Talk Birdie To Me

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.

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.01:00 Matthew enjoyed Mark's 'hairline' comment last week.02:00 Jase 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.03:00 Phil on cart use in championships at his course.05:00 Comments 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.06:00 Message from Brucey Young with a suggestion for another young player who did something extraordinary.07:00 Gary Lisbon on Chacarra08:00 Stuart with a question on shaft weight. Nick explains what he likes and why, Mark shows what he uses.After the turn...12:00 Request 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.15:00 Chris asks Nick about some of his comments about handicaps during commentary on the TV coverage in South Australia last week17:00 Graham with a question on Jeeno Thitikul and Anthony Kim's techniques.19:00 Sam asks Mark why a particular, very famous, Adam Scott performance does not warrant being on Mark's greatest shots of all time list20:00 Owen 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 !!

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. 01:00 On 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.03:00 LIV have messaged us overnight with a statement about their negotiations with players, we read it out on the show.03:30 Mark outlines what he believes a 'verbal commitment' to LIV is designed to achieve for the players.05:00 The payouts to LIV execs and former execs. Reasonable or unfair?07:00 With the exodus, where will LIV 2.0 players come from? Mark feels they'll struggle for players, Nick says they won't.10:00 Is Bryson in for LIV or not?12:00 The bubble time of the year is here, and we love it.13:30 Sean Crocker, on the bubble, and snuck in at 100. We discuss how he did it.14:30 For Hostplus, our Plus for Golf is the DP World Tour showing the bubble action (and Sean for making it).15:30 We discuss what Scottie Scheffler calls 'the greatest chip shot of my career'16:00 Nick talks abut the most important bunker shot he ever played.17:00 Of 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.20:00 The controversy over Q School being dropped as part of the Champions Tour.22:00 DPWT and PGAT - when their current agreement is up, do they remain connected?25:00 Mark asks Nick when he does a coaching day, what it entails? Nick talks through his day long lessons.28:00 What AFL players could learn from golfAfter the turn...36:00 For Betr, Mark's Top 5 things to make your scores better.42:00 Nick runs through the Global Result Highlights, including the BMW Touch of Class....it is a ripper!51:00 Feedback 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,55:00 And 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.1:00:00 And for the Golf Clearance Outlet, Nick's masterclass is on 'feel vs real'.

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.

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!

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.