/Child...so good. Tim also has a question on how pros select tournaments to play in, and Nick explains the ones he never missed and why.

Last week Nick listed his Top 5 shots to win your first major, and he did it off the top of his head with only a couple of minutes to consider it. He was pretty sure he'd missed a couple of obvious ones, so we had a competition for the Wolfpack to suggest ones Nick had missed.

And a great prize.....$250 bucks to spend on the Golf Clearance Outlet, online or instore, and a teams entry (you and a friend) into the Golfies 2-person Ambrose tournament which starts in September, and if you win 8 matches you win...

One of the most anticipated new golf course developments is 7 Mile Beach in Hobart, and Tour Pro Matty Goggin is the man behind it. Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen gave Matty a buzz in Colorado, where he is preparing to play the US Senior Open this weekend, to ask him about the Hobart course.

Mark has seen some photos, and says they are amazing. Matty explains that he was unsure as to whether they'd get water views, but as it turns out, you have water vista's almost everywhere. He describes7 Mile Beach as a 'classic links...

It would be a rookie error to not start today's podcast by talking about the superstar Minjee Lee's fantastic win in Texas, surely a hall of fame position is a lock (down the track), what a gun. That said it wasn't all smooth sailing, some bogies early in the last round, but a great recovery, and Jeeno Thitikul on the hunt right behind her. Scores were quite high, due to weather and the course, but the play was slower than ideal.

Nick has been watching Minjee's putting, and says it was insane how good she was...