Ep154: Ian Baker-Finch retires, Cam Young's Killer Final Day for his First PGA Tour Win, and a Royal Melbourne 'Open Update'

Big pod today, we kick off with an update on our Talk Birdie To Me Golf Day at Links Golf and Wellbeing at Hope Island on the Gold Coast. Wednesday October 8th is the date, tickets have, in less than 2-weeks, nearly 50% sold out so if you'd like to come, all the info is here.Mark's excited about his cousin Steve having another win over the weekend, it's great to him doing so well, and Nick points out that Steve Allen has now joined an elite group of Aussies on the Champions Tour and explains why. Mark tells his favourite Peter Thomson story, it's a ripper.Obviously Justin Rose had a great win at the weekend, and in the end deserved it. However, Tommy Fleetwood is the subject of our chat. Nick says it was touch to watch, and Nick and Mark discuss the mental challenges he is facing. Mark explains how caddies play an important role to calm their players and focus them. Both the boys rave about J.J.Spaun's swing, and about the putting in the tournament from a number of players.Nick has an idea for the Tour Championship, he isn't a fan of the playoff system currently, and explains to Mark his idea. We discuss Rickie Fowler and sponsor invites. Mark tells the dodgy story of Carlos Franco and his 'charity'.The Ryder Cup. The Europeans are looking good, Nick and Mark discuss the big call facing Keegan Bradley.Nicks Top 5 today is his most famous caddies in the world, given on Monday we chat with Steve Williams - where does Steve rank?Lots of feedback - IBF, the ball rollback, the international feed, Tiger in Australia, and more. Nick takes us around the world with the PING Global results, and Marks masterclass today is bombing a big drive but ensuring it doesn't go left (as a righty). ** apologies for the masterclass audio, Mark is trialling a new mic, and the settings need a slight tweak **We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:BMW, 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 watchMynumbers and Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Elo 56min

Hold everything.....today's feedback pod gets off to a bad start when, just prior, Nick O'Hern decides to do some stretching but doesn't consider the angle that Mark and Dan have of his 'parts' when he is doing the stretches. Very nearly derails the entire pod. Some things cannot be unseen.But, like triathletes, or footballers in a big game, we push through the pain and hook into the pod. We start with a wolfpacker suggestion of a few great Irish courses that you can play on a budget. And then a question about putting tips in cold weather.Craig from the UK has a question for Nick and Mark about the angle of attack using his persimmon - and Mark has an idea to do a side by side comparison of a persimmon club vs the latest drivers from Titleist and PING for example.Comment about Jordan Spieth getting relief and the left handed vs right handed chat from last week.Our search for the identity of the Mad Greek on YouTube continues, he or she is yet to out themselves but a couple of wolfpackers have a thought on who they might be. One suggestion is Terry Pilkadaris, and Mark tells a great story about Terry as a young golfer.David is a new listener to the pod, and loves the idea of the Talk Birdie To Me golf day on the Gold Coast at Links Hope Island (details here), however is unable to make it and suggests a golf day in Victoria where he lives. We like it. If you can make the Gold Coast, tickets on sale now - we'll be there at Links Golf and Wellbeing at Hope Island on Wednesday October 8th. Short clinic, light lunch, shotgun start tournament with Talk Birdie par rules, and then a buffet dinner, few stories from Nick and Mark and we'll do some questions live at the event from anyone who wants to chat with the boys.Whilst we're discussing the Gold Coast golf day - Nick is horrified by Dans pronunciation of 'buffet' as 'buff- et' and Mark's pronunciation of 'champagne' as 'sham-pag-knee'. Clearly a disconnect between the working class Mark and Dan, and the hoity toity Nick O'Hern.Back to questions. Does Nick get a sponsor exemption if he wants to play the WA Open? Wolfpacker Sandy asks what is going wrong with Australian Mens Golf....the women flying, the men less so. Mark and Nick have some solid views on how to address the issue.And we wrap with a question about Tiger, and his swing and coaching changes. Timely, as later this week we'll chat to his former caddy Steve Williams, which we're looking forward to very much.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:BMW, 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 watchMynumbers and Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 Elo 28min

Well after Mark was in shock last week that Nick O'Hern had not found time to watch Happy Gilmore 2, homework was set. Nick (and Dan) both had to get up to speed....no excuses....and watch it.What was the verdict? We find out the entire Talk Birdie To Me teams views of Happy Gilmore 2, we rate our fave cameos, we discover if Nick and Mark are about to have a rib muscle removed to get more distance, we hear some of your thoughts - and who was very famous actor in the movie who Mark completely was oblivious to!And we end with our patented Talk Birdie To Me choc top ratings for the movie.Warning - this bonus ep has spoilers, so if you haven't yet seen the movie, and plan to, maybe hold off on listening to this episode.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:BMW, 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 watchMynumbers and Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7 Elo 16min

After hearing Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen talking about Links Hope Island last week and the story of Michael Long calling a penalty on himself, giving Ernie Els the win, Tour Pro Scotty Laycock had a further couple of stories to share, and left a voicemail.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:BMW, 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 watchMynumbers and Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Elo 1min

A feedback pod today where we read through a bunch of your questions and comments.We start with a couple of comments on Cam Smith following Nick and Mark's chat last week on his form. Last week Mark listed his 'Irish Bucket List' courses, and we've had a big reaction with people suggesting other courses in Ireland to play, and saying that he needs to extend his trip to get them in. Leads to a chat about Tour Pro Eamonn Darcy who Nick played with a couple of times. And then we have a voicemail from Tom in Arizona with some thoughts on Irish courses, and Mark gives Tom some homework - he'd love Tom's Top 5 'desert courses'.After the turn, a comment from wolfpacker Mad Greek on unposrtsmanlike behaviour on tour, he outlines some poor behaviour he witnessed....and then we try to figure out who Mad Greek is. He sounds like he was a Tour Pro, but we're unsure who....time to reveal yourself Mad Greek !Dale has a comment on wolfpacker Fezz from last week who doesn't like giving shots back to the course (Fezz plays of +1). Dale disagrees with Fezz and calls him a clown.David has a question about a young golfer in the US who was disqualified last week after his caddy threw his hat in the air to check the wind. And Kiwi Lad Welly, who caddied for Mark in New Zealand, has written in about a time he reckons Mark might have felt like breaking his fingers (after last weeks chat on golfers breaking fingers of caddies accidentally). Mark tells us about that tournament where he was playing with John Senden and recalls a moment where he made a poor shot that hit a tree, turned around to see John laughing at him.Another voicemail, this one from James in Sydney on blending irons in his bag, wants to know if he should look at doing this given lots of pros seem to be.And Nick has a question on the setup of Bethpage for the Ryder Cup.Finally, we've locked it in. Our first ever Talk Birdie To Me golf day at Links Golf and Wellbeing at Hope Island on the Gold Coast. Limited tickets, shotgun start, par rules, plus a light lunch , and a buffet dinner - along with Nick and Mark speaking , telling some war stories, and lots of fun. It is on Wednesday October 8th, starts around 11.30am or so, first tee-time 12.30. If you can make it we'd love to see you - tickets and more info here.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:BMW, 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 watchMynumbers and Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

31 Heinä 25min

Massive pod today, and we start with a bit of news that Nick and Mark have heard from an industry insider who is very high up in the golf world, about the new ball that is being developed and due in 2028. It is currently in testing and apparently the testing has not gone to expectations, with the results being far from ideal. Longer hitters with high launch and low spin aren’t impacted much, whereas the shorter or midrange drivers are impacted - not the intended outcome.Onto the golf. Nick and Mark discuss Lottie Woad, what a superstar this young lady is going to be, winning her first tournament after turning pro. Nick likens her swing to Scottie Scheffler, not the swing itself but after impact. We have a look.Mark loved watching Sunningdale again with the ISPS Handa Senior Open, saying it looked stunning, and reminded him of Royal Melbourne. Nick played Royal Melbourne at the weekend and said whilst the course isn't in tournament shape yet, it is looking better than he expected it would.Mark talks about greenkeepers being 'mongrels' on swap days. Mark had a tour of the Huntingdale redevelopment at the weekend and said it is 'spectacular'. Nick gives an update on the Long Island development at The National.Nick has launched a new website with some friends - he has criminally ignored his Talk Birdie friends....I guess we all know where we stand now. Awkward. But the website is basically a place to buy and sell second-hand, quality golf gear - it's brand new, still a couple of bugs, but worth checking out here - GoGolfer.com.au.We discuss the video where Trump was caught cheating at golf (again!), Mark isn't convinced he was cheating this time and explains why, although he says his caddy is clearly very experienced at helping Trump cheat.After the turn, we chat Happy Gilmore 2. Mark is horrified that neither Nick or Dan have watched it yet, Mark loved it and on our patented movie ranking system gives it 4 choc tops out of a possible 5 choc tops rating. Mark sets homework for the team to watch the movie and wants to do a review pod next week.Nicks Top 5 is on the best ever debuts as a pro...where does Lottie Woad rank, does she make it?And then we chat to David Hogben, the boss of Links Golf and Wellbeing on the Gold Coast about our Talk Birdie To Me Golf Day idea. We workshop it live, and come up with:A date (Wednesday October 8)A plan for the tournament (Shotgun Start)Light lunch and dinnerWar Stories from Nick and Mark over dinnerPrizes.We'll work on the details over the next 24-hours and let you know on our socials.....but looks like we're on for the Gold Coast.Lots of feedback today, but we stick to the comments on Scheffler and how many majors he'll win - plenty of other feedback that we'll hold until later in the week, as the pod is running overtime today, and we don't want to lose our podcast license.Nick takes us through the PING Global results, Mark predictably whinges about the music even though it's his fault. And a cracking masterclass from Mark on pros warming up using their alignment stick and how they are using it differently to what he is used to.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:BMW, 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 watchMynumbers and Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Heinä 1h 2min

Another feedback pod today, we're getting plenty of comments and questions so keep them coming.We start with a comment from Timothy in reference to our 'hardest opening holes' conversation last week, with a great (ie. funny) story about playing at Latrobe in front of a crowd and what happened.Then a voicemail from Paul in Wollongong with a question on grip pressure.Jamie wants to know why a US players caddy was refused entry into the UK for The Open Championship due to a 30-year old drug charge, yet Ryan Peake was allowed in given his more recent, and more serious, issues.And we have an update on our conversation late last week about a potential Talk Birdie To Me Golf Day on the Gold Coast where we want to get together with the Talk Birdie Wolfpack and have a comp, and a get together.....it is looking promising.Phil has a comment and question on the 1996 Australian Open in Sydney where Mark played, and a question about his home course in Newcastle.And finally today, Adam from Ballarat has a Top 5 suggestion - the Top 5 players who had great potential, but didn't live up to it. Nick and Mark answer it live on the fly.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:BMW, 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 watchMynumbers and Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Heinä 20min