Talk Birdie To Me

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.