Talk Birdie To Me

Another busy pod this week, particularly considering some big tournaments over the weekend! Snapshot of the show below, with rough times of when we talked about the various issues:1:00We talk Nelly Korda's huge win, that final putNellys win, chat about the win, that final putt in particular, which was thisclose to missing. Nick noticed something about her caddy that he found strange, and mentions to Mark. We look at Nelly's stats, her putting results must have been a record for her, they were exceptional, and Nick discusses an unusual thing Nelly did mid-tournament. We discuss her nerves on that final putt.8:00Riviera looked amazing, far better than it usual does (at different times of the year).10:00More on Nelly, that's how good she was.11.00Mark discusses the commentators at the US Women's Open.12.00 Strap in.....the International feed vs the Normal feed. Mark is at his wits end, and wants to know what will it take to end it, saying it is so far off the mark.17.00Nicks mate shot his first ever hole in one at the weekend! Nick was rapt. Another mate shot one with nobody else around, Nick sadly for him said that it doesn't count.20:00Exciting news for one of our great mates, David Elia from Hostplus, who was awarded an Order of Australia in the Kings Birthday honours list this week. Well deserved! Is that our plus for golf this week? Well as exciting as it was, no, Mark awards the 'plus for golf' to something else.21:00This weeks Touch of Class for BMW goes to Nelly Korda....sort of.....Mark explains on the show.23:00LIV golf....a big week for LIV with a number of announcements about their proposed structure, prize money, and how they'd like to tie in with national opens. It's dependant on investment, but if it comes to fruition, there are some interesting ideas there.29:00Next week on the show we'll have Golf Australia boss James Sutherland on, if you have a question you'd like us to ask him on your behalf, shoot it to us in the comments and we'll pick three at random to ask the big guy.After the turn:31:00Nick talks about 'sclaffers'. What's a sclaffer? We did'nt know either....Nick explains. And Mark makes a big comment, intended as a compliment, about Rodger Davis.34:00Top 5 for Betr, Mark lists his Top 5 'spine tingling swatters', golfers with slightly unorthodox swings who made you go wow when you saw them hit the ball/38:00Ping globals, certainly a big one - Nick runs through LIV, Memorial, US Womens Open, Champions Tour, DPWT, plus an update on Cam Smith and how his form line is looking.45:00For Southern Golf Club, feedback this week - heaps on our chat with Dottie Pepper, the International Feed, Nick might have missed a big celebration in his recent Top 5, Steve Elkington, a Top 5 idea inspired by Seve, some holes that a wolfpacker reckons we missed last week in the chat about 'golf holes architects would never design today'.54:00 And for the Golf Clearance Outlet Nick's masterclass comes from Kingston Heath today, where he talks through Nelly Korda's grip change mid-US Open at the weekend.A big pod today, don't forget to subscribe and if you feel so inclined, drop a comment below, it costs nothing but really helps the algorithms spread the show around further.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;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 from a wolfpacker with an unpronounceable name (or is it...), however the comment / question that this person has for Nick and Mark is about the merits of adding a 5th Mens Major, but theming it as a retro major.....everything as it was 30-40 years ago. Nick and Mark discuss how it might look, the gear, the equipment, the rules, the clothing....it's a fun chat. It will never happen, but it's a fun hypothesis to explore.Nick says that, in the event it were to happen, it would lengthen the gap between the top pros like Rory and Scheffler, and the more average pros and that if you give them a few weeks to get used to the gear, they'd nail it. Mark makes the point that the equipment then, particularly the driver, helped pros like The Shark dominate.Nick also raises some news on Tiger's young bloke Charlie that he saw last week, which we chat about - relevant to this mini as Tiger had Charlie learn on old style blades so he had to learn to find the sweet spot, it meant he lost to some players early, but the skills it formed were excellent.A fun Monday Mini 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;PING will help you play your best;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.

Friday Feedback today, and for some reason they always seem a touch looser than the usual pods, tis the nature of a friday....We start with a message from Teddy in Thailand, we did a mini last week on Teddy's grip issues, and he writes in with some more info, and Mark received an email from Ben Jackson the honcho of a grip company with some info on their Thai distributor - who happens to be based where Teddy lives! What are the odds!We start with some feedback on Marks outrageous behaviour of watching lawn mowing videos last week when we were trying to record the pod. Strangely, most wolfpackers seemed to not have an issue with it....we may have misjudged the room on this one (to Marks happiness). For some reason we then merge into more snooker chat....seriously Talk Birdie is on the verge of jumping the shark Fonzie style.But then onto the real stuff. Couple of comments on the discussion last week about whether all handicaps are created equal, one of which is a sort of compliment from Dean who agrees with Nick and Marks views, but then goes on to whack the boys over the recent Talk Birdie Top 20 Golf Course list. Leads to a chat about Queensland courses, and Nick and Mark list their fave Queensland courses and why. No surprises as to Nicks.Steven from Western Australia has a story on Monty which brings much joy to Mark, and then a couple of comments on the ball striking of Ángel Cabrera, Nick and Mark discuss what it was like to watch him hit the ball, and to play golf more broadly.Al is a lefty, and is after some advice from Nick about how to maximise the influence of his dominant hand, he's a former cricketer who came to golf late, and is struggling a little with the right hand placement.Bruce has noticed something Tour Pros do that he finds frustrating, and is keen for Nick and Marks thoughts. Greg agrees with the boys Rory McIlroy comments following what he said about Royal Melbourne not being 'fit for purpose'. Athol has heard our chats of recent pods on the Ryan Ang situation and has a whack for Nick and Mark over it.Aaron heard us wondering about Links Kennedy Bay last week, and wrote in to clarify where the course is at, which leads to us discovering that Nick is planning a trip to WA next year and not only has he failed to secure Mark and invite to Long Island, but he's not bothering to see if Mark and Dan want to come along! Sure it's a family wedding, but let's not let that get in the way of a golf trip!!!!By the way, speaking of golf trips.....don't forget to suss what our mates at GolfLoot have for you to win....see it here. Well worth the membership.And we wrap with some comments from Alan on the number of clubs in the bag.A fun Friday Feedback pod, hopefully we can get through the shows next week with zero lawnmowing and snooker chat....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;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.

This week is US Open week for the women, and there are a bunch of Aussies playing, a couple with a real shot, we discuss who might be able to win. Nick is veeeery confident about one particular golfer given the nature of the Riviera course, and how it may suit them. Nick gives Mark an impromptu pop quiz on how many Australians, and who they are, have won at Riviera, and we talk about how the course is set up.Nick and Mark discuss the 10th hole, one of Nicks faves, which leads to a chat about unusual golf holes, ones that course designers wouldn't be able to build today for fear of being laughed out of the room....we list a few.Memorial this weekend, and it's a big one, honouring the legendary David Graham this year....well deserved and very exciting.Mark was fascinated by Bryson's use of AI to help him with an issue at the weekend, and discusses what happened with Nick. Mark then decides to see if AI, ie: Grok, can help Nick with some tips to get more width in his swing. Results are mixed it's fair to say. But, Mark has been watching some YouTube instructional videos and trying some stuff out....his masterclass today on one thing he's been trying that seems to have worked well.For Hostplus, this weeks 'Plus for Golf' is the US Womens Open being at Riveria, it's a great course, and the tournament will be sensational. Nick nominates Joaquin Niemann as the BMW Touch of Class winner this week for something he did in Korea....and it wasn't when he was playing.After the turn, Nick's Top 5 for Betr is the Top 5 celebrations he has seen in golf....there are some rippers!For Southern Golf Club....feedback today. Lots on Bryson and his decision on where he might play next season, heaps of feedback on Slow Play, including one bit of feedback from a superstar Australian sportsperson (not golf) who has written in, and we have received a video from wolfpacker David in the UK on something concerning that he saw in the Byron Nelson a couple of weekends ago, and wants the boys view.Heaps to discuss in the PING Globals, lots going on, and we debate Russell Henley's ranking....we think he might be Top 10, but are unsure where....so we check on the Find My Player app. He's quite under rated, including by us apparently!And finally the masterclass for the Golf Clearance Outlet, Mark has a tip he's found on YouTube, and he is tweaking his takeaway a touch, is it working? He seems pretty happy!And tomorrow, for Hostplus, a fantastic episode - we host the incredible Dottie Pepper on Talk Birdie To Me, that is an unmissable ep!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;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.

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;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.

On this bonus Talk Birdie Mini, we received a voicemail from Teddy in Thailand, and he has arthritis in his index finger - never ideal for a golf grip. Teddy is after some thoughts from Nick and Mark on options that may help - and whether you're in Teddy's position or not, the grip conversation and advice is a fascinating listen.We discuss the various grip options, the Greg Norman grip, the 10-finger grip, the interlock, and chat about the best kind of gloves that may help Teddy.Some time ago Mark watched a video which outlined the significant difference fresh grips can have, even on quite old clubs, so he is a proponent of that. In this mini Mark mentions Ben Jackson's Gripmaster, the link is here: https://thegripmaster.com/Thanks for the voicemail Teddy, good luck with your golf, and with the arthritis work arounds!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;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 where we look at a question from Postman who is frustrated by slow play, and wants Nick and Mark to list their tips for 'Ready Golf'. The boys list the things that they reckon you must do, and we read through a few tips from wolfpacker Tony who has given his own list.So Nick and Mark are listing their 'ready golf' tips, have they missed any that you feel are important? Let us know in the comments.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;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.

It's Friday, and that means a Friday Feedback pod. Today some great questions and a number of whacks for the team...ouch....but we start the show with a Friday Feedback jingle, should we keep it or dump it? We'll whack a poll up on Twitter, whatever the Wolfpack say goes.Onto the feedback....Jonny reckons we missed a few obvious nicknames in our chat last week, a couple of 'animal inspired' ones, and Aussie golf legend Mike Harwood's nickname, Mark tells the story of how it came about and the fellow pro who christened him with it.John then points out one of Mark's old nicknames, which he thinks The Ox came up with - however it wasn't him, but another very famous AFL footballer, and Mark explains how it came about.Mathew has a question on Peninsula Kingswood.Then some whacks. Jerry has a crack at both Nick and Mark over one aspect of the show, and Steven has a go for pretty much the same reason.....do Nick and Mark cop the criticism or hit back ?Jeff then has a great story about a day out many years ago at The Australian Masters watching some big names on the range, and what he watched (and listened to them) doing.Craig heard us chatting last week about seagulls pinching golf balls and has a story about seeing a crow nudging a ball on a green in the UK and what happened.AFL superstar Matty Richardson chimed in on the video we shared last week of Bubba Watson critiquing his swing, and whilst talking footy, apparently Nick has been hanging around Mark's team Collingwood lately, and Mark is a little concerned about whether Nick might be giving them dodgy advice. Every chance.AB comes off a long run and gives Nick and Mark a whack about LIV, but not for the reasons you might think. Seed has a question about Greg Norman when he was playing and the crowds.And now onto the culinary section of Talk Birdie To Me: Burgo chimes in on Turkish Delights in Istanbul, and CK wants to respond to Marks comments and questions about the calibre of sushi in Australia vs Japan from last week, and Producer Dan has a comment from his brother Mike, who lives in Singapore and lived in Hong Kong for a decade, about Marks bold claim that Chinese food in Australia is better than in China.Also randomly Mark decides to share a Michael Jackson fact with us. No idea why. It was awkward.But whilst we were talking Japan it reminded us of the amazing opportunity that you have to win a golfing trip to Japan with Paul Sheehan from GolfLoot - join as a member, starts from about 12 or 13 bucks a month, there are a heap of regular prizes - and some huge ones, like the Japan trip! All the details at GolfLoot here.Mark has a great story about playing on the China Tour and getting into an awkward situation at a bar with Lucien Tinkler, and we hear why Mark turned down the opportunity to play for Australia and regrets it.Finally, a great question from Dylan about the calibre of handicaps and which is better.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;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 we're chatting with Craig from Western Australia, who now lives in Warrnambool in Victoria. Means he gets to play the beautiful Warrnambool and Port Fairy regions....lucky duck....However, Craig is looking to develop his game further and he is unsure of how to explain to a prospective golf coach exactly what he's looking for. It's obviously an investment in time and money so you want to get it right. He's come to ask Nick and Mark for a few thoughts which they are happy to share. Mark coached for 7-years, and he explains how he liked people to explain to him what they needed and why it made a difference. Nick has some thoughts on why the timeframe you're looking to be with a coach makes a massive difference to the initial conversations.We reckon Craig will nail this and his game will go from strength to strength!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;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 Feedback pod today, specifically focused on the news from last week that Golf Australia head honcho James Sutherland revealed on the Talk Birdie To Me podcast, about the Australian Open moving to North Adelaide in a multi-year deal.We've had mountains of feedback from wolfpackers, and it is mixed. Some love the idea, some hate the idea, it would be fair to say that there appears little middle ground, the feelings are strong either way. We start by replaying some of James comments about his excitement about the news, and his confidence that if they get the course right it will be the biggest Open ever.Nick and Mark have been thinking about it since the heard the news, and have some concerns. In a country where we have some incredible golf courses that are world standard in multiple states, courses that players love, it seems a risk to have our biggest event on a course that is not built yet, at least not to Open standard as it's currently a public course. Mark understands that the backdrop of the city, so close to the CBD, will give it something special, however he'd like to know what sort of course it will be, what style of course? Nick has never seen the course, however has a friend who has, and likens it to (for Melbourne listeners) like an Albert Park level course at the moment.The speculated $45 million price tag will be likely to include infrastructure, of which there will need to be plenty, Mark wants to know if that includes fees for some internationals to come here, saying that the $3-4 million Rory was paid to come to Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath will not be anywhere near enough to get him to North Adelaide.Lots of feedback (good and bad) including the legendary Bradley Hughes with his views on the multi-year arrangement.This will evolve, and we're always keen to hear what you think so let us know on socials or comments on the pod itself.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;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.

Big week this week with the PGA Championship at Aronimink. Nick has mixed memories of the course, and by mixed, we mean ordinary ones....he's played it a couple of times and in his words the course 'beat him up', Nick and Mark discuss the course, the style, and how it plays. Nick says that it's all about the par 4's on this course, they grind you down, and you need to control the spin.Mark has loaded in all the players he wants to follow on the Find My Player app - it's a ripper, if you haven't downloaded it, well worthwhile - get it at Google Play or the App Store. We run through the power rankings and look at the top 15 or so players, Mark is red hot for Cameron Young saying it is inevitable that he will win a major. And we frame up our Betr multi, which looks on the surface to be a pretty decent shot. Hummer at Betr frames it for us. You can jump on board at the Betr website or their app, look for Betr specials and you'll find out multi there:Scheffler to beat BrysonRory to beat RahmCameron Young Top 10Looks very doable. It'll be a cracker this weekend, can't wait !!!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;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 fantastic Monday Mini today where a question has come in from wolfpacker Craig, and it's a ripper. Essentially Craig asks Nick and Mark if, at the peak other careers, or when they were struggling, if they had a phone call from LIV (in the hypothetical scenario LIV was around then) would they have said yes or no.Both Nick and Mark answer the question. And they discuss other players who have gone, and whether it was the right move or not, one Australian player Nick and Mark name and say he timed it perfectly. Another they name and say they feel it may have made the wrong call and had he not gone he may have been the greatest Australian golfer ever.A great Talk Birdie To Me Mini today, off the back of a ripping question from Craig.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;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.