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Explore every episode of the podcast Talk Birdie To Me

Dive into the complete episode list for Talk Birdie To Me. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.

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TitlePub. DateDuration
Monday Mini: When Caddies made a difference. And why Stevie Williams said 'No Tiger No!' before one shot.08 Nov 202600:12:40

This is fun. An email from Greg in Minnesota who asks Nick and Mark about whether they can recall any times where a caddy had a material influence on a shot, and the result. Nick and Mark have a bunch of stories, and Mark tells a ripper about Stevie Williams having a disagreement with Tiger, and what happened on that shot - did Tiger get his way, or did Stevie?


Greg also asks Nick and Mark to list their Top 5 caddies, and we go down the Top 5 'famous' caddy angle. Some big names. And at the weekend Mark played a round with his former caddy Troy and his son Conor...catching up on old times!


A fun monday mini today, always good to chat caddies!!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

☎️ Voicemail: Evan on an unusual training aid from the mid-90s07 Nov 202600:01:21

Wolfpacker Evan heard Nick and Mark talking about unusual training aids, and recalls one that he saw advertised in the mid-90s which he reckons was one of the strangest he's seen, have a listen to his voicemail....do you remember the aid Evan is referring to?

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Friday Feedback: Mark 'When Gary Player was Rude to Me', Spot Lining, The Yips, and Aaron Baddeley News!05 Nov 202600:23:19

Fashion chat returns, but this time with a valid reason...and Mark has let the team down.


01:00Mark tells a story about when Gary Player was 'rude' to him.

02:00Ralph with putting tips that work for him, Nick and Mark discuss putting techniques

04:00Ricky on the yips

04:30Mark talks about Brett Ogle

05:00We reveal that we'll be chatting to Aaron Baddeley on the show next week...exciting!

05:00Marco with a question about identifying your dominant hand

06:30Steve from California on the yips, including a Jerry Haas update, and a gentle dig at Nick

08:00Scott on the yips

09:00Nick and Mark each tell a story about NZ Tour Pro Grant Waite


after the turn...


13:00Dbu on pre shot routines

14:00Peter and Phil and Tim on spot lining

15:00Mark on something his Texas Tech coach taught, and allowed, players to do

17:00Christopher on Minjee, and the young up and coming Australian women

18:00When Bubba changed balls...disaster

19:00Comments on our recent show on great South Australian courses, and on our question about the best Canadian course - we were inundated with response

22:00Steve on slow play and what his Dad taught him


A fun Friday Feedback show, have a ripper weekend !!!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

It's over. LIV Golf runs out of Investors, Money, and Time.05 Nov 202600:12:11

They may not have announced it yet, but mark today's date as the day that LIV Golf officially died, there is no coming back from this investor withdrawing. And Nick and Mark jumped on for a quick chat about what has happened and what it means.


Nick says the writing has been on the wall for some time, we've known they've been in trouble for a while. He does say that if every LIV event around the world was as successful as Adelaide and South Africa, LIV would have continued.


We discuss the players. What does Bryson do in 2027 now? Nick says that he feels the tour will do something to accommodate Bryson and Rahm.


Where does Dustin Johnson go? And we chat about the Aussies: Elvis, Herbie and Cam Smith. Nick believes Cam will lend up on the DP World Tour, and his game suits that tour.


Mark wants to see Mickelson on the Champions Tour.


And we finish this breaking news pod with a chat about whether LIV was good or bad for golf?


Plenty still to come on this story, however it is now clear that LIV is over.

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Ep229: How scary is Q School? Why are Nick and Mark ropable over the APAC tournament. And Sergio Garcia...tone-deaf?03 Nov 202600:56:28

As always plenty to discuss on the show. Strap in for a fun hour of golf chat and bad gags...


01:00Mark saw a tweet from Ryan French at Monday Q which alerted him to something fantastic from DP World Tour Stage 2 Q School at the weekend, and we hook into it right away and award it the BMW Touch of Class. Nick and Mark run through the scores hole by hole...it is wild.

09:00How scary is Q School? Nick and Mark talk us through it.

10:00When David Feherty taught Mark a lesson in not getting ahead of himself.

11:00The iconic National Golf Club in Victoria has some political issues. What is happening?

14:00Mark puts up fees for some Texan courses to compare with Australia's top end course fees.

20:00The APAC tournament was held at the weekend in New Zealand, and Nick and Mark are very unhappy about one particular aspect.

26:00We look at the confirmed departures and confirmed remaining players from LIV 2.0.

29:00Nick reads a message re: LIV from a player currently on the Asian tour who looks like being offered a spot on LIV 2.0.


After the turn:


32:00The Hostplus 'plus for golf' is something very close to home for Mark.

34:00Top 5 for Betr, the Top 5 short areas that Nick has seen.

35:00Something Mark has heard about Augusta's chipping green, can any wolfpacker confirm?

38:00Sergio Garcia's bizarre announcement about leaving LIV.

41:00Nick runs us through the Global Results Highlights.

44:00A very funny story about a 'privileged' Tour Pro.

47:00Onto Feedback for Southern Golf Club:

  • Ryder cup ownership clarification
  • Sean Crocker
  • The drama of the PGA Tour ecosystem
  • An eagle eyed wolfpacker has spotted something interesting in Byrons latests video
  • Sergio, and Eddie Pepperell's hilarious Sergio tweet.

53:00And we wrap, for the Golf Clearance Outlet, with a masterclass on chipping equipment (sort of).


A big show!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Feedback: Top 100 Course lists, Rummaging in Pros bags, and what does Nick dislike about Lake Karrinyup?02 Nov 202600:25:48

Plenty of feedback lately so we thought we'd do a bonus feedback pod and run through some more of your comments and questions.


01:00Feedback on our chat about the redeveloped Links Kennedy Bay, Nick and Mark discuss their top 2 WA courses (they disagree) and Nick reveals the one thing about Lake Karrinuyup he doesn't rate.

02:00Question about taking divots

04:00Gary with a story about the Tassie open from years gone by, and the clubs that he saw some of the stars using

05:30Sean with a question about Tigers clubs, Mark tells a story about taking inside the bag of a huge Tour Pro when he wasn't around

08:30Martin from the UK with a suggestion for a different version of the Ryder Cup.

09:30Sledge with a message about a recent great caddy experience


After the turn...


13:00Monty comment

15:00A pump-up for Bradley Hughes

16:00A wolfpacker from Canberra on NSW South Coast courses, and a question about Top 100 course lists

19:00A question on stretching

20:00A couple of comments on our recent Graham Marsh special

24:00And we wrap with a message for Nick from Troy, who had an experience with Nick in his younger WA days

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Monday Mini: Alex is having trouble on Par 4's, can Nick & Mark help?01 Nov 202600:07:37

On today's Monday Mini we look at a message from wolfpacker Alex who is a 30-handicapper and listens from Darwin. He is having trouble on reaching Par 4's in two shots, just can't seem to do it. His short game isn't bad, he just needs his driving to be a little better to take advantage of it.


Nick and Mark discuss 3 or 4 things that Alex could consider to improve his Par 4 performances, particularly considering his handicap.


A quick little Monday Mini with some good advice, and one or two (bad) gags on the way. Happy Monday!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

☎️ Voicemail: Pete had a day on the course having a lesson with Nick O'Hern. Did it go well?31 Oct 202600:01:01

After Mark asked Nick on the show this week how his 'golf lessons' work, where he spends an entire day with someone and teaches in a slightly less orthodox fashion than some others, Pete left us a message telling us about a lesson he had with Nick a couple of years ago, how it went, and how it's going 2-years on.


Got a comment or question? You can leave a voicemail here.

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Friday Feedback: Adam Scott, Anthony Kim, Shaft Weights, and 'Were you beaten by a Tour Pro when they were a kid?'29 Oct 202600:23:45

Some conflict at the start of the show today when there is dissent over some content choices. Is there trouble in paradise?


But...we resolve our differences and get on with the Friday Feedback show.


01:00Matthew enjoyed Mark's 'hairline' comment last week.

02:00Jase in South Korea wants to add his course to Nick's 'tight courses' Top 5 from last weeks show. Mark talks about playing Hidden Valley in Melbourne's north last week and commented on how tight some of the holes were.

03:00Phil on cart use in championships at his course.

05:00Comments on our '12-year old Adam Scott' story from last week, with a couple of other clashes between wolfpackers and big names when they were younger. We decide on the fly that, if we get enough comments, we'll do an episode on 'who have you been beaten by'. Wolfpackers vs big names when they were young. If you've got a story let us know here either in message form or voicemail.

06:00Message from Brucey Young with a suggestion for another young player who did something extraordinary.

07:00Gary Lisbon on Chacarra

08:00Stuart with a question on shaft weight. Nick explains what he likes and why, Mark shows what he uses.


After the turn...


12:00Request from a wolfpacker to get Ritchie Smith back on to ask about some of his players underperformance this year.

13:00 A wolfpacker feels we're letting Golf Australia off the hook by not challenging the dates and support for the Capital.com Australian Open.

15:00Chris asks Nick about some of his comments about handicaps during commentary on the TV coverage in South Australia last week

17:00Graham with a question on Jeeno Thitikul and Anthony Kim's techniques.

19:00Sam asks Mark why a particular, very famous, Adam Scott performance does not warrant being on Mark's greatest shots of all time list

20:00Owen on Marks' alignment stick demonstration last week, with a question about strange training gadgets.


Fun show, thanks for being a part of it, have a great weekend !!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Ep228: Mark: 'To be brutally honest (this) is what LIV didn't have', The 'Bubble' - agony and ecstasy, and what Scheffler calls 'the most important chip shot of my career'27 Oct 202601:05:00

Fun show today, and we start with the latest from the world of LIV. There is a lot going on as we get closer to the deadline for players to decide.


01:00On LIV, the players who have left and those who have confirmed that they are remaining. There are a number of verbal commitments which are yet to be confirmed in contract form.

03:00LIV have messaged us overnight with a statement about their negotiations with players, we read it out on the show.

03:30Mark outlines what he believes a 'verbal commitment' to LIV is designed to achieve for the players.

05:00The payouts to LIV execs and former execs. Reasonable or unfair?

07:00With the exodus, where will LIV 2.0 players come from? Mark feels they'll struggle for players, Nick says they won't.

10:00Is Bryson in for LIV or not?

12:00The bubble time of the year is here, and we love it.

13:30Sean Crocker, on the bubble, and snuck in at 100. We discuss how he did it.

14:30For Hostplus, our Plus for Golf is the DP World Tour showing the bubble action (and Sean for making it).

15:30We discuss what Scottie Scheffler calls 'the greatest chip shot of my career'

16:00Nick talks abut the most important bunker shot he ever played.

17:00Of course for every Sean Crocker, there is someone who misses, and on the Champions Tour Shane Bertsch was that player. We hear what he said afterwards.

20:00The controversy over Q School being dropped as part of the Champions Tour.

22:00DPWT and PGAT - when their current agreement is up, do they remain connected?

25:00Mark asks Nick when he does a coaching day, what it entails? Nick talks through his day long lessons.

28:00What AFL players could learn from golf


After the turn...


36:00For Betr, Mark's Top 5 things to make your scores better.

42:00Nick runs through the Global Result Highlights, including the BMW Touch of Class....it is a ripper!

51:00Feedback for Southern Golf Club: 1992 vs 1977...the final verdict on which was better, a slow play suggestion, Adam Scott and Aaron Baddeley using 'the force', Nick using the force,

55:00And following last weeks adhoc Top 5 on 'triggers', where we could only come up with 4 and asked for your help, we've got a heap of suggestions....we fill the 5th spot with one of them.

1:00:00And for the Golf Clearance Outlet, Nick's masterclass is on 'feel vs real'.

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Mini: Putting Right, yet Swinging Left, why it works. Nick O'Hern explains. And Mark tells us 'the most horrible (putting yips) I ever saw in a tournament'26 Oct 202600:10:28

A message today from wolfpacker Grant who recently spoke to Nick about putting right handed, while swinging left handed, and Nick had shared some great tips with him. Grant asked if we could elaborate further on the show. Nick explains why he believes it is an excellent way to solve the (apologies for the language) yips, and he talks about grips. Nick is a huge proponent of this, so it's great to delve into some detail.


It reminds Mark of when he was playing in a US tournament on the Korn Ferry tour and he saw an excellent golfer experience the putting yips during the tournament calling it 'the most horrible thing I ever saw'. He tells us the story on this mini ep today.

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Monday Mini: 'Must Play' courses in Adelaide & Victor Harbor. And why Nick O'Hern says he is responsible for Elvis Smylie's 2024 WA Open win.25 Oct 202600:09:15

A Monday Mini today, unfortunately beginning with more 'fashion chat' from our resident Miranda Priestley (aka Mark Allen). Feel free to fast forward through the 30 seconds of fashion chat....this show is on the verge of jumping the shark...


But....there is an excellent golf question today from a Canadian Wolfpacker Gary who is heading to South Australia for Christmas and wants to play some golf while he's there, and is after some tips on courses to look at. Nick and Mark kick around a couple of courses in Adelaide that Gary should try to get on, and he's fortunate because there are some crackers around the Victor Harbor area where he will be staying. Mark also makes a recommendation for Gary to hire a helicopter to get to one specific course.....yes it is slightly ridiculous....unless Gary is loaded with cash in which case it is a great idea.


We also talk about how wonderful the South Australian golf, and sporting, heritage is...it is an amazing state and under-rated by far too many people.


Nick finds a way, after a lunch at a winery in South Australia, to claim credit for Elvis Smylie's win in the 2024 Western Australian Open...seems a long bow, but we'll let him have it.


And given our wolfpacker is from Canada, it leads to a chat about great Canadian courses, which are the best, and what is the absolute best...we don't know, and we would love you (if you have any thoughts) to tell us the best Canadian course and why!


Thanks for the message Gary, have a great trip to Australia in December and hit 'em well!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

☎️ Voicemail: Dan from the Sunshine Coast with some advice on 'stretching'24 Oct 202600:01:23

Mark has been banging on over the last couple of weeks about his new stretching routine and says that his body feels better than it has in years. He also made the dubious claim that his stretching routine has caused his hair to become thicker and more voluminous. The first claim may well be right, the second is clearly ludicrous.


Nevertheless, Dan from the Sunshine Coast has had some similar issues and has found a solution to help him with stretching, and he wanted to share it. The key question for Dan though is whether his solution has contributed to his hairline? Helpfully Dan clarifies in this voicemail.

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Friday Feedback: 'Ban All Caddys for Pros'! Sheez... and a great story of a 12-year old Adam Scott Monstering the Adults in Brisy!22 Oct 202600:21:59

This is awkward. The show gets off to a poor start when Mark is insensitive to a team member, nearly derailing the entire pod for today. Trouble in paradise.


But fortunately, we get back on track.....and on with the Friday Feedback show!


01:00 A message from Paul with a great story about a 12-year old Adam Scott monstering a tournament in Brisbane!

02:00 Mark talks about watching a young Adam, marvelling at his short game, saying that Scotty was 'using the force' when he putted.

05:00 Couple of comments on the Adam Scott video from last week....the 'toe' vid.

06:00 We do a Top 5 on the fly of players who had a pre-shot trigger, we can only come up with 4, if you have a 5th let us know in the comments.

07:00 A wolfpacker who disagrees with Nick and Mark on the value of caddys and believes they should be banned. Sheez....

08:00 Rohan with a question about lessons and a fitting, which should come first?


After the turn:


12:00 Comment from a wolfpacker on the class of Tyler McCumber to self report last week.

14:00 Bunch of comments on Dan Grieve, all pumping his tyres up.

14:30 We discuss the clip of Nick's bunker shot at Coolum that was shared last week - what does the world's self-described greatest bunker player ever (ahem Mark) think of the shot?

16:00 Richard wants to know if carts should be allowed in club championships.

17:00 Andrew challenges Marks claim that the 92 Australian Open was the strongest field ever, offering another year as his strongest. We compare the fields and, given Mark is biased, ask Nick to make the call....is Mark happy with the outcome of does the week end on a difficult note?


That's our Friday Feedback show - have a great 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 partner
  • BMW, 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.

Graham Marsh Mini: Links Kennedy Bay redesign, why he says 'You'd better get your Driver ready'!21 Oct 202600:13:52

On the main show this week Nick and Mark were discussing how great Secret Harbour looked for the WA Open, a course designed by Australian legend Graham Marsh, who also designed Kalgoorlie, where the tour was last week. Nick found out in conversation last week that Marshy is redesigning Kennedy Bay in Western Australia - one of Marks favourite courses, and so we thought let's get the man himself on for a quick chat about what he's doing with Kennedy Bay.


02:00Marshy talks about Kalgoorlie, and what they're doing to the course to ensure it is world standard.

04:00Is it true that at the launch of Secret Harbour many years ago, Marshy played an exhibition match with Gary Player and Lee Trevino? We find out what happened.

05:00He talks about the Kennedy Bay land and how special it was (and is)

07:00What are the Kennedy Bay changes? Marshy talks about the bunkers being in a pretty ordinary way, that has been fixed, and how some of the new holes are on completely different land and why that is.

08:30He has built the bunkers to suit the longer game, given how far players hit the ball these days.

11:00What grass has been used?


Always good to catch up with Marshy, he's a legendary player of course, and also an incredible designer.

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Ep227: Minjee Lee's Annus Horribilis, Top 5 'Narrow' courses, Rory's Fee for Kingston Heath...worth it or not?20 Oct 202600:58:43

Big show today, and we start with a stretching update from Mark. Riveting we know but as that famous golfer Taylor Swift said, the stretchers gonna stretch, stretch, stretch, stretch, stretch.


01:00Mark's stretching update.

02:00 The one thing from life as a Tour Pro that Mark would love to have in social golf

03:00 Mark makes an outrageous medical claim completely unsupported by any facts and highly unlikely to be remotely correct. He's the Robert F. Kennedy jnr of the podcast world.

06:00 Eugenio Chacarra had a win in India at the weekend. Nick saw a tweet from Jamie Kennedy which he thought was bang on, we discuss. Chacarra will clearly play Ryder Cup says Nick.

09:00 He uses a training aid, we have a yak about it.

10:00Other Tour Pros who use training aids

12:00The Rory vs Kevin Kisner controversy in India

14:00Rory's deal to come to Melbourne. Worth it or not?

15:00The timing of the Capital.com Australian Womens Open considering the Hawaiian tournament. Nick speaks on it again. Mark says that the womens tour could do something very special globally if the various body's work together.

17:00What has gone wrong with Minjee Lee's game?

19:00The Hostplus plus for golf this week was how the crowds were managed at the WA Open tournament in Secret Harbour. So good.

21:00And at the same tournament, our BMW Touch of Class goes to an esky.....you'll need to hear it to understand why.

25:00The latest on LIV 2.0.


After the turn...


28:00We look at Minjee's stats this year, they're not great, and Chacarra's ranking moves from Find My Player. Impressive.

30:00For Betr, Nick's Top 5 courses he has played that are very narrow - courses and holes

36:00Feedback for Southern Golf Club....we start with the Secret Harbour tournament

38:00Slow play penalty....does it deserve to be breaking news? We go with it.

39:00A whack for Mark over last weeks Top 5 suggesting a brutal omission. Does Mark push back or cop the whack with good grace?

41:00LIV

46:00A wolfpacker disagrees with Marks oft mentioned 'greatest shot ever' , which was from Rory at Augusta. And this wolfpacker offers their alternative, with it has to be said, a solid case.

48:00Global highlights from Nick.

53:00And we get a rundown from Nick on how the BMW National Final in Queenstown went last week.

57:00Todays show wraps with a masterclass from Mark on putting, live from the brand spankers Golf Clearance Outlet store in Braybrook, Victoria.

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Bonus Mini: Imagine scoring an Albatross, and the next hole an Ace. It happened last weekend. We speak to the guy who did it.20 Oct 202600:16:07

Well this is extraordinary. At the weekend Kris Clelland was playing at Lynwood Country Club in Pitt Town, Sydney, where he did something quite unbelievable: scoring an Albatross, and then on the next hole an Ace. You read that correctly.


We had to hear what happened from the horses mouth, so we gave Kris a call to ask him all about it. At the time of the call, Nick and Mark were completely unaware of what had been achieved, only that Kris had done something quite special.


Kris talks us through it....and it really is remarkable.


What fun! We're just a touch envious, but well done Kris !!!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Monday Mini: 'Help, I'm consistently a Slow Starter in Comps....How do I fix it?'18 Oct 202600:08:30

Wolfpacker Andrew has an issue. He's a very good player, however he is plagued by slow starts in comps and always finds himself having to come from behind to perform well. He's after some thoughts from Nick and Mark who, helpfully, are happy to oblige with some actionable tips to improve and ultimately solve this dilemma of Andrews.


If you've got a question that might suit a Monday Mini, let us know, you can message us via the website or our LinkTree (or leave a voicemail). Links here.

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Friday Feedback: Adam Scott's Technique; are Caddies for Tour Pro's worth it or not needed? And more on Seve's National Service15 Oct 202600:27:28

Nick is still in New Zealand with the BMW team, no doubt plenty of golf, a couple of wines, and some relaxation. Interesting that Nick did not invite Mark and Dan on the trip....mmmm....trouble in paradise perhaps....anyway on with the Friday Feedback show!


01:00 We start with a chat about Seve's national service - Mark has done some research.

02:00 A whack for Nick from Andrew over his recent fitting video. Nick tells us the clubs he was fitted into as a righty.

05:00 Feedback on the Michael Peña - if you missed the chat, watch here on YouTube.

06:00 Question about Adam Scotts technique, Nick and Mark look at the specific issue and discuss what it could mean. When we get Scotty on the show, closer to the Capital.com Australian Open we'll ask him.

09:00 Question about albatrosses. Have Nick and Mark ever had one?

13:00 Question on older irons and persimmons - Mark has a great, and possibly illegal, TopFlite story.


After the turn...


17:00 Barry with a story about Thomas Bjørn, Nick talks about Thomas' temper.

19:00 Dead Solid Perfect

21:00 Caddys - do they really add value? Nick talks about 'chiselling'. Nick and Mark talk about the value they felt caddies provided them and why they loved and appreciated having them on the team.


A fun Friday Feedback show, Nick's got the weekend in New Zealand living it large, Mark and Dan will keep their noses to the grindstone at Talk Birdie HQ and cover Nick's workload whilst he's away....cos that's the kind of guys we are. Says more about Nick really.


Have a great weekend !!!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Ep226: Is LIV Golf now Dead? Nick & Mark say LIV can't survive. Tiger on the Tee (sort of). Nick 'LPGA are doing Australia No Favours'13 Oct 202600:55:01

Big show ... and Nick is coming to us from New Zealand today!


01:00Nick explains why he is in Queenstown.

02:00We start with the latest golf news, the DP World Tour decision yesterday has sounded the death knell for LIV. Nick and Mark discuss why and what's next.

03:00The investor's desire is purely for the debt benefits says our insider.

05:00Despite their likely imminent demise, we have LIV Golf to thank for the 2028 World Golf structure

07:00Adelaide deserves a big golf tournament.

10:00The Australian LIV players. What do they do? We discuss each of them.

13:00How should LIV, in hindsight, have launched their concept. Nick and Mark discuss.

18:00Jon Rahm & Bryson

19:00Mark saw something he loved watching the Western Australian PGA at the weekend.

20:00We chat to WA stats guy Matt Green about the kind of statistical analysis that he does. Matt identifies, from a statistical perspective, the one thing any golfer can lower their handicap by doing.

27:00Ocean Dunes to King Links, King Island

28:00Nick lines up the LPGA saying they are doing the Australian womens game no favours

30:00LIV Golf - 3 options for Nick and Mark - what do they believe will happen?


After the turn..


32:00We hear some brilliant audio of Tiger Woods as a tee announcer for juniors at the weekend. That is our Hostplus 'Plus for Golf' this wek.

33:00Mark tells a story about making a shot in front of Jack Nicklaus and how nervous he was.

34:00Marks Top 5 for Betr - the top 5 things he has seen young people in golf do.

38:00Global highlights from Nick

42:00Touch of Class for BMW goes to US golfer Tyler McCumber

44:00Feedback for Southern Golf Club.....

44:00The Tassie Amateur

45:00Seve's National Service

46:00Tom Kim

47:00Blades Brown vs Jackson Koivun

48:00LIV Golf

49:00Yoga

52:00And for the Golf Clearance Outlet, we wrap the show with a Masterclass from Nick featuring a special guest - Canadian golfer Mac Buchar shows us his fairway finder and how he does it.

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Feedback: Was the 92 Australian Open really the strongest field in history? Aim Point, LIV, and Mark defames an entire city!12 Oct 202600:24:38

A bonus feedback pod today, so many messages, comments, emails that we thought we'd smack out another one.


01:00 We start with a number of comments on our YouTube episode a fortnight ago from Nudgee in Brisbane with young Riley Richards and Tour Pro Matty Guyatt.

07:00Aaron has a question about turning pro these days vs when Nick and Mark did.


After the turn...


09:00 A wolfpacker reveals who the Pro was whose bag Jarrod Moseley destroyed after a bad day on the course.

10:00 Andrew on LIV Adelaide

11:00 JJ on LIV

12:00 Steve from California reiterating his invite for the boys to play a round with him in SoCal. Mark acts disgracefully.

13:00 Aim Point

14:00 Royal County Down

15:00 Feedback, and a fun fact, on Mark and Nicks appalling music knowledge from Susannah. Mark proceeds to defame an entire city.

16:00 Craig from the UK has written in with a compliment for Nick and Mark, and a bit of a driveby for Mark. He shares a story of winning some money form a tournament Nick played in.

19:00 Couple of wolfpackers challenge Marks assertion about the 1992 Australian Open field being the strongest field in history. Fighting words.


Back tomorrow with the main show, Nick's in New Zealand with BMW so we'll have him dialing in if we don't screw up the time differences!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Monday Mini: How to Flight your Wedges Lower11 Oct 202600:08:44

On todays Monday Mini we have a question from wolfpacker Ben. Now Ben has been working on getting his handicap down, and he is currently down to 14, and trending in the right direction. However, he feels that if he can flight his wedges more effectively he can go lower, so he's asked Nick and Mark for some tips, and of course they're happy to oblige.


Mark talks about the impact of shortening your backswing, how he was taught to do it, and what it did to his game.


Nick discussed why he is an advocate for matching your backswing and your follow through, and he gives some excellent chipping tips.


A short but sweet Monday Mini today with some excellent tips on flighting your wedge shots.

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Friday Feedback: Australian Mens Golf, ideas to improve; An email saying 'Mark you are uneducated', we find out why. A fun Friday show (just not for Mark).08 Oct 202600:24:29

A Friday Feedback show today and Mark, not for the first time, gets lined up.


On todays show we have a message from one person calling Mark 'uneducated', and we have a myriad of wolfpackers criticising Mark over some recent behaviour....we'll get to that through the show.


01:00 Mark is back on the fashion advice path...seriously...

01:30Wolfpacker Alex heard the No Laying Up guys having a crack at Australian Mens golf on a recent episode, he gives his view and asks Nick and Mark for theirs.

02:00 Nick and Mark discuss what solutions might help to grow the performance of the Australian men.

06:00 Dan follows up Marks promise to get Andrew Langford-Jones on the show...Mark needs to do some work on it.

07:00 Wolfpacker Dean on club championship structures and the challenge for him as a FIFO

08:20 Ralphy has written about some of Mike Clayton's design work, which Mark has at times been slightly critical of, Ralphy likes Mike's work and wrote in to say so.

09:00 A message calling Mark uneducated when it comes to the place of Tea Trees on Melbourne golf courses. Mark responds with a surprising level of restraint at being called uneducated....No of course he doesn't !!! He lines up this particularly commenter! Did you seriously think Mark would restrain himself after that?

11:00 Wolfpacker comments on a cracking idea from a golf course in Alabama, that more clubs should adopt.


After the turn.


14:00 Firstly we deal with some appalling behaviour of Mark at Nudgee Golf Club. The reaction from the Wolfpack was (largely) brutal and deservedly so. Details in this ep.

15:00 Anthony with a comment on Nick's idea of the Presidents Cup becoming a mixed event.

16:00 Mark tells a great story about the charity component of the Presidents Cup in years past, specifically how one Tour Pro took advantage of the lack of oversight of what the charities were.

17:00 Discuss Bruce Devlin

19:00 Wolfpacker Mark has a crack at Mark Allen over a classic 59 that he has not put up in lights, and our wolfpacker believes it should be.

20:00 Robert from Melbourne has a wet weather day question for Nick and Mark


After that we need a pickle and a pitcher of beer and a lie down!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Guest: Hollywood Star Michael Peña on playing the Dunhill Links Championship last weekend, and he tells us his favourite Australian courses to play.07 Oct 202600:13:41

Bonus ep today as we catch up with wolfpacker, friend of the show, passionate golfer, and occasionally in his spare time Hollywood superstar Michael Peña, who played in the Dunhill Links Championship last weekend in Scotland....we wanted to find out about the experience, so we gave him a buzz.


02:00 Michael tells us how it felt playing there, and his feeling of 'wow this is where golf started'

04:00 How did he actually get to play? How did the invite come about?

05:00 The perils of those pesky Scottish pot bunkers....

06:00 Michael talks about the etiquette of the amateurs, the rules, around letting the Pros do what they need to do

09:00 Did he learn anything from watching the Pros close up in their 'natural environment'?

10:00 Why he plans to visit Australia and New Zealand annually to play golf

11.00 What courses he played in Melbourne last year when he was there filming 'All Her Fault' with Aussie star Sarah Snook

12.00 And he explains why (spoiler alert) his fantastic character in Landman was killed off after one episode, much to Mark's disappointment!


Great to have Michael on the show again!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Ep225: Nick 'My Entire Year came down to one shot'; Why we want Mickelson back; And how many Majors should The Shark have won?06 Oct 202601:06:19

Huge show today, plenty to talk about, and a few big issues to dissect.


01:00Mark has an experiment he wants to try to do with his body to see if it helps his game.

03:00The 'greatest putting transformation' Mark has ever seen, he saw it over the weekend, and he explains what he saw, what was done, and the results.

03:30We also find out another gaping hole in Marks music knowledge, with a massive artist he has not heard of. Embarrassing.

10:00Nick talks about the fairytale Tom Kim story, and how the laws in Korea can make it challenging for pro golfers, and he awards Tom Kim our Hostplus 'Plus for Golf' this week.

14:00Nick talks about Adrian Meronk's win, and what it means for his status.

15:00The bubble....Mark felt like every year in the final event at Coolum, he was on there bubble, and explains how he dealt with it.

17:00Nick tells us about the time is entire year was on the line at the DPWT Q School in Spain, and how his wife Alana helped him get over the line.

19:00We discuss LIV, and some of the players decisions pending.

20:00Kooyonga's memo to members regarding LIV Adelaide.

22:00Phil Mickelson in rehab, we want him back and healthy.

24:00Mark played with a mate, journo Jon Ralph at the weekend, who is having some challenges with his wedge game. Mark asks Nick to offer some advice on the show for how Ralphy might sort it.

27:00Marks Touch of Class for BMW goes to the Tassie Amateur Championship


After the turn:


31:00Nick's Top 5 - 'Replies from Pros when the question is asked'. Afterwards, despite the Top 5 nearly going off the rails, Mark reckons it is Nick's best ever!

41:00Feedback for Southern Golf Club....some comments, and hypotheticals, on Scottie Scheffler following his gesture last week in the Presidents Cup.

43:00Jackson Koivun

47:00Shingo being dodgy

49:00Some feedback on Marks Top 5 last week where he listed his golf disappointments

49:30Tom Watson

50:00The Shark - and a question to the Wolfpack from Mark about The Shark.

54:00Guess who has viewed the chat about Marks challenge to Colin Montgomerie?

55:00Adam scott

56:00The Global Results from Nick

1:01:00And we wrap with a great masterclass from Mark for the Golf Clearance Outlet on having your shoulders in the right spot and why it matters.


Phew...big show !

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Monday Mini: Understanding the Process of having your Toe up at address04 Oct 202600:08:03

A Monday Mini today where Nick and Mark discuss a question from a Canadian wolfpacker Gavin who has a question around understanding what having your toe up at address does, and how it works.


Great question, we discuss how it works, why you'd do it, and the pros who do in various forms. Gavin also made the point that setup changes can feel counter-intuitive, and Nick and Mark explain how to work through that process as well.


A good fun Monday Mini today, thanks for the question Gav - keep them coming wolfpackers !

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Friday Feedback: Uh Oh...Why was Mark Allen accused of 'Stealing' by a Tour Pro. A Slow Play solution? And more genius from Seve.01 Oct 202600:31:55

A Friday Feedback show today, and there is plenty to get through !


01:00 We start with a question from Jeff about centre shaft putters, and their benefits. Nick and Mark talk about how they work, how it adjusts how you putt.

04:00 John with a comment about playing in the wind that he read from Tom Watson.

05:00 Wolfpacker Mark listened to our recent mini on managing mental and physical fatigue, and reminded us of the great Jack Nicklaus' philosophy and his promise to Barbara when he was on tour.

06:00 How do Pros feel internally when they hit an ordinary shot in a tournament and the crowd are applauding them for what they (the crowd) believe is a decent one?

07:00 Womble wants some clarity about whether they have to play the same ball in their club comp, or if it is just a pro rule.

09:30 The Tiger Club Twirl conversation


After the turn:


10:30 Wolfpacker Brian has a solution to solve slow play, or if not solve it, make it somewhat fun.

13:00 What Tour Pros would be good hecklers?

14:00 Uh Oh, trouble in paradise - wolfpacker Ron accuses Mark Allen of advocating for cheating. Does this require a Dennis Denuto meeting?

16:00 Chris has a great story about walking with Peter Senior during a tournament. If you've not watched (or listened to) our Peter Senior guest pod it's a great watch - see it here on YouTube or search wherever you get your pods, and it will come up.

17:00 Tony from Oklahoma had a corporate day at Southern Hills and took some pics of some wonderful memorabilia in the clubhouse. For YouTube watchers we'll show it, for audio listeners we'll put them on our socials, Nick recalls the event that the pics refer to and tells a story of how this event led into the Presidents Cup selections, placing him right on the edge of selection!

18:00 We discover an horrific lack of musical knowledge from Nick and Mark over a particular song. Disgraceful.

21:00 Mark saw a post from Gary Player this week about unifying golf which he loved, and reads out part of it.

22:00 Regarding the famous Seve vs Chooky chipping contests, someone who witnessed one (he was on Chooky's bag) explains what he saw and the insane thing Seve did.

23:00 Mark tells a story about caddying for José María Cañizares at Royal Melbourne when he was 16, and a WILD story about what happened after José missed the cut.

26:00 And Nick tells a hilarious story about WA Tour Pro Jarrod Moseley.


It's a fun one today, love you to share it around with a golf-loving friend, and have a good weekend !

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

☎️ Voicemail: Mark from Concord - Your Recent Top 5 didn't include 'Australia's Best Putter!!'30 Sep 202600:00:41

Mark from Concord in Sydney had a listen to our recent Monday Mini where Nick and Mark were putting together the best player, using different attributes from various players - mental game, short game, driving etc etc....However Mark reckons that we have neglected to include who he says is Australia's best putter, and this pro should have been in that Top 5.


Have a listen to Mark's voicemail, and let us know in the comments if you agree with him or not!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Ep224: Presidents Cup Wrap, the return pathway for Leish, Cam, Lucas, and Mark: 'I Blame Laura Norman for what happened to The Shark'. 29 Sep 202600:53:46

At the start of the show we avert a near disaster when we realise that, despite our soundcheck running fine, sometime between that and the start of the show Mark has banged the mic again loosening it!!! Thankfully we realise only a few seconds in.....phew....


So on with the show....


01:00Presidents Cup chat. Great event, disappointing result on Sunday.

02:00Nick again makes the case for a mixed event

03:00What it is like when you are paired with a megastar player

04:00We look at how the international players performed

06:00Our Hostplus 'Plus for Golf' is the young star from the US Jackson Koivun, what a performance from him.

08:00Nick loved how JT took Jackson under his wing and helped to calm his nerves.

09:00Why does Mark hate the scoring in Presidents Cup? He explains.

10:00And what about the OB fences

11:00Mike Cocking and the OCM team did the redesign of Medinah, it looked great, Mark was texting back and forth with Mike through the tournament and reads out some of what Mike said as he watched it.

12:00We discuss the spectator kicking the ball incident. Mark reckons it was an accident. Nick and Dan reckon it was 100% deliberate.

16:00Our BMW Touch of Class goes to Scottie Scheffler for a very classy act after a moronic act from a member of the crowd. We have a listen to what happened.

18:00We discuss how Geoff Ogilvy might set up Kingston Heath for the Presidents Cup in 2028, how Nick and Mark would set the course up, and the kind of players they'd look for (beyond the automatic qualifiers).

24:00Mark mentions Adam Scott's insane fitness regime.


After the turn


27:00More Pros playing in Amateur tournaments...we look at a ridiculous stat from the weekend

28:00For Betr, Marks Top 5 most disappointing moments in golf....#1 is both awfully disappointing, sad, and yet somewhat hilarious.

33:00Global Results from Nick

34:00We get some inside info on Adare Manor as the Ryder Cup gets close, from a wolfpacker who has a friend working there.

37:00We discover one member of the Talk Birdie team was the back to back winner of the Port Hedland Classic Sand Green competition!

38:00Feedback for Southern Golf Club, plenty to look over.

39:00Scottie Scheffler vs Min Woo Lee.....did Scottie behave badly?

40:00The return pathway for a few LIV players

42:00What does Marc Leishman do?

43:00Grok has let Mark down...should he request a refund?

44:00Couple of Matchplay questions

47:00It is a 12-year anniversary of a particular incident involving one member of the Talk Birdie Team.....we have audio to play to commemorate this auspicious occasion.

51:00And for the Golf Clearance Outlet a great masterclass from Nick O'Hern on handling pressure.


A fun show, appreciate you listening! Any thoughts or questions, feel free to leave a voicemail here.

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Presidents Cup Mini: 'It was a Crushing Day', and despite the loss, why Ogilvy out-captained Snedeker29 Sep 202600:07:23

A quick little 5 or 6 minutes on the Presidents Cup today, what a tournament and whilst the internationals were ahead going into Sunday, it was always going to be tough in the singles. Nick is depressed about the result (and about Fremantle) and Mark is disappointed that the 2028 Presidents Cup at Kingston Heath won't be coming in with the trophy held by the Internationals.


Nick and Mark feel that, on paper, this was the weakest international side however Geoff Ogilvy nearly pulled of the unthinkable in a masterful display of captaincy over Brandt Snedeker.


Plenty to talk about, we barely scratch the surface in this Mini, tomorrows main pod we'll get right under the hood of the Presidents Cup and analyse all the happenings - good and bad.


Happy Tuesday!!!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Bonus Feedback: Mark: 'That's the Stupidest, Most Pathetic, Email we have ever received'28 Sep 202600:22:30

So much feedback, so many questions, so we thought we'd smack out a quick little extra feedback show today.


It's a themed feedback show today - every question or comment has to do with courses of some kind, except for two, which we included because they were amusing.


01:00Comment from a UK wolfpacker on Lahinch and Royal County Down

02:00A few comments on The Lakes in Sydney, including one from course architect Mike Clayton

05:00A comment from a self-described 'grumpy' member of The Lakes

06:30Mark gives some inside info on Kingston Heath's preparations for the Capital.com Australian Open

07:30Comment from a wolfpacker in Belgium on Royal Zoute

09:00NSW Golf Club feedback


After the turn...


10:00Our first 'non-course' related question today. And it is one for Nick.

13:00Lots of comments on the courses that are closing down - courses in the Ohio, WA, NSW and Victoria. Including one comment that gets Mark well and truly fired up.

16:00Comment about the ranking (or not) of composite courses

18:00Peninsula Kingswood composite course....will it be up there?

19:00And we finish on our second 'non-course' related comment of this show - a Monty comment from a wolfpacker, resulting in Mark making a ridiculous demand for Colin Montgomerie to deliver on if he is to come on the show. If Monty hears this, Nick and Dan do not support Marks demands.

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Monday Mini: How to Take Spin off, or Put Spin on, the Ball - Nick and Mark explain.27 Sep 202600:10:37

Monday Mini today and it's a great question from wolfpacker Glenn who heard Nick and Mark discussing playing in the wind last week, and in particular Shane Lowry's masterclass at the Irish Open. Glenn is an excellent golfer, he's off around 6 or 7, however he doesn't know who to take spin off the ball or how to adding spin to the ball. He hears it a lot during commentary, and on Talk Birdie To Me....and would love to know how to do it.


Nick and Mark explain some tips and tricks to do exactly that. If you've ever wanted to know how to control spin....this episode is a great listen!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

☎️ Voicemail: Tour Pro Scotty Laycock on Daniel Chopra's 'Iron Man' reputation26 Sep 202600:01:08

Tour Pro Scotty Laycock had a listen to our recent mini where Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen spoke about managing fatigue (mental and physical) as a golfer, and left a voicemail recounting a conversation that he had with Swedish Tour Pro Daniel Chopra on this exact issue.


Have a listen to Scotty's voicemail, and if you've got any comments or questions for Nick and Mark you can leave us a voicemail here.

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Friday Feedback: BREAKING: Has Patrick Reed been bumped off the Talk Birdie watchlist for being 'flexible' with the rules? And Mark asks 'What are these People talking about'!24 Sep 202600:23:27

A Friday Feedback Show...and could we be seeing Patrick Reed bumped off the Talk Birdie To Me watchlist????!!!?!???


01:00Wolfpacker Richard has sent in a video of Shingo Katayama which looks veeeeery suss. We watch it, listen to it, and discuss it.

04:00Nick gave out some putting stats a week or two ago, plenty of feedback, some thought they were accurate, others though they ignored some key contributing factors

07:00Mark gets fired up....''what are these people talking about?'

08:00A wolfpacker has a question about their head being in the right position over the ball. Nick and Mark give some tips, and Mark talks about what he sees Adam Scott doing

11:00Mark and Dan muse over whether Nick is diverting revenue from the pod to his website.....could there be trouble in paradise?

12:00 Brysons Bay Hill shot over the water

13:00A Talk Birdie To Me team member has an apology to make. Do they?


After the turn


14:00Nick has done some research on the outcome of the Shingo infraction....was he penalised or not?

17:00A wolfpacker has a different view to Mark on kids using kids sized grips

18:00Feedback on the comments about why the US are so dominant in world golf.

19:00A bouquet for Nick from a New Zealand wolfpacker

21:00And in Australia it is Grand Final weekend in the AFL, and Prelim weekend in the NRL, we give our tips for the weekend footy.


Have a great weekend !!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Bonus Mini: Help Needed!!! How is your Club Championship Structured? A Wolfpacker needs ideas for their club.23 Sep 202600:11:55

An emergency bonus Mini today as we've had a question from wolfpacker Justin in Western Australia that cannot possibly wait until Monday, that's how important it is.


But first, the show is nearly derailed by 'fashion chat' from Nick and Mark. Anyone would think they're wannabe runway models or something...feel free to complain.


But onto the show, it's a Mini so time is precious if we want to keep within the rules of our podcast license.


Justin is on the committee at his club and has been tasked with identifying options for their club championship format which, at the moment, they feel is not working as well as it might. Justin explains how it currently works, and Nick and Mark kick around ideas for how it could be structured. There are some elements of Justin's club structures, and availability, that make it a tad tricky. That said we come up with some ideas that he can discuss with the committee....but, feel free to chip in with any thoughts you have, or ways your club run the club championships!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Presidents Cup Preview: 'An Internationals Win Would be One of the Greatest Upsets in Sport'. We look at the teams, the matchups, and the course.23 Sep 202600:17:14

It's Presidents Cup week and today Nick and Mark run the ruler over the teams, some of the likely matchups, the course, and look to build a fun little multi with our mate Hummer at Betr.


Can the international team get close? Well it's no surprise that the US are favourites, raging favourites in fact, and Nick and Mark agree that an internationals win is highly unlikely, but if they are to have a chance the pairings will (obviously) be crucial - we look at what they might be.


We discuss Geoff Ogilvy's comments about the distinct structural advantage that the US team always has. And we look at the winning and losing records of some of the key players.


And after the turn, we put together our Betr Multi....Hummer is worried about this one, he needed to get higher up approval which we reckon is a good sign. You can jump on board at Betr through the app or the website, just look for Betr specials and you'll find us there: website here: https://www.betr.com.au/sports/betr-Specials/149 . Don't go crazy, just whack 5 or 10 bucks on and have a bit of fun - and remember, there is never a guarantee of winning.


Enjoy the Presidents Cup !!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Ep223: The PGAT return pathways for LIV players, Presidents Cup: can the Internationals make it a contest? And a Phil Mickelson story you won't believe....22 Sep 202600:57:20

Big show, it's Presidents Cup week and we're a bit excited about it....even with the dismal record from the internationals, fortunately one of the hosts on this podcast played for the international team twice so is well placed to give some insights.


01:00Presidents Cup - the numbers are depressing says Nick, and he talks about whether Geoff Ogilvy's Medinah knowledge, as one of the designers of the course with OCM, will play a role.

03:00Mark says Medinah will look incredible on the coverage, the redesign has been spectacular

04:00We relive some great Medinah moments

08:00We discuss the return pathway for the big name LIV players to return, should they choose to, to the PGA Tour. We chat about how the pathway works, who may the able to use it, and what it means for the various players.

11:00Nick and Mark chat about exemptions, and the promotion/relegation plans

13:00The PGA Tour 'Last Chance' series

15.30Rory's comments on DPWT players potentially going to the challenger tour, and why he says it's a bad idea.

17:00Nick tells Mark - the LIV players who are eligible to return, can only do so if they do not play LIV.

19:00Mark saw a tweet from our mate Ryan French at Monday Q on Twitter outlining the LIV event numbers and the prizemoney. Quite the drop.

20:00Despite the nuances, and the fact a few things are up in the air, Nick says that the PGA returning pathway structure is a Hostplus Plus for Golf as it should, in theory, get the best players in the world playing together.

21:00Wentworth, what a stunning course for the BMW PGA Championship at the weekend, it looked great and we give the course our BMW Touch of Class this week. Sensational.

24:00JJ Spaun played beautifully, we discuss his performance, assisted by a meltdown from Manuel Elvira, which we also discuss

28:00Big news (for Mark), he has a new golf bag which he shows us. Fortunately whilst he is excited about it, he keeps his top on....making a change from last week.


After the turn...


31:00Nicks Top 5 for Betr, and he looks at 5 fun, interesting, quirky moments from the Presidents Cup.

34:00Mark has a fun fact on Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, which has a bit to do with Nick...in a roundabout way

36:00A very funny Phil Mickelson story that you have to hear to believe.

39:00Onto feedback for Southern Golf Club....

39:00Alejandro Tosti's caddy quitting...we chat about times it's happened before.

41:00Feedback (plenty) on the conversation about the Seve shot over the wall

42:00Some more suggestions for weeds in golf

46:00So much discussion around Mark's Gary Player comments from last week, we read out a couple - including some very high level feedback....our professional relationship with Dennis Denuto might be in jeopardy!!!

49:00Nick runs through the global highlights

52:00And we wrap the show with a great Masterclass for the Golf Clearance Outlet from Mark on playing 'hook shots'.


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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Monday Mini: Managing Mental and Physical Fatigue as a Tour Pro (and even as a Social Golfer)20 Sep 202600:14:04

An excellent question from wolfpacker Evan in todays Monday Mini. Evan is a touch fatigued with golf, which can happen, and whilst he loves the game he's interested to know if this ever happened to Nick and Mark, particularly when they were on the tour.


Before we get into that we start with Evan's other question, which is a bit of a cheeky one - but worth a shot...


Onto the fatigue question. How did Nick and Mark manage both physical and mental fatigue as pros? Nick gives some amusing insights into the result of continual travel and mental fatigue, and how it manifested, and how he handled it. Mark had similar experiences, but also talks about how he handles it now as a social golfer, and gives a few tips for Evan to consider.


Timely question because Rory McIlroy talked about this issue, sort of, recently and we discuss Rory's perspective, and Nick and Mark talk through how different pros taper, prepare, for majors in different ways which is, in part, designed to manage fatigue and ensure the most relevant preparation for them.


Great question from Evan, thanks for shooting it through....happy Monday !!



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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Friday Feedback: Re: Gary Player, Mark says the 'Evidence is Damning', and we draw the winner to The Cliffs at Kangaroo Island live!17 Sep 202600:26:08

Friday Feedback show today and this is a bit exciting as we draw the winner of our trip to play The Cliffs at Kangaroo Island - huge thanks to Titliest and The Cliffs for the prize, it's been a ripper competition and we are excited to draw the winner live on the show after the turn.


First to some feedback.


02:00Huge reaction to last weeks Friday Feedback show where Mark Allen said that he believed the evidence was clear that Gary Player, at times, was a bit loose with the rules. We had loads of feedback, and we run through a few today, including one from a Tour Pro, and another from a wolfpacker defending Gary and having a crack at Nick and Mark.

04:00Mark brings up Monty and the velcro glove story, and we explore with Mark whether we might get Monty on the show....and Nick reveals an interesting insight into Monty, and a possible way to get him on. Intriguing.

06:00We hear a story from a Tour Pro about Gary Player's 'lack of integrity' (the pros words not ours)

07:00Should serious golf pros need a serious haircut? Mark tells the story of one who did, and if getting a serious haircut worked?

09:00Discuss the 'big three players to grow the game'

10:00Nick does his Gary Player impersonation. Under sufferance it should be said.

11:00And wolfpacker Matty has a question about putting, he's having some issues. Mark chats about a putting tool that he loves and he feels may help Matty. A detailed chat about putters.


After the turn....


18:00We review our finalists to play The Cliffs at Kangaroo Island with Mark and course designer Darius Oliver, including return flights, transfers, meals, 18 holes, accomodation.

20:00We draw the winner live on the show, a 1 in 8 chance isn't too bad!


And thanks again to Nick, Tim and Brodie at Titleist, and to Emma, Darius, Sam and Rachel from The Cliffs. If you haven't seen the pics of the course it is stunning. Visit their website here.


And that's our Friday Feedback show, have a cracking weekend !!


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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Ep222: 5 Things that Golf Needs to 'Kill Off' right now! The Solheim, how good was it! And Nick gives tips for playing in windy conditions.15 Sep 202601:07:44

Massive show today, one of our longest ever in fact. Could be due to great content, could be due to us just banging on about stuff....you're better placed to decide than us...hopefully the former.


Onto the show!


01:00How great was the Solheim Cup, and the course was brilliant. Mark didn't see too much, Nick saw plenty.

02:00Great to see the European Women win

04:00Nick on why he feels a connection to the European players

06:00Nick does his Seve impersonation. Is it good? You tell us.

07:00Great final putts in Solheim Cups

08:00Great courses help make great events.

09:00Royal Dornoch - how incredible is the course - new to the bucket list for Mark, always has been for Nick.

10:00Mark talks about why, in his view, America is so dominant in team golf

13:00Nick talks about the US College system and it's benefit on emerging young golfers

15:00Amateur tournaments in Australia - and the Matchplay argument

16:00Nick and Mark's Wagga trip last week - did Nick get another hole in one ?

17:00Nick and Mark talk about country golf clubs being a community hub and the great work they do.

22:30Our Hostplus Plus for Golf this week is awarded to the Wagga Wagga Country Club

24:00A great BMW Touch of Class - Shane Lowry's performance in the wind in Ireland, a massive win.

25:00Nick talks about how to play in windy conditions

27:00More on Shane Lowry's win

28:00Mark asks Nick about the difference in winds around the world - warm winds vs cold winds

30:00What golfers often don't understand about wind, according to Mark

32:00Nick talks about why the quality of your strike matters so much on windy days


After the turn:


34:00It's a LIV free ep today, Nick and Mark explain why.

35:00Top 5 for Betr, the Top 5 'weeds' in golf that Mark reckons need to be pulled out: targets include caddies, weeds (ironically) on golf courses, slow play, rakes, clothing (worn by pros)

38:00Nick has been sent a fascinating stat being measured by the Korn Ferry tour to do with slow play.

44:00Why is Nick disappointed about one aspect of Marks Top 5 list?

44:30Mark has a theory on gimmes and why some people are so against them

46:00Nick runs through the global result highlights

47:00What did Shane Lowry's caddy say to him on the 15th hole on Sunday, and why do Nick and Mark love it?

51:00Feedback - great courses and the difference they make.

52:00Moore Park

56:00Suggestions for the prototype golfer, a couple of players wolfpackers feel were missed

58:00Lowry having a crack at a spectator

58:00What was Nick and Marks record in playoffs - how did they go?

59:00The famous Seve shot over the wall, a piece of info is picked up on that we neglected to mention last week.

1:01:00And a great Masterclass from Nick, for the Golf Clearance Outlet, on tricky lies around the greens, and why widening your stance will help.


Phew, big show! Thanks for being part of the Talk Birdie fam!


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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Monday Mini: Australian Golf Course Redesigns. What are the great ones? What are the bad ones? Plus fashion advice from Mark.13 Sep 202600:19:04

A Monday Mini today and we start with 'fashion chat'. Apparently Mark is considering applying for an extra role in Devil Wears Prada 3, so he's getting up to speed on fashion, colours etc....or so it appears.


Onto the Mini ! Message from golf pro Pete Townsend who firstly, asks after Marks health given his challenges with cancer over recent years (it's in a good place btw), and then asks a few questions about golf course architecture. Specifically, what are some of the great course redesigns in Australia, and what are some that are less so - and why. Further, Pete goes on to as whether when a course is being redesigned is there a responsibility to remain true to the original architects vision for that course, or is a complete overhaul warranted at times.


Excellent questions, and Nick and Mark discuss multiple courses that have had redesigns: Victoria, Huntingdale, NSW, Royal Queensland, The Lakes, Mount Lawley, Commonwealth.


Then....similar to fashion-gate from earlier in the show, Mark talks us down a rabbit hole by comparing golf course redesigns to Hollywood movie stars....we kid you not. There is no link too tenuous for Mark Allen to make sometimes.


And then Nick, wisely, gets us back on track by noting the role of golf course committees in protecting and nurturing the legacy of their course.


Happy Monday !


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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Friday Feedback: Was Gary Player a Cheat? And the golfing legend Mark says: 'When he Talks, I Listen'.10 Sep 202600:25:49

Friday Feedback pod today, and one that might possibly be a touch controversial around a discussion about a certain legendary South African golfer....more on that shortly.


02:00 Feedback on other countries, in addition to Norway, that require a golf license.

04:00 Ryder cup / Presidents Cup discussion.

05:00 Should the Presidents Cups be a mixed event with women and men?

07:00 Snedeker made some interesting comments about Cantlay's opponents....what do Nick and Mark think of them?

08:00 A question from a wolfpacker who is in the market for a set of clubs for his young daughter who wants to learn to play golf.


After the turn:


12:00 We put our final person in the draw to win a trip to play The Cliffs at Kangaroo Island....Nick will draw the winner at random from the 8 entrants next week on the show.

14:00 Mark tells the story of where Gary Player got his famous 'leg kick in the air' move from.

15:00 And then....a question for Mark from a wolfpacker.....did Gary Player cheat in a major that he won? We look at the evidence and Mark gives his verdict on whether Gary was a cheat or not.

17:00 Lots of feedback on our chat about Sir Nick Faldo last week, and we have a look at a few of his swings and discuss them.

21:00 Nick gets a whack from a wolfpacker....does he accept it or push back?

21:30 And a story from a Talk Birdie follower who met Faldo at the Australian masters, and said he was great, but said another golfer he met was more memorable, and he explains why.

24:00 Nick and Mark share some Faldo stories.

24:00 And we wrap with a comment from Travis who has just ordered both of Gary Lisbon's coffee table books - they are stunning, visit Gary's website here to have a look.


Thanks for the feedback, keep it coming, and have a cracking weekend !!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Ep221: A 'Dumb, Stupid Idea that needs to change', and Why are our Amateur Tournaments not on our Best Courses?08 Sep 202601:03:58

After last weeks debacle when Mark broke our equipment resulting in the scrapping of half of the main show, let's see if we can get through this weeks without him destroying anything. No guarantees.


But it is a fun show!


01:00We loved the Walker Cup, not only for the golf but for the course. Stunning. How good is Lahinch!

02:00Which raises the issues of Walker Cup venues, Nick runs through the list....incredible.

03:00Mark asks why aren't Australian amateur tournaments at some of our great courses, and while they're at it, why aren't they matchplay?

06:00We look at the great bunker shot from amateur Josh Hill in the Walker Cup, at a critical moment.

07:00Big chat.....Pros getting their amateur status back, and playing amateur tournaments. Nick and Mark are, with certain exceptions, not fans.They explain why, and give some examples.

12:00Nick explains why he turned down the opportunity to play in a tournament of this nature when he returned to Australia.

13:00Mark says it is ridiculous to have Pros playing pennant.

15:00For Hostplus, this weeks plus for golf is as 12-year old 'Beat the Pro' entrant in Switzerland! And Nick and Mark discuss the famous Seve 'over the wall' shot at the same venue.

18:00A LIV update on the 'White Knight' investor, and we discuss the debt for equity approach that appears to be being taken.

26:00BMW Touch of Class, we go back to Switzerland for the DP World Tour and the runner up in the tournament Paul Casey is our winner this week.

29:00Nick raises the issue of clubs, and holes, being shutdown by local councils. Royal Park in Melbourne and Rottnest Island being two recent examples - along with Moore Park in Sydney.


After the turn:


32:00More on Amateur Tournaments at great courses.

34:00Nicks Top 5 for Betr, the Top 5 Golf Courses where he believes the Australian Amateur Tournament should be played.

38:00Mark asks Nick where, if were able to be ranked, Royal Melbourne Composite would rank in the world.

39:00Feedback. After Marks appalling behaviour last week, we start with a wolfpacker complaining about the end result, ie: a shortened podcast. Mark apologises, and not before time.

41:00Last week we discussed Scottie Schefflers swing, lots of feedback on that, plenty of opinions.

42:00We have a listen to Trevor Immelmann analysing Scotties' swing vs Ryan Gerards'.

43:00A wolfpacker asks...how much of Scotties' success is due to being an American, based in the US, and largely playing close to home. We discuss if he was from Sydney for example, would he have had the success that he has had?

46:00Mickey Wrights swing...very nice.

47:00Mark shows Nick and Dan a photo of weeds on a neighbour's nature strip. We wish we were joking. Sadly not.

48:00Chat about golf technology

50:00Nick and Mark are off to Wagga this week, we reminisce about Nicks Ace from a couple of years ago in Wagga!

51:00More on weeds, but this time 'golf weeds' not actual weeds.

53:00Nick found some putting stats from the last 20-years....what do they show?

54:00Feedback on English golfer Harry Hall's hat.

55:00Nick runs through a short version of the global hightlights

57:00Mark shows off his Fathers Day present....a new shag bag!

59:00And the Masterclass today for the Golf Clearance Outlet is on the benefits of the forward press.


A big show, and we made it through without Mark destroying anything !


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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Monday Mini: We build the Perfect Prototype Golfer, Using 5 Categories and the Best Player from each 06 Sep 202600:19:29

Monday Mini, cracking question from Martin in Western Australia. Martin asks Nick and Mark to build the perfect prototype golfer, choosing from 5 categories of golf play - Driving, Irons, Short Game, Putting, Mental Game.


Nick and Mark build a prototype golfer made up of Australian players, and then an International version, with a different player being selected for each of the attributes.


There are some players that the boys say picked themselves and had to be selected in that specific category, no-brainers...but there's bound to be some controversy! And of course there are some fun stories and anecdotes on the way through the show.


See if you agree with their picks, or if you reckon Nick and Mark have missed with their selections, love your thoughts in the comments.


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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Friday Feedback: 'Golf Would be a Better Game if Titanium was never allowed', Golf Etiquette, More on Wyndham Clark, and why 'Weeds' in golf are a real issue.03 Sep 202600:28:16

Controversial start to the Friday Feedback pod as Mark Allen defames Dan, there will be legal action being instigated as soon as Dan has sought counsel from the official Talk Birdie legal representative Dennis Denuto. But in the meantime, on with the show.


02:00 Some feedback from a few wolfpackers on Wyndham Clark and his recent actions, Mark reiterates that Wyndham is on the watchlist for the moment, and he clearly is not careful enough being 'seen' to do the right thing.

06:00 Can you legally smash your club into the ground before hitting the ball? Turns out you can. Nick and Mark explain when it is allowable.

07:00 In a hugely impactful move potentially, does Mark need to put Nick O'Hern on the watchlist over dodgy tactics?

09:00 Mark uses horticulture as an analogy for golf, saying that there are many things that occur in golf that are 'weeds' that should have been picked out way back when, and now they've grown.

10:30 Mark says 'Titanium' is a weed and should never have been allowed in golf.

12:00 Should you be required to have a license to play golf? In Norway apparently you do, is it a good idea?

14:00 Nick explains the idiosyncrasies of being a member of Sunningdale in the UK

15:00 Mark says that in his view if you are a 14-15 handicapper, you are a very good player, and he explains his thinking (that's good news for Dan!).


After the turn...


17:00 We reveal the 7th person in the draw to win a trip to play The Cliffs at Kangaroo Island with Mark and course architect Darius Oliver. A few more days to enter, entries close Midnight Monday September 8th (AEST).

18:00 Chat about Jack Nicklaus winning the Australian Open at Royal Hobart and whether there are pics all over the club of Jack...surely there must be?

19:00 Plenty of feedback on cutting down putters

21:00 Nick talks about Tiger 'punching' his putts and explains what Tiger's thinking was.

22:00 Mark talks about the best amateur putter he ever saw

25:00 And Nick and Mark discuss Tour Pro Terry Price's swing (sensational) and his putting (less so), with Mark saying that he'd have taken Terry's bad golf swings any day!


Have a great weekend, see you on Monday!

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

☎️ Voicemail: Brett from Sydney on Trumps Courses02 Sep 202600:00:45

On yesterday's show we kicked around the idea that the LIV whale might be Trump, not investing himself but doing so through the US government and thus positioning himself as the 'saviour' of LIV.


Were he to do so, we suggested he would be insisting that LIV plays at primarily golf courses that he owns or bear his name, seems a very Trump thing to do and Nick listed off a few that fit that criteria. Brett from St Michael's Golf Club in Sydney heard the show and wanted to clarify that one of the courses mentioned is closed for renovations, and has been for nearly a decade...Brett left us a short voicemail.

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Bonus: Presidents Cup Teams are a Lock. Nick and Mark analyse the Players picked. And name the pick they'd both have left out.02 Sep 202600:13:20

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 partner
  • BMW, 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.

Ep220: By numbers, Scheffler 'Twice as good as Rory', Who's the LIV 'Whale'? We pick Presidents Cup Teams...and Mark Destroys the episode...literally.01 Sep 202600:40:56

We all know the famous line from Jim Nantz 'a tradition unlike any other'. Well today we're paraphrasing Jim and it is a Talk Birdie To Me episode unlike any other. We'll start at the end.


At the 38-minute mark of the show, Mark accidentally hit Nicks mic with his hand (see the moment here), disconnecting Nick's mic and meaning the rest of the show (Global Highlights and Feedback) had no audio from Nick. So we had to scrap those segments and cut from the Top 5 straight to the Masterclass (which uses different microphones).


Nick and Dan are considering what Marks punishment should be. We're open to suggestions. That said - the first 38 minutes of the show were a cracker and we hope you enjoy a somewhat shortened version of Talk Birdie To Me this week!


01:00 Schefflers win at the weekend, we look at his playing stats, and earning stats.....all amazing.

03:00Nick reveals and incredible Scheffler stat which Mark immediately christens as our BMW Touch of Class for the week.

06:00Strokeplay vs Matchplay ?

08:00The Viktor Hovland sand incident....any issues or nothing to see here?

09:00The 'nobility' of golf rules. We're looking directly at Patrick Reed.

10:00LIV update - unpaid vendors, player settlements for a fraction of what they're owed, and Mark talks through an idea he has read about and loves about the big players chipping in to cover the money owing to vendors.

12:00Mark is going to call a contact in Adelaide to see if there are any insights into the planning for LIV Adelaide next year

14:00 Who is the LIV Whale, and could it be Trump? We examine why it might possibly be and why he might get involved.

16:00 Whether it's Trump or someone else, can any whale save LIV if the big name players aren't there?

17:00 Presidents Cup is close! Some picks are locked in. We notionally appoint Nick as captain of the Internationals, given he played for them, and Mark as captain of the US team, and they each pick the rest of their team. Nick is shocked by one of Mark's selections.

24:00Nick says it will be tough for the internationals, the US team is so strong and the depth of talent huge. He also reiterates his long-held view that the Presidents Cup should be a mixed format.

25:00Our Plus for golf for Hostplus this week is Steve Alker. Mark explains why. Well deserved.

26:40Michel Block. Tool or Fun Showman?

30:00Today the Top 5 for Betr is Mark listing the Top 5 reasons why Scottie Schefflers swing works, even though Mark does not understand how.

35:00Nick saw a chat with Scheffler and Brandel Chamblee this week which he loved, we listen to some of it.

36:00Nick contrasts attitude between Rory and Scottie.


And then it happens. Just before the 38-minute point, Mark gesticulates with his right hand and bashes into Nicks mic, breaking it, meaning Nick is off mic for the next 20 minutes of the show....which has ended up on the cutting room floor sadly as we were not aware of it at the time. Bloody Marko.


But, as the masterclass uses different microphones so we can still get to that for the Golf Clearance Outlet, and Nick today talks through using the tee area to your advantage.


Apologies for the tech issue this week, rest assured Mark will be suitably punished and no doubt mercilessly mocked on the next show.

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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

Monday Mini: Cutting Shafts, Gripping Down, and how do Swing Weights work? 30 Aug 202600:09:45

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 partner
  • BMW, 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.

Weekend Mini: Could a Tri-Series comp work, if so how should it be Structured? Nick and Mark discuss.29 Aug 202600:07:45

Cos why not? We thought we'd smash out a quick weekend Talk Birdie Mini today.


Wolfpacker Andrew has an idea for a new tournament that he believes would match the Ryder Cup. It's a tri-series featuring three countries.


Nick and Mark hear Andrews idea, put it on the blocks and see how it could work in this hypothetical situation and run through the players that would be eligible for the teams, Could it match the Ryder Cup? It's a big call....do Nick and Mark agree?


A fun hypothetical weekend mini, enjoy your Sunday !!!


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


  • Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
  • BMW, 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.

© My Podcast Data · Independent project · Data from Apple & Spotify