Talk Birdie Mini: The Case For and Against 'The Players Championship' Being a 5th Major

It's US Open week and you'd think we'd start the show talking about that, or maybe about Ryan Fox's win in the Canadian Open, but no. Mark has found a new emoji that he likes and that's what he brings to the table to open the show with. Seriously Talk Birdie To Me used to be a serious golf show, we have jumped the shark. Even worse, the emoji doesn't mean what Mark thinks it does....awkward.But onto the US Open! Mark loves the week, and says even though the course is set up to be brutal and unreasonable, he loves watching it. He asks Nick what a 9-marker playing on Thursday would hypothetically shoot at Oakmont. Sobering. Nick talks about how difficult the course is, and was when he played it. The rough is juicy and the greens quick, and Nick expects that there is a chance the winning score may be level par saying the course is a war of attrition.Don't forget our Talk Birdie To Me multi at Betr - 16 bucks for Scheffler top 3, Ludvig to beat Rahm, and Straka to miss the cut. Get on here.We then discuss Ryan Fox's Canadian Open win, and the playoff particularly which was enthralling. Nick and Mark would have preferred rather than a par 5, a 4 or 3 hole for the playoff.Serious time. Mark gives an investigation on the ludicrous Top 100 Golf Course ranking list.Mark and Dan have been watching a new series called Stick about a former golf pro, Nick hasn't seen it yet. See the trailer here, it's good fun and worth a look. Mark is also excited about Happy Gilmore 2 which is 6 weeks away, Nick will watch it but isn't as excited and feels it looks pretty ordinary.After the turn a selfish Top 5 from Mark. His 5 things that he is most excited about in golf at the moment. Controversial though, as Dan accuses Mark of telling porky pies, and Nick provides clarity over one of his entries that cast doubt for Mark as to whether it should be on the list.Huge week of results in the PING globals from Nick, plenty of feedback on the Top 100 list - unsurprisingly given how terrible it is, and Mark suggests a movie about David Graham's life would be brilliant to see, and reveals a fact about him that not too many people would know.And in the masterclass today, Nick discusses why good rhythm is good golf, and why he uses a metronome.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.

11 Juni 58min

Today we preview the US Open this weekend, how exciting is it! Mark has come specifically dressed in green or, as he puts it, the colour of money. That's because he is convinced that Straka is still getting no respect, with Hummer and the Betr team putting him at 67 bucks. Mark says they clearly don't know what they're doing.Mark's also watched a video on YouTube of Bryson at Oakmont, and says it is worth the watch. See it here.But onto the US Open - Oakmont, a tough course, Nick has played it and says it is 'scary' how difficult the course is. He also talks about playing US Opens and one of the reasons he loved them was that he knew at some point about half the field would lose their mind and their game would collapse. Nick says the USGA has two goals for the US Open, when they construct the courses, he tells us what they are and why they do it. Mark and Nick discuss the small fairways at Oakmont, and Nick talks about the rough and how thick it is, and what that means for some players.We run through the power rankings, a couple of surprises, and we look at the Aussies (and Ryan Fox) and discuss their chances. Mark says Cam Smith's swing is in bad shape, the worst he has seen it.After the turn....we build another Betr Multi. And it's a lazy chance.Scheffler to finish Top 3 - surely as close to a lock as you can be!;Ludvig Åberg to beat Jon Rahm - a good shot, certainly not a lock, but not out of the question;Straka to miss the cut.Mark is unhappy with the final leg, but Nick and Dan rate it.That's our Talk Birdie To Me multi, only available at Betr - download the app, or go the the website, it takes literally 90 seconds to set up an account, click on Betr Specials, and the Talk Birdie To Me multi is there.Enjoy the Open !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 Juni 27min

After Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen asked Tour Pro Scott Laycock to get in touch with his memories of the 2001 Australian Open, Scotty shot us a message on socials which we read out on Fridays pod, and he then left a voicemail talking about it which fleshed out what happened in that tournament a little more. Scotty also commented on the story Nick and Mark discussed regarding José Luis Ballester having an unscheduled bathroom break on Rae's Creek at The Masters and recounted a story of his own that cost him dearly when he was on tour.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 Juni 3min

Feedback pod today, bunch of your comments and questions to run through. Mark is curious to know how our request for mean tweets is going, short answer is 'underwhelming', we've only had a couple, so Mark decides Nick needs to offend more people on the pod. And we started our investigation a couple of days ago into the heinous crime that is the list of the Top 100 World Golf Courses list from an unnamed group of judges, probably unnamed as the list is pretty ordinary, Marks investigation continues, we'll update next week. Watch here to see the list if you haven't yet.Wolfpacker David has a suggestion for the greatest shot of all time, it is from Corey Pavin...but not the shot Nick and Mark expected from Corey. We discuss and Mark gives his verdict on whether David will be playing a round at Kingston Heath with Mark.Twitter page 'Conrad Golf Rankings' have some comments and questions on preparation for majors, which Nick and Mark look at.Tour Pro Scott Laycock messaged us with a few fun memories of the 2001 Australian Open where he played so well, Nick and Mark both played in the event, Mark remembers roughly where he finished, Nick can't recall how he finished - so we look it up live on the pod as Mark is keen to see if he knocked off Nick.Dave has a question about José Luis Ballester and his, ahem, 'behaviour' at The Masters.Some suggestions for players missed in the 'State of Origin' conversation last week.Simon wants to know what kind of swing exercises are best when you live in an apartment.David has some feedback on a recent masterclass from Mark that he has put in place - he tells us how it went.We were going to chat, via video, to wolfpacker Scott from New Zealand who has some questions for Nick and Mark - but we called too early, Scott was in a meeting, so not his fault, we're being unprofessional - but we're keen to chat to him, so we'll get him on the show next week.And we finish with a Twitter comment/question where someone has suggested the Ryder Cup is out-dated and they have an alternate suggestion. Nick and Mark respond to both comments.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.

6 Juni 23min

Gordon from Woodlands in Melbourne watched the US Women's Open from Erin Hills at the weekend and found some of the pace of play frustrating, even though he enjoyed the event overall. He has an idea on how to deal with slow play and left Nick and Mark a voicemail.Got a thought, story or question? Yo can leave a voicemail at the Talk Birdie To Me website here, it takes only a moment and you can do it on your phone or computer.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 Juni 1min

After a massive weekend in the US Women's Open at Erin Hills, and a big tournament at 'Jacks Place', Ala Memorial, we're back with a busy Talk Birdie To Me podcast last today. Nick and Mark were very impressed with Maja Stark in her win in the US Open, Nick says she is 'an outstanding player', and Mark agrees, bit admits to not paying a huge amount of attention to her prior to the weekend. Nick has followed her for a while and fills Mark in on her backstory.Whilst he loved Maja's win, Mark dislikes the Erin Hills course and explains why, Nick discusses the setup of the greens, and why he felt it could have been better. Mark's view is that is was set up to deliver boring golf, Nick feels if it was windy that would have livened it up. Whilst Maya was impressive, on form Nick feels Nelly Korda probably should have won but her putting lets her down, and he explains why. Nick then raises the women's 'super slam' and the only player to win it.....who just happens to be an Aussie! Mark cannot believe that this achievement from the legendary Karrie Webb slips under the radar, he also can't believe that Karen Lunn still is not credited with having won a major.Onto Memorial. Having played it, Nick describes is as 'a Players week'., he loved it. And he said it always feels special when Jack Nicklaus is around. Nick tells a story about playing Memorial, and mid-tournament being in the breakfast area, when Jack asked to join him, Nick describes it as one of the greatest conversations he's ever had. Scottie Scheffler killed it again. He plays the 'right shots at the right time' according to Nick. Mark starts banging on about Sepp Straka again, and Nick and Dan ban him from putting Straka in our Betr multi next week.And then. Mark is worked up over a new Top 100 list he has seen - the Worlds Top 100 Golf Courses list which he believes contains some appalling oversights. Nick and Mark run through the list and discuss what shouldn't be there, and what should. Nicks changes his Top 5 plans in the turn and decides to do the the Top 5 courses that should have made the Worlds Top 100 Golf Courses list but didn't.Feedback and we start with some constructive criticism from wolfpacker Jeff. Then into comments on LIV buying into the DPWT, and reaction to Marks comments last week of: 'are you a LIV lover or a PGA hater'. Big PING global results this week from Nick, particularly as there were two big events over the weekend. And Marks masterclass, inspired by Maja Stark, on 'hovering' the club.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.

4 Juni 53min

A short bonus episode of Talk Birdie To Me today, with a guest in studio - Gene Saunders, who is the Titleist Golf Club Business Manager, Australia and New Zealand. He's dropped in to talk about the latest Scotty Cameron putters, and particularly the chain link face milling technology. They look great, but clearly they're not made just for appearance, so we wanted to find out what that technology does and more importantly will they help us play better golf!Gene also talks about why they have used carbon steel, and runs through some of the different styles.Whatever brand you prefer, it's always fascinating to get some insights into the thought process that goes into golf equipment and Mark and Nicks chat with Gene was a ripper!We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best. See your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;Golf Clearance Outlet, visit them online here to find your nearest store, they're all over the country;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.And the watchMynumbers app: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room, including Trackman.Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, send a voicemail here, and see us on YouTube 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.

3 Juni 11min

Another feedback pod today, we love these as you basically do all the work and we just respond to your comments and questions.We start with wolfpacker Pete who has sent a pic in of the rakes that are apparently being trialled at Royal Queensland and is keen on Nick and Marks thoughts, Peter also had a suggestion for the best golf club in Queensland, as did many others, we read through a bunch of them.During this the Troppo Tour comes up and Nick tells a story about playing that tour, a funny story that happened when he was driving from Mt Isa to Proserpine in North Queensland. Mark suggests that we need to get Wayne 'Radar' Riley on for a bonus pod talking about the Troppo Tour.Angela has a question for Nick and Mark about the Australian Masters, and then we have video call from Stewy in Gisborne, Victoria who has interested to know if Nick and Mark have any 'golfing goals' left to achieve. They do, and they talk about what they are.Alex has a question for Mark about the Australian Open timing, he disagrees with Marks view that the date should move to February and explains why.Wolfpacker Alison asks if either Nick or Mark are playing in the Sandbelt Invitational this year.....we find out. And then a voicemail from Paul who says Rory's drive on the first playoff hole at Augusta was the best pressure drive he's ever seen, and explains why. Nick and Mark discuss, and invite your feedback - what do you feel is the best pressure drive ever in golf? Let us know.And a reminder of our forthcoming 'Mean Tweets' bonus pod which is coming up - let us know, give us a whack, let us know what you dislike - and (pending our lawyer Denis Denuto signing off on them) we'll read out your comments on a bonus 'Mean Tweets' episode.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;PING will help you play your best. See your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;Golf Clearance Outlet, visit them online here to find your nearest store, they're all over the country;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.And the watchMynumbers app: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room, including Trackman.Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, send a voicemail here, and see us on YouTube 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.

1 Juni 23min