Today on Talk Birdie we have a guest in studio, the boss of Golf Australia James Sutherland, who is in to talk about a few things - not the least of which is how he got Rory to sign on for the Australian Open, and the new handicap system, website, app, which has launched in the last day or so.

We start with the Australian Open, and James talks about how the Rory appearance has changed the ticket sales profile, rather than tickets being bought late as usual, they are being bought very early and that the event will be a sellout so if you're planning to go, and thought about turning up and getting a ticket on the day, you will be unlikely to find any available.

Mark can't wait to see how Rory plays Royal Melbourne Composite, and Nick says that for a major tournament this (Royal Melbourne Composite) is the best course in the world, and asks James did that have an influence on Rory's decision to come. James outlines how he got Rory's signature, and why he thought he thought, after a handshake agreement, that the deal may fall over!

James talks about how they monitor what Tour Pro's say about Australia and that influences their approach to attracting the big names.

Onto the new handicap system, it is a significant change, and James explains what it means, why the change, and what it will do.

After the turn Mark puts his thoughts on the Australian Amateur to James for his response. Should it be a 72-hole tournament or is matchplay a more exciting structure. James explains what the rationale for the existing structure is and why there are no plans to change it.

Finally - ask the boss. We read out a few wolfpacker questions for James:

'Swingmate' wants James to explain why prize money in the Australian Open is lower than other tournaments.

Ryan believes that golf, at a grassroots level, is expensive and is there anything James and Golf Australia can do about this, particularly for new players.

And Sam would like to know what the lessons were (good and bad) from the combined Mens and Womens Opens 2024.

A fun pod today, and great to hear from the Golf Australia boss James Sutherland.

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