Kirkland (Costco) Premium Golf Ball

[colin007]

3 hours ago, iacas said:

Yeah, I don't know about that.

They didn't do anything. They bought a bunch of balls that were already manufactured, slapped a box around 'em, and sold 'em.

If the balls were good enough for TaylorMade then why question the quality control?

[Golfingdad]

43 minutes ago, OSSO BUCCO said:

You can be assured that COSTCO would never "buy a bunch of balls and slap a box around them"  They are very careful in making certain that any product with their Kirkland Signature brand meets the highest standards for the individual product category.   

Maybe you didn't read the linked article upthread, but that's pretty much exactly what they did.

Quote

A representative of Nassau Golf (originally listed as the manufacturer of the Kirkland Signature Ball on the USGA conforming list) has told MyGolfSpy that Costco purchased overruns of Nassau's European-market-exclusive Quattro ball. There is some indication the sale was made through a third party, and that Nassau may not have been directly involved in the deal. The same source confirms that while the Costco balls have a different core color, the material composition and layer thickness are absolutely identical to the Quattro.

With the initial supply of overruns exhausted, Costco effectively has nothing left to sell.

With Costco selling its version of the Quattro at its cost ($15/dozen), it appears that Nassau is not particularly interested in selling Costco any additional inventory. As you can imagine, there's little interest in allowing Costco to undercut the Quattro with the Quattro, nor is there any desire to see the ball market (including direct-to-consumer brands like Snell, and OEMs such as TaylorMade) undercut either.

 

[jsgolfer]

With Kirkland Signature, Costco can develop new products, new categories and new products in existing categories, which allows the company to control the quality of the Kirkland Signature product and drive down prices on competing national brands. 

"The working rule followed by Costco buyers is that all Kirkland Signature products must be equal to or better than the national brands, and must offer a savings to our members," adds Craig.
 

[iacas]

1 hour ago, OSSO BUCCO said:

You can be assured that COSTCO would never "buy a bunch of balls and slap a box around them"  They are very careful in making certain that any product with their Kirkland Signature brand meets the highest standards for the individual product category.   

That's exactly what they did.

Edit: Oops, as @Golfingdad said.

Also, if you search "Nassau Quattro" you can find a bunch of sites that have the original ball. Like this one: http://www.odwyersgolf.com/shop/golf-balls/nassau-quatro-pitch-putt-golf-balls/ .

[Club Rat]

More news today.
 

Quote

A reporter is claiming that he received an email from Costco co-founder Jeffrey Brotman confirming that the golf balls will eventually be restocked. He gave no other details, but the Costco annual shareholder's meeting takes place later today in Washington state, and it's possible that the company will release more information about their surprise sensation then.

In recent weeks, some have cast doubt on Costco's ability to recapture the Kirkland Signature magic. The initial supply for the balls has dried up and seems unlikely to be replenished in the near future.

The Kirkland Signature is now being re-sold on eBay for as much as $129 for two dozen.

 

[Lihu]

4 minutes ago, Club Rat said:

More news today.

The Kirkland Signature is now being re-sold on eBay for as much as $129 for two dozen.

I'd just assume get the original Nassau Quattro then for $30 a dozen plus shipping. I can have them custom print "Kirkland Signature", and put my mailing address as" Mr. Kirkland Signature, Pasaden CA." Of course, my last name "Signature" would be in red.

[Golfingdad]

1 hour ago, Club Rat said:

More news today.
 

The Kirkland Signature is now being re-sold on eBay for as much as $129 for two dozen

So the reason it became a rage is because it had performance characteristics similar to balls that were much more expensive, ... so now people are buying them for almost $20 more than you can get ProV1 for at retail?

Either that "re-sold" needs to change to "re-listed", as in people are TRYING to sell them for that much and failing OR people are really, really dumb.

[OSSO BUCCO]

Costco President and CEO Craig Jelinek said Costco, which has “supply issues” with the popular Kirkland Signature golf balls that have flown off shelves, hopes to get them back on shelves at some point.

“The golf ball was a real coup for us,” Jelinek said Thursday at the company’s annual shareholders meeting. “We hope at some point we’ll get through the issues we have with the manufacturer and get it back in stock at some point. I’m not sure when it’s going to happen. Our goal is to work diligently to get it back in stock.”

[iacas]

4 minutes ago, OSSO BUCCO said:

Costco President and CEO Craig Jelinek said Costco, which has “supply issues” with the popular Kirkland Signature golf balls that have flown off shelves, hopes to get them back on shelves at some point.

“The golf ball was a real coup for us,” Jelinek said Thursday at the company’s annual shareholders meeting. “We hope at some point we’ll get through the issues we have with the manufacturer and get it back in stock at some point. I’m not sure when it’s going to happen. Our goal is to work diligently to get it back in stock.”

That feels bogus.

They could have them back on stores as quickly as they put in an order with Nassau and the balls were produced.

Feels like there's more at play than just that.

Maybe Nassau (or Nassau's bigger customers) didn't like being outed as producing such cheap balls?

[chilepepper]

It can't be a competition problem with the Quattro because, to my knowledge, the Quattro is not sold in the states

[OSSO BUCCO]

Note that the "new supplier" is SM Global, LLC rather than Nassau.  SM Global, LLC is a South Korean packaging company.  More than likely they will box the product and palletize for shipping into the clubs. 

[Golfingdad]

49 minutes ago, OSSO BUCCO said:

Note that the "new supplier" is SM Global, LLC rather than Nassau.

I don't believe that there has been any indication that Nassau was the original supplier, only that they were the manufacturer.  From the original mygolfspy story that said the ball may be dead:

Quote

A representative of Nassau Golf (originally listed as the manufacturer of the Kirkland Signature Ball on the USGA conforming list) has told MyGolfSpy that Costco purchased overruns of Nassau's European-market-exclusive Quattro ball. There is some indication the sale was made through a third party, and that Nassau may not have been directly involved in the deal. The same source confirms that while the Costco balls have a different core color, the material composition and layer thickness are absolutely identical to the Quattro.

 

[knucklebuster]

I wonder are there other balls out there that would be a match for premium balls.

I would guess most golfers in europe would not have expected nassau quattro to perform as well against a pro v,maybe there are more hidden gems .

Edited January 31, 2017 by knucklebuster

[Golfingdad]

3 minutes ago, knucklebuster said:

I wonder are there other balls out there that would be a match for premium balls.

I would guess most golfers in europe would not have expected nassau quattro to perform as well against a pro v,maybe there are more hidden gems .

Snell, definitely.  They're not $15/dozen but they are considerably cheaper than ProV1 and their ilk.

[jbishop15]

9 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

Snell, definitely.  They're not $15/dozen but they are considerably cheaper than ProV1 and their ilk.

I've heard good things about Vice, as well. Their premium ball is like 25 bucks, I think. 

[iacas]

7 minutes ago, jbishop15 said:

I've heard good things about Vice, as well. Their premium ball is like 25 bucks, I think. 

$35 if you buy 2 dozen or fewer, $30 if you buy up to four dozen, and $25 or so if you buy 5+ dozen.

Snell's pricing is a bit less volatile.

[jbishop15]

Just now, iacas said:

$35 if you buy 2 dozen or fewer, $30 if you buy up to four dozen, and $25 or so if you buy 5+ dozen.

Snell's pricing is a bit less volatile.

Ah, I see. I did not know that! A few of the guys at my club play Vice, and they talk about the price and quality all the time. I'm sticking with Snell, personally. 

[jsgolfer]

New Kirkland Coming. Looks like same cover but different guts according to mygolfspy 

https://www.mygolfspy.com/costco-ksig-performance-one-ball/