Talk Birdie To Me

Fantastic to chat with Australian golfing star Aaron Baddeley today, and there is plenty to discuss!03:00 From cricket to golf, and how old was he when he got into golf? And how did he go from playing casually to having such a 'beautiful action'?04:30 His experiences with Dale Lynch and their plan to get him on the US Tour by the time he was 21.07:00 Mark describes Badds swing as 'simple yet powerful', where did the power come from?08:00 Nick remembers the 1999 Australian Open when Aaron won the tournament as an amateur, he talks about watching a young Badds killing it.09:00 Aaron explains his weeks leading up to the AO, and the plan to peak that week, how he did it. He also had a 'motto' for the tournament, he explains.11:00 Mark says him backing up after the AO win in Sydney, to win again the next year in Melbourne, was even more impressive.13:00 Badds explains how he got his tour card.14:00 He talks about being invited to play Augusta during the 'Tiger Slam' era, and being paired with Tiger as an amateur! What was it like, how nervous was he, and he tells us the advice Tiger gave him during the tournament.15:00 Badds tells us the advice Butch Harmon gave him about playing with Tiger.17:00 We discuss his period with Leadbetter, and the Stack and Tilt guys. How does he view it in hindsight?19:00 Nick is curious about how the Stack and Tilt period worked with driver.20:00 Mark makes a confession to Aaron...eek.After the turn...23:00 How he developed into one of the best putters in the we world, and what he was doing in practise to get to that level.24:00 Badds 'I wasn't a great putter when I was young'.26:00 Nick asks about his putting routine30:00 And for Hostplus, what's next? The next phase of his career and life, and down the track into retirement, what is he thinking?A fantastic chat with Aaron Baddeley today and a huge thanks to wolfpacker Garry Pritchard, who is a mate of Aaron's and helped to arrange the chat!

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!!

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?

Fashion chat returns, but this time with a valid reason...and Mark has let the team down.01:00 Mark tells a story about when Gary Player was 'rude' to him.02:00 Ralph with putting tips that work for him, Nick and Mark discuss putting techniques04:00 Ricky on the yips04:30 Mark talks about Brett Ogle05:00 We reveal that we'll be chatting to Aaron Baddeley on the show next week...exciting!05:00 Marco with a question about identifying your dominant hand06:30 Steve from California on the yips, including a Jerry Haas update, and a gentle dig at Nick08:00 Scott on the yips09:00 Nick and Mark each tell a story about NZ Tour Pro Grant Waiteafter the turn...13:00 Dbu on pre shot routines 14:00 Peter and Phil and Tim on spot lining15:00 Mark on something his Texas Tech coach taught, and allowed, players to do17:00 Christopher on Minjee, and the young up and coming Australian women18:00 When Bubba changed balls...disaster19:00 Comments on our recent show on great South Australian courses, and on our question about the best Canadian course - we were inundated with response22:00 Steve on slow play and what his Dad taught himA fun Friday Feedback show, have a ripper weekend !!!

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.

As always plenty to discuss on the show. Strap in for a fun hour of golf chat and bad gags...01:00 Mark 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.09:00 How scary is Q School? Nick and Mark talk us through it.10:00 When David Feherty taught Mark a lesson in not getting ahead of himself.11:00 The iconic National Golf Club in Victoria has some political issues. What is happening?14:00 Mark puts up fees for some Texan courses to compare with Australia's top end course fees.20:00 The APAC tournament was held at the weekend in New Zealand, and Nick and Mark are very unhappy about one particular aspect.26:00 We look at the confirmed departures and confirmed remaining players from LIV 2.0.29:00 Nick 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:32:00 The Hostplus 'plus for golf' is something very close to home for Mark.34:00 Top 5 for Betr, the Top 5 short areas that Nick has seen.35:00 Something Mark has heard about Augusta's chipping green, can any wolfpacker confirm?38:00 Sergio Garcia's bizarre announcement about leaving LIV.41:00 Nick runs us through the Global Results Highlights.44:00 A very funny story about a 'privileged' Tour Pro.47:00 Onto Feedback for Southern Golf Club:Ryder cup ownership clarificationSean Crocker The drama of the PGA Tour ecosystemAn eagle eyed wolfpacker has spotted something interesting in Byrons latests videoSergio, and Eddie Pepperell's hilarious Sergio tweet.53:00 And we wrap, for the Golf Clearance Outlet, with a masterclass on chipping equipment (sort of).A big show!

Plenty of feedback lately so we thought we'd do a bonus feedback pod and run through some more of your comments and questions.01:00 Feedback 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.02:00 Question about taking divots04:00 Gary with a story about the Tassie open from years gone by, and the clubs that he saw some of the stars using05:30 Sean with a question about Tigers clubs, Mark tells a story about taking inside the bag of a huge Tour Pro when he wasn't around08:30 Martin from the UK with a suggestion for a different version of the Ryder Cup.09:30 Sledge with a message about a recent great caddy experienceAfter the turn...13:00 Monty comment15:00 A pump-up for Bradley Hughes16:00 A wolfpacker from Canberra on NSW South Coast courses, and a question about Top 100 course lists19:00 A question on stretching20:00 A couple of comments on our recent Graham Marsh special24:00 And we wrap with a message for Nick from Troy, who had an experience with Nick in his younger WA days

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!

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.