Happy Friday, folks. Hope you're enjoying the US Open! To accompany your weekend of watching professional golfers hack it out of thick rough, we've put together 82 minutes of two 'professional' journalists trying to hack their way through an interview with former Tour pro and now broadcaster Nick Dougherty. Joe has some history with Nick from their junior days, and it's safe to say Joe was and is a big fan...perhaps too big. Once Joe stops fanboying at the start of our interview, Nick offers us some brilliant insights into the equipment he loved during his playing days, as well as some insights into the

But before all of that, Joe takes us on a bit of a history and science lesson about Balata golf balls. What actually is Balata, and what was the moment in history when they started to fall out of favour? Spoiler, it has something to do with Tiger Woods... Chapters: 0:00:00 Hello! 0:02:55 What were Balata golf balls? 0:07:21 Liquid centres in golf balls... 0:10:28 Tiger Woods' early 2000s ball change 0:25:05 Ask The Pod - Should I use lead tape? 0:36:46 Cool Board - poker chip ball markers, custom ferrules & marking balls with initials 0:50:50 Fujikura competition! 0:54:03 Nick Dougherty interview

Also this week, we have an Ask The Podder keen to understand how to best utilise lead tape on their clubs, while The Cool Board sees poker chip ball markers, custom ferrules and initials on golf balls.

Happy Friday Kick Pointers (Joe's newly appointed name for our viewers and listeners). In this week's episode, Joe revisits one of the most notable and hotly anticipated driver releases of 2025 - Bryson Dechambeau's LA Golf Driver. A fascinating concept that involved different bulge and roll profiles depending on swing speed, Joe talks us through his thoughts on the product as well as the less-than-optimal online fitting service currently offered by LA Golf.

Speaking of Bryson, our friends at Golf Clubs 4 Cash have kindly sponsored this week's WITB segment, where we dive deep into the bag for DeChambeau's dominant US Open win at Winged Foot in 2020. The Cool Board also returns, with mini drivers, AimPoint, and Castle Tees under consideration this week. There are also stories of recent holes in one (neither of which were for Dan or Joe) and Dan's dalliances with a daredevil pigeon - enjoy!

Link to the Fujikura competition: https://www.fujikuragolf.com/battle-at-bethpage

Get in touch with Dan and Joe and 'Ask The Pod' via our email: kickpointpodcast@futurenet.com

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Chapters: 0:00:00 Intro and nonsense 0:05:03 Hole-in-one news and stories 0:11:56 LA Golf driver review 0:32:07 The Cool Board - Mini Drivers, AimPoint & Castle Tees 0:53:38 Fujikura giveaway! 0:59:28 Bryson DeChambeau's 2020 US Open WITB

We've got loads to get stuck into this week, so thanks for joining us! Joe is in something of a golf purgatory. Should he resign his PGA membership to become a full-time vibesman on the golf course? And, should he start playing clubs he thinks look cool, rather than have any function? After that, we take a brief look at the Tour's take-up of zero torque putters. What has been the reaction from Tour players to this growing trend, and is the argument for zero torque putters starting to win more people over?

Ask The Pod wants to understand why iron shafts are getting longer and longer. Are manufacturers just trying to sneak a bit more clubhead speed and distance under our noses, or is there something physiological contributing to longer 'standard' length clubs?

Finally, we're delighted to welcome recent DP World Tour winner and Staffordshire's finest, Richard Mansell, onto the show. We met up with Richard at the launch of the new Adidas Originals clothing line, and he offered some brilliant insights about his time as an equipment free agent and his current work as a full-time Titleist staffer.

Link to the Fujikura competition (opens June 2nd): https://www.fujikuragolf.com/battle-at-bethpage Chapters: 0:00:00 Intro, waffle and new bits on set 0:06:44 Joe's quandry - should he give up his PGA and be a full-time vibesman? 0:18:30 Is anyone on Tour using zero torque putters? And Joe rants about the future of putting... 0:35:41 Ask The Pod - why are irons trending longer? 0:53:59 Fujikura competition! 1:00:22 Richard Mansell WITB interview