Kirkland (Costco) Premium Golf Ball

[iacas]

2 hours ago, baller7345 said:

2016 Costco Kirkland Signature Review - GolfBallTest.org

Pretty much confirms what everyone thought to be, the ball is really good and really cheap.

I feel like the quoted section is similar to what they say about a lot of balls. And it doesn't take much scrolling on their site to get to reviews done in 2013 and 2012…?

Reviews on GolfWRX are mixed (it made their front page). One guy doing a float test said they were more inconsistent than other balls (the ball fell to the same position far more quickly than other balls).

I've seen little to dissuade me of the idea that they're a "good" but not "great" ball which, for a buck and a quarter and a bogey golfer, is a great thing. I'll tell some buddies about them.

P.S. The nearest Costco to me is 90 miles away.

[baller7345]

33 minutes ago, iacas said:

I feel like the quoted section is similar to what they say about a lot of balls. And it doesn't take much scrolling on their site to get to reviews done in 2013 and 2012…?

Reviews on GolfWRX are mixed (it made their front page). One guy doing a float test said they were more inconsistent than other balls (the ball fell to the same position far more quickly than other balls).

I've seen little to dissuade me of the idea that they're a "good" but not "great" ball which, for a buck and a quarter and a bogey golfer, is a great thing. I'll tell some buddies about them.

P.S. The nearest Costco to me is 90 miles away.

The quoted section was simply the summary.  Apparently they were getting lots of spin with wedges (10,000+ rpms) and comparable spin numbers with other premium balls when using other clubs.  Unfortunately they really didn't supply data (hard concrete numbers that is).

I've been following that thread.  The general consensus is that they are a premium ball in terms of performance.  33 pages of glowing reviews with a few that are a little borderline isn't really my definition of mixed reviews.  For the current me, they are gold.

I'm still waiting for some more reviews that actually include the numbers (so far the only one I've seen is the guy in his house).

EDIT:

I'm not even sure where the nearest Costco is to me.  I'm okay with paying the small surcharge and just getting them online.

Edited October 28, 2016 by baller7345

[iacas]

10 minutes ago, baller7345 said:

The quoted section was simply the summary.

I know. I'm saying they have similar summaries of a few other balls, too.

10 minutes ago, baller7345 said:

33 pages of glowing reviews with a few that are a little borderline isn't really my definition of mixed reviews.

I don't know if I'd call them glowing. People were commenting that they didn't like the feel, or they launched 2° lower than their current ball… other things.

Now, no ball is going to suit everyone, but… again, I'm still skeptical. Admittedly, without any first-hand knowledge, beyond a quasi-understanding of the costs involved in this type of thing.

[baller7345]

23 minutes ago, iacas said:

I don't know if I'd call them glowing. People were commenting that they didn't like the feel, or they launched 2° lower than their current ball… other things.

I guess this would be the difference between being skeptical and being sold on them.

I've played them and really liked them so when I see a review that states they were a little firmer or softer than what they currently play (if they say it flies a little shorter off the tee), but still feel it performs as well as they would expect a premium ball to perform that goes down as positive for me.  I chalk those up to comparing the differences between a Pro V1 and a Tour Preferred.  Some may prefer one or the other, but in the end they all tend to admit they perform up to standard.  Of course again, I'm hardly unbiased at this point and it's a little hard for me to look skeptically at them.

[jkelley9]

I just played 27 holes with this ball, walking. Beautiful conditions except the fairways are on their way towards firming up. They're hybrid bermuda and they are getting a bit thatchy with bumps and low spots. 

This ball plays like a premium ball to me. There are no negative things I have to say about it. 

I'm playing to about a 10-11 these days. Shot an 84 which included a triple bogie because I got a little cocky and tried to drive a green that was virtually inaccessible :P And I lost another ball on a par 3 from a wonky tee shot. 

I shot a +4 differential on the final 9 holes I played.

This is little info in terms of the actual ball. But regardless of my actual scoring the ball FELT good. Everywhere. People should really try this ball. I truly think it's 90% of the way to a ProV1 (but that's almost an entirely arbitrary # of course...)

[jsgolfer]

I have now played 5 rounds with the Kirkland., 3-77's and 2 76's.  And I must say, I love it.  I don't see any difference at all in length or bite on the green.   I even hit a couple of the longest drives I've ever hit on a couple of holes with. It.   I have no qualms about using this ball.  It's every bit as good as a Pro-V1 or other similar premium ball.  And for the price, it's even better.

[jsgolfer]

So I was listening to better golf with Phil Hawes, he's been on the air in DC since 1992, and he had the following story on the Kirkland Ball.  He was given a sleeve of balls from a listener to check out.  He said he tried them and thought it was really good.  He looked into it further and he said the following.  He said that Kirkland for a while was selling Titleist balls at a lower price point than was allowed by Achusnet, now I coulnd't find anything on the internet about this.  He went on to say that he CEO of Costco was pissed and found a company ito make a similar ball like the Pro V1 and he was going to price them so that Costco would take a huge bite out of the Titleist market.  The only thing I could find was the lawsuit by Titleist against 10 small ball companies, who all seem to have their balls mad in Taiwan, not Korea where I think the Kirkland ball is made. 

Still love the Kirkland, just ordered 6 dozen.  

[baller7345]

2 hours ago, jsgolfer said:

So I was listening to better golf with Phil Hawes, he's been on the air in DC since 1992, and he had the following story on the Kirkland Ball.  He was given a sleeve of balls from a listener to check out.  He said he tried them and thought it was really good.  He looked into it further and he said the following.  He said that Kirkland for a while was selling Titleist balls at a lower price point than was allowed by Achusnet, now I coulnd't find anything on the internet about this.  He went on to say that he CEO of Costco was pissed and found a company ito make a similar ball like the Pro V1 and he was going to price them so that Costco would take a huge bite out of the Titleist market.  The only thing I could find was the lawsuit by Titleist against 10 small ball companies, who all seem to have their balls mad in Taiwan, not Korea where I think the Kirkland ball is made. 

Still love the Kirkland, just ordered 6 dozen.  

I was under the impression that Costco was selling Callaway not Titelist?  Though I've heard a couple of people say similar things.

I have never been in a Costco nor had I ever bought anything from them till they released this ball so who knows.

Edited October 31, 2016 by baller7345

[jsgolfer]

1 minute ago, baller7345 said:

I was under the impression that Costco was selling Callaways not Titelist?  Though I've heard a couple of people say similar things.

I have never been in a Costco nor had I ever bought anything from them till they released this ball so who knows.

Yeah they definitely sell Callaway's, don't know about Titleist either, I've only recently joined a few months ago.

On 10/28/2016 at 11:53 AM, caniac6 said:

I'm sure this is a minor complaint, but the printing on the costco ball is kind of crummy looking. 

A lot of small company golf balls have this same issue.  Not sure why?

[chilepepper]

Calaway is the only brand I've seen in my Costco. Looking forward to trying their branded balls

[Patch]

At $1.25 a ball, for a 4 piece critter, I will give them a try just because. I'd be comparing them to the e7 Bridgestone which I normally use. All I have to do is see them on a shelf some where. 

[Brad W]

you might be looking for a while if you wait for the shelf.  It seems they are currently only available online

[caniac6]

They used to sell Titleist, but it was a cheap distance ball. It had a different name than any ball sold at normal retail locations.

[DeadMan]

1 hour ago, caniac6 said:

They used to sell Titleist, but it was a cheap distance ball. It had a different name than any ball sold at normal retail locations.

Yeah, I remember buying two dozen of these Titleist balls at Costco about 5 years ago. I forget what the name was, but it was something that was not sold anywhere else. I vaguely remember that it was supposed to be equivalent to DT solos? I could be wrong though.

[jsgolfer]

Just got my 6 dozen, and I'm already giving some away to other members at the club.  I may have to buy stock.  

[jkelley9]

I'm buying another 6 dozen myself so that should last me several months (let's hope).

I did play with two gentlemen that were playing with some very nice gear and ProV1's. One shot in the low to upper 90's and the other was well over 100 (but still a great guy to play with). When they drove up to my ball at one point (I was walking) they said "...what are you playing?" and I gave a confident "I'm paying a Kirkland" and them: "... a what? yea this is you..." haha. Then one said "isn't that the Costco brand?" I said yea, and that they were a premium 4-piece ball comparable to the ProV1. We were 9 holes in and I had shot a 4 over on the front so they were thinking I was pretty good. I also smoked a few drives lol. And they said they'd have to try them and I told them they wouldn't be disappointed. 

[newtogolf]

Played the last 4 days in Myrtle Beach with them and I'm just as impressed now with them as I was when I first tried them.  It may be my swing speed and swing overall, but I hit them just as well as premium balls that are 3x - 4x the cost.  One of the guys that hits the ball a ton and plays Pro V1's asked to try one after I told him more about them and he used it for an entire round.  He said he's ordering a few dozen when he gets home because he liked how they played, especially around the greens.  

It's possible better players and pro's will notice a difference but if you look at the reviews from most here and GolfWRX (read all the posts), the positive reviews are 9:1 over those that don't like them.   

[jkelley9]

Oh crap... they went out of stock  hopefully they come back in stock and I can grab those 6 dozen