Ep92: Mark: The Australian Open 'Format Experiment' is Over, it is Beyond a Joke and Can't Continue.

Hold everything. We start today's pod with an update on Marks investigation into the debacle of the recent Top 100 Golf Course list. The person Mark suspected of being responsible, he has discovered was not, and he names the person who he says is responsible for it. Marks contact has gone to ground, and he is hitting a brick wall, particularly now he is enquiring about this named person.Mark puts the invite to the Top 100 Course people, that we'd like them to come onto the podcast to discuss the list. Open invite. And to make it easy you can contact us here.Mark also notes that he played Royal Melbourne this week and says 'It will be a miracle if Royal Melbourne is ready for the Australian Open'. Although the people there are confident it will be, Mark has his doubts having seen the condition of the course currently.Nick and Mark discuss Aldrich Potgieter's driving, and how much power he has. We have a look at his swing sequence and break it down. Nick and Mark would love to see him play the Australian Open and run through the Royal Melbourne holes and look at the clubs he'd likely use for each hole given his power.Tour Pro Jenny Shin tweeted this week about the amateur male golfers who think they can beat a women tour pro, could a scratch golfer beat a womens tour pro? Nick and Mark give their comments. Mark suggests that scratch markers could get a place in a tournament to 'embarrass them'.Padraig Harrington had a moment to forget this week in Colorado in the US Senior Open, we listen to what happened and discuss.Nick tells a story about being billeted in the US with his wife Alana when he was playing the Nike tour, and inadvertently wreaking havoc on their billets house. A dark side of Mr O'Hern that we've not seen previously is emerging.We chat about the Irish Open, the Scottish Open, and the leadup to The (British) Open. And the BMW International Open in Munich this week, Nick shares memories of playing the tournament and of experiencing the Autobahn!Top 5 from Nick today is on the Top 5 power swings in the mens game, and he plays a video of the most powerful hitter he ever saw - a golfer called Kyle Berkshire - who broke the golf channel hitting areas screen net once! Mark decides that we need to get Jordan Bovalina on the pod again to talk about power hitting.Lots of feedback - heaps of wolfpackers raving about 7 Mile Beach Golf Links, question from Keith on caddies and majors, a suggestion from a wolfpacker about Marks doppelgänger, and a request for a score rating from Dazza.PING globals from Nick are extensive as usual, lots of results to run through. And this weeks masterclass from Mark is on putting, and how to avoid topping your putts.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 Juli 58min

A feedback pod today, lots of great comments and questions, and plenty of fun.We start with Tim from Sydney who has sent in two pics for us, one of a number plate on a car at Royal Sydney relevant to the podcast, and one of him and his Dad which is a ripper. How good are Father/Son days at golf clubs, or Mum/Daughters, or Parent/Child...so good. Tim also has a question on how pros select tournaments to play in, and Nick explains the ones he never missed and why.Mark from Royal Mt Isa messaged us about their Open Championship which is on as we speak. Nick recalls playing Mt Isa on the Troppo tour and said it had the best greens in Queensland. He remembers watching Kieren Perkins win gold in the Olympics whilst in Mt Isa, Mark recalls where he watched it - at Auckland Airport after missing a cut!Question from Matt on being relaxed in practise, but tensing up in competition....how to deal with it.Steven has a question about Marks bunker play ranking.A comment from Adam on Kiwi tour pro Ryan Fox.Jake has a question about shotgun starts and whether they disadvantage some players based on starting with an easier, or harder, hole. Leads to a chat about the Top 5 most difficult first holes in Australia, Nick and Mark come up with 4 and they need your help with the fifth.....250 bucks to spend at Golf Clearance Outlet for the best suggestion. Let us know on socials, or email.Dave has a question on Aaron BaddeleyDavid saw something on Apple TV's Stick and pointed it out for us.We have an email from Valerie with a funny video, turns out Valerie is not only a wolfpacker but veeeery close to someone on the podcast.And Brad messaged us from the mighty Red Cliffs Golf Club in Mildura, pumping up the team, the vibe and the course there.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 Juni 27min

Last week Nick listed his Top 5 shots to win your first major, and he did it off the top of his head with only a couple of minutes to consider it. He was pretty sure he'd missed a couple of obvious ones, so we had a competition for the Wolfpack to suggest ones Nick had missed.And a great prize.....$250 bucks to spend on the Golf Clearance Outlet, online or instore, and a teams entry (you and a friend) into the Golfies 2-person Ambrose tournament which starts in September, and if you win 8 matches you win a trip to Thailand worth 25 grand....!!!!Lots of suggestions on shots Nick overlooked. Shots from Seve, Bubba, Corey Pavin, Geoff Ogilvy, Paul Lawrie, Webb Simpson, Y E Yang, Adam Scott, Cam Smith and Jerry Pate.Plenty of good suggestions, some Nick and Mark agreed with, some they didn't - but one shot stood out above the others for Nick, and he chose that one to go into his Top 5 (which meant he had to axe one). And one wolfpacker now has 250 bucks to spend at the Golf Clearance Outlet, and a teams entry in the Golfies tournament.....which you can get 40% off if you use the discount code 'Birdies' - all the dates and 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.

27 Juni 21min

One of the most anticipated new golf course developments is 7 Mile Beach in Hobart, and Tour Pro Matty Goggin is the man behind it. Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen gave Matty a buzz in Colorado, where he is preparing to play the US Senior Open this weekend, to ask him about the Hobart course.Mark has seen some photos, and says they are amazing. Matty explains that he was unsure as to whether they'd get water views, but as it turns out, you have water vista's almost everywhere. He describes7 Mile Beach as a 'classic links course'.He tells us where the course is currently at, in 'preview play' at the moment, and 18 holes will be operational by the end of 2025. And he explains why it will be a public access course, perhaps with a membership structure in tandem. And his desire for it to be a Top 100 course in the world.As you'd imagine, plenty of bureaucracy to navigate, which Matty understands but says it has been frustrating at times, but nothing moreso than the 'political football' that is the AFL stadium. He tells Nick and Mark that he 'can't think of another business that would have more impact in the history of Tasmania than an AFL club', and that the business model just works and everyone in Tassie should be on board. He comments that some people in Tassie have a 'bare minimum' attitude to doing things, which is unhelpful.A fantastic chat with Matty Goggin, and we're excited to see 7 Mile Beach when it's done!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.

26 Juni 17min

It would be a rookie error to not start today's podcast by talking about the superstar Minjee Lee's fantastic win in Texas, surely a hall of fame position is a lock (down the track), what a gun. That said it wasn't all smooth sailing, some bogies early in the last round, but a great recovery, and Jeeno Thitikul on the hunt right behind her. Scores were quite high, due to weather and the course, but the play was slower than ideal.Nick has been watching Minjee's putting, and says it was insane how good she was. Mark not a fan of the course saying he has 'never seen a worse looking course on TV'., and that it did not look like a course prepared to hold a major.But....Tommy Fleetwood. We all wanted him to get there, but he fell at the final hurdle, and Mark has an acronym 'ABK', meaning 'Anyone But Keegan'. Which he describes as this: if you are going to lose the lead late in a tournament, you have to lose it to anyone but Keegan Bradley. Reasonable. Nick and Mark both said Tommy's press conference afterwards was classy, and handled very well.On Keegan, the Ryder Cup. Can a player/captain work? Nick and Mark say it's difficult, and Nick explains why being captain is so hard.Nick saw a video of Scotty Scheffler over the weekend that he loved, on what fans want to see - we play a bit of it and discuss.After the turn, Nick runs through the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia schedule, there is one particular addition Nick is excited about and says he may look to play in. Mark has some news on the makeup of Royal Melbourne Composite for the Australian Open.Top 5 today is fun, Mark gives his 5 most famous quotes in golf and Nick has to identify who said it....Nick got 5/5 , play along and see how you go. During the Top 5, Nick and Mark each tell (different) stories about Tour Pro Retief Goosen.PING Globals are big today, and Mark admits he has been playing the old intro music at home....a little strange? We thought so too. During the PING Globals, Mark tells a very funny story about Tour Pro Mike Harwood playing against Greg Norman at Firestone and being heckled in an amusing way.Feedback - comments on Minjee's win, and lots of comments on the Wyndham Clark discussion last week, including one wolfpacker who gets on Nick's nerves, with Nick saying that this listener 'has no clue what he's talking about'. Ouch.Following Nick and Marks Top 5 courses in the world last week, wolfpacker Tony from Brisbane sent in the Top 5 courses that he has played....it's a pretty impressive list! And wolfpacker Sean O'Brien has found a video that he thinks Mark will get worked up, we play it live on the pod. It has to do with the investigation into the dodgy Top 100 list.....and Mark says he will have a 'name' of the person responsible for the St Andrews inclusion, and will 'out them' on the podcast next week.Nick's turn for the masterclass and today it's on Minjee's swing....worth a look!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.

25 Juni 57min

Wolfpacker Paul was watching the Travelers Championship over the weekend, side-note what a tough final hole for Tommy Fleetwood, but that aside Paul has some thoughts on the international feed and left Nick and Mark a voicemail.Your thoughts?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.

23 Juni 1min

Great message from Mick from the UK this week that we thought we'd explore a bit. Mick has asked Nick and Mark to give their Top 5 courses in the world, so we thought we'd run through them. In classic Talk Birdie style, the Top 5 becomes a Top 6 from each of them. And in Nicks case, one of the courses may have been influenced by the wine he was drinking at a house on the course - he explains on the pod. And what course does he describe as a 'living, breathing, parcel of land' ? Mark tells the story of why he never got to play Augusta....interestingly, also related in part to drinking (responsibly of course).And we wrap with an email from David in Western Australia who has some comments about bad behaviour on the golf course.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.

19 Juni 25min

What. A. Weekend. The US Open had everything. Drama, comebacks, fadeouts, bad weather, amazing shots, and on the final day at various times any one of half a dozen players were a genuine chance to win. So good.We do of course start the show by talking about the US Open and the incredible win of J.J. Spaun. Mark talks about how Spaun describes himself as a 'bad luck golfer', but he made his own luck at Oakmont. That final putt was unbelievable. We discuss the comments that his coach made to him during the rain break about 'trying too hard', and Mark compares Spaun's actions in the break to Minnesota Fats in the movie The Hustler. Nick muses about what the scores might have been had the greens been firm, and we talk about that drive on 17 from Spaun.We discuss Adam Scott, a real chance going into Sunday and unfortunately a tough final round so he didn't finish the way he'd have liked. Mark described it as 'brutal to watch'. Nick and Mark discuss Scotty's reputation as a bit serious vs the reality of their experiences with him, and Nick explains why he 'hates Adam Scott'.Nick and Mark give their view on the Sam Burns relief (or lack of) ruling on Sunday, and Mark says whilst the ruling may have been technically correct, it means the rule is wrong.Nick forgot to put his phone on mute before the pod, but it works out well as he gets a text from US Tour Pro Austin Truslow who played the US Open, so we decide to call him back live and have a chat. Austin explains what playing Oakmont was like, how he approached it, and about hitting balls with J.J. Spaun on the Monday prior. Nick asks Austin what a 5-handicapper would shoot at Oakmont.There was some bad behaviour at the Open. Namely Rory McIlroy and Wyndham Clark. We discuss.In light of Spauns stunning winning putt, the Top 5 from Nick is the 5 greatest shots ever made to win their first mens major. Has he missed one? Competition time. Let us know if there is one Nick has missed and he will choose one wolkfpacker to win a Talk Birdie Prize Pack with $250 to spend at the Golf Clearance Outlet (instore or online) and a team entry into the Golfies 2-person Ambrose event, with the major prize a 25 grand trip to Thailand. Find out details and enter here. Remember - discount code 'Birdies' gets you 40% off your entry.As you'd imagine, feedback is heavily on the US Open today, but Dan gives Mark a whack for fighting with wolfpackers on social media. Mark defends himself saying that some people deserve to be whacked and he is happy to do it. PING globals from Nick, obviously Oakmont, but plenty of other great performances going on including an amazing result from a 15 year old women's amateur beating the pros ! And on Saturday Adam Scott showed some exceptional bunker play, and Marks masterclass today is on Scotty's bunker shots.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.

18 Juni 56min