It's a great time of the golfing year, the Scottish Open this week, and The Open Championship next week. And the Evian is on this week as well, Nick and Mark discuss the course (which they both dislike) and ask does anyone actually like the course?

We chat about Links Golf in the UK. Nick and Mark love the UK's links courses, particularly the smaller ones that are lesser known, they discuss what they like about them, one of the things is what they call the 'honest bounce' you get on UK Links courses. Mark recommends that you have some smaller UK Links courses on your bucket list.

Nick talks about why he had two putters when he played The Open Championship, and how the sound of the crowds in the UK are different to anywhere.

Nick talks about 'zone days' and how he and his caddy adjusted how they worked together when he was 'in the zone'.

We discuss The Open Championship's 'Last Chance Qualifier' at Royal Birkdale in 2026. A fantastic idea.

Nick is excited as the winner of the John Deere Classic in Illinois, Brian Campbell, was the shortest hitter in the field.

Aussie golfer Jeff Guan, after a dreadful accident on the golf course, is planning for his comeback event in Darwin. We discuss the challenges he'll be dealing with, but obviously wish him all the best as he takes this next step.

Our mates at Golfies have a fun comp starting on July 10 for The Open Championship. Use the codeword Bryson, get 50% off, and if Bryson wins The Open - you get a full refund! And you are still in with a red hot shot to win the 25 grand Thailand trip if you win 8 matches. Deets here (Bryson comp starts on the 11th).

Update on the Top100 list, one of the honchos at the list has agreed to come on Talk Birdie To Me next week to discuss the list, and how they reached the decisions they did.

Top 5 from Mark, inspired by Jeff Guan, the Top 5 comebacks from injury in golf. Nick has the PING globals and there has been plenty of action to run through - including a ripping performance from Nicks mate, tour pro Austin Truslow who was on the pod a couple of weeks ago. And we have a new entry into Nicks Top 5 womens swings, which is fast becoming a Top 20, which comes from kiwi tour pro Amelia Garvey.

Lots of feedback, three key themes this week: the hardest first hole in golf, and Mark asked for wolfpacker suggestions on the best holes for 'first tee banter and heckling', one of the suggestions for hardest first hole was also where Mark got his first ace! Feedback also on the discussion about whether a male scratch golfer would beat an LPGA Tour Pro, and plenty of comments on young Jasper from last week - if you haven't seen his swing, he is a 9-year old single handicapper, watch him here.

And a great masterclass, which is less masterclass and more recommendation this week, from Nick on 7-Woods.

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

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• 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.
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• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

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Bonus pod today with only two things on the runsheet.

Before we get to that, Nicks been hitting balls, giving his new blades a workout at Long Island, Mark was at the range and has suffered the ignominy of both putting his back out using his 7 iron, and his son getting better club head speed than Mark. Awkward.

But to item number one on the runsheet. An email from wolfpacker Alistair, who met Nick recently at Cathedral, has asked the boys if there was one hole anywhere in the world that they would like to redo, which would instantly improve the 18-hole experience on that course, what hole would it be? Alistair's question came from a chat with a couple of his mates where they were suggesting that the 5th at Cathedral wasn't a great hole, nor the 10th at Yarra Yarra.

Mark goes to Pebble Beach and discusses a hole there that he thinks they got wrong.

Nick goes to Riviera, and talks through a hole there that he'd fix if he could.

Leads to a chat about plaques on holes with player quotes, Nick and Mark can only think of a couple, we'd love your input if you can think of any?

After the turn we move to item number two - a spot from Australian Golf Digest which gave a view of plane seats with a 3x3 seating structure, and two tour pros in each row - asking people to nominate the seat they'd choose and why. It was a great question, see the image here. Nick and Mark discuss where they might sit and why. During the chat Mark tells a story about how Tiger Woods handles business idea pitches that people have for him, and Nick tells a great story about his caddy Wilbur being upgraded on a flight from Dubai to Perth and what Wilbur did on the flight ..... !

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.
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.
• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

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

Farah is married to Ray Mak who gets regularly mentioned on the pod, and Ray played a round with Nick O'Hern a few days ago....did it go well for Ray???

Farah left a voicemail and explained what happened....it doesn't sound pretty (for Ray).

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.
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.
• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

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

A fun feedback pod today, with a few comments and questions, and after the turn a special guest - a 9-year old golfer with a handicap of 7.8 !!!!!

Before we get to our chat with Jasper, we hear from the Wolfpack.

Mick loves the stories about Texas Tech from Mark, and asks if there are any about the 'Liver King'. We don't know who that is, unless it is referring to Mark's drinking when he was at Texas Tech, which is probably accurate.

Marty got a fitting from Matt Austin at PING, and has subscribed to the watchMynumbers app, after an injury earlier in the year he's ready to smash out the back half and get his golf back to where it was.

Robert is a new wolfpacker, and watches on YouTube, particularly enjoys the tips from Nick and Mark in the masterclasses.

Ben has a question on clubhouses, what are some of Nick and Mark's favourites around the world that they've experienced. Fun chat about some of the great ones, and a couple of places who could do with building one!

Rob wants to know why the PGA is dominated by US players, but the LPGA is dominated more by some of the Asian players, and he has a question about Melbourne's sandbelt.

After the turn we meet 9-year old Jasper, who is an accomplished golfer already with a handicap of 7.8. Only last week he qualified for the Victorian Boys Under 12 team, and is regularly beating players over twice his age. We asked him to bring his clubs in and Nick and Mark see what he's got in the tank.

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.
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.
• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

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

Last week Nick listed his Top 5 shots to win your first major, and he did it off the top of his head with only a couple of minutes to consider it. He was pretty sure he'd missed a couple of obvious ones, so we had a competition for the Wolfpack to suggest ones Nick had missed.

And a great prize.....$250 bucks to spend on the Golf Clearance Outlet, online or instore, and a teams entry (you and a friend) into the Golfies 2-person Ambrose tournament which starts in September, and if you win 8 matches you win a trip to Thailand worth 25 grand....!!!!

Lots of suggestions on shots Nick overlooked. Shots from Seve, Bubba, Corey Pavin, Geoff Ogilvy, Paul Lawrie, Webb Simpson, Y E Yang, Adam Scott, Cam Smith and Jerry Pate.

Plenty of good suggestions, some Nick and Mark agreed with, some they didn't - but one shot stood out above the others for Nick, and he chose that one to go into his Top 5 (which meant he had to axe one). And one wolfpacker now has 250 bucks to spend at the Golf Clearance Outlet, and a teams entry in the Golfies tournament.....which you can get 40% off if you use the discount code 'Birdies' - all the dates and info here.

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.
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.
• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

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

One of the most anticipated new golf course developments is 7 Mile Beach in Hobart, and Tour Pro Matty Goggin is the man behind it. Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen gave Matty a buzz in Colorado, where he is preparing to play the US Senior Open this weekend, to ask him about the Hobart course.

Mark has seen some photos, and says they are amazing. Matty explains that he was unsure as to whether they'd get water views, but as it turns out, you have water vista's almost everywhere. He describes7 Mile Beach as a 'classic links course'.

He tells us where the course is currently at, in 'preview play' at the moment, and 18 holes will be operational by the end of 2025. And he explains why it will be a public access course, perhaps with a membership structure in tandem. And his desire for it to be a Top 100 course in the world.

As you'd imagine, plenty of bureaucracy to navigate, which Matty understands but says it has been frustrating at times, but nothing moreso than the 'political football' that is the AFL stadium. He tells Nick and Mark that he 'can't think of another business that would have more impact in the history of Tasmania than an AFL club', and that the business model just works and everyone in Tassie should be on board. He comments that some people in Tassie have a 'bare minimum' attitude to doing things, which is unhelpful.

A fantastic chat with Matty Goggin, and we're excited to see 7 Mile Beach when it's done!

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.
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia.
• And watchMynumbers: download from the App Store or Google Play, and Southern Golf Club: with their brand new Simulator Room.

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