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Kick Point: The Golf Gear Show
Justin Thomas' 2026 What's In The Bag, Bernhard Langer's Unique Equipment History & Why Are All Wedge Lofts Even Numbers?
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Massive thanks to Titleist, the number one ball in golf, for sponsoring this week's episode. Titleist is the most played ball at the U.S. Open for 78 straight years and still counting. Visit titleist.com to find out which Titleist golf ball is best for your game.
We were a camera crew down this week, so please forgive our slightly worse audio quality! Despite the chaos, we've got a great episode for you this week. Joe rants about pretty much everything in the equipment world that annoys him (Why are fairway woods odd numbers? Why are flagsticks different from club to club? Why are wedge lofts all even numbers? You get the idea...), we investigate the decorated and quirky equipment history of Berhard Langer, and Justin Thomas is the subject of this week's What's In The Bag! All of that, plus your questions and comments for another hour (or more) of golf equipment chat - enjoy!
Chapters:
0:00:00 Coming up this week
0:02:46 Titleist's unbelievable US Open statistic...
0:05:20 Joe's new iron loft theory
0:09:25 Takomo's driver recall
0:14:14 Weird things we do in golf for no apparent reason...
0:20:02 Bernhard Langer's equipment deep dive
0:39:03 Ask The Pod - your recent comments and questions
0:52:12 Justin Thomas 2026 What's In The Bag!
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01:10:47|Thanks to Callaway for sponsoring this week's episode. To check out the full Quantum range of drivers, fairways, hybrids and irons for yourself, visit https://eu.callaway.comHappy Open Friday! Thanks for including us in your golf #content consumption for the weekend. This week, Joe's got a variety of equipment-based rants to get stuck into. What happened to signature lines of golf clubs? Why does every pro feel the urge to get a 2-iron in their bag as soon as they set foot on UK soil? Why can't more brands get retro designs right? Also, we're introducing a new section this week: Joe's Weekly WITB. Now he's given up trying really hard to win tournaments, he's now - what are his thoughts on the latest equipment from Titleist, TaylorMade, Ben Hogan and Callaway that he's got in the bag? All of that, plus some of your brilliant recent comments and questions in Ask The Pod - enjoy!Chapters:0:00:00 Joe's new haircut...0:06:04 Joe's club championship roster0:11:39 Teasing Kick Point Golf Club (again)0:12:48 Joe's A.I. golf club creations 0:17:10 What happened to 'signature' iron sets?0:25:20 The UK's 2-iron urge0:30:26 What happened to sock headcovers?0:33:36 Joe's 2026 WITB 0:50:44 Ask The PodThe 5 Old Irons That Modern Technology Still Can't Beat! Plus, Our Fantasy Equipment Line Up For 2026 & Your Reaction To TaylorMade's Big Equipment News
01:05:19|Who said we were short of ideas? Not us! We've done old drivers, and we've done old fairways, so it's time for Joe to dig back into the archive of irons to find five examples of irons that haven't aged a day. We've got some classic blades and some more 'game improvement' options on the table. As well as that, Joe's conjured up a game of fantasy golf equipment - what bag of tricks would we like to play, selecting from all of the men's and women's Major winners so far? We've got that, Ask The Pod and plenty more nonsense in between - enjoy!Chapters:0:00:00 Coming up this week...0:05:53 The Ore Golf iron & TaylorMade's Tag Heuer collab0:09:42 Picking our fantasy lineup of equipment from the 2026 Major winners0:33:03 Kick Point Golf Club...0:37:52 5 older irons that modern tech can't beat0:52:05 Ask The Pod - your reactions to TaylorMade's two-year release cycleWe Measured The Loft And Lie Of Every 2026 Driver! Are Manufacturers Deliberately Strengthening Lofts? Plus, Pros & Cons Of Each Method Of Adding Weight To Your Golf Club
01:08:16|Big thanks to our friends at GolfClubs4Cash for sponsoring this week's episode. You can visit them in store now at its locations in Edinburgh, Warrington, Milton Keynes and Southampton or head to www.golfclubs4cash.co.uk to browse the more than 50,000 items in stock.Joe's been doing some real-life actual journalism this week. It's often quiet down in North Devon, so a few weeks ago spent an afternoon measuring the true loft, lie angle and face angle of every driver he's been sent to test this year. Which brands' measurements are closest to what they claim? And are we seeing a new trend in driver face angles? Joe reveals all from his exhausting display of measuring in his workshop.Also this week, we've had loads of questions about the best ways to add weight to your golf club, and to help, Joe has put together a cheat sheet of the pros and cons of each method. Whether it's lead tape, hot melt or screws, we've got you covered for your next tinkering job. All of that, plus some analysis on Wyndham Clark's new putter, Bryson's prototype TaylorMade driver and, of course, some time for your comments and questions in Ask The Pod - enjoy!Chapters:0:00:00 Coming up this week...0:03:43 The story behind Bryson's new proto TaylorMade driver0:07:51 What's so special about Wyndham Clark's new putter?0:11:36 The pros and cons of each method of adding weight to a club0:12:28 Using manufacturer's weights 0:15:35 Lead tape0:18:26 Tip weights0:21:27 Hot melt0:26:12 We measured every 2026 driver! Here are the results...0:27:24 Face angle...0:36:08 Lofts...0:40:19 Lie angles...0:48:48 Ask The Pod!Grading Every Equipment Manufacturer's Year (So Far)! Plus, Joe Tells All About His Open Qualifying Experience!
01:28:49|Big thanks to our friends at GolfClubs4Cash for sponsoring this week's episode. You can visit them in store now at its locations in Edinburgh, Warrington, Milton Keynes and Southampton or head to www.golfclubs4cash.co.uk to browse the more than 50,000 items in stock.Happy midsummer! It's that time of year again, when we take stock of all of the main equipment manufacturers' years so far, and send them home with a summer report for 2026. Which brand is going home with an A to happy parents, and which brand has plenty to work on going into the next phase of equipment releases? Before all of that, Joe finds his favourite driver on the GolfClubs4Cash website for under £200, we discuss the rollback on the golf ball rollback, and Joe tells us the good, the bad, and the ugly from his experience at regional qualifying for the Open Championship. Enjoy!Chapters:0:00:00 Coming up this week...0:02:26 How would Joe spend £200 on a second-hand driver?0:06:14 Joe tells all about his Open Qualifying experience0:22:22 The golf ball rollback, rollback - our opinions!0:32:34 Grading every equipment brand's year so far!0:34:32 Titleist0:41:55 TaylorMade0:51:23 Callaway 1:00:08 Ping 1:04:29 Cobra 1:06:53 PXG1:13:02 Mizuno1:17:00 Srixon1:21:05 WilsonThe 5 Old Fairway Woods That Modern Technology Can't Beat! Plus, Shane Lowry's What's In The Bag & Could Joe Beat Dan With Just A 7-Iron?
01:09:24|Thanks to this week's sponsor, Srixon. Go to eu.dunlopsports.com/srixon to find out more. You seemed to enjoy us talking about old-ish drivers the other week, so we've done it again for fairway woods! How far back do you have to go before modern technology comfortably beats older fairway woods, and which is the best fairway wood of the last decade (or more)? After that, we discuss the equipment bag of Irishman and Ryder Cup hero Shane Lowry, get stuck into some of your recent comments and questions and engage in a passionate debate about whether Joe could beat Dan at golf just using his 7-iron...Cam Young's 2026 What's In The Bag! Is His New Golf Ball The Secret To His Recent Success? Plus, The Secret Underworld Of Bespoke Golf Equipment & Our Second Hand Fitting Tips!
01:13:38|Massive thanks to Titleist and the new GTS drivers for sponsoring this week's episode.Another jam-packed episode for you this week as Joe takes us on a journey into the secret underworld of high-end, bespoke golf club fittings from some of the most exclusive golf brands in the world that you have never heard of. When the time is right, you will know...We've got your Ask The Pods too, where we help one of you get fit for second-hand equipment, advise on cutting down counterbalanced putters and quell any rumours about 10k drivers being slower than other models. After all of that, we dive into the bag of in-form Cam Young. How much has his high-profile switch to a golf ball earlier this year forced changes throughout his bag?Chapters:0:00:00 Coming up this week...0:01:53 Titleist's new GTS driver0:05:33 Would you rather? Golf tournaments edition...0:09:55 The secret world of bespoke, underground golf equipment brands0:32:39 Ask The Pod - Is driver ball speed lower on 10k driver?0:40:22 Ask The Pod - Should I get fitted for clubs even though I'm a higher handicapper?0:44:48 Ask The Pod - Can I cut down a counterbalanced putter?0:48:48 Cam Young 2026 What's In The Bag?What Are The Best Innovations From 2026 Golf Products (So Far)? Plus, Brooks Koepka Leaves Srixon, Nelly Korda's 2026 What's In The Bag & Why Is Joe Using A Broomstick Putter?
01:14:52|Massive thanks to this week's sponsor, Reebok Golf. Reebok Golf is back, bringing its iconic sporting heritage to the course with a fresh range of apparel. Available now, exclusively online & instore at American Golf - the UK's number one golf retailer.There's a lot of golf equipment released year after year, and, if we're honest, a lot of it is very similar. With that in mind, we wanted to highlight the products that have been released this year that have offered the world of golf an actual, tangible innovation, moving us all forward. Thing 3D printing, bounce matching and sausages... Also this week, we delve into Brooks Koepka ending his relationship with Srixon, analyse the clubs used by the best women's golfer in the world, Nelly Korda, and Joe details why oh why he's decided to use a broomstick putter in his recent golfing escapades. All of that, plus Ask The Pods and a heated zero torque putter debate (again)!Chapters:0:00:00 Coming up this week...0:03:10 Our reaction to Brooks Koepka leaving Srixon0:08:16 Highlighting the best innovations in new golf equipment in 20260:16:32 Sole matching on irons0:25:24 TaylorMade's new face roll on Qi4D0:34:30 Joe's new cheat stick on the greens0:46:09 Ask The Pod - your comments on zero torque putters0:59:28 Nelly Korda's 2026 What's In The Bag?The 5 Old Drivers That Modern Technology Still Can't Beat! Plus, Why TaylorMade Won't Be Releasing A New Driver Next Year & Jason Day's What's In The Bag?
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