Talk Birdie To Me

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.

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 UK15:00 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 putters21:00 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 saw25:00 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!

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.

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 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.03:00 Nick reveals and incredible Scheffler stat which Mark immediately christens as our BMW Touch of Class for the week.06:00 Strokeplay vs Matchplay ?08:00 The Viktor Hovland sand incident....any issues or nothing to see here?09:00 The 'nobility' of golf rules. We're looking directly at Patrick Reed.10:00 LIV 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.12:00 Mark is going to call a contact in Adelaide to see if there are any insights into the planning for LIV Adelaide next year14:00 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.24:00 Nick 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.25:00 Our Plus for golf for Hostplus this week is Steve Alker. Mark explains why. Well deserved.26:40 Michel Block. Tool or Fun Showman?30:00 Today the Top 5 for Betr is Mark listing the Top 5 reasons why Scottie Schefflers swing works, even though Mark does not understand how.35:00 Nick saw a chat with Scheffler and Brandel Chamblee this week which he loved, we listen to some of it.36:00 Nick 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.

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.

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 !!!

The weekends nearly here, hope you've got some downtime, some family time, and some golf time planned! Today on our Friday Feedback pod we have a lot of fun, although we start with Mark thinking for some reason he is qualified to give medical advice and makes some observations on the cut that Dan has on his head from the kitchen cupboard. Helpful from Mark.After we get through that, onto the golf chat....!01:00 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 !!

A 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!