Talk Birdie To Me

Some more feedback today, we start with Scarby who loved The Ox's random drop in a couple of weeks ago, and reckons he should be a regular guest. Not the worst idea we've heard to be honest.

Nathan asks for clarity on the difference between Australian style and American style courses, after a chat he heard on last weeks show. David played Bonville recently and after hearing the discussion about it last week had some thoughts following his recent visit. Keith reckons Kooralbyn Valley was always under-rated, and had it been on the Gold Coast would have been far higher regarded, however he feels it's condition presently isn't what it could be.

Leads to a chat about some Australian golfers who went through Kooralbyn Valley, including one very famous one, and another who was extremely talented however had some personal challenges that got in the way. Mark has a story about the latter which he wants to consider whether it's appropriate to tell, he'll decide after the turn.

Wolfpacker Greeny played NSW recently, and talks about the wind! And James 'vents' on duffers and how they drive him (as a self-confessed duffer) crazy.

After the turn.....Mark decides to tell the story. Steven Bowditch had all the potential in the world, and remains a very, very good golfer. He has had some well documented challenges with alcohol, which is the context of the story that Mark tells from a tournament in New Zealand. We'll note here that Steven has spoken openly about his struggles over the journey, and from all reports is in a good place at the moment and healthy, which is what we all want.

Then we get Craig, a Brisbane wolfpacker, on the show who tells us all about the redesign at his course, Indooroopilly, which has it in schmicko condition! Craig explains what was done, how it's changed it, and if the members are happy with the results.

And we wrap with a comment from Paul on Denis Brosnan, of Brosnan's fame, and he has a wonderful bit of trivia about Denis that we share.....leading to Mark giving you some homework!!
We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:

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BMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;
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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.
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We've been talking a bit about a new product called Switchstar lately, and for good reason. There has been a number of incidences in Australia of lithium iron batteries catching fire with catastrophic results - not only at golf clubs, but in nursing homes, garages, without being overly dramatic, it can be devastating.

Given Mark currently is charging his MGI buggy in his garage, he thought we should get John O'Callaghan, the guy who invented Switchstar, on the pod to explain what it is, how it works and why it solves the problem. Mark has had several instances where he's woken up in the middle of the night and realised he's left the buggy on charge for 3-days, and ducks downstairs to turn it off.

John explains why batteries can explode, what causes it. And he explains how Switchstar can prevent this happening by automatically turning off after 8-hours, or when it identifies the battery is fully charged - removing, to a significant degree, the risk. He explains what items this works for, and what it isn't appropriate for, and how easy the install process is.

John explains that there are insurance benefits to having Switchstar installed which potentially can result in more savings than the cost of the unit.

Eagle eyed Mark spots an opportunity for golf clubs, in particular his, to install a heap of these and charge members a fee to leave their buggy at the club - at the moment buggies have to be taken home given the risk, but with Switchstar, they can be safely left at your club - very handy.

It's a cracking idea, and you can find out more info at the Switchstar website here: https://switchstar.com.au/
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.

Today we run through some questions from you and kick them around.

We start with a message from a wolfpacker who seems to be a Tour Pro, and has written regarding Nick's story about not signing a card of a player in Asia some years ago, he had a similar story about playing on the Korean tour involving both a player and a rules official. Another wolfpacker asks Nick why he waited until the end of the round to raise the issue, rather than addressing it whilst on course.

New listener Lee is working through the back catalogue of shows, and has a question about Marks recent masterclass on wedge distance control.

And as we go to the turn, an update on young Sophie, a 9-year old wolfpacker who listens to the show with her Dad Travis, and sent her swing in a month ago....Travis has written in with some news on Sophie's golf.

After the turn, Shankedit has written in, he's just moved to Perth and is after some advice from Nick on playing golf in a region (like Perth) where it is incessantly windy.

Peter has a question about Tour Pro's swapping clubs during a tournament, leading to a chat about Justin Rose, and the PGA money winners list.

And we finish with a couple of comments about Wayne 'Radar' Riley, one from a listener who rates him, and another with a question about his appearance....mmmm....

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 voicemail today from wolfpacker Tim, who plays of 5 at the mighty Southern Golf Club in Melbourne, he heard Nick and Mark discussing Royal Dornoch last week and their eagerness to play it, and left a message running through his experience on his Scottish golfing tour with his Dad playing Royal Dornoch, Carnoustie, Tain, and Panmure. Wow....slightly envious truth be told. Great voicemail, and Tim goes into fantastic detail about the trip.

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.

Every week we say it's a big week in golf, but this one might just take the cake. Try this on for size....

We have to start with the amazing Hannah Green, winning the Australian Open, a wonderful display and she was the player to beat from go to woah. We also discuss how great Kooyonga looked, what a golf course it is. Whilst Hannah, rightly, deserves great praise, we do discuss Cassie Porter's wonderful tournament, specifically her sunday where she shot a course record by a mile.

We take a moment to bask in the glory of rinsing Betr this week with our multi coming off....good fun. The multi was on The Players, and we discuss plenty of that on the show. Cam Young was sensational, and his drive on the 18th...wow....that's our BMW Touch of Class for the week - one of them - the other is Cassie Porter....two Touches of Class! On The Players, Ludvig looked great, until he didn't. Thursday through Saturday, brilliant.....Sunday, it all fell apart. We discuss the comments that Jonathan Yarwood and Brandel Chamblee made about Ludvig's swing, and have a look at it. Also some comments about Scottie Schefflers swing, he's off a bit at the moment by his lofty standards.

Hostplus 'That's a Plus' for golf this week - in a week of highlights, it can only be Hannah Green. She is absolutely a plus for golf....a superstar.

You may recall we had a discussion about Travis Smyth last week in New Zealand and our view that golf's governing bodies are not effectively policing the rules. Travis wasn't happy with our analysis and reached out, whilst he didn't want to come on the show (we invited him) he did send in some comments about what happened, from his perspective. In the interest of transparency and offering him the right of response to our discussion, we read out his comments in full and unedited.

Onto the Betr Top 5 and Mark's doing it today - he takes some inspiration from Nick and makes it a Top 6, and runs through the 6 key points that Brian Rolapp has announced for the revamped PGA Tour. We discuss the changes, what they mean, and whether they're positive. Nick and Mark believe that they are overwhelmingly positive.

Nick runs us through the weeks results in the PING Global results. And then for Southern Golf Club, some feedback and questions from you. Themes include The Australian Women's Open, Akshay - anchoring or not, Travis Smyth, and our recent conversation on farces in golf - one wolfpacker reckons we've missed an obvious one and gives us a whack over it.

And for the Golf Clearance Outlet, Nick's masterclass today is a combination of Cam Young and Hannah Green....now that's a decent combination !

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.