Kick Point: The Golf Gear Show

It was a hell of a performance from our relief pitcher (and equipment expert) Sam De'Ath, but he exits stage left to a rapturous reception as Joe retakes his throne on the Kick Point set this week. Not only is he back, but he's also providing a hot take about caddies - 'Why do we have them?'. Given that a few members of the Golf Monthly team are former caddies, his answer certainly ruffled some feathers within the office...

As for the rest of the show, we have a Kick Point first - we talk about a club we've BOTH reviewed! Yes, I've taken a break from shoes and bags and been thrown in the deep end to discuss the PXG Secret Weapon Mini Driver - are mini drivers worth it or simply a bit of a marketing gimmick? We discuss. We discuss club gapping on this week's 'Ask The Pod' as we answer listener questions before diving into our latest What's In The Bag and taking a closer look into the equipment used by Ryder Cup star Max Homa following his move to Cobra for the 2025 season.

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and 'Ask The Pod' via our email: [email protected]

Sign up for the weekly Kick Point newsletter, released every Friday: https://www.golfmonthly.com/newsletter 

Get three issues of the Golf Monthly magazine delivered to your door for just £5 at https://www.magazinesdirect.com/kickpoint   

Watch us in full on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf

Chapters:
0:00:00 Intro 
0:02:52 Joe's revelation about caddies
0:08:27 PXG Secret Weapon mini-driver review
0:26:17 'Ask The Pod' - Helping with gapping
0:40:07 Max Homa's What's In The Bag 2025 

Watch us in FULL on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and 'Ask The Pod' via our email: [email protected]

Sign up for the weekly Kick Point newsletter, released every Friday: https://www.golfmonthly.com/newsletter 

Get three issues of the Golf Monthly magazine delivered to your door for just £5 at https://www.magazinesdirect.com/kickpoint  

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

If you're a bit of a putter nerd or a total putter newbie, then you're in luck this week as our guru Sam De'Ath returns to give us the full lowdown on the latest craze in flatstick technology - zero torque putters! Unfortunately, that means no Joe this week. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice he had a bit of tape on the sole of his shoe all last week, and I would like to say he's sitting out this week out of embarrassment, but that would be lying...
Instead, this episode was supposed to air last week, but one of the products we spoke about was embargoed, and we can't be upsetting the friendly companies that supply us with these clubs to test, can we? However, we promise that this episode is worth the wait. We cover zero torque - what they are, why you might use one and which ones we think are the best depending on what kind of golfer you are. 

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and 'Ask The Pod' via our email: [email protected]

Sign up for the weekly Kick Point newsletter, released every Friday: https://www.golfmonthly.com/newsletter 

Get three issues of the Golf Monthly magazine delivered to your door for just £5 at https://www.magazinesdirect.com/kickpoint   

Watch us in full on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf

Follow us on social media:
Instagram -  https://www.instagram.com/kickpointgolf
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@kickpointpod

Chapters:
0:00:00 Intro 
0:06:23 What is a 'zero-torque putter'?
0:10:23 Is L.A.B Golf here to stay?
0:14:43 What are all the models?
0:16:55 Best looking zero-torque putter
0:29:34 Best feeling zero-torque putter
0:39:29 Best for alignment
0:46:41 Best inside 5ft
0:50:59 Best overall zero torque putter
0:57:28 'Ask The Pod' - Building the top and bottom of a bag

Watch us in FULL on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and 'Ask The Pod' via our email: [email protected]

Sign up for the weekly Kick Point newsletter, released every Friday: https://www.golfmonthly.com/newsletter 

Get three issues of the Golf Monthly magazine delivered to your door for just £5 at https://www.magazinesdirect.com/kickpoint  

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

Drumroll please…….… Joe is back! As we say here in England, super sub Sam De’Ath had great innings (Google it, Americans), but it’s time for the star of the show to return and talk golf gear. His back is better, his beard is trimmed, and his makeup is done - we couldn’t be happier to have ‘The Pro’ back. 

And it's a bumper episode to return to. Joe will give us insight into two of his favorite things - Taylormade irons and golf grips. Yes, we’re diving deep into his review of the latest P790 irons whilst also talking about the new Golf Pride Align Max grips and how revolutionary they could prove to be for your game. Other items on the agenda - we answer questions about Joe's experience with Bryson DeChambeau’s irons on Ask The Pod and investigate what Hideki Matsuyama is swinging with in the latest What’s In The Bag?

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and 'Ask The Pod' via our email: [email protected]

Sign up for the weekly Kick Point newsletter, released every Friday: https://www.golfmonthly.com/newsletter 

Get three issues of the Golf Monthly magazine delivered to your door for just £5 at https://www.magazinesdirect.com/kickpoint   

Watch us in full on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf

Follow us on social media:
Instagram -  https://www.instagram.com/kickpointgolf
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@kickpointpod

Chapters: 

0:00: Intro - Joe's back! 
7:56: PGA Tour winners aren't using 2025 drivers - why? 
18:37: TaylorMade P790 iron review
27:50: Golf Pride Align Max grip review
36:06: Ask The Pod - Joe's experience playing with Bryson's actual clubs
51:25: Hideki Matusyma 2025 What's In The Bag 

Watch us in FULL on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and 'Ask The Pod' via our email: [email protected]

Sign up for the weekly Kick Point newsletter, released every Friday: https://www.golfmonthly.com/newsletter 

Get three issues of the Golf Monthly magazine delivered to your door for just £5 at https://www.magazinesdirect.com/kickpoint  

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

Thanks for all your well wishes to the injured Joe The Pro last week! He'll be back (no pun intended) better than ever next week. So, given his stunning debut performance last week, Sam De’Ath returns to spread knowledge and wisdom about hybrids for the new golf season. We ask whether the club is falling out of fashion on Tour; why we think the average golfer should be using more of them and Sam runs through which of the latest releases are the best for you. We also get technical with wedges and answer the question - 'should people have their wedges bent flatter than their irons?'

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and 'Ask The Pod' via our email: [email protected]

Sign up for the weekly Kick Point newsletter, released every Friday: https://www.golfmonthly.com/newsletter 

Get three issues of the Golf Monthly magazine delivered to your door for just £5 at https://www.magazinesdirect.com/kickpoint   

Watch us in full on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf

Follow us on social media:
Instagram -  https://www.instagram.com/kickpointgolf
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@kickpointpod

Chapters:
0:00 Intro 
5:39 Are hybrids going out of fashion?
11:59 Best-looking hybrids 
21:00 Best sound and feel
27:50 Most forgiving hybrids 
36:08 Best hybrids for distance 
38:50 Best hybrids to hit off the fairway
43:22 Best hybrids to use out of the rough
48:12 Most workable hybrid 
51:16 Verdict - best hybrid of 2025
52:52 Kick Point x Golf Monthly magazine offer
54:44 'Ask The Pod' - Should I flatten the lie angle on my wedges?

Watch us in FULL on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and 'Ask The Pod' via our email: [email protected]

Sign up for the weekly Kick Point newsletter, released every Friday: https://www.golfmonthly.com/newsletter 

Get three issues of the Golf Monthly magazine delivered to your door for just £5 at https://www.magazinesdirect.com/kickpoint  

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

We have an injured soldier this week. Despite looking like he's in his late 20s, Joe is decaying at the standard rate for someone in their early 40s, and as such suffered a back injury in the lead-up to this week's show. Luckily, we have a super sub waiting in the wings. 

So, for the first time, we welcome fellow Golf Monthly equipment tester Sam De'Ath onto the show. We've mentioned Sam in passing on many episodes as our chief fairway wood and hybrids tester amongst other things. So, with Sam on this week, we thought it made sense to take a deep dive into the latest fairway woods on offer. We break down this large category by looking at the most forgiving options, best for sound & feel and best for distance before crowning our overall winner. Of course, there's also an Ask The Pod and this week we help a listener from Down Under with a query about his muddled bag set-up. Enjoy! 

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and Ask The Pod via our email [email protected]     

We're now on YouTube! Watch full episodes at: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf       
We're also now on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickpointgolf/?hl=en

Check out our full reviews of all the equipment mentioned in this week's episode here: 
https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews
Get three issues of Golf Monthly magazine for just £5 at https://www.magazinesdirect.com/kickpoint 

Watch us in FULL on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and 'Ask The Pod' via our email: [email protected]

Sign up for the weekly Kick Point newsletter, released every Friday: https://www.golfmonthly.com/newsletter 

Get three issues of the Golf Monthly magazine delivered to your door for just £5 at https://www.magazinesdirect.com/kickpoint  

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

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and Ask The Pod via our email [email protected]     

We're now on YouTube! Watch full episodes at: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf       
We're also now on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickpointgolf/?hl=en 

We're back in the studio this week with special guest Ludvig Aberg who talks us through the ins and outs of his equipment choices. The world number six joined us back in October last year to chat about his relationship with relatively new sponsor Titleist and his close relationship with Adidas golf. Before all that we've got in-depth reviews of the gorgeous new Mizuno Pro S3 and JPX925 Forged irons and a full round-up of the Wilson Dynapower family of drivers, fairways and hybrids. 

Check out our full reviews of all the equipment mentioned in this week's episode here: 
https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews

Watch us in FULL on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and 'Ask The Pod' via our email: [email protected]

Sign up for the weekly Kick Point newsletter, released every Friday: https://www.golfmonthly.com/newsletter 

Get three issues of the Golf Monthly magazine delivered to your door for just £5 at https://www.magazinesdirect.com/kickpoint  

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

It's our first every 'emergency' episode! Of course, there's no such thing as a real emergency when you're running a golf equipment podcast, but a busy week for Dan in Florida meant we had to sit down for a catch-up. Because of that, we're on our laptops today and no in the studio - so we apologise in advance for the less-than-perfect sound quality we usually pride ourselves on. 

So, coming up this week, we've got all of the down low on what it's like to be inside the TGL arena and a behind-the-scenes look at all of the best (and worst) equipment we saw at the PGA Show. Why does TGL insist on using a Full Swing Kit as its launch monitor? Do players change their equipment to play TGL? And are Cobra bringing our favourite iron to the masses in 2025? All of this and more are answered this week. Enjoy! 

Watch us in FULL on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and 'Ask The Pod' via our email: [email protected]

Sign up for the weekly Kick Point newsletter, released every Friday: https://www.golfmonthly.com/newsletter 

Get three issues of the Golf Monthly magazine delivered to your door for just £5 at https://www.magazinesdirect.com/kickpoint  

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

0:00 Intro waffle 
2:55 Srixon ZXi drivers: What are they all about? 
7:04 ZXi driver technology
10:22 ZXi looks
16:30 ZXi drivers summary 
17:22 Srixon ZXi drivers review
23:47 Sirxon ZXi fairways & hybrids review
26:11 Srixon ZXi utility iron review
33:26 Srixon ZXi7 iron review
38:39 Srixon ZXi5 iron review
45:06 Srixon ZXi4 iron review
49:30 Ask The Pod - Best driver set up for slower swing speed golfer...

While the Big Five have announced their driver range for 2025, there is still a big and largely underrated brand we have yet to discuss: Srixon. Its new ZXi range is huge and includes three drivers, a fairway wood, a hybrid, a utility iron and three new irons. We get stuck into the depths of the new range and try to work out why Srixon doesn't pull the weight it should in the golf game. 

There's also a very in-depth Ask The Pod this week focussing on the options for a golfer whose swing speed is sub 90mph, focussing on the shaft and fitting options available. 

Watch us in FULL on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and 'Ask The Pod' via our email: [email protected]

Sign up for the weekly Kick Point newsletter, released every Friday: https://www.golfmonthly.com/newsletter 

Get three issues of the Golf Monthly magazine delivered to your door for just £5 at https://www.magazinesdirect.com/kickpoint  

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

Another big dog has entered the chat. Ping has arrived with its new G440 family of golf clubs. After a two-year wait since G430, has the brand been able to elevate what was one of the most successful and popular club families in its history? We've got our in-depth verdicts on the whole driver family, fairway woods, hybrid and new game improvement irons too. 

In a bid to include some non-new-release content, Ask The Pod is also back this week with a question from a very mysterious listener with two different aliases. They ask, why doesn't every golfer use some form of game-improvement iron to get the most forgiveness possible? 

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and Ask The Pod via our email [email protected]     

We're now on YouTube! Watch full episodes at: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf       
We're also now on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickpointgolf/?hl=en 

Further Reading:

https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews/drivers/ping-g440-sft-driver-review    
https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews/drivers/ping-g440-lst-driver-review    
https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews/drivers/ping-g440-max-driver-review    
https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews/irons/ping-g440-iron-review    
https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews/hybrids/this-new-club-can-hit-all-the-shots-and-is-a-must-try-this-year
https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews/fairways/ping-g440-max-fairway-wood-review 
https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews/fairways/ping-g440-lst-fairway-wood-review   

Watch us in FULL on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and 'Ask The Pod' via our email: [email protected]

Sign up for the weekly Kick Point newsletter, released every Friday: https://www.golfmonthly.com/newsletter 

Get three issues of the Golf Monthly magazine delivered to your door for just £5 at https://www.magazinesdirect.com/kickpoint  

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

Back in the autumn, you may remember Joe saying, ' I've seen a new club coming out that I like looks of so much, it is going in my bag no matter what the performance is like.' Well, that club is here, and it's called TaylorMade Qi35. In this episode, we're bringing you our in-depth review and verdict of all five (yes, five) new driver heads, three fairways & the lone new hybrid. We'll go over all the new tech and Joe will give his thoughts on each model as it sits in the new range. Let us know how you're feeling about release season!

Are you interested in all the new clubs coming out, or is it much of a muchness to you? Remember, you can get in touch with us via our email below with any opinions or thoughts on the show - we'd love to hear from you! We'll return to our normal programming by the end of the month!

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and Ask The Pod via our email [email protected]    

We're now on YouTube! Watch full episodes at: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf      
We're also now on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickpointgolf/?hl=en 

Further reading:

https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews/drivers/taylormade-qi35-driver-review 
https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews/fairways/taylormade-qi35-max-fairway-wood-review 
https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews/fairways/taylormade-qi35-tour-fairway-wood-review
https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews/drivers/taylormade-qi35-ls-driver-review 
https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews/drivers/taylormade-qi35-max-driver-review
https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews/hybrids/taylormade-qi35-hybrid-review
https://www.golfmonthly.com/reviews/fairways/i-didnt-think-the-perfect-golf-club-existed-until-i-hit-this-one 





    

Watch us in FULL on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KickPointGolf

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and 'Ask The Pod' via our email: [email protected]

Sign up for the weekly Kick Point newsletter, released every Friday: https://www.golfmonthly.com/newsletter 

Get three issues of the Golf Monthly magazine delivered to your door for just £5 at https://www.magazinesdirect.com/kickpoint  

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