Kick Point: The Golf Gear Show

We have a very special episode of Tour Issue for you this week, as Joe sits down with Marco Penge to discuss everything behind his recent high-profile switch to PXG. We've got details on the new clubs he'll be playing in 2026 and all the behind the scenes detials on what goes on during the testing and fitting process of a top 30 player in the world. Marco also offers us some insight into how the process works and which of his old equipment might stay in the bag as he slowly beds in with PXG. Massive thanks to Marco for taking some time out of his hectic schedule to chat with us and offer such great insights, as well as to the folks at PXG and Marco's management for putting us in touch. We'll be back on Friday!

We're practising gratitude this week at KPHQ, so thank you for downloading this week's episode amidst the glut of golf content that exists in the world. With Tour golf back and equipment season in full swing, it feels like golf has woken up again after a quiet few weeks over Christmas and New Year. With that in mind (and the fact we only filmed this episode on Wednesday), we thought a mini Tour Issue would be in order. We've got our reactions to Marco Penge's switch from Mizuno to PXG, the news that Rory McIlroy is no longer a blade man, the Ping prototype mini driver and Erling Haaland's bizarre golf vlog he put on his YouTube channel. After that, it's the next big release of the year: Callaway Quantum. Joe has hit all four of the new models and is very impressed with what he's seen so far. We put his favourite model of the Quantum range up against his favourite driver of the year (so far), Qi4D core, to see how the data stacks up. We've also got some of your brilliant Ask The Pods this week, including one enraged listener who is fed up with golf equipment marketing and another listener seeking some mini driver advice. Enjoy!

It's all go here at KPHQ to start 2026, and our first big driver release of the season is upon us. While we feel like we've already given plenty of airtime to TaylorMade's Qi4D since we first saw it in November, we can now talk about it without the shackles of woke embargoes limiting Joe from going into full flow. And that's exactly what he does this week with his full verdict on the full family of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, Qi Max irons and the new technologies that aim to make Qi35 a distant 12-month memory. But we're not just focusing on this major release this week. We've got a huge backlog of Ask The Pods to work through, and the three this week cover wedge issues for higher handicap golfers, the actual reason why Bryson DeChambeau uses such unique equipment and why old driver models on Tour (like Aaron Rai's M6) have yet to be caught out for creeping. Enjoy!

Happy New Year! We hope you've all had a restful break and are as ready for 2026 as we are here at KPHQ (Kick Point Headquarters). Before we get into launch season proper, we've got one more special episode to bring you from our week in Pinehurst back in December. You've already seen his What's In The Bag, but we liked Peter Finch so much we asked him to come back on the pod for a 'normal' episode of Kick Point to answer some of your burning equipment queries. So, get the jingle ready, it's an Ask The Pod special! We've got questions about the best irons for high-speed, high-handicappers and a debate on the best way (if there is one) to retrofit second-hand clubs. We'll be back next week with the first major equipment launch of the season and, for you Tour Issue fans out there, our Monday episodes will be back on Monday, January 12th.

Happy Friday, everyone! We hope you had a great Christmas and aren't feeling as hungover as Dan or as fat as Joe does today. To cure any Boxing Day/post-Christmas fatigue, we've got some fun for you this week in the shape of the 2nd Annual Pointy Awards! For those who weren't with us this time last year, this is our annual light-hearted look at the year in equipment, loosely based around a cheap award ceremony. We've got plenty of awards to give out, including: the best golf club of the year, the best dressed of the year, the most innovative release of 2025 and the best WITB of the year. Expect some surprise visits from Adrian Meronk, out-of-sync drum rolls and Robert Rock on the way. Chapters: 00:00 Intro and introducing the awards 03:50 Best WITB of the year 11:40 Best equipment change on Tour this year14:20 Best golf club of 202518:19 Most innovative golf club release of 202526:26 In memorium - the golf clubs we lost in 2025 27:56 Most popular non-contracted club award 32:40 Most innovative use of a golf product off the golf course award35:50 Best dressed golfer of 2025 39:26 Rising golf brand of 202543:42 The Kick Point interview of the year award

Well, we think the title pretty much explains this week's episode! After we saw Rolling Stone magazine's Top 250 Albums Of The 21st Century, we thought it was time Kick Point delivered its own version. Thankfully, despite the relative length of this week's episode, we trimmed our list down to 25 rather than 250. Think TaylorMade M2 (2016), TaylorMade P790, Ping G2, Nike VR Pro Blades, Odyssey 2-ball, Vokey SM6 wedge, you get the idea. We've exhaustively analysed every golf club release of this century to offer you this definitive list of the very best. Prepare to agree (and most likely disagree) over the next 90 minutes or so. We hope you enjoy this week's episode, and all it leaves us to do is wish you a Merry Christmas (yes, it is next week). We're going nowhere over the break, though, and will be back on Boxing Day for the 2nd Annual Pointy Awards and on January 2nd for a very special guest episode.

A very special episode for you this week, filmed outside The Cottage at Pinehurst No. 8! Yes, we're back from our very special week in golf heaven, and we've got loads to catch up on. From playing Pinehurst No. 2 and No. 10 to snooping around inside Golf Pride's new Performance Lab and Global Innovation Center, we've been busy boys. We'll update you on our time in North Carolina, including our time in the Golf Hall Of Fame and the USGA testing facilities, too. After the self-indulgence, there's plenty of equipment chat to get stuck into. With the 2026 releases just around the corner (most of which we've already seen), what clubs from 2025 and before and the ones to beat? We've also got some of your excellent correspondence, including one listener who has managed to caramalise his golf clubs...We then welcome Peter Finch onto the podcast for a What's In The Bag looking ahead to his 2026 season. Though now a Titleist staffer, Pete has a wealth of club knowledge, having been a club reviewer for much of his YouTube career and has had the privilege of a VIP fitting at TPI. Massive thanks to Golf Pride, the Pinehurst Resort and GMS for hosting us last week. We'll have a special pod coming from inside Golf Pride's Global Innovation Center in the New Year. Also, shout out to Jake and George from GMS for standing out in the cold and filming us so beautifully!

What a weekend of golf that was! With high profile tournaments in Australia, South Africa and The Bahamas, we've got loads to talk about. While not a winner this week, Scottie Scheffler took his appearance at the Hero World Challenge to debut his new TaylorMade Qi4D driver. We've spotted some unqiue features already on what looks to be a model with plenty of Tour-only offerings built in. We also dive into tournament winner Hideki Matsuyama's winning bag as the Japanese star romped home to victory after a stunning final day display. Also this week, Callaway's Quantum and Cobra's OPTM drivers hit the conforming list - we've got our first impressions of the new offerings. Rasmus Neergaard-Petesen won in Australia and Kristoffer Reitan won in South Africa, marking a great win for Scandinavian golf and Ping as we delve into their bags