Talk Birdie To Me

A feedback pod today, and we start with a very blunt question from a wolfpacker about Marks eating habits - following the revelation a week or two ago that he has never eaten a cucumber. And we find out some other, surprising, food items he has never (and says he will never) eat.Mark tells a very funny story about playing in a tournament , about to be called to the first tee, when his mother turned up with something he had forgotten to bring...hilarious, but also quite sweet.But enough food chat. Onto golf. Feedback from a wolfpacker who saw Steve Bowditch play live and said, until he did, he wasn't aware of how much of a flusher he was. Ken saw Bubba play at Coolum with Nick and shared that memory. And Colin from New Zealand has a very important question about a hole in one...and whether it counts or not. Nick and Mark give their view.And we have a NSW wolfpacker who is a sparky and given Marks challenge in being able to find one locally to install his Switchstar, has offered to fly down and install it if Mark takes him for a round at Kingston Heath....mmm interesting idea.After the turn, we have a comment and a question from Phillip regarding the worst shot ever in a pressure situation, with Rory the one being nominated....Nick and Mark discuss, and Mark talks about the famous Jean Van Der Velde incident at Carnoustie saying he feels Jean was horribly unlucky and only hit one bad shot.Nick and Mark reveal what they believe to be the worst shot they each ever hit in a tournament....funny (for us not them).We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A mini today where Nick and Mark have a listen to a voicemail from Mick in the UK who has a suggestion for a Top 5, in fact two Top 5's. We don't do the first one, and the second is impossible, because we cannot fit the answers into just 5.....Mick has asked Nick and Mark to name their favourite commentators, on or off course.As we talk, more names come to mind, and a Top 5 is simply impossible...but what a wonderful chat about some legendary people in our game.If we've missed anyway, let us know!And we end this mini with a very special piece of audio. If your life has been impacted by Alzheimers, or you've lost your Dad (or Mum), it's worth a listen.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Phew this is a big pod today, one of our longer ones....we try to keep the main pod no longer than an hour, but it's a tad hard in Masters week! We start today with Mark asking Nick how he prepared for The Masters given he played it 4 times. Nick explains what he did, and he talks about the first time he saw the course, and what he did. He explains the how the wind works on 11,12, and 13. We talk about preparation in the lead-up, and Nick explains why living at Isleworth in Florida was the perfect preparation - if you know why, the story is worth hearing again, if you don't - it is wild. Mark asks about the risks of overdoing your preparation when you arrive at Augusta, particularly as the course is so hilly.The facilities have had an upgrade at Augusta (of course they have, they're loaded), and we hear about the new carpark for the players....sheez.Onto the Ryder Cup, with Tiger now not in consideration, who will be the captain for the US team? We talk about the names being mentioned and Nick and Mark suggest who they think it will be and why.Mark runs through The Masters '6's'. That is: 1966, 1976, 1986, 1996, 2006 - all years where extraordinary things happened. And he tells a great story about Greg Norman from the 96 Masters, not great for Greg, or for Australians, but amusing in hindsight.What about the Augusta National Women's Amateur - 18-year old Raegan Denton from Adelaide finished T4, the highest ever finish by an Australian in the tournament! A star on the rise for sure, and we award her our Hostplus 'Plus for Golf' this week. She certainly is.After the turn, into the back 9....sorry, Masters week so it's the second 9. We hear about a few of the rules at Augusta, overall they are strict but they all add to the prestige.For BMW our Touch of Class goes to Justin Rose, Nick watched his interview at Augusta and given the pressure he must be feeling, it really was a classy interview.Then, for Betr, Nick lists the Top 5 memorable moments from the 12th hole at Augusta...there are some absolute rippers!Feedback for Southern Golf Club is Masters centric this week: comments from you on 1986, on Rory from last year, The Shark in 86, Nick's results, and a great story from David in Brasil about Jack Nicklaus in 86, which Mark follows up with an amazing Golden Bear stat.Lots of results for Nick to run through in the PING Globals today....we divert slightly from them to hear a story of Nicks run-in with US Police, and how he got out of it....sneaky...And finally, Mark's Masterclass for Golf Clearance Outlet is on lag putting - when the greens are running hot, and there are undulating greens, lag putting is your friend. Nick and Mark discuss.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Masters week and today Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen preview the tournament. You'd think we'd start off by chatting golf, but no, Mark brings a fun fact about trees (albeit Augusta trees) to the table, and Nick counters with another 'tree trivia' item.But after we get 'tree chat' out of the way, it's onto the real stuff. Nick and Mark discuss the Aussies and Kiwi, and what their chances are. Nick likes Min Woo the best of the Aussie and Kiwi players, Mark feels Adam Scott is in a purple patch and is the most likely of them. Each give their reasons.What about Jason Day, can he win even with a toned down outfit on? And Cam Smith? The boys are not confident. Does Ryan Fox have the game to compete at Augusta? We discuss.Then onto the power rankings, and we look at the big US and international players from 1-12-ish, deliberately skipping over one player who neither Nick or Mark enjoy watching. Nick wonders if, with the monkey off his back, Rory might go crazy this weekend, and we discuss how Scheffler might play with a new baby having just arrived. Mark is red hot for one particular player, saying he believes in 'magic' at Augusta, and this player winning would be that. Then we construct our Betr multi...and there is trouble in paradise. Nick and Mark agree on two of the legs, however have a disagreement on the third....so we 'rock paper scissors' it to see which we'll go with.After the turn, an Augusta weather update from Nick 'meteorologist' O'Hern, then we hear back from Hummer on the pricing for the multi....it's pretty good! And Mark reckons we're on a roll so it's a good one to get on board. Mark might be whacking some mayo on what defines 'on a roll', given we won our last one, and we're hardly stringing multiple wins together, but hey, let's go with it.Get on board at the Betr website here, or on the app - search Betr specials and you'll find the Talk Birdie To Me multi there.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Masters week and today Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen spend some time reminiscing and sharing their memories of what is, in many eyes, the greatest golf tournament ever played - the 1986 Masters, during this week, it's 40th anniversary.Nick and Mark focus on the Sunday, when Jack Nicklaus started the day with 7 (incredible) players ahead of him and through the course of the day chased them all down.We hope you enjoy this Talk Birdie To Me where we go down memory lane and enjoy the wonderful memories, and hear some of the amazing shots, from players like Jack, Seve, Kite, Shark.And happy Masters week!!!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Talk Birdie Mini today where we read out a handful of the hundreds of messages we've received on what your first ever set of clubs were!It's fun to reminisce, and to simply hear some of the old brand names again...some flashbacks to an earlier time! And of course, your messages on clubs lend themselves to some interesting stories from Nick and Mark....including finding out that one of the two had 'cleaning golf club toilets' as their first ever job! Sheez.....We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on the pod we have a special guest. Jayden Hunt is a former AFL footballer who played 172 games for Melbourne and the West Coast Eagles, you don't get to that number of games unless you're a gun! These days, his (sporting) life revolves around golf, and he has embarked on a challenge to play 52 of the Worlds Top golf courses in 52 weeks.....we wanted to find out why, how, the plan....so many questions!We start with Jayden telling Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen how he got into golf, where the bug came from....and he talks us through his handicap journey over the last few weeks, it is mind blowing...he tells us the amount of golf he is playing to achieve his current handicap. He went to Q School last week, he tells us how he went, and his plans to return.He's working his way through 52 of the Worlds best 52 courses at the moment, he heads off to the US on Monday - and whilst there will be attending The Masters. But of all the courses he is playing, which one is he most excited about? And, how on earth is he managing to get on these courses ?!?!?He explains the backstory of how he did it. Which is fascinating. Jayden also talks through his partnership with GolfLoot, a new Australian company where memberships provide the chance to win some quite extraordinary prizes, with a focus on 'bucket list golf trips', there are a number on offer - the big one right now is a chance to win a trip to the 2027 Masters for two people - flights, accom, tickets - amazing prize, the winner is drawn on Masters Sunday (12th April) so well worth entering now...you can find out more details here: https://www.golfloot.com.au/Jayden talks about his fascination with the mental aspect of golf, and Mark suggests that it would be great for him to play some tournaments over the next year or so.A great chat with Jayden Hunt , clearly a great footballer, and now an excellent golfer.....we'll keep in touch with him as he works his way around the world through these 52 courses!And have a look at GolfLoot, the monthly fee is very reasonable considering what you'll get - and the chance to win a trip to The Masters in 2027 is worth it just on its own!! https://www.golfloot.com.au/We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another massive pod today, we start with Mark reviewing Huntingdale, he played it at the weekend. Does it play as good as it looks? He tells us.And then. Gary Woodland. What a performance, what a story, and what emotion. A fantastic and very popular win in Texas, nobody deserved this more. Nick and Mark discuss his performance and how he has come to this point. We listen to/watch the winning putt, and hear some of the post win interview.Are challenging pin placements late in a round good or bad for golf? That might depend on whether you're playing or watching. Certainly Karl Vilips might have some strong views after he ping-ponged across the green at the weekend. Nick and Mark give us their thoughts.Tiger. We have to discuss Tiger. And we do. The BMW Touch of Class this week goes to Min Woo Lee after his extraordinary bunker shot at the weekend. And we award the Hostplus 'Thats a Plus' for golf to, who else, Gary Woodland. 7 Mile Beach. Nick and Mark have heard contrasting reviews - some love it, some feel it's very tough, maybe too tough. We discuss the reviews.After the turn, for Betr, Mark lists his Top 5 'gotcha holes', those holes that lull you into a false sense of security and you think you've got them, but then BAM they nail you.Nick takes us around the world in the PING Global Results.And in feedback for Southern Golf Club, plenty of whacks....some for one member of the team for something on last weeks pod, some for the entire team after something different on last weeks pod. And Mark reads out a text from a Tour Pro who listened to last weeks show where we discussed the Monday Q story on the player suspended for cheating, and makes some WILD accusations. We wrap the show with a masterclass from Nick - he calls this a 'combination masterclass', and it's a ripper.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We must apologise for the start of today's pod. Mark and Dan were ready to go, Nick was extremely unprofessional and decided to send a text just as the show began, so there's a slight delay while Nick finishes his extremely important, far more important than Mark, Dan and the Wolfpackers, text message.But...once we get through this hiccup in the Talk Birdie Zen, we get on with the show! JH has a request for Nick and Mark which the boys don't mind....and this leads onto a chat about a very famous, and very funny, movie that Nick has (embarrassingly) never seen !?!?!?! He really is having a shocker today. Onto Andrew, who has a comment on 'golf farces'. Tony heard Mark talking about his desire to travel to Ireland, and has some course suggestions for him. Whilst in the UK, Craig played the London Club last week and gives a report on the conditions. Trevor has messaged us about slow play and aim point, and believes a particularly massive Tour Pro is guilty of the former - but is a protected species.Mark has been shopping on Temu again....sheez.Alex has a question. His club head speed isn't great and he has found a way around it that works for him, and is interested in Nick and Marks thoughts on it. Peter watched John Senden play a few months back in the Australian Open, with Parkinsons, Peter also plays with Parkinsons and has asked if we can get Sendo on the pod to chat about how he does it, some of the tools he uses. Mark tells a great story about playing with Sendo in New Zealand where a shot went extremely pear-shaped.And Chris from Toronto writes in to let us know he enjoys watching the pod on YouTube, and has a recommendation for another pod we should check out....we've not heard of it, but when we google it, it is massive!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter from Commonwealth Golf Club in Melbourne left a brief voicemail on Sunday outlining something quite special that happened at Commonwealth at the weekend.....surely this is a record? Have a listen to Peter's voicemail and let us know if you have ever seen or heard anything like it previously. We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We love chatting with legends in golf, and today we have a cracker of a guest - Mike Harwood won 3 huge events in Europe, came second in The Open Championship, and has played with some of the biggest names in international golf. Today for Hostplus, we host Mike Harwood on the Talk Birdie To Me.We start with Mike telling Nick and Mark how he got into golf, how it all started and how he caught the bug. He tells us how old he was when he first shot under par. Get ready to be simultaneously impressed and envious.Mike talks about playing the Troppo tour in Queensland, his recollections about playing with the various characters who were on the tour at that time.Mark asks Mike about the time he took Greg Norman down at Castle Hill and what happened - Mike reveals something about that tournament that we've never heard and blows us away! He talks about the four big wins he had, and his performances in Europe. Mike discusses his 'attitude' when he played and why he always expected to get results.Mike is very tall, and Nick is curious about how this impacted his clubs in the bag, in answering Mike reveals what the worst thing he ever did for his golf swing was, and why he feels it hindered his career.Of course, we have to discuss The Masters. After finishing second to Ian Baker-Finch in The Open Championship, Mike was not offered an invite to The Masters. Nick and Mark want to know why not and how he felt about it. Mike answers both questions.Mark asks Mike about playing with Greg Norman at the World Series of Golf, and what happened when he was announced to the tee. Very funny.And we wrap asking Mike about what's next for him? He's helping out at Southern Golf Club, and explains how much he enjoys that, and there's plenty of family time.A great chat with a legend of Australian golf, fantastic to host Mike Harwood for Hostplus on Talk Birdie To Me !We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Short feedback pod today. Lots of comments on our Bubba Watson mini - if you haven't watched or listened you can find it in the feed here - fair to say he is a polarising character! Tour Pro Paul Moloney enjoyed the recent reminiscing about Pantales Nightclub, where the Pros would hang out in the UK.We spoke last week about shooting under your age, and have a couple of messages to read out - have we found the record ? It may be, or may not be, but they are impressive either way. Leads to a chat about Nick and Mark playing Clearwater in Christchurch.A question about players not defending their titles, is there any excuses or is it poor form?And a wolfpacker has heard us talking about Switchstar, the charger that turns off after 8-hours of charging your buggy - thus protecting your house, or golf club - but he kept missing the name. It is Switchstar, and you can check it out here.Last week Nick was giving tips on playing in windy conditions, and we had two wolfpackers write in - one with some info that he heard Sir Nick Faldo give on windy conditions, and another with his own tip....which Mark rates.Did Mark's caddy who bet against him (many years ago without Marks knowledge) share the winnings? We find out.A while ago we listed some of the yippiest moments in golf.....but, according to one wolfpacker there was a massive one that we missed, in fact he feels it should be number one. We listen/watch.A comment on the NSW Golf Club from someone who has a view on whether it is worthy of an increase in ranking, or not.And we wrap with a final message from Craig on a fantastic 'shooting below your age' record, which may well be the record.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We start today's show as we did last week - by congratulating Hannah Green, 3 wins in a row and she appears well on track for a major in 2026. Nick and Mark discuss how she looks so comfortable and in control at the moment, Nick awards Hannah the Hostplus 'That's a Plus' for golf this week...hard to argue.Matt Fitzpatrick played beautifully at Valspar to win, he's in great form. However it wasn't all smooth sailing as he was frustrated by the slow play of his playing partner Adrien Dumont de Chassart who played with the speed of a slow moving turtle. Matt has spoken about this before, and he was clearly unhappy after the tournament - and rightly so. Nick and Mark discuss what the punishment should be, and why the powers that be seem to never do anything about it.An alarming story, that Nick and Mark were unaware of until they saw it on the Monday Q Twitter account about a young Tour Pro being banned for 6-months for cheating, however playing in a tournament in China at the weekend. We talk through the problems with this, and how the governing bodies could better approach it (rather than keeping it secret) to both act as a deterrent and a punishment, but also provide a path to redemption for one mistake.Jon Rahm's appeal has been dropped, what does it mean for the Ryder Cup?Rory McIlroy's menu for The Masters dinner is all over the internet, we discuss it - particularly the wine. Nick awards the BMW Touch of Class to the wine list. Leads to a chat about Nick and Mark playing at the weekend with Hostplus honcho's David and Mark at Victoria Golf Club, and particularly how it ended in the clubhouse!After the turn, Nick lists his Top 5 fast swings on the PGA Tour for Betr.Then into feedback for Southern Golf Club: feedback today on Tiger, Cheating from Tour Pros, clarity on our legal terminology that we mangled last week, Hawthorn's Mitch Lewis and his amazing round at PK North last week, and lots of comments on Radar - including some feedback from one particularly big name!Nick takes us around the world in the PING Global results, and Mark's masterclass for Sam and the team at the Golf Clearance Outlet is inspired by something Ludvig Åberg does in his pre-shot routine. We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some more feedback today, we start with Scarby who loved The Ox's random drop in a couple of weeks ago, and reckons he should be a regular guest. Not the worst idea we've heard to be honest.Nathan asks for clarity on the difference between Australian style and American style courses, after a chat he heard on last weeks show. David played Bonville recently and after hearing the discussion about it last week had some thoughts following his recent visit. Keith reckons Kooralbyn Valley was always under-rated, and had it been on the Gold Coast would have been far higher regarded, however he feels it's condition presently isn't what it could be.Leads to a chat about some Australian golfers who went through Kooralbyn Valley, including one very famous one, and another who was extremely talented however had some personal challenges that got in the way. Mark has a story about the latter which he wants to consider whether it's appropriate to tell, he'll decide after the turn.Wolfpacker Greeny played NSW recently, and talks about the wind! And James 'vents' on duffers and how they drive him (as a self-confessed duffer) crazy.After the turn.....Mark decides to tell the story. Steven Bowditch had all the potential in the world, and remains a very, very good golfer. He has had some well documented challenges with alcohol, which is the context of the story that Mark tells from a tournament in New Zealand. We'll note here that Steven has spoken openly about his struggles over the journey, and from all reports is in a good place at the moment and healthy, which is what we all want.Then we get Craig, a Brisbane wolfpacker, on the show who tells us all about the redesign at his course, Indooroopilly, which has it in schmicko condition! Craig explains what was done, how it's changed it, and if the members are happy with the results.And we wrap with a comment from Paul on Denis Brosnan, of Brosnan's fame, and he has a wonderful bit of trivia about Denis that we share.....leading to Mark giving you some homework!!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've been talking a bit about a new product called Switchstar lately, and for good reason. There has been a number of incidences in Australia of lithium iron batteries catching fire with catastrophic results - not only at golf clubs, but in nursing homes, garages, without being overly dramatic, it can be devastating.Given Mark currently is charging his MGI buggy in his garage, he thought we should get John O'Callaghan, the guy who invented Switchstar, on the pod to explain what it is, how it works and why it solves the problem. Mark has had several instances where he's woken up in the middle of the night and realised he's left the buggy on charge for 3-days, and ducks downstairs to turn it off.John explains why batteries can explode, what causes it. And he explains how Switchstar can prevent this happening by automatically turning off after 8-hours, or when it identifies the battery is fully charged - removing, to a significant degree, the risk. He explains what items this works for, and what it isn't appropriate for, and how easy the install process is.John explains that there are insurance benefits to having Switchstar installed which potentially can result in more savings than the cost of the unit.Eagle eyed Mark spots an opportunity for golf clubs, in particular his, to install a heap of these and charge members a fee to leave their buggy at the club - at the moment buggies have to be taken home given the risk, but with Switchstar, they can be safely left at your club - very handy.It's a cracking idea, and you can find out more info at the Switchstar website here: https://switchstar.com.au/We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we run through some questions from you and kick them around.We start with a message from a wolfpacker who seems to be a Tour Pro, and has written regarding Nick's story about not signing a card of a player in Asia some years ago, he had a similar story about playing on the Korean tour involving both a player and a rules official. Another wolfpacker asks Nick why he waited until the end of the round to raise the issue, rather than addressing it whilst on course.New listener Lee is working through the back catalogue of shows, and has a question about Marks recent masterclass on wedge distance control.And as we go to the turn, an update on young Sophie, a 9-year old wolfpacker who listens to the show with her Dad Travis, and sent her swing in a month ago....Travis has written in with some news on Sophie's golf.After the turn, Shankedit has written in, he's just moved to Perth and is after some advice from Nick on playing golf in a region (like Perth) where it is incessantly windy.Peter has a question about Tour Pro's swapping clubs during a tournament, leading to a chat about Justin Rose, and the PGA money winners list.And we finish with a couple of comments about Wayne 'Radar' Riley, one from a listener who rates him, and another with a question about his appearance....mmmm....We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A voicemail today from wolfpacker Tim, who plays of 5 at the mighty Southern Golf Club in Melbourne, he heard Nick and Mark discussing Royal Dornoch last week and their eagerness to play it, and left a message running through his experience on his Scottish golfing tour with his Dad playing Royal Dornoch, Carnoustie, Tain, and Panmure. Wow....slightly envious truth be told. Great voicemail, and Tim goes into fantastic detail about the trip.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week we say it's a big week in golf, but this one might just take the cake. Try this on for size....We have to start with the amazing Hannah Green, winning the Australian Open, a wonderful display and she was the player to beat from go to woah. We also discuss how great Kooyonga looked, what a golf course it is. Whilst Hannah, rightly, deserves great praise, we do discuss Cassie Porter's wonderful tournament, specifically her sunday where she shot a course record by a mile.We take a moment to bask in the glory of rinsing Betr this week with our multi coming off....good fun. The multi was on The Players, and we discuss plenty of that on the show. Cam Young was sensational, and his drive on the 18th...wow....that's our BMW Touch of Class for the week - one of them - the other is Cassie Porter....two Touches of Class! On The Players, Ludvig looked great, until he didn't. Thursday through Saturday, brilliant.....Sunday, it all fell apart. We discuss the comments that Jonathan Yarwood and Brandel Chamblee made about Ludvig's swing, and have a look at it. Also some comments about Scottie Schefflers swing, he's off a bit at the moment by his lofty standards.Hostplus 'That's a Plus' for golf this week - in a week of highlights, it can only be Hannah Green. She is absolutely a plus for golf....a superstar.You may recall we had a discussion about Travis Smyth last week in New Zealand and our view that golf's governing bodies are not effectively policing the rules. Travis wasn't happy with our analysis and reached out, whilst he didn't want to come on the show (we invited him) he did send in some comments about what happened, from his perspective. In the interest of transparency and offering him the right of response to our discussion, we read out his comments in full and unedited. Onto the Betr Top 5 and Mark's doing it today - he takes some inspiration from Nick and makes it a Top 6, and runs through the 6 key points that Brian Rolapp has announced for the revamped PGA Tour. We discuss the changes, what they mean, and whether they're positive. Nick and Mark believe that they are overwhelmingly positive.Nick runs us through the weeks results in the PING Global results. And then for Southern Golf Club, some feedback and questions from you. Themes include The Australian Women's Open, Akshay - anchoring or not, Travis Smyth, and our recent conversation on farces in golf - one wolfpacker reckons we've missed an obvious one and gives us a whack over it.And for the Golf Clearance Outlet, Nick's masterclass today is a combination of Cam Young and Hannah Green....now that's a decent combination !We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Talk Birdie Mini today where we have a question from Wolfpacker Dermie for Nick O'Hern. Dermie was a little tacker and went to the 2005 Australian Masters at Huntingdale, and remembers following the grouping with Bubba Watson and Nick O'Hern - and being amazed at some of the golf he witnessed. Dermie wants to know, from Nick's perspective, what it was like playing with Bubba.Nick talks about that tournament and some of the shots he saw Bubba hit close up, he also talks about shots he watched Bubba hit at Memorial, and some of his idiosyncrasies - of which he had many. Nick also reveals the very famous golfer whose house Bubba bought! And he tells Mark Allen why he was surprised that Bubba won two US Masters.Some great stories, and a lot of fun on todays Mini!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feedback pod today and we start with a video that a wolfpacker has sent in of their swing - Ian from Lancashire has sent a short video through to Nick and Mark and you will not believe the course that he filmed it on!!! Nick and Mark (and Dan!) are veeeeery jealous. Even though it's analysis of a video, if you're listening, the feedback will still make sense. We give Ian 3 things to take away and work on.Whilst in the northern hemisphere we head over to Portugal where wolfpacker Laubie is comparing Melbourne's sandbelt courses to the Portugal courses...Nick has played plenty in both areas, does he agree? Rob feels that 14 clubs in the bag is too few and would like a 15th. Nick and Mark discuss. Then back to to UK where Craig has a question about playing in Bermuda.Lee is new to golf and wants the boys to drop in and check out his club, Alex heard us discussing great comebacks a couple of weeks ago and feels that an obvious one was missed....it's pretty impressive....and Geoff has a different sort of comeback to mention, and has a question about a possible bazillion dollar deal for Scottie Scheffler to endorse Brosnan Taipans (now that's a flashback!).Nick and Mark reminisce about the first clubs they ever had. Good times.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recently Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen listed the official Talk Birdie To Me Top 20 list, and the feedback has been off the charts...some of you thought it was spot on, some thought it was off the mark, some felt it was good, but needed 1 or 2 position tweaks. Thanks for all your feedback and keep it coming. Today, we have a look at a random selection of comments from a few wolfpackers.We hear thoughts on The Grange, that it should have been in the list. Also Royal Canberra.Some thought Metropolitan was too high, others thought PK South was too high, and another was pleased PK South was recognised.Commentator Paul Gow says that NSW is incredible and is in his Top 3, possibly #1 for him.One wolfpacker says that Kingston Heath was too low, we had it at #2, Mark and Nick give their view on that comment.We heard from someone who played the new Huntingdale a couple of weeks ago and has it as their #3 in the country now.Phil wants Nick and Mark to commit to play NSW, Royal Sydney, 7 Mile Beach, Kangaroo Island, basically all the contenders, before redoing the list in 12-months. They agree.A comment about The Australian and how some are not a fan. Mark disagrees and explains why.We had a number of comments about Bonville, so we find out where the guys would rank it and why. Nick hasn't played it, and Mark doesn't have it in his Top 20, however he said it makes the Top 3 for one particular category!And we wrap the pod by discussing great golf trips, of which there are plenty, and we decide to dedicate an upcoming podcast to exploring the great golf trips available.If you haven't listened to our Top 20 lists - two pods, 1-10 and 11-20, you can find them in the feed here, just click on your preferred platform: https://linktr.ee/TalkBirdieToMeWe're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Always an exciting week, it is Players Championship week, and today Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen are previewing the tournament.We all love the week, Mark refers to it as 'the fifth major' and he's like a kid in a candy story. Nick tells us about playing the tournament , which he has done multiple times, and how it plays, how you feel as a player - and he explained how his feelings coming into the 17th island hole were quite different from day to day and why. Mark has not played a tournament there, but he has played the course and says that it was something quite special.Given he knows the course so well, Nick talks us through the kind of player he feels will win this tournament. We look at the power rankings, which seem a touch odd this week, but nonetheless we kick them around. Nick and Mark give their tips, their dark horses, and give thoughts on the Australians in the field.After the turn, we construct a market for Hummer at Betr to have a Talk Birdie Multi on....we've given him no notice so during the record of the show he confirmed the multi, but needs some time to frame the odds....it will be good, but probably a little shorter than usual as this one seems a likely win (to the extent you can think that). Download the Betr app or visit the website and look at Betr specials for our multi....by the time this episode is live the odds will be there...jump on board and remember to gamble responsibly!We wrap the show with a very dodgy story from Mark about his caddy many years ago regarding a bet on Mark....it would be illegal today, and rightly so, but it's a funny story.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Phew this is a big show today, plenty of stuff that has happened, and plenty that is about to.We start with the Bay Hill tournament, a course that Nick has played many times and isn't fond of, he explains to Mark how differently the golf ball plays on Florida courses and why. We discuss Akshay Bhatia's brilliant shot on the par 5 16th hole, did he plan it that way? Doesn't matter....amazing. Mark was amazed about Rory's shot over the gallery, the footage is on the YouTube version of the show, it is wild.But back to Akshay. We have to discuss his putting. Is he anchoring? Nick says it looks like he may be but he'd give him the benefit of the doubt, Mark says he absolutely is. But Mark doesn't blame Akshay, he holds responsibility elsewhere, and explains who and why.We grab a broomstick putter at Titleist HQ and Nick shows us illegal and legal usage, and some of the nuances.Speaking of bending the rules. Travis Smyth. Did he improve his lie in Auckland at one point? A wolfpacker sent us in some vision from Kayo and we have a look, Nick and Mark give their views.Nick tells a story about the time he refused to sign the card of a pro he was playing with in a tournament.The BMW Touch of Class, Nick awards it to the Australian Women's Open, or particularly Kooyong, one of his favourite courses and he is excited to see it this weekend. Fingers crossed one of the incredible Aussie women get up for the win!Mark's 'That's a Plus' for Hostplus goes to Luke Donald, announced as European Ryder Cup captain again, obviously he was always going to be, but Nick and Mark both say he should remain captain for a little while yet, he's that impressive. Who will be the US captain? Nick and Mark give their preference, it's an obvious one.We discuss the LIV Clutch player of the year demonstrating his clutchability (it's a real word, look it up), and how it is a shame he won't play Ryder Cup. After the Turn, for Betr Nick lists the Top 5 rules that players take advantage of, the grey areas. For Southern Golf Club, plenty of feedback - this week focused on Marks criticism of the NZ Open's ProAm structure, and our bonus video ep on Huntingdale's redevelopment. Plus a bit of feedback on something from last weeks show from a English LIV player.Nick runs through all the results in the PING globals, and there are heaps!And we wrap with a masterclass from Mark, for the Golf Clearance Outlet, on how experimenting with your backswing length can give you greater distance control.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Talk Birdie Mini today where Nick and Mark consider an excellent question from wolfpacker Andrew, who has essentially asked if Tour Pros damage their game and their creativity through a continual search for the perfect swing. There are of course many examples over the years of players changing their swings and it working out beautifully and, in some cases, not working out.Nick and Mark feel is different for the men and women players at the moment and explain why, and they talk about the role flexibility plays and the Tour Pro who Mark says is a 'flexibility freak'. We discuss which players on tour have the highest performance looking swings at the moment, and who is a touch more home made.And we talk about Ian Baker-Finch and when he spoke to us recently about addressing his swing challenges during his career - Nick played with him a couple of weeks again and said that whilst Finchy is still working on his swing, he was hitting them beautifully! A fun little mini today, thanks Andrew for the question!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Great voicemail from wolfpacker Andrew in Perth about a recent experience on his local driving range, and how he has played a significant role* in a Tour Pro winning a tournament. Great message, love it Andrew!*role may be slightly overstated.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.