Talk Birdie To Me

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!

HUGE 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 !!!!

Paul 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.

A 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.

A 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 !!

South 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.

The weekend is thisclose and that means a Friday Feedback show. Some ripping questions and comments from you this week to discuss and debate.01:00 Firstly Beau Hossler is not exactly the fastest player around, and a wolfpacker noticed something funny in the Wyndham tournament last weekend to do with Beau.02:00 In our Main show this week we talked about a 'pursuit' style comp with Keegan and Cantlay vs Aberg and Ryan Fox. Today we extend the hypothetical to add Beau to the slow group, and Nelly to the fast group, and figure out how many holes the slow group would have completed by the time the fast group are done.03:30 A wolfpacker says that LIV collapsing would be a disaster for Australian golf06:00 Bit of talk about sandbelt bunkers lately, turns out not everyone likes them. One wolfpacker explains why he dislikes them07:00 Mark talks about how to improve your bunker play09:00 We've recently talked about great swings, and a wolfpacker reckons we missed Aaron Baddeley circa 98/99.10:30 A comment on our Graham Marsh special recently and what his OWGR would have been.12:00 And we head to the turn with a mea culpa on an error we made on the show last week, which was inadvertently disrespectful to the Elkington family. Our apologies.After the turn.14:00 We put our 5th wolfpacker in the draw to win a trip to The Cliffs at Kangaroo Island...3 more entries left, if you've not entered, you can do it here. 16:30 Following Marks introduction of his 'Talk Birdie Watchlist', a wolfpacker writes in with his own 'Anchoring' watchlist, and gives us three players to start with.18:00 Excellent question from Sutto who is keen for Nick and Mark to outline the different levels of pros, in short, the differences between a Top 10 player and a Top 200 player. Mark talks about increasing by 'levels', or 'level jumping'.22:00 Nick adds to it, he calls them 'slivers' and says that it is largely between the ears.27:00 And we finish with a fun one, a wolfpacker gives us his excuses for when he has a bad round.A fun Friday Feedback show, have a great weekend !

A bonus Talk Birdie To Me Mini today, which comes following a question from wolfpacker Dave who wrote:Hi Nick and Mark, Watching the Wyndham Championship, I noticed Tony Finau putting one-handed. Apparently he struggles with short putts and he tried it based on Tiger's well-known one-handed practice drills. He made the cut so I guess it worked! I thought it might make a good discussion - weirdest putting styles of Tour Pros. Here's one for starters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSd0a2NjftkLove the pod! Thanks, Dave.So we decided to kick it around on the show. And oh boy there were plenty!Golfers we talk about: Bernhard Langer, Chris DiMarco, Sammy Snead, Bobby Locke.We also discuss the proliferation for a while there of Broomsticks, and of the Claw, and the 'Matt Kuchar' putting technique.Other players: Isao Aoki, Vijay Singh, the great man Jack Nicklaus, Paul Runyan, Retief Goosen, Robert Garrigus, and Raymond Floyd.And we wrap this Mini with a couple of fun things. Nick and Mark each choose the putting technique that they would have, if they could choose anyones, and have that for the rest of their life. And Nick tells us what it was like playing with the legendary Ben Crenshaw!!Happy Monday!