Talk Birdie To Me – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Nick and Mark are amped over last weeks Cam Smith news that he will be playing the NSW Open at Murray Downs in November, so much so that we start the show by calling Golf NSW COO Graeme Phillipson to ask him how it happened, and how Golf NSW pulled off such a fantastic get. Great chat, and some fantastic insights into the process, and what it now means for the NSW Open.

We discuss the Fedex Cup final round, and the win (sort of) by Scottie Scheffler. Mark is annoyed that one of the commentators described it as a wire to wire win when it clearly wasn't, Nick agrees. We discuss if it counts as a win given the way the final was structured. And Nick talks through Scheffler's shank in the final round. And we talk about the Sahith Theegala incident in the bunker and the self-reporting that cost him a lazy 2.5 million.

Nick starts telling us about an unfortunate incident he had in Abu Dhabi where he self-reported, which is interrupted when the hotline rings, and it's Talk Birdie Wolfpack member Sammy J from Melbourne who has a couple of comments on women's golf participation, and diversity more broadly in golf. He makes some excellent points, and then undoes all his good work by telling us a joke that he thinks Marko will enjoy. Mark does, Nick and Dan do not.

Back to Nick's Abu Dhabi story, and then Mark tells a cracker about Craig Parry and Nick Faldo playing in Bali. It's very funny, although not for Sir Nick who was leading by a boatload when disaster struck, courtesy of Craig Parry.

After the turn, Nick gives us a great Scottie Scheffler stat. Then, thanks to our mates at Southern Golf Club, Mark lists his Top 5 weird stuff in the golf swings of some champions. Nick has watched the Lee Trevino documentary at the weekend, Mark is horrified that Nick was out of the lounge room making a coffee and missed the best part!

A fun story about PING's Bubba Watson from Nick, and Mark talks about the 'flags' at Augusta. Lots to run through in the PING Global results from Nick, and Nick names what hole at what course is the hardest tee shot in the world of golf.

As usual plenty of feedback to run through, so much so that we run out of time, so we'll drop back later this week and do another Q&A bonus pod.

And thanks to the new watchMynumbers app, download from the App Store or Google Play, Nicks masterclass today is on spinning the ball on your wedge shots.

A big thanks to our great Talk Birdie partners:

• PING will help you play your best, like they have for Nick O'Hern. See your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;
• The new watchMynumbers app, the most powerful data based golf app in the world, download from the App Store or Google Play;
• Golf Clearance Outlet, join GCO Live for great member benefits and comps. They're in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and the Sunshine Coast, or online here.
• And Southern Golf Club - Home of the Australian Master of the Amateurs in January 2025, entry is free!

Subscribe to never miss a Talk Birdie To Me ep. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, send a voicemail here, and see our Masterclass videos on YouTube here.

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

• Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;
• FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;
• PING will help you play your best. See your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;
• Golf Clearance Outlet, visit them online here to find your nearest store.
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.
• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nick and Mark love receiving voicemails, this week former tour pro David Diaz left us a message after hearing the boys chatting about the great Southern Golf Club in Melbourne.

If you want to leave a voicemail - it's easy, head to our website here on your mobile or computer, hit the record button, tell us who you are, where you're from, where you play your golf, and leave your message. Couldn't be easier, takes 60-seconds.

We're here each week with the great support of PING, see your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting. Just like they have with Nick O'Hern, PING will help you play your best. And the Golf Clearance Outlet, great prices on the best gear. See them instore in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Perth, or online here. And watchMynumbers, the powerful data-based golf app in the world - play smarter by using your data. Download from the AppStore or GooglePlay.

And don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and you can see all our Masterclass videos on YouTube here.

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

• Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;
• FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;
• PING will help you play your best. See your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;
• Golf Clearance Outlet, visit them online here to find your nearest store.
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.
• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nick and Mark always love receiving your voicemails, some we play in the show and others we pop in the feed here. We had a voicemail from Dan in The Blue Mountains today asking about the format for golf in the Olympics and giving his view on what an alternate format could look like. What do you think of Dan's suggestion? Nick and Mark discuss their views on the format for the Olympics this arvo on the pod.

And if you want to leave a voicemail - it's easy, head to our website here on your mobile or computer, hit the record button, tell us who you are, where you're from, where you play your golf, and leave your message. Couldn't be easier, you'll be done in 60-seconds.

We're here each week with the great support of PING, see your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting. Just like they have with Nick O'Hern, PING will help you play your best. And the Golf Clearance Outlet, great prices on the best gear. See them instore in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Perth, or online here. And watchMynumbers, the powerful data-based golf app in the world - play smarter by using data. Download from the AppStore or GooglePlay.

And don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and you can see all our Masterclass videos on YouTube here.

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

• Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;
• FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;
• PING will help you play your best. See your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;
• Golf Clearance Outlet, visit them online here to find your nearest store.
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.
• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The show starts on an ironic note with Mark noticing something he finds unusual about Lucas Glover, but as interesting as that is, we have to discuss the extraordinary effort from Bryson DeChambeau - an insane performance by him. Nick talks about Bryson’s new driver, called a Crank Driver, and Nick feels that the drivers are having a disproportionate influence on the game today.

Without taking anything away from Bryson’s LIV performance, Mark was enthralled by the players on bubbles in the Wyndham Championship at the weekend, and we discuss some of those players and how they went. Nick and Mark talk about Justin Thomas’ on the last hole, and the chip that he needed to make. Video on our socials. Nick says that hole is very difficult and explains why. Ryder Cup selection coming up, and Nick and Mark discuss who might get picked and why.

Big news last week with Tiger Woods joining the PGA Advisory board, Nick and Mark like it, and discuss what it may mean. They feel that Tiger will have good intent and will be a strong advocate for the game, particularly for cuts which Nick and Mark are big supporters of and feel it is a hugely important part of golf.

Nick and Mark have a discussion on anchoring after watching Lucas Glover, and have a different view - so we decide to call Stuart McPhee - who is a USGA Expert Certified and R&A Level 2 qualified Rules Official, and hosts the GolfRules Questions podcast (listen here). Stuart knows the rules back to front and explains the anchoring rule to us very clearly. And Mark gives Stuart some homework for an upcoming pod.

Plenty of Aussies around the world in action over the last few days, and Nick runs through some notable performances.

As usual a heap of feedback, keep it coming, we love to hear from you be it feedback, questions or comments.

A fun Top 5 this week, Nick counts down the Top 5 golfers with ironic names. And a ripping masterclass from Mark today on using a 9 iron for bunker shots instead of a sand wedge.

Talk Birdie To Me, new episodes weekly wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe and you'll never miss an episode! And if you've got a friend who is into golf, we'd love you to share the podcast with them, and if you can rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts that would be great.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

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

• Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;
• FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;
• PING will help you play your best. See your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;
• Golf Clearance Outlet, visit them online here to find your nearest store.
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.
• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well we start with the most important thing this week in golf, an update on our quest to have at least one listener in Latvia. Nick is on the case and tells us all about it.

Big show. The Evian, a great win for Celine Boutier who made it look easy. Both Nick and Mark very impressed with Celine’s performance. Mark was also happy to see Aussie Stephanie Kyriacou continue to do well. Nick not a fan of the course generally, nor is Mark, but they both love the views there. And some controversy in the Evian this week with the slow play penalty for Carlota Ciganda, resulting in a DQ. Nick and Mark discuss, and have a different view on the decision. Long chat about slow play, which drives both of the guys crazy.

Nick and Mark chat about rules, they love the idea of banning yardage books on the greens, which has just come in at the USGA Amateur Events, both want to expand this rule to all tournaments.

The 3M Open finish on Monday was unbelievable. Lee Hodges won by 7 shots, but what Mark wants to discuss was J.T. Poston's performance on the 72nd hole which was a shocker, and cost him a small fortune. The guys do the maths…and it’s a lot of cash! Nick was pleased to see Aaron Baddeley do well at the 3M Open.

Nick runs us through how the standings work with respect to qualifying for tournaments this year.

Back onto rules, and the ball issue. Both Nick and Mark are disappointed with the US PGA decision on balls in elite competition, and Nick says Rory McIllroy is behind the decision. Long chat, Nick and Mark have very strong opinions on it and discuss it at length.

Plenty of feedback and questions from you this week, including a ripper from Brett on handling frustration on the golf course - Nick and Mark give their techniques for handling it.

Top 5 from Mark looks at the Top 5 worst dressed golfers of all time, inspired by Viktor Hovland. And the Masterclass this week is from Nick on spot lining, a masterclass requested by Mark.

Talk Birdie To Me, new episodes weekly wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe and you'll never miss an episode!

By the way if you've got a friend who is into golf, we'd love you to share the podcast with them, and if you can rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts that would be great.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

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

• Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;
• FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;
• PING will help you play your best. See your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;
• Golf Clearance Outlet, visit them online here to find your nearest store.
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.
• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What a weekend of golf it was, and what a win from Brian Harman at Hoylake. Nick and Mark discuss The Open at length and chat about the fantastic performance of Harman's.

Mark was impressed with his ability to come back from a 'banana skin start', Nick's not heard of that term in reference to golf, so Mark explains. Harman's putting stats were unbelievably good, and they discuss the importance of a great caddy in wet conditions and explain why. On caddys, Nick makes the call that Rory McIllroy needs a new caddy, and gives his reasons. Mark reckons he's onto something.

Mark talks about his love of older courses, more specifically the tighter size of the greens.

Nick and Mark run through some other players who stood out, and discuss the Aussies. They speak about Jason Day in particular, with the volume of #2 positions he has now reached.

Lots of feedback, and as part of that we have an update on Nick O'Who's right-handed handicap.

The Top 5 this week is from Nick, and it goes next level - it's the Top 5 hardest players to watch over the ball. There are too many to fit in, so Nick makes an executive decision that it's a Top 7. And leading on from that, Mark's masterclass is to do with what you should do over the ball.

Talk Birdie To Me, new episodes weekly wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe and you'll never miss an episode!

By the way if you've got a friend who is into golf, we'd love you to share the podcast with them, and if you can rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts that would be great.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

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

• Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;
• FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;
• PING will help you play your best. See your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;
• Golf Clearance Outlet, visit them online here to find your nearest store.
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.
• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bonus episode this week with the British Open about to start later today Australian time; Nick and Mark discuss it all. 

Nick reckons the new 17th hole is a beast, and is very keen to see it in action. Mark remembers how small the greens are, and that will be fun to watch.

Mark asks Nick for his thoughts on a few particular golfers, starting with Robert MacIntyre, Shane Lowry and Jordan Spieth. Nick likes MacIntyre, and feels Spieth’s ability to move on from a bad shot during a tournament is a great attribute. Nick describes Viktor Hovland as a ball playing machine, Mark agrees.

Nick and Mark can’t believe that nobody is talking about Rahm, and Nick reckons he’s a real chance. Mark reckons that Brooks Koepka has his best chance in this Open.

Cameron Smith. The defending champion, in good form, how will he go? Nick and Mark discuss his chances. Nick has found a stat that may support a Smith win.

Scheffler and McIllroy have to be in consideration, two icons, and Nick and Mark chat about their lead-up to the Open.

After the turn, Nick and Mark turn the focus to the rest of the Aussies and look at their chances: Jason Day, Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee, Lucas Herbert. There are five Aussies making their British Open debut including Travis Smythe, David Micheluzzi, Haydn Barron, Harrison Crowe and Connor McKinney.

Nick and Mark then look at some of the pairings, with one pairing particularly amusing the guys.

We wrap up the podcast with Nick and Marks tips on who will win, who he reckons the bookies have gotten wrong, a roughie, and the leading Australian.

Always a special time when an Open is on, and this one will be a ripper!

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

• Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;
• FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;
• PING will help you play your best. See your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;
• Golf Clearance Outlet, visit them online here to find your nearest store.
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.
• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Excited for the show today because we’re live from the Peter Thomson room at The Australian Golf Centre, it’s a great spot and we love it here. Unfortunately we get off to a bad start when Mark Allen makes the claim that ‘golf is a stupid game’, and he blames Ben Hogan. Specifically, Ben’s book ’The 5 Modern Fundamentals of Golf’ which Mark reckons derailed his career.

Mark brings up link courses, and how much he loves them, Nick agrees, and Mark gives the best definition of what a ‘link course’ means that he’s heard. Nick says that he found Links Golf courses very much suited his game and his natural instincts.

The Scottish Open. Mark was enthralled by Bob MacIntyre and Rory McIllroy and how it played out, such an exciting finish. Nick and Mark discuss the two iron shots that Rory shot towards the end, and forcing a playoff on 18. Nick loved seeing Rory playing with a persimmon club. Nick and Mark talk about their favourite club, the one that they just couldn’t go wrong with.

Mark also reveals something he may have stolen from Renaissance Golf Club. We may need to call the authorities, we have a criminal on the show.

Burkie from Buninyong calls in with a masterclass suggestion, it’s a ripper, and topical given the Scottish Open. Thanks Burkie, a ripper thought and one that Nick was pleased to hook into.

Lots of feedback this week, including feedback on Marks comments on ‘gimmes’ last week. Plus a very important question about wine. Nick and Mark always love hearing from you, so keep it coming - feedback (good or bad) and questions are always welcome.

Plenty of results to run through, Nick has got all of them, including an incident that happened that Mark believes should have resulted in a spectator being ejected.

And a fun Top 5 this week with Mark looking at crazy rehearsals before playing a shot. Some of them are ridiculous.

Talk Birdie To Me, new episodes weekly wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe and you'll never miss an episode!

By the way if you've got a friend who is into golf, we'd love you to share the podcast with them, and if you can rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts that would be great.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

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

• Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;
• FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;
• PING will help you play your best. See your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;
• Golf Clearance Outlet, visit them online here to find your nearest store.
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.
• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Big episode this week, and we're live from the famous Kingston Heath Golf Club, the recently announced host of the 2028 Presidents Cup - later in the show, after the turn, we chat with the boss of Kingston Heath, Andrew Taylor, about how they won the event and what it means now.

But we start with Nick and Mark raving about the US Women's Open finally being held at Pebble Beach, such a great tournament and what a performance from Allisen Corpuz who put on what Nick described as a 'ball-striking clinic'. As great as the performances themselves were, the boys are rapt it has finally been held at Pebble Beach.

Mark asks Nick a pop quiz question without notice: how many players have scored under 60 on the PGA tour? The numbers are impressive.

Mark discussed how fascinated he is with 'what's in the bag', particularly with the length of their clubs. Mark feels drivers these days are too long, Nick agrees. Good chat about length and how it applies to any golfer.

Nick was watching Nacho Elvira at the weekend and saw him play a shot that went pear-shaped, and Nick believes he should have belly-wedged the shot, and asks Mark to do a masterclass on belly-wedges later in the show.

Nick gives a great story about playing Presidents Cup in Washington DC with Peter Lonard, against Davis Love ||| and Kenny Perry. It's a ripper.

Great win from Cam Smith in LIV at the weekend, a great result and a huge paycheck for him, so fantastic all round. Cam put on a 'putting tournament' according to Nick, and Mark proposes an idea for how to handle playoffs in LIV.

We chat to the head honcho of Kingston Heath, Andrew Taylor, about the Presidents Cup announcement and what it means - and Andrew reveals what he is proposing the routing to be for the tournament, and plenty of other great insights into how they were awarded the event, and what they now need to put in place....there's a lot!

As usual, lots of feedback for Nick and Mark this week. Including a great question from Marcus about handicaps in the US vs Australia, leading to a long chat about 'gimmes'. And Brett phones up with a fantastic question for Nick and Mark about putting golf lessons into practice consistently.

Top 5 this week is the Top 5 voices in golf....some wonderful voices from the world of golf, and we play some audio from each of them. Great memories.

Masterclass this week is from Mark, and was requested by Nick, and looks at belly-wedges and how to do them effectively when your ball has rolled off the green into a decent chunk of thick grass.

Talk Birdie To Me, new episodes weekly wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe and you'll never miss an episode!

By the way if you've got a friend who is into golf, we'd love you to share the podcast with them, and if you can rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts that would be great.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

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

• Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;
• FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;
• PING will help you play your best. See your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;
• Golf Clearance Outlet, visit them online here to find your nearest store.
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.
• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this weeks episode, Mark Allen reveals a big theory about Tiger Woods, and he has a reliable source. A theory which, if it comes to fruition, would be fantastic for golf. Nick likes it, and says a world where Tiger is playing is a better world for golf.

Onto Rickie Fowler. What a win in Detroit, Nick loved the emotion in the press conference after the game, and the family involvement. Both Nick and Mark are fans, and Nick says that Rickie is one of the tours' nice guys. Nick and Mark discuss the importance of that win, following the disappointment of the US Open.

Mark suggests a masterclass following the Detroit tournament at the weekend for Nick, which will be later in the show today.

Nick reveals something about Mark's appearance that he has always admired. Came out of left-field to be honest, but hey whatever floats your boat!

Bernhard Langer. 65 years old and what a player. Nick and Mark discuss how impressive he is playing over a long time, and this year. Nick reveals an incredible story about Bernhard that he's not spoken about before...it's a ripper! And Nick reveals the nickname he gave Bernhard.

Mark tells a great story about the legendary Peter Thomson. Another cracking story that you need to hear.

And Nick and Mark discuss the drug testing on tour, when they got you, how it happened.

After the turn, Nick runs through a heap of results from the weekend, focusing of course on the Aussies. It goes slightly pear-shaped when the boys try to guess Anthony Quayle's age - and neither of them are correct. Apologies to Anthony.

We also discover that Taylor Gooch's caddy has won more this year than Mark made in his entire professional career. Mark is unimpressed.

We talk to podcast listener Finn who reached out with a 'bragline' story about his mate Cooper, which the boys love. Keep them coming in! Plenty of feedback this week, including people agreeing with Mark's comments on Keegan Bradley last week. And a conversation around how Tour Pro's count hole in ones.

Top 5 this week, Mark counts down the Top 5 most famous cases of the yips that golf has seen. Both Nick and Mark reveal the time that they each had the yips, and what they did about it.

We chat to listener Patrick from Sydney who reckons Mark missed an entry on last weeks Top 5, when he counted down the Top 5 US Open shots of all time.

And a great masterclass from Nick, one requested by Mark, on how to hit shots taking spin off the ball like Rickie Fowler did at the weekend.

Talk Birdie To Me, new episodes weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

If you've got a friend who is into golf, we'd love you to share the podcast with them, and rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts. You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

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

• Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;
• FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;
• PING will help you play your best. See your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;
• Golf Clearance Outlet, visit them online here to find your nearest store.
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.
• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.