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Talk Birdie To Me
Ep7: Can Jason Day Win The Masters?
Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen are back with another episode of Talk Birdie To Me, and it starts with a disagreement. Mark loves the matchplay when there is World Cup style groups prior to the Top 16, Nick isn't a fan and prefers 1v1. Ironically, Mark reckons Nick is the reason why it is the way it is given he knocked out Tiger twice.
Oh they don't get to that until after a bit of chardonnay chat. Ridiculous. This golf podcast is going downhill fast.
But back to the golf, and it's all about The Masters.
The boys are excited about the results of the matchplay - in particular, from an Aussie perspective, Jason Day's performance. Mark asks Nick if Jason can win The Masters, and if he is mentally capable of winning. They boys discuss. From a guy who has played the course, Nick outlines the hardest walk on the course - it may not be the one you'd expect. Mark talks about the involvement of Annika Sörenstam, he's a fan and reckons it's wonderful. Nick loves the ceremonial aspect of the event, and Mark tells a great story about meeting the legendary Sam Snead - a hilarious story about Sam being tanked in the bar at The Masters. Mark is excited about Justice Bosio and asks Nick if she were to win would that be back page on every paper in the country? It should be.
We've got feedback asking Nick and Mark about Cam Young from the weekend. The boys discuss. Moves into a discussion about line of sight relief and disqualifications - Nick tells a great story about abusing rules officials from Wayne Riley - very funny.
We get an update on Mark's performance in the Pro Am at Box Hill last week, where he had predicted he'd shoot a 64 or 65. Spoiler alert, he didn't. But Jay Mackenzie shot a 61 to win. What a performance! And we get an update on Nick's Pro Am performance at Eynesbury at the weekend. This leads to a chat about Graham Marsh and his secret career, he's a golf legend, and also from a famous sporting family. Mark wants to get him on to chat about his career, and that sets some homework for Nick to arrange.
Mark's Top 5 is a cracker. This week it's the Top 5 things that amateur golfers do, copying from pro's, that they shouldn't. And this leads to Mark's Masterclass this week, which is on maths, okay not quite, but sort of. Mark talks about using the aim line on your ball from 30+ feet, and he's going to use maths to prove that you shouldn't do it and it's a waste of time. On the aim line on your ball, Nick gives Mark a different idea on how to do it - which Mark has never done.
Nick talks us through the results this week. Matt Wallace wins on the DP World Tour, not a great week for the Aussies at the Puntacana Championship in the Caribbean. In the Asian tour, Travis Smythe has won a spot in the Open after his Hong Kong performance. And Gabi Ruffles with another strong performance, not a win, but a strong performance. Locally the Women's NSW Open in Foster/Tuncurry with a great win from Kiwi Momoka Kobori, and this week....what a week coming up....The National, the final event on the PGA Tour of Australasia, and Nick and Mark are commentating on Kayo/Fox Sports, and Nick is playing the Pro Am with Elvis Smylie.
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Monday Mini: Cutting Shafts, Gripping Down, and how do Swing Weights work?
09:45||Season 4, Ep. 0Todays 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.Weekend Mini: Could a Tri-Series comp work, if so how should it be Structured? Nick and Mark discuss.
07:45||Season 4, Ep. 0Cos 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 !!!Friday Feedback: A Listener tells Mark to 'Get Over Yourself'...ouch. Plus, we talk Tapering on Tour, and a Slow Play Enforcement Idea
30:15||Season 4, Ep. 0The weekends nearly here, hope you've got some downtime, some family time, and some golf time planned! Today on our Friday Feedback pod we have a lot of fun, although we start with Mark thinking for some reason he is qualified to give medical advice and makes some observations on the cut that Dan has on his head from the kitchen cupboard. Helpful from Mark.After we get through that, onto the golf chat....!01:00 Peter has some thoughts on bunker play to run by Nick and Mark.02:00 We chat about some of the great South African bunker players.04:00 We love Chooky Fowler, but he could occasionally play slow. If you've not seen our chat with him, google Chooky Fowler and Talk Birdie To Me and it will come up.05:00 A question about Nick and Marks fitness regime during non competition weeks when they were on the tour, and how did they manage their motivation.06:30 We talk about the importance, as a pro, of tapering.08:00 Nick talks about how Tiger would prepare for competition09:00 How Augusta get the course ready for The Masters in the weeks leading up, and how brilliant it is for the members.10:30 Plenty of feedback on our Claude Harmon 3rd show last week. It was a ripper, if you haven't listened or watched, well worth doing.14:00 Comment from a wolfpacker on Cam's putting when he won The Open Championship15:00 Some comments on LIV and where it's at, and its legacy.After the turn:18:00 We put our next finalist in the draw to win. trip to Kangaroo Island to play 18 holes at The Cliffs with the architect Darius Oliver and Mark Allen.20:00 Phil has an idea on the policing of slow play, inspired by the Olympics, Nick and Mark are big fans.23:00 A wolfpacker gives mark a serve telling him to 'get over himself'25:00 A fun comment on a piece of commentary that a wolfpacker heard during The Open Championship a couple of months ago that they thought Mark particularly might enjoy. He does.27:00 And a spur of the moment top 5 'blinkered' players in tournaments.A fun Friday Feedback show today, we'll have a bonus mini this weekend, it's a cracker so keep an eye out for that on Saturday morning - or Sunday, depending on if we're playing golf and couldn't be arsed coming in on Saturday.Hit em well !!Bonus Mini: Nick on Playing with Bryson: 'He was Different, Unusual, and Unbelievable Length'
10:22||Season 4, Ep. 0A fun mini ep today where Nick and Mark answer a couple of questions from wolfpacker Jeff about a conversation on last weeks main show.Mark was talking about cutting the shaft on your irons, and Jeff is interested to hear Nick and Marks thoughts on running the same length irons in your bag across the whole set, the same as Bryson does. What are the advantages, what are the disadvantages? We kick it around for a whole and discuss the pros and cons. Given Bryson is an obvious reference, he comes up, and Nick talks about playing with him when he (Bryson) was an amateur at Huntingdale, describing him at that time as unique, different, and with extraordinary length - Nick tells the story of Bryson monstering a short Par 4.Great question from Jeff, and excellent short mini ep today to hook into!219. Ep219: Our LIV Insider says: 'Jon Rahm, Tyrell Hatton, Ian Poulter are Gone'. Has Wyndham Clark been dodgy (again)? And Nick wants a Shot Clock.
01:05:56||Season 4, Ep. 219HUGE show today. So much to discuss, and we start with some more inside info from Mark's LIV insider in the US, he reads the texts.01:00 Info from inside LIV Golf from Marks LIV insider. He names four players who are definitely (according to his intel) leaving LIV, three players who are likely to be out, and one (not Bryson) who is all in.02:30 The players who are bullish on LIV 2.0, are bullish pending access to the majors, in other words whether they get meaningful ranking points on LIV or not.04:00 The insider says LIV will file for bankruptcy in the next 3-weeks, however there is a 'whale' in the background ready to invest in 2.005:00 Staff will be exited mid-September, with some rehired following the restructure07:00 Mark says that LIV has proved that golf starved areas will respond with big crowds and the PGAT will have noticed this.10.30 We discuss Brysons comments after the weekends LIV tournament.12.30 Nick says Bryson is a content dream and great for golf15:00 Mark has an update to his watchlist, with a player making a move following the weekend.17:00 We watch the video of Wyndham from the weekend....should he be penalised?20:00 Nick - we need a shot clock in golf.21:30 Mark has found himself on Golf Australia's watchlist after last weeks Top 5 where he listed 5 things he reckons GA have gotten wrong.22:00 We chat to Heath McLeod, Tournament Director of the PGA tour of Australasia who addresses Marks comments about playing in pairs at weekend in the AO. He explains why the AO had 3-balls at the weekend last year.26:00 For Hostplus, our plus for golf this week from Mark goes to Rory McIlroy....Mark explains.28:30 And for BMW, Nick awards his touch of class to Scottie Scheffler, when compared to Rory McIlroy.After the turn:31:00 We put our 6th person in the draw to play The Cliffs at Kangaroo Island with Mark and course architect Darius Oliver....two more people to go! Link to enter on our socials.32:00 For Betr, Nick's Top 5 good, bad, and whacky things that LIV has given us.38:00 Onto feedback....we start with a question about LIV players and the Presidents Cup40:00 A comment on last weeks chat about some players being 'scared off the leaderboard'. Nick and Mark talk about playing in Canada and how much they loved it.42:00 Comment on our 'weird and wonderful' putting strokes conversation from last week.43:00 Comments on Aaron Baddely, and Mark talks about his irons and how unusual they were.45:30 Last week Mark said most members of clubs wouldn't mind giving their course over to a major tournament, one listener disagreed and explains why.46:00 Mark talks about the calibre of courses juniors used to play on in qualifiers years ago.48:00 An interesting message on our hypothetical 'fast 3-ball vs slow 3-ball' concept from last week.49:30 Plenty for Nick to discuss in the Global highlights.51:30 And the boys got a message from Tour Pro Zach Murray who enjoyed the chat with Claude Harmon 3rd last week....if you haven't seen Zach's YouTube channel, do yourself a favour it's a ripper. Check it out here.59:00 Mark saw a video from Jason Day last week with him trying something - Mark gave it a crack at the weekend and it worked well. He explains it for us for the Golf Clearance Outlet in todays masterclass.Big show, touch longer than usual, too much golf to discuss !!!!☎️ Voicemail: Paul from Wollongong on how the advice he actioned from Claude Harmon III went for him
00:42||Season 4, Ep. 0Paul from Wollongong enjoyed the Claude Harmon III show last week, and took one piece of advice from Claude and applied it to his game at the weekend. Did it work? Paul tells us in this quick voicemail.If you've not heard or watched Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen's chat with Claude, it's well worth it.Watch here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zWZSn0n5cMk Listen here on Apple Podcasts: https://tr.ee/4KZrvO Listen here on Spotify: https://tr.ee/603nLPAnd if you have a voicemail with a comment or a question for Nick and Mark, you can leave it here using either your phone or computer.Guest: Gary Lisbon, the World's Premier Golf Course Photographer on his new Sandbelt Golf Course book
13:40||Season 4, Ep. 0A Talk Birdie To Me bonus ep today, with a special guest dropping by - the world's premier golf course photographer, Gary Lisbon. Gary has a new book out today (August 25) called 'Great Golf on the Melbourne Sandbelt', it is a panoramic book and perfect for anyone who loves the Sandbelt, or as a fathers day gift for a golf-lover.Nick and Mark chat with Gary about why he believes that 'pound for pound the Sandbelt is the best golf course region in the world'.Mark asks if golf course photography has changed much over the last 20-years, and Gary says it absolutely has, and there are two key reasons why, which he explains.Gary explains what 'golden hour' is and why it is important.Nick asks Gary to name the most under-rated Sandbelt golf courseDoes Nick or Mark have a better eye for photography? Gary picks one of the boys out.Gary talks about the US course that imported a sand profile from Royal Melbourne in order to replicate the bunkering, and the sand, at that course.And he talks us through an enormously fun webpage where every hole from the 10 official Sandbelt courses are listed, with photographs of course, and you can create your very own composite course. The great thing is that if you do, and share it on your socials, you'll go in the draw to win an autographed copy of Gary's new book. The website to build your own composite Sandbelt course is here.And to order your very own copy of Gary's new book 'Great Golf on the Melbourne Sandbelt' visit the site here.Monday Mini: Nick O'Hern - 'Three things I had to fix in my Golf Game when I turned Pro'.
18:58||Season 4, Ep. 0A Monday Mini today, and we chat with wolfpacker Kell who has a couple of questions for Nick and Mark.Kell is from Sydney and was a junior at Moore Park, which has been in the news for the wrong reasons lately with the NSW government making some appalling decisions, and Kell starts with a fantastic snapshot of how he started learning and enjoying golf at Moore Park, and of his school holidays spent at the course. So good. Kell describes what has happened to Moore Park as 'really sad', Mark describes it as a 'shiteshow'. Both are correct and what has happened to Moore Park is nothing short of a disgrace.But onto Kell's questions.Kell watched Nick and Mark play The Lakes a few times, and followed them around, and his first question is around their early years as pros, and how they initially felt playing with the big guys, how they grew into feeling as though they belonged, and when they felt like contemporaries rather than the young guys making their way.Mark explains his career trajectory onto the tour, and Nick talks through his - both were different. Nick identified three areas that he had to address when he turned pro, and he focused on them right away. He explains what they were and why they were important. He talks about 'levelling up' his golf, and 'sliding door' moments.Mark talks about his first pro tournament, where he finished high up, and then proceeded to miss 13 cuts in a row, and had to turn that around (he did).Both Nick and Mark kick around some of the wonderful tournaments that existed back then, and how much they loved playing them.Kell's second question is about his driving, he's having trouble off the tee at the moment and he recently heard Nick talking about how much he loves his current Driver, and asks Nick about that, and his setup, Nick obliges. Mark discusses Driver technique, and talks about the difference length (of the driver) can make.A fantastic Monday Mini with Kell today, keep your comments and questions coming in, we love them! Hit em well !!☎️ Voicemail: Phil on the late Nick McCormack
00:49||Season 4, Ep. 0South Australian golfing legend, Nick McCormack, passed away a couple of weeks ago leaving a wonderful legacy. Phil left us a short voicemail with a memory of Nick's time as the local Pro in Goulburn, NSW.