Ep177: Feedback: Why the US Caddy Culture is Brilliant, Club Songs, and Pre-Shot Routines

Today we're live from the library at Woodlands Golf Club in the famous sandbelt, and Nick has noticed that his book isn't in the library. We thought we might see a tantrum but then he found a bottle of wine, and the world was all good again.We start the show by toasting the fantastic win by Minjee Lee over the weekend in Cincinnati, what a star she is. Nick and Mark discuss her performance, and Nick describes what he says was the shot of the week, which Minjee made on the 2nd playoff hole - and he decides to do a masterclass on that particular shot.Mark has an idea. He'd like to see caddies mic’d up so you can hear how they assist and advise the players, he feels it would be a great help to anyone watching to go inside the inner sanctum.Nick tells a great story about playing the K Club in Ireland, involving his wife Allanah and Dr Michael Smurfit who owned it at the time. On the Irish Open, both Nick and Mark would prefer the tournament in Dublin to be on a links course, but Nick talks about a couple of holes on the K Club course he particularly likes.Both Nick and Mark chat about last weeks announcement of the European Ryder cup team.LIV and the PGA. The schedule is yet to be released for 2024, what will happen, how will they structure it? Nick has a view on what will happen, Mark has a slightly different one. We discuss.And then we get notification of a voicemail message from Chris Payne, with a question for Nick and Mark. If you want to send the guys a voicemail you can record it here.Nick asks Mark for his advice on the best format for corporate golf days, there's plenty of ways it can be done, and Mark reckons he's got the perfect setup.As usual Nick runs around the world with lots of results, and a focus on the Aussies and Kiwis. Plenty of solid performances over the last week or so.We then call Joseph, who listens to the show and is a greenkeeper at Napier in New Zealand, we love hearing from our Kiwi Whanou ! Joseph wants to chat to the boys about a challenge he's having - not with his playing, but with something else. Whilst we've got him, Mark asks for a tip for the Rugby World Cup, and unsurprisingly Joseph reckons the All Blacks have it in the bag, and he is tipping the Warriors against Newcastle this weekend in the NRL. Who'd have thought.Lots of feedback again this week, including from someone (not Nick) who has been involved in beating Tiger Woods!A fun Top 5 today from Mark on great names in golf. And Nick's masterclass, inspired by Minjee Lee on her fantastic shot in Cincinnati at the weekend.Talk Birdie To Me, new episodes weekly wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to subscribe and you'll never miss an episode! And if you've got a friend who is into golf, we'd love you to share the podcast with them, and if you can rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts that would be great.Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.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.

12 Sep 202352min

Today the podcast comes from Royal Melbourne overlooking the Royal Melbourne East 18th hole; and it's a big show as usual!Nick and Mark both are excited about what they saw in the European Masters, obviously the big story was Ludvig Aberg winning, and what a career this 23 year old has ahead of him. The Fitzpatrick brothers were also impressive, and very competitive. At the time of recording the European Ryder Cup team was yet to be announced, so Nick and Mark speculate on who will and won't make it. Ludvig has to be a lock, Nick believes that he is a player that they can build a Ryder Cup team around for years.Last week Nick and Mark speculated on the makeup of the US Ryder Cup team. How close were they? Reasonably close as it turns out. We discuss.Cardigan chat. Yes that's correct. We move onto cardigan chat with Nick noticing the cardigans in the Walker Cup were - Mark had noticed. He loves a good cardigan. He's a bit weird like that.Mark talks about Royal Melbourne Composite, and how American pros who play it believe that were it in America it would be regarded as the #1 or #2 golf course in the world. Nick names his 3 favourite courses in the world.Anne Van Damme. If you haven’t seen the footage, watch it here. Nick and Mark discuss. It’s terrible, but also a little funny. Has Anne Van Damme won any titles? The boys aren’t sure, so they do some research in the turn, and find out.Mark is rapt to hear that Cam smith has confirmed that he is playing in the Australian Open. Still on the Open, Mark has some inside info on some changes that he believes will influence pace of play.As usual, Nick takes us around the world to look at a heap of results, with a focus on the Aussies. He also shares a fantastic story from the LPGA’s Portland Classic. And plenty of feedback this week, with some excellent questions from you - we love them, so keep them coming. And we kick off our new segment ‘We’ve Got Mail’ where we listen to your voicemails on the show. If you'd like to send a voicemail you can do that here. And during the feedback, Nick reveals some appalling camerawork from Mark Allen who is fast developing poor form in this area. Probation might be required.Top 5 this week is from Nick, and he counts down his Top 5 strangest DQs. Some classics.And this weeks Masterclass is from Mark. If you're a topper of the ball, he shows how to address it.Talk Birdie To Me, new episodes weekly wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to subscribe and you'll never miss an episode! And if you've got a friend who is into golf, we'd love you to share the podcast with them, and if you can rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts that would be great.Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.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.

5 Sep 202351min

The show starts today with a toast to a great man who the golfing world lost this week, Glenn Joyner, who passed far too young from the scourge that is cancer. Nick and Mark say a few words about Glenn.And we also welcome Ping on board as a friend of the podcast, Nick has had a long involvement with Ping, and talks about the vault room at Ping HQ - there, there’s a pic on socials of Nick in the vault! The boys meander down memory lane on Ping putters.We have to discuss Viktor Hovland, and how well he played at the weekend. His driving was incredible, his last round amazing. A brilliant performance, for Nick the turning point was the 14th hole - he explains what he was seeing, and he reckons that hole almost decided the tournament. Nick makes an observation on Hovland’s chipping.The boys have a great discussion around who they feel would be regarded as the player of the year. Rahm? Scheffler? Hovland? Nick and Mark name the player who they feel it is. We then discuss if Trump should be considered player of the year given his 67 at the weekend. Surely he’s not making that up? Trump telling lies…no way, we don’t believe it. That would never happen.Onto the Ryder Cup and at the time of the pod recording, the teams aren’t announced, so Nick and Mark debate who will be in. They have differing views on a number of the players. It will be fascinating to see how close the boys are to the actual teams. Will they, as Mark suggests, have egg on their face?After the turn, Mark talks about how he’s got new grips - and he is extremely excited. Nick and Mark chat about how they like to wear their grips, both a little different. Mark tells a story about people with old grips being fitted with new grips and how it impacted their speed.Damien from Tassie is on the phone with an observation about Gabi Ruffels from the weekend, and a great example of why she’s a fantastic human.Nick runs us around the results from all over the world, with a focus on the Aussies. It’s been a big week, lots happening. One of the things that Nick and Mark noticed was Paul Goydos messing up a 2-foot putt at a key moment. The vision isn’t pretty to watch. Speaking of hard to watch - Nick explains what happened to Curtis Luck this week, not good….if you’re not across it, Nick explains. Of all the performances, one that stood out to Nick was Sue Wooster.As usual - heaps of feedback this week, which we always love. Feedback, questions, and a whack for Nick.Top 5 this week comes from Mark, and he looks at the Top 5 players in history with a perceived weakness in their short game, with a focus on Australian players. If you have any you think Mark has missed, let us know on socials. Nick and Mark have some homework to report back next week on what they felt was the weakness in their game through their career.And today’s masterclass is from Nick O'Who, not Nick O'Hern, and he talks about using the tee to your advantage if you're prone to hitting fades.Talk Birdie To Me, new episodes weekly wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to subscribe and you'll never miss an episode! And if you've got a friend who is into golf, we'd love you to share the podcast with them, and if you can rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts that would be great.Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.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.

29 Aug 202354min

We’re live from the Melbourne Golf Park (formerly the Albert Park Driving Range) today overlooking the driving range, it’s a great spot for the podcast - we’re in the lounge area near the bar (obviously) looking out over the range. Great spot. And Mark has come in excited as a 5-year old at Christmas, he explains why on the podcast.Nick and Mark talk about Viktor Hovland’s performance at the weekend, and this purple patch of form that he has been in - he hasn’t missed a cut this year! Mark then refers to a video, which you can see here, as one of the most beautiful things that you’ll ever see. The boys saw a fair bit of the Cherry Hills Amateur and loved it. Mark puts Nicks memory to the test asking about two very famous shots made at Cherry Hills. They talk about how Nick has now matched the great Tiger Woods as the only players to win both US amateurs.Onto the Fedex Cup, Mark loves it, but isn’t a fan of the staggered start. Nick and Mark discuss.Nick and Mark look at the prize money on offer in the 2023 Tour Championship - it is mind-blowing! Mark gets slightly sidetracked after the turn, because we’re live from the Melbourne Golf Park and he can smell pizza’s being cooked in the kitchen. He goes to his happy place for a moment. We also have to correct a criminal act from Producer Dan on last weeks show to do with superstar Minjee Lee, and be slightly defamatory towards Minjee. Nick and Mark had some homework from last weeks show. We discover that Mark has done zero. But Nick has done all of his homework, and he might have done Marks as well.Nick then takes us around the world, and Australia, with a heap of notable results.Plenty of feedback again this week, and we read out your messages - some good, and a couple of whacks. All in good fun. As a result of one piece of feedback, Nick decides that he’s bringing in a bottle of wine next week to drink during the show.Top 5 this week is from Nick and is on the best short backswing golfers in the world, followed by a masterclass from Mark on hitting balls at the driving range; a couple of important tips on what to do, and what not to do.Talk Birdie To Me, new episodes weekly wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to subscribe and you'll never miss an episode! And if you've got a friend who is into golf, we'd love you to share the podcast with them, and if you can rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts that would be great.Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.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.

22 Aug 202343min

Ironically for a golf show, we start off today with the Matildas and the Women's World Cup, it's all everyone is talking about and Nick and Mark have been enthralled watching it! Leads to a chat about how well the women handled their nerves in the penalty shootout and how Nick and Mark dealt with nerves in clutch moments on the golf course.Mark was at a function last week at St Michaels in Sydney, where they played 16 holes and he loved it. He reckons corporate golf days should all run with gimmes to help the pace.Mark and Nick both watched Tommy Fleetwood at the weekend, and Mark was impressed with something that he saw Tommy doing. Onto Memphis; should the Fedex Cup Championship players should have been given an option to wear shorts, given the heat? And Nick and Mark discuss if shorts should be an option more broadly in hot weather. The discussion then turns to the butt-sweat situation we saw from Lucas Glover. Nick gives an early masterclass on how to avoid butt sweat. After chatting about Lucas Glover possibly anchoring last week, Mark reckons someone has had a word to him as he wasn’t doing it this past weekend. Nick talks about how Lucas’ recent form is fantastic.Mark talks about one of the worst yips he has ever seen. See the video here.Nick was impressed with Cameron Davis at the weekend, who moves into the Top 50 and into all next years signature events.LIV was exciting at the weekend! Team Ripper finally got a win, led by Cam Smith who had a ripping weekend. Nick mentions something about the LIV coverage that frustrates him, and the boys discuss a theory as to why it happens. Gabi Ruffles on the Epsom Tour, wow! Nick and Mark love everything about her and she is killing it. 3 wins in 12 starts. Incredible. Mark raves about the Walton Heath course and how great it looked, and reckons the women are playing on the most stunning courses at the moment. Nick and mark discuss the importance of a pre-shot routine after watching Charley Hull who doesn’t seem to have a consistent routine.Min Woo Lee has confirmed for the Aust Open, and Nick is excited. The boys list the other players they now want to sign on.Lots of feedback, a couple of questions and a couple of pieces of, shall we say, constructive criticism. Always fun, keep it coming, we love to hear from you and your comments and questions. We chat to Evan from Yarrawonga who has some new info about the great man Jarrod Lyle.Nick runs through some results from around the world, particularly some of the notable Aussie performances. And the guys have an idea for a future Top 5 on short backswings, and discuss Stuart Appleby’s haircut.A great Top 5 today, requested by Chris Payne - the Top 5 recovery shots of all time. And a ripping masterclass from Nick on toe down chip shots, video here.Talk Birdie To Me, new episodes weekly wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to subscribe and you'll never miss an episode! And if you've got a friend who is into golf, we'd love you to share the podcast with them, and if you can rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts that would be great.Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.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.

15 Aug 202353min

The show starts on an ironic note with Mark noticing something he finds unusual about Lucas Glover, but as interesting as that is, we have to discuss the extraordinary effort from Bryson DeChambeau - an insane performance by him. Nick talks about Bryson’s new driver, called a Crank Driver, and Nick feels that the drivers are having a disproportionate influence on the game today.Without taking anything away from Bryson’s LIV performance, Mark was enthralled by the players on bubbles in the Wyndham Championship at the weekend, and we discuss some of those players and how they went. Nick and Mark talk about Justin Thomas’ on the last hole, and the chip that he needed to make. Video on our socials. Nick says that hole is very difficult and explains why. Ryder Cup selection coming up, and Nick and Mark discuss who might get picked and why.Big news last week with Tiger Woods joining the PGA Advisory board, Nick and Mark like it, and discuss what it may mean. They feel that Tiger will have good intent and will be a strong advocate for the game, particularly for cuts which Nick and Mark are big supporters of and feel it is a hugely important part of golf.Nick and Mark have a discussion on anchoring after watching Lucas Glover, and have a different view - so we decide to call Stuart McPhee - who is a USGA Expert Certified and R&A Level 2 qualified Rules Official, and hosts the GolfRules Questions podcast (listen here). Stuart knows the rules back to front and explains the anchoring rule to us very clearly. And Mark gives Stuart some homework for an upcoming pod.Plenty of Aussies around the world in action over the last few days, and Nick runs through some notable performances.As usual a heap of feedback, keep it coming, we love to hear from you be it feedback, questions or comments.A fun Top 5 this week, Nick counts down the Top 5 golfers with ironic names. And a ripping masterclass from Mark today on using a 9 iron for bunker shots instead of a sand wedge.Talk Birdie To Me, new episodes weekly wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe and you'll never miss an episode! And if you've got a friend who is into golf, we'd love you to share the podcast with them, and if you can rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts that would be great.Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.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.

8 Aug 202344min

Well we start with the most important thing this week in golf, an update on our quest to have at least one listener in Latvia. Nick is on the case and tells us all about it.Big show. The Evian, a great win for Celine Boutier who made it look easy. Both Nick and Mark very impressed with Celine’s performance. Mark was also happy to see Aussie Stephanie Kyriacou continue to do well. Nick not a fan of the course generally, nor is Mark, but they both love the views there. And some controversy in the Evian this week with the slow play penalty for Carlota Ciganda, resulting in a DQ. Nick and Mark discuss, and have a different view on the decision. Long chat about slow play, which drives both of the guys crazy.Nick and Mark chat about rules, they love the idea of banning yardage books on the greens, which has just come in at the USGA Amateur Events, both want to expand this rule to all tournaments.The 3M Open finish on Monday was unbelievable. Lee Hodges won by 7 shots, but what Mark wants to discuss was J.T. Poston's performance on the 72nd hole which was a shocker, and cost him a small fortune. The guys do the maths…and it’s a lot of cash! Nick was pleased to see Aaron Baddeley do well at the 3M Open.Nick runs us through how the standings work with respect to qualifying for tournaments this year.Back onto rules, and the ball issue. Both Nick and Mark are disappointed with the US PGA decision on balls in elite competition, and Nick says Rory McIllroy is behind the decision. Long chat, Nick and Mark have very strong opinions on it and discuss it at length.Plenty of feedback and questions from you this week, including a ripper from Brett on handling frustration on the golf course - Nick and Mark give their techniques for handling it.Top 5 from Mark looks at the Top 5 worst dressed golfers of all time, inspired by Viktor Hovland. And the Masterclass this week is from Nick on spot lining, a masterclass requested by Mark.Talk Birdie To Me, new episodes weekly wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe and you'll never miss an episode!By the way if you've got a friend who is into golf, we'd love you to share the podcast with them, and if you can rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts that would be great.Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.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.

1 Aug 202352min

What a weekend of golf it was, and what a win from Brian Harman at Hoylake. Nick and Mark discuss The Open at length and chat about the fantastic performance of Harman's.Mark was impressed with his ability to come back from a 'banana skin start', Nick's not heard of that term in reference to golf, so Mark explains. Harman's putting stats were unbelievably good, and they discuss the importance of a great caddy in wet conditions and explain why. On caddys, Nick makes the call that Rory McIllroy needs a new caddy, and gives his reasons. Mark reckons he's onto something.Mark talks about his love of older courses, more specifically the tighter size of the greens.Nick and Mark run through some other players who stood out, and discuss the Aussies. They speak about Jason Day in particular, with the volume of #2 positions he has now reached.Lots of feedback, and as part of that we have an update on Nick O'Who's right-handed handicap.The Top 5 this week is from Nick, and it goes next level - it's the Top 5 hardest players to watch over the ball. There are too many to fit in, so Nick makes an executive decision that it's a Top 7. And leading on from that, Mark's masterclass is to do with what you should do over the ball.Talk Birdie To Me, new episodes weekly wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe and you'll never miss an episode!By the way if you've got a friend who is into golf, we'd love you to share the podcast with them, and if you can rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts that would be great.Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.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 Juli 202345min