Talk Birdie To Me Nick O'Hern & Mark Allen

A fantastic bonus episode today with one of the world's best golf coaches, who just happens to be an Aussie. Steve Bann has coached a number of superstars in world golf: Ian Baker-Finch, Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, K. J. Choi among others and has an enviable record of success. And he's a pretty handy player as well!
Nick and Mark chat with Steve about how he got into golf, despite his desire to be a rock star. He tells us about Peter Thomson and changing Ian Baker-Finch's swing, and what it was like having a front row seat to Robert Allenby's career. He also talks about why Ian Baker-Finch lost his way on the golf course and what caused it.
A big thanks to our Talk Birdie partners:

PING, they'll help you play your best, you can see your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;the new watchMynumbers app, the most powerful data based golf app in the world, download from the App Store ;and the Golf Clearance Outlet, great prices on the best gear. See them in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Perth, or online here.
Subscribe to never miss a Talk Birdie To Me ep. And we'd love you to share the pod with a friend. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, send a voicemail here, and see our Masterclass videos on YouTube here.

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It's a huge episode this week, so much to unpack from Valhalla. And we kick it off with 'jail confessions'. Have Nick or Mark been to prison? One has, and one nearly did. We hear the stories of what happened at the start of the pod. But then onto Scottie Scheffler. Not often you see a golf pro in prison midway through a tournament - in fact it is probably the first time ever! Nick and Mark discuss what happened and how it impacted his tournament.
But of course, whilst the Scheffler sideshow was fascinating, Xander Schauffele is the star of the week, after a huge win following a very tight finish at Valhalla. Nick and Mark discuss how he played, a few of the notable holes and shots he played. His swing changes appear to have made a difference. Tiger's performance was disappointing and both Nick and Mark found him difficult to watch, and explain why. Mark was impressed with Sam Torrance's commentating and gave him a 10/10 for his performance.
Nick found the battle between Bryson and Hovland fascinating, and Mark was impressed with Bryson's performance saying whilst he got lucky on 16, he 'cashed in' on that luck which only champions can do. Nick says whilst he's not been a huge Bryson fan, he is warming to him. Speaking of champions, Nelly Korda. Unbelievable. Nudging our own Hannah Green. Nick and Mark discuss.
Mark gets a bit Kardashian and raises a rumour he's been reading about regarding Rory McIlroy and his recently filed for divorce. Just rumours, and our lawyer Dennis Denuto has advised us to say 'allegedly' which we are definitely going with.
A great Top 5 from Nick today, he lists his Top 5 pros who have won one major, and are still looking for their 2nd. Confusion over whether it's a Top 5 or a Top 7 in classic Nick style.
Mark has an insider at LIV who has tipped him off that the Strategic Sports Group's investment in the PGA has some conditions around the 1.5billion and that the SSG have had some words to certain high profile PGA players to 'stop talking' about that money.
Lots to unpack in the PING global results this week, and Nick runs us through it all. Feedback aplenty with comments still coming in on the Top 100 list, some agreeing with Nick and Mark, and some with an alternate view. And we have a question from a listener on The Australian Open which opens a can of worms.
And thanks to the team at the new watchMynumbers app we wrap with a masterclass from Mark, inspired by Xander, on putting - specifically tapping prior to your putt, and why it works.
A big thanks to our Talk Birdie partners:

PING, they'll help you play your best, you can see your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;the new watchMynumbers app, the most powerful data based golf app in the world, download from the App Store ;and the Golf Clearance Outlet, great prices on the best gear. See them in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Perth, or online here.
Subscribe to never miss a Talk Birdie To Me ep. And we'd love you to share the pod with a friend. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, send a voicemail here, and see our Masterclass videos on YouTube here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After Nick O'Hern returned from playing Tara Iti and Te Arai in New Zealand a couple of weeks ago, making Mark Allen extremely envious, we decided we needed to find out more about this incredible place. And who better to talk to than one of the founders of, and head honchos at, the courses, Jim Rohrstaff.
Jim talks to us about how they built the courses, and the story of how they found the land parcel is a ripper. He tells us about the design, and some of the challenges they worked through, and how the Tara Iti course in particular plays.
Mark has heard a rumour about Tara Iti, that he puts directly to Jim - to do with how many times you are allowed to play the course. The membership model of Tara Iti is unusual for this part of the world, but as Jim tells us it is not uncommon in the US, and he explains how it works and the benefits for members, guests and the club.
And Jim is excited about their new partnership with The Hills course in Queenstown and explains what some of the plans are for that course.
We also find out about the 'secret sauce' of Tara Iti and Te Arai, which is framed by the philosophy of 'The answer is yes, what's the question?', but there is more to it, and Jim talks us through it.
A fun bonus pod, and you'll enjoy hearing some of the secrets of one of the worlds great courses.
A huge thanks to our Talk Birdie partners:

PING, they'll help you play your best, you can see your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;the new watchMynumbers app, the most powerful data based golf app in the world, download from the App Store ;& the Golf Clearance Outlet, great prices on the best gear. See them in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Perth, or online here.
Subscribe to never miss a Talk Birdie To Me ep. And we'd appreciate you sharing the pod with a friend. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, send a voicemail here, and our Masterclass videos on YouTube here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Nick and Mark are flying solo, every chance this could go pear-shaped. No time to worry about that, cos Mark has info on the Golf Digest Top 100 that he wasn't aware of last week, and he feels sheds further light on the rankings. If you haven't heard our bonus pod with the head honcho of the Top 100, Steve Keipert, worth checking out. Mark asks Nick to outline if he were doing what Steve does, what parameters would he use. Nick agrees with Steve that a criteria is important, and he talks through what his criteria might be.
Nick and Mark discuss Pine Valley. Nick has never played it, but has heard it described as a 'beast'. Mark gives Nick homework to watch the drone flyover video, it's fantastic, check it out here. You might recall last week, Mark was going to play Cathedral, however the trip was cancelled due to heavy fog. Instead, he played Peninsula Kingswood South, and gives a review of the course. Short version. He loved it.
Nick and Mark discuss Rory McIlroy's win at Quail Hollow, a fantastic performance from the superstar. Nick shares his mixed memories of that course.
Mark gives an Australian Open update, which is that there is none. No state, no course, nothing locked in, state governments being frustrating. We discuss how much it would cost to ensure it's not an Australian Open 'light'. And Mark says whilst it's a big golf story, how long until it becomes a big sports story in this country. Nick and Mark discuss where it could/should be.
Mark poses his 'everyday playability' question to Nick and wants him to choose between Tara Iti or Royal Melbourne West. Nick asks for some time to consider, he'll answer at the end of the pod. And controversy in the PING global results when Nick suggests he has found a music piece to rival the intro we use. We'll play it at the end of the pod today, or see the video here.
If you have played Cottesloe recently, Nick and Mark want your feedback on how the house plays with the trees removed. Better? Worse? Top 5 from Mark on things he loves about Rory. Most are great, one is ridiculous. Nick adds 2 things he’d like Rory to change. And Mark then reveals a juicy rumour he's heard about the Strategic Sports Groups PGA investment.
We wrap the show with a masterclass from Nick on hitting a flyer effectively.
A huge thanks to our Talk Birdie partners:
PING, they'll help you play your best, you can see your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;the new watchMynumbers app, the most powerful data based golf app in the world, download from the App Store ;& the Golf Clearance Outlet, great prices on the best gear. See them in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Perth, or online here.
Subscribe to never miss a Talk Birdie To Me ep. And we'd love you to share the pod with a friend. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, send a voicemail here, and see our Masterclass videos on YouTube here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A couple of weeks ago Golf Digest released their Top 100 Golf Courses in Australia list, and Royal Melbourne West was knocked off the #1 perch by Cape Wickham in Tassie. It created plenty of talk. Some people felt it was well deserved by Cape Wickham, others felt that Royal Melbourne should have retained the top spot. If you've not seen the list, you can find it here.
One of the people in the latter category was Mark Allen who, on last weeks Talk Birdie To Me (Ep61) made his feelings abundantly clear saying that it was clearly the wrong call and that the ranking meant that Golf Digest's list had 'no credibility'. A fair whack. The team at Golf Digest said that a whack of that kind without asking them to give some context wasn't ideal and it's a fair point. So this week, a bonus pod with Steve Keipert, Associate Editor at Golf Digest and the bloke responsible for the Top 100 list.
Steve talks us through the rationale, the criteria, with Nick and Mark and we see where the common ground might be. Nick is a fan of Royal Melbourne, but he hasn't played Cape Wickham so doesn't have a strong view on that course, however does Steve convince Mark? Or does Mark convince Steve?
Find out on this weeks bonus episode of Talk Birdie To Me.
A huge thanks to our Talk Birdie partners:

PING, they'll help you play your best, you can see your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;the new watchMynumbers app, the most powerful data based golf app in the world, download from the App Store ;& the Golf Clearance Outlet, great prices on the best gear. See them in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Perth, or online here.
Subscribe to never miss a Talk Birdie To Me ep. And we'd appreciate you sharing the pod with a friend. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, send a voicemail here, and our Masterclass videos on YouTube here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Big week at Talk Birdie To Me HQ, plenty to discuss, and Mark is excited to be playing one of Nick's fave courses this week, Cathedral.
We chat Ripper GC's LIV win in Singapore, second in a row for the Aussies. Hopeless last year, on fire this year, says Nick. The hopeless team now in LIV is the Majesticks. Nick and Mark discuss playing Sentosa - water always a factor. And we kick around how many majors Brooks Koepka will end up winning. Currently on 5, Nick & Mark reckon by the end of his career he'll have 8.
Nick mentions the doco 'Duel in the Sun', Mark says that if you haven't seen it you are banned from listening to the pod until you do. And he wants to know what you think of it. Onto TPC Craig Ranch. Mark says it looked poor on TV, he's not a fan. Nick agrees. This inspires Nick’s Top 5 for later in the show: his Top 5 worst courses on tour.
Last week we discussed the Golf Digest Top 100 list, which Mark was unhappy about - specifically Cape Wickham being named #1. Today he doubles down saying that Cape Wickham is not even close to #1, and looks at the criteria used by Golf Digest. Mark feels it's too complex, needs to be simplified, and because of the spectacular outlook at Cape Wickham, that is why it got the nod. Nick wonders how consistently playable Cape Wickham is, given the winds on the island.
On Thursday this week we’ll have a bonus pod with Steve Keipert of Golf Digest to discuss the Top 100 list with him, get his rationale for the rankings, and give him an opportunity to respond to Marks comments last week.
We chat about LIV Adelaide and how much it cost to put on. Following last weeks pod, Mark had a call from his mate James who works for LIV and says that he believes Mark's inside info on a couple of players leaving LIV to be incorrect. We'll get James on for a bonus pod at some point and get his thoughts.
Top 5 from Nick on the worst courses on the PGA and European tours. Ouch!
Lots of feedback, a few whacks this week, but we don't shy from that we're happy to cop a whack. We also realise we have a lack of prizes, and Mark has the idea to give away copies of his DVD which strangely didn't sell out - the ironically titled '87 ways to make golf simple'. And we need your input for pod listener Rob - what are the 'must play' courses for him in Northern NSW. Let us know and we'll read them out next week.
Huge week in the PING global results from Nick, and Marks masterclass for watchMynumbers is on a flaw he discovered in his game last week.
A huge thanks to our Talk Birdie partners:
PING, they'll help you play your best, you can see your local golf shop or professional for a PING club fitting;the new watchMynumbers app, the most powerful data based golf app in the world, download from the App Store ;& the Golf Clearance Outlet, great prices on the best gear. See them in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Perth, or online here.
Subscribe and never miss a Talk Birdie To Me ep. And we'd appreciate you sharing the pod with a friend. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, send a voicemail here, and our Masterclass videos on YouTube here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.