Talk Birdie To Me

It's Friday, and that means time for a Friday Feedback pod, plenty of comments, and some questions , and Nick and Mark run through them today.

We start with a comment from Derek whose Dad had the opportunity to meet, and get an autograph from Jack Nicklaus - but chose not to for a very odd reason. Derek explains. Ouch.

Anthony is going to take his young fella Connor to the Australian Open later this year, and is after some advice on what the best day (or days) might be to see some of the big names.

Adrian played Moonah Links recently, got beaten up by the course but loved it, and wants to know if it will lever host an Australian Open again and if not, why not?

Last week we had some feedback about a club in Brisbane charging members who brought their own buggy or scooter, and we had several comments about that. Adam said that his clubs charge an extra fee annually for scooters for insurance purposes. Womble said that clubs charge a 'trail fee' for maintenance of the paths because buggy and scooters are more damaging than walkers. Keith said pretty much the same thing.

After the turn. Ian has a question for Nick and Mark about Justin Rose and Lydia Ko's pre-shot routines, why they do what they do and what they're trying to prevent happening. Leads to a great chat about pre-shot routines, and some of golfs more quirky pre-shot routines.

We had a comment last week from a wolfpacker who does not like handicaps, and reckons the system should be dumped and we simply play to our level with similar people, or cop a whack in a game. A couple of listeners - John and Sean,each pointed out that there are some other sports that handicap.

Frank is a newish listener who is currently working his way through all the back episodes of the show....sheez.....we give him a prize as a thank you, welcome and well done - 250 bucks to spend at the Golf Clearance Outlet, thanks Franky !!!

David saw Mike Harwood in action and messaged with some thoughts about just how good he was.

And we wrap with a pretty blunt comment from Dave saying that there should be only one mens major in the US.....Nick and Mark respond.

Mark casually drops that his monthly medal is on this weekend and he is sensing a course record coming on.....we'll find out next week.

A fun Friday Feedback pod today, hope you had as much fun as we did!

We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:

Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
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 Southern Golf Club.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Breaking news this morning Australian time, it has been confirmed that the Saudi Arabia PIF is in the process of advising all parties that it will not fund LIV following the end of 2026. This means without significant sponsorship from external parties, LIV will either struggle to continue, or perhaps will continue in a far reduced form.

We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:

Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
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 Southern Golf Club.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a great guest pod for Hostplus, we love this bloke - today John Senden joins Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen to talk about his career, playing on the Champions Tour currently, and how he manages his golf given his diagnosis a few years ago with Parkinson's Disease. A fascinating chat with one of golfs good guys.

Sendo has an exceptional record. He won the Australian Open in 2006, and he is a two time winner on the PGA Tour in the US - the John Deere Classic in 2006, and the Valspar in 2014. He's currently playing the Champions Tour in the US, and has made 87 out of 91 cuts on that tour if you don't mind !

Sendo tells Nick and Mark about the Champions Tour, what it's like, what he enjoys about it. And then we go a little earlier, and he tells us how he first got into golf at Keperra Golf Club in Brisbane where he met his then, and now, coach Ian Triggs. He talks about the relationships and environment at Keperra really got him on his way in golf.

Nick tells the story about first coming across Sendo playing the Troppo Tour in North Queensland, and Sendo recalls a hilarious story about Nicks car broken down an hour of Mt Isa on the highway....it's a ripper. But from playing the slightly less curated courses of the Troppo Tour to some of the best courses in the world, Sendo talks about making the adjustment from the Bermuda greens of Queensland to the Sandbelt courses in Melbourne, and what he had to learn very quickly,

Sendo is well known for his extraordinary ball flight, both Nick and Mark have admired it for a hundred years, and the boys ask him if it was a learned talent or if it came naturally, Sendo talks us through that.

He talks about going to Europe, how he did it and why, and explains why without his European experience he would not have survived in the US.

Mark has heard a story about Sendo and Tiger Woods....and is keen to go to the source and find out if it's true.....Sendo confirms that yes it is !

After the turn, we discuss his Parkinson's diagnosis. How did he first find out, what were the indications there might be an issue. Sendo explains what he did about it, and how manages it to stay as healthy as he can. He talks about how he handles his nerves when he is playing, and the tremors. Nick is curious to know if the tremors affect his putting in particular. Sendo reveals the area of his game that Parkinson's impacts the most, and how he handles that.

And we finish by finding out, what's next for him, what comes after golf?

A fantastic guest episode today with John Senden, one of golfs great gentlemen.

If you're impacted, either personally, as a carer, or as a friend or family member, by Parkinson's Disease, the best source of information is at the Parkinson's Australia Info Hub here:

We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:

Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
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 Southern Golf Club.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A big pod today, and we start by chatting about Nelly Korda's big win at The Chevron, and it was a clinic, she won by a mile in a dominant display. Mark is amazed that she's only won the 3 majors, it felt like more. As good as Nelly's win was, the crowds and viewership was light, and Mark saw a tweet from Tour Pro Meghan MacLaren who posed the question as to why the interest was down, what is missing? Nick and Mark are huge fans of the women's game and have been for a long time, however we discuss the tweet and kick around what some issues may be.

If we were to 'blow up' the women's major structure, what would you do? Mark says Shadow Creek is a no-brainer, and Nick would love to see a Women's Masters type even at Cypress saying it would be huge. Nick and Mark discuss if The Chevron itself is the issue. A good, perhaps not amazing, course. A major named after the sponsor. Nick says it doesn't have the feel of a major.

For Hostplus, Mark awards Nelly Korda our 'That's a Plus' for golf, but not for winning the tournament, for something else. And we read a message from wolfpacker David who noticed something interesting on Nellys kit, Mark asks Grok to clarify. For once, Grok works. Marks 50 bucks paying off.

What about Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick. What a story. It was a great win, and wonderful to see Alex get some just rewards following the win. We look at where their rankings are on the Find My Player app, if you haven't seen it, we love it. Follow any player on any tour in seconds. Download Find My Player from the App Store or Google Play. And for BMW, Matt Fitzpatrick gets our Touch of Class this week (how many is that!!!).

We discuss the LIV news from the last 24-hours which will see a gap in the schedule of 6-weeks, with Louisiana now postponed. What does it mean (if anything). Mark's source, who he spoke to a couple of days ago, has given Mark some very interesting information about the reason why LIV may be slowing slightly - it has something to do with what is going on in Iran. Mark explains.

And we talk about the appointment of Jim Furyk as US Ryder Cup captain.

After the turn, for Betr, Mark lists the Top 5 courses in the world that would guarantee increased eyeballs were they to host women's majors. Love your thoughts on whether he's nailed it, or missed something.

Plenty of action around the world in the PING Globals, Nick runs us through everything, and for Southern Golf Club, lots of feedback today: we start with the PGA cancelling a couple of events and whether this is an opportunity for Australasia to swoop in, Riley has a theory on Min Woo Lee at The Masters, Martin has a question about inconsistent ball striking, Mark has a view on the potential of returning LIV players, John agrees with Nick and Mark from last week that LIV is unsustainable but adds that the PGA's response to LIV has equally been unsustainable. We discuss.

Then a couple of whacks. Laurie says that Nick and Mark are 'cheering for the death of LIV'. The boys respond. And Duane says that we're 'berks who are banging on with rubbish'. We respond, and also pay tribute to Duane's use of the word 'berks', and Nick, Mark and Dan kick around some of our favourite insulting words. You might have some to add! (Keep it clean though.....).

And Sam wants to know how would LIV working with national opens even work, and why would the players do it?

And for the Golf Clearance Outlet a great masterclass from Nick today, on chipping with your left hand low.


We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:

Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
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 Southern Golf Club.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A bonus Mini episode today. Wolfpacker George wrote to us about a comment made by Nick recently where he said something along the lines of Johnny Miller would sometimes oversimplify his putts, he sent a clip to a video which we'd seen before but it is well worth another look.

Even if you're listening, rather than watching, you'll get the idea. Nick and Mark discuss the video which involves Johnny and the great Jack Nicklaus which shows say the boys just how 'cool' Jack was. Nick talks about how fascinated he was by Jacks putting style, saying that he is, along with Tiger, the greatest clutch putter ever.

Mark tells a story about Jack coming onto the tee when Mark was there with his caddy at an Australian Open in Sydney and what happened, and we hear Nick's great story (which never gets old) about Jack asking to sit with him over breakfast at Muirfield.

A short bonus mini today, always great fun to talk about Jack !!!
We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:

Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
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 Southern Golf Club.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.