Talk Birdie To Me

Today saw the announcement of the final teams for the Presidents Cup teams, both the US team and the Internationals.On our show earlier this morning, prior to the announcement, Nick and Mark picked who they thought would make the teams, how did they go, did all their picks make it and who did they miss?Jason Day was not picked, we suspect due to injury, and there was one great surprise in the US team. And who is the player picked who both Nick and Mark say that they would not have picked. We analyse the two teams, and pick which team should win the tournament in late September.A bonus breaking news mini today on this magnificent event, the Presidents Cup!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;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;The Find My Player app - follow every player on every tour;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Todays Monday Mini is inspired from a voicemail from wolfpacker Asher in New Zealand who has a question about his irons.Asher was listening to our recent ep where Kell was on and was missing to the left with his driver, and Asher is interested to know rather than cutting his shaft, does gripping down achieve a similar outcome? Nick and Mark run through Asher's question and kick around grip techniques, and talk about some pros who grip down. Mark talks through swing weights and how to ensure that if you dod cut an inch off your shaft, how to ensure your club is weighted appropriately.And we finish talking about a gun Tour Pro with perhaps the most unfortunate name in golf.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;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;The Find My Player app - follow every player on every tour;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The weekends nearly here, hope you've got some downtime, some family time, and some golf time planned! Today on our Friday Feedback pod we have a lot of fun, although we start with Mark thinking for some reason he is qualified to give medical advice and makes some observations on the cut that Dan has on his head from the kitchen cupboard. Helpful from Mark.After we get through that, onto the golf chat....!01:00Peter has some thoughts on bunker play to run by Nick and Mark.02:00We chat about some of the great South African bunker players.04:00We love Chooky Fowler, but he could occasionally play slow. If you've not seen our chat with him, google Chooky Fowler and Talk Birdie To Me and it will come up.05:00A question about Nick and Marks fitness regime during non competition weeks when they were on the tour, and how did they manage their motivation.06:30We talk about the importance, as a pro, of tapering.08:00Nick talks about how Tiger would prepare for competition09:00How Augusta get the course ready for The Masters in the weeks leading up, and how brilliant it is for the members.10:30Plenty of feedback on our Claude Harmon 3rd show last week. It was a ripper, if you haven't listened or watched, well worth doing.14:00Comment from a wolfpacker on Cam's putting when he won The Open Championship15:00Some comments on LIV and where it's at, and its legacy.After the turn:18:00We put our next finalist in the draw to win. trip to Kangaroo Island to play 18 holes at The Cliffs with the architect Darius Oliver and Mark Allen.20:00Phil has an idea on the policing of slow play, inspired by the Olympics, Nick and Mark are big fans.23:00A wolfpacker gives mark a serve telling him to 'get over himself'25:00A fun comment on a piece of commentary that a wolfpacker heard during The Open Championship a couple of months ago that they thought Mark particularly might enjoy. He does.27:00And a spur of the moment top 5 'blinkered' players in tournaments.A fun Friday Feedback show today, we'll have a bonus mini this weekend, it's a cracker so keep an eye out for that on Saturday morning - or Sunday, depending on if we're playing golf and couldn't be arsed coming in on Saturday.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;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;The Find My Player app - follow every player on every tour;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HUGE show today. So much to discuss, and we start with some more inside info from Mark's LIV insider in the US, he reads the texts.01:00 Info from inside LIV Golf from Marks LIV insider. He names four players who are definitely (according to his intel) leaving LIV, three players who are likely to be out, and one (not Bryson) who is all in.02:30 The players who are bullish on LIV 2.0, are bullish pending access to the majors, in other words whether they get meaningful ranking points on LIV or not.04:00 The insider says LIV will file for bankruptcy in the next 3-weeks, however there is a 'whale' in the background ready to invest in 2.005:00 Staff will be exited mid-September, with some rehired following the restructure07:00 Mark says that LIV has proved that golf starved areas will respond with big crowds and the PGAT will have noticed this.10.30 We discuss Brysons comments after the weekends LIV tournament.12.30 Nick says Bryson is a content dream and great for golf15:00Mark has an update to his watchlist, with a player making a move following the weekend.17:00We watch the video of Wyndham from the weekend....should he be penalised?20:00Nick - we need a shot clock in golf.21:30Mark has found himself on Golf Australia's watchlist after last weeks Top 5 where he listed 5 things he reckons GA have gotten wrong.22:00We chat to Heath McLeod, Tournament Director of the PGA tour of Australasia who addresses Marks comments about playing in pairs at weekend in the AO. He explains why the AO had 3-balls at the weekend last year.26:00For Hostplus, our plus for golf this week from Mark goes to Rory McIlroy....Mark explains.28:30And for BMW, Nick awards his touch of class to Scottie Scheffler, when compared to Rory McIlroy.After the turn:31:00We put our 6th person in the draw to play The Cliffs at Kangaroo Island with Mark and course architect Darius Oliver....two more people to go! Link to enter on our socials.32:00For Betr, Nick's Top 5 good, bad, and whacky things that LIV has given us.38:00Onto feedback....we start with a question about LIV players and the Presidents Cup40:00A comment on last weeks chat about some players being 'scared off the leaderboard'. Nick and Mark talk about playing in Canada and how much they loved it.42:00Comment on our 'weird and wonderful' putting strokes conversation from last week.43:00Comments on Aaron Baddely, and Mark talks about his irons and how unusual they were.45:30Last week Mark said most members of clubs wouldn't mind giving their course over to a major tournament, one listener disagreed and explains why.46:00Mark talks about the calibre of courses juniors used to play on in qualifiers years ago.48:00An interesting message on our hypothetical 'fast 3-ball vs slow 3-ball' concept from last week.49:30Plenty for Nick to discuss in the Global highlights.51:30And the boys got a message from Tour Pro Zach Murray who enjoyed the chat with Claude Harmon 3rd last week....if you haven't seen Zach's YouTube channel, do yourself a favour it's a ripper. Check it out here.59:00Mark saw a video from Jason Day last week with him trying something - Mark gave it a crack at the weekend and it worked well. He explains it for us for the Golf Clearance Outlet in todays masterclass.Big show, touch longer than usual, too much golf to 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;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;The Find My Player app - follow every player on every tour;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Talk Birdie To Me bonus ep today, with a special guest dropping by - the world's premier golf course photographer, Gary Lisbon. Gary has a new book out today (August 25) called 'Great Golf on the Melbourne Sandbelt', it is a panoramic book and perfect for anyone who loves the Sandbelt, or as a fathers day gift for a golf-lover.Nick and Mark chat with Gary about why he believes that 'pound for pound the Sandbelt is the best golf course region in the world'.Mark asks if golf course photography has changed much over the last 20-years, and Gary says it absolutely has, and there are two key reasons why, which he explains.Gary explains what 'golden hour' is and why it is important.Nick asks Gary to name the most under-rated Sandbelt golf courseDoes Nick or Mark have a better eye for photography? Gary picks one of the boys out.Gary talks about the US course that imported a sand profile from Royal Melbourne in order to replicate the bunkering, and the sand, at that course.And he talks us through an enormously fun webpage where every hole from the 10 official Sandbelt courses are listed, with photographs of course, and you can create your very own composite course. The great thing is that if you do, and share it on your socials, you'll go in the draw to win an autographed copy of Gary's new book. The website to build your own composite Sandbelt course is here.And to order your very own copy of Gary's new book 'Great Golf on the Melbourne Sandbelt' visit the site 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;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;The Find My Player app - follow every player on every tour;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

South Australian golfing legend, Nick McCormack, passed away a couple of weeks ago leaving a wonderful legacy. Phil left us a short voicemail with a memory of Nick's time as the local Pro in Goulburn, NSW.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;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;The Find My Player app - follow every player on every tour;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A bonus Talk Birdie To Me Mini today, which comes following a question from wolfpacker Dave who wrote:Hi Nick and Mark, Watching the Wyndham Championship, I noticed Tony Finau putting one-handed. Apparently he struggles with short putts and he tried it based on Tiger's well-known one-handed practice drills. He made the cut so I guess it worked! I thought it might make a good discussion - weirdest putting styles of Tour Pros. Here's one for starters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSd0a2NjftkLove the pod! Thanks, Dave.So we decided to kick it around on the show. And oh boy there were plenty!Golfers we talk about: Bernhard Langer, Chris DiMarco, Sammy Snead, Bobby Locke.We also discuss the proliferation for a while there of Broomsticks, and of the Claw, and the 'Matt Kuchar' putting technique.Other players: Isao Aoki, Vijay Singh, the great man Jack Nicklaus, Paul Runyan, Retief Goosen, Robert Garrigus, and Raymond Floyd.And we wrap this Mini with a couple of fun things. Nick and Mark each choose the putting technique that they would have, if they could choose anyones, and have that for the rest of their life. And Nick tells us what it was like playing with the legendary Ben Crenshaw!!Happy Monday!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;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;The Find My Player app - follow every player on every tour;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well this is a bit exciting. Earlier this year Cameron Smith joined with Claude Harmon III to turn his performances around, and since doing so there have been some significant changes. Today, for Hostplus, we speak with Claude about his career, some of the great players he has worked with and been around his famous Dad working with, and how the relationship with Cam came about and what they're working on.01:00Nick and Mark give a background to how Cam got to the point of deciding to look at a new coach.02:00We welcome Claude and get his background, surprisingly he was never a golfer, however with his family pedigree he feels that he has been on tour since he was 2-weeks old!03:00His approach to golf coaching given he was not a player.04:00Claude talks about whether golf is a simple game (or not?)06:00He chats about his family history and some of the huge golfing names that the family has worked with, and he has been around08:00Claude tells us why his Dad was 'brutal' about Claude's early coaching sessions09:00How he video'd his Dad working with Tiger and what he learned from it.10:00Nick talks about what he witnessed when he saw Butch Harmon, Claude's Dad, working with players11:30How Claude disconnects from golf and how he uses that in his coaching12:30Claude explains his 'domino' theory.13.30Does golf coaching have something in common with the TV Show The Bear....you'd be surprised. Claude explains.15:00Why he focuses on 'quality of strike', the contact, and why he feels it is the main ingredient. Mark asks if that applies to all golfers Claude has worked with?18:30Claude says that golf coaching is similar to training a dog.20:00On working with Ernie Els, how it came about and what he said to Ernie when first asked for a critique of his swing22:00The one thing for all golfers to focus on for the rest of the year.After the Turn:27:00He explains how it came about that Cam asked him for some swing thoughts.29:00 Claude credits Cam's prior coach Grant Field with getting Cam to such a high level.speaking of cams old coach grant fields30:00Mark shows some stills of Cams' swing and what he is seeing.31:00Claude talks about Cams' driving.31:00He says that all great players have a superpower32:00Adam Scotts' putting35:00His Dad working with Tiger and what he learned from that37:00The one thing that he and Cam have worked on since mid April, and the drills they've been doing.39:00Cam has a short window to take advantage of40:00On watching his Dad work with The Shark41:00The surprising thing that he and Cam used as a training aid in the rain in Korea42:00The drill that his Dad would do with Tiger, and Claude's role in it, that he now gets Cam to do. (Tiger hated it)43:30The 3 phases of the golf swing, and the 1 phase that he believes everyone ignores46:00What he and Cam did prior to the PGA47:00Nick on Cams' swing development, swing positions, and why giving advice in different ways helps49:00The moment Claude says was a huge one for Cam in their relationship51:00Numbers vs Feel, and how Claude uses data.53:00Cams' short game is ridiculously good56:00Why the ceiling is really high for Cam58:00What's next for Claude, where does he see himself in a few years?59:00Claude bumped into Nick's old caddy Wilbur recently!A fantastic chat with Claude Harmon ||| for Hostplus, Claude certainly is a plus for golf, and we loved this conversation.If you've not had a listen to Claude's podcast Son of a Butch, it's a ripper, you can listen to it wherever you get your podcasts, Spotify and Apple links here:Listen to Son of a Butch on Spotify.Listen to Son of a Butch on Apple.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;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;The Find My Player app - follow every player on every tour;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A big Friday Feedback pod today, lots of questions, comments and stories, and Nick 'names names' on a dodgy activity that some Tour Pros are doing.01:00We start with a question about our upcoming Claude Harmon 3rd interview, and a suggestion for another guest.01:30Mark is annoyed with an Australian Tour Pro - who is it and why?02:30This is somewhat surprising, a message from wolfpacker Stash who does not believe Keegan Bradley's putting time is too slow and we are too harsh on him.05:00David has a question on trenching, and Nick names two current Tour Pros who he believes 'trench'.06:00Andrew from New Zealand has a comment, and a question, about Kiwi golfer Michael Campbell.07:00Nick tells a story about getting towelled up by Cambo in WA08:00And Mark recalls when he led the NZ Open, and was playing with Cambo until the course commentator said something over the loudspeakers that was very unhelpful.09:00Last week we spoke about a new pace of play rule that they've put in place, Josh from Port has written in to clarify the interpretation of the rule.11:00Mark muses over a different system for teeing off, different to the 7 minute / 8 minute intervals which he feels puts too much pressure on golfers.After the turn:12:00We put our fourth Kangaroo Island winner in the draw to win a trip the play The Cliffs at Kangaroo Island with Mark and course architect Darius Oliver. If you're yet to enter, the link is here. 15:30A question about on Shiho Kuwacki's putting technique, which is somewhat unusual.17:30Mark talks about the Sharks putting.18:00Comment from John about Tour Pro Scott Werne who we spoke about recently on the show. Mark tells a story about Scott and the lengths he went to afford to be on the tour.19:00Billy has a comment about Nick's masterclass from last week on the 10-finger grip.A fun friday feedback pod, keep your comments and questions coming in, and have a ripper 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;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;The Find My Player app - follow every player on every tour;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Monday Mini today, with a question from wolfpacker David.01:00First a reminder of our competition where you could win a trip for you and a friend to play The Cliffs at Kangaroo Island before it opens, playing 18 holes with Mark and course designer Darius Oliver. A great prize. All flights, accommodation and meals included.02:00We read David's question which is essentially about how to maximise distance relative to swing speed when playing a cut.03:00We talk about Scottie Scheffler and how he does it.04:00Mark explains how he advises golfers who struggle for length when hitting a fade, and what he sees in their swing. When someone can't get their sequencing right, Mark says what he advises them to do.06:00Mark uses Viktor Hovland as an example and explains what he does07:00Nick talks about giving lessons to a guy who wanted more distance but didn't have the time to practise any changes, and what Nick advised him to do09:30Nick outlines the 'easiest way to lower your scores'10:00 Mark talks about how getting fitted can add distance to your drives and why. That's our Monday Mini, see you on Wednesday for the main show when Nick is back from New Zealand, hopefully presents in hand for Mark and Dan.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;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;The Find My Player app - follow every player on every tour;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slightly different episode today as Nick is in New Zealand on holidays for a week or so with the family, so it sounds a tad different to usual, but plenty to discuss as always!01:00Nick is in Millbrook, near Queenstown in New Zealand and gives us a snapshot of what he's doing and how it looks (hint: it is beautiful!)02:00Royal Lytham hosted the WOmens Open, and Shiho Kuwaiti had a stunning playoff win to claim the title. Nick talks about what he loves about Royal Lytham, what a course.04:00On the Open, more specifically Mens and Womens majors, Nick feels they're too close together and explains why. Mark has a different view.05:00Yesterday we confirmed in a bonus news pod that Rory McIlroy would be staying in Australia after the AO to play the Cathedal Invitational, Nick is likely to play the tournament as well....can he take Rory?06:00Massive news on golf architects OCM - they have been appointed to redo one of the worlds greatest golf courses. Mark reveals the news that he has heard from a member at the actual club.08:00We discuss Cypress Point. Mark calls it a 'sacred place', Nick says arguably the best parcel of land that a golf course is on anywhere in the world. They discuss their experiences playing the course, and what they'd love to see improved.12:00Nick talks about playing Cypress with surfer Kelly Slater.14:00Plenty of LIV news. We discuss their search for sponsorships, and Mark is doubtful that the eyeballs will be enough for the money they want given LIV 'only worked in 2 or 3 markets'. 20:00LIV's player payments are reportedly unpaid, which does not bode well22:00Nick awards our BMW Touch of Class to Donald Trump for his 'humility' in 'winning' the Club Championship at Bedminster. If you missed his comments, Nick reads them out. And for clarity, we are being sarcastic over 1) him winning and 2) him showing any humility. 23.30Mark awards our Hostplus Plus for Golf to Nelly Korda for her gift to a young fan in the UK, a real plus for golf from a superstar.25:00We discuss the winner of the Rocket Classic in Michigan, Michael rocket classic winner Michael Thorbjornsen, a very talented young pro who we love.27:00Nick found some great stats this week - average numbers from PGA Tour Pros, they make for sobering reading for aspiring pros, and Mark points out a couple of stats that if you are aspiring, or know someone who is, to turn pro that you need to be all over.After the turn:34:00Our Top 5 for Betr, Mark lists the Top 5 golf course renovations at clubs he has seen, and why. He also defines great renovations in a slightly ususual way....37:00Okay - during the Turn we saw some breaking news from our mates at Flushing It Golf about LIV, specifically that they have given a number of employees and contractors notice that their employment will end in September. We discuss this evolving story which will develop further over the coming days.39:00Nick runs through the Global results highlights.42:30Feedback for Southern Golf Club....phew okay....last weeks Top 5 swings got a mountain of feedback, and we run through some of the names you said should be there. One was mentioned above all others. Do Nick and Mark double down on their list or do they amend the 'indisputable' list, rendering the name completely ironic?50:00 Few more bits of feedback on Lucas Glover's spikes video, Cam Smiths 9 birdies in a row, and we discuss if we can claim South Korea's Jenny Shin as an Aussie?53.00And we wrap on a masterclass for the Golf Clearance Outlet from Nick live from Queenstown where he discusses Michael Thorbjornsen's 10-finger grip. Note: audio on the masterclass is a touch dodgy this week, it's listenable, but not as good as we'd like - apologies.Big show today !!! 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;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;The Find My Player app - follow every player on every tour;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Monday Mini today, and it is inspired by a comment from a wolfpacker who listened to our recent Graham Marsh episode, where Swampy talked about his career - including significant work designing golf courses. They suggested Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen should design a golf course....and we thought, okay, if Nick and Mark were to design a course what elements would they make sure were there, what style of course would it be, what would they build?So we asked.What are the must have elements?What par would the course be, and would it be different in tournament golf (of course).We pick the mix of par 3's, 4's, 5's.Are there any holes at other courses that they might take inspiration from?And a sideline where we chat about the time when Metropolitan Golf Course hosted the World Matchplay, Mark tells a couple of stories.Nick muses over whether the opening hole should be a 'warm handshake' or a 'kick in the teeth'.Mark is a fan of having a quirk on the course, he names a couple of quirks that he likes. He also would like plaques around the course, so it is 'dripping with history'.We discuss the style of clubhouse we'd build, and some of the elements that would be included in the clubhouse.Would there be a driving range? Mark is keen on having a Team Matchplay comp at the course.Nick is keen for the final hole to be a risk/reward hole. Mark agrees, as long as it is not a big green.So there it is. In about 15 minutes, Nick and Mark have designed a cracking golf course (and club house). Now we just need to find $100 million or so and we can build it !Let us know if you reckon we've missed anything that should be included in the course, or if you disagree with any of the inclusions.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;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;The Find My Player app - follow every player on every tour;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.