Equipment
With the success of the Kirkland putter, what’s next for Costco and golf?
It was like a raging fire that started with just a single spark—Costco getting into the golf market with a private label Kirkland Signature ball that challenged the conventional consumer mindset about what was possible from a non-traditional golf brand.
Enter the Costco putter
Almost four years later, Costco took it another step further when they introduced their very first private label golf club, the Kirkland Signature putter, the KS1, and once again the golf market and consumers took notice.
Within days of showing up online and at warehouses around the U.S., the KS1 putter was officially sold out and they were being resold online for more than double the price. At GolfWRX we had an exclusive interview with Tim Farmer, Costco vice president, and general merchandise manager, you can read the whole story here: The story behind the Costco KS1 Putter.
This leads us to the question “What could be next for Costco’s private label in the golf market place moving forward?” Like many Kirkland Signature products, Costco saw an opportunity in the marketplace and created a product to meet demand. They’ve already done it with accessories including the Kirkland Signature premium Cabretta leather golf glove, and the recent release of hats.
Is the KS1 putter just be the beginning?
When I spoke with Farmer about the release of the Costco KS1 putter we talked about other potential products without ever going into specifics beyond a potential replacement for the current 3-piece urethane ball.
The only answer, when asked about other clubs beyond the putter was, “We are always working on new products that offer value to our members,” and to this day the answer still has my mind thinking of the many potential options for a club that could offer value to golfers.
If we look at the current golf club marketplace every segment has a clear leader or a couple of companies the take up a major part of the category sales. When thinking about the general consumer and a club that requires the least amount of customizing of at least can be done quickly after the fact, I continually think of wedges—and this could be Costco’s next step. Perhaps a set of three wedges sold in a box with distinct lofts—most likely being 52, 56, and 60 degrees.
Why Costco wedges?
In the current market, brand new wedges from major OEMs sell for over $150 each, and most are bought off the rack with small adjustments like lie changes and grips done after the purchase. This makes a new set of three wedges cost over $450 before tax, and with that in mind, is why you see most consumer golfers, only replace one wedge at a time instead of all three at once—and there you have the sales pitch!
If Costco introduces a set of three wedges under the $250 price point (my assumption would be they probably settle around $225), then you give golfers a huge opportunity to replace a neglected part of their bag with three new clubs for the price of one and a half major OEM products.
Costco and the Kirkland Signature brand have time and time again proven people wrong when they launch new products in spaces where they are newcomers. In golf, it was the ball, and then the putter, and if my hunch is right, you may one day be able to buy yourself some KS wedges.
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- Pavon’s WITB accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 Max (9 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X
3-wood: Ping G430 LST (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 7 X
Hybrid: Ping G430 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 10 X
Irons: Ping i230 (3-PW)
Shafts: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 X
Wedges: Ping Si59 (52-12S, 58-8B)
Shafts: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 X
Putter: Ping Cadence TR Tomcat C
Grip: SuperStroke Claw 1.0P
Grips: Golf Pride MCC Align
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Check out more in-hand photos of Pavon’s gear here.
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Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.
This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.
Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.
The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.
Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
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We enter week 4 of Thursday night men’s league feeling a little more confident in the game. BK is hoping to go a little lower and reduce the mistakes out there with these clubs in the bag. Watch the video for the full breakdown of why these clubs are getting the starting nod this week!
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (10 degrees, neutral setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 63 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: UST Mamiya Lin-Q M40X TSPX Blue 7F5
7-wood: Ping G430 Max (-1 degree, flat Ssetting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 S
Iron: Mizuno Pro Fli-Hi 4
Shaft: Aerotech Steelfiber hls880 S
Irons: PXG 0317 Tour (5-PW)
Shaft: LA Golf A-Series 105 Low (4)
Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM10 (50-08F)
Shaft: UST Mamiya Dart V 105 F4 Wedge
Wedge: Ping S159 (56-10H)
Shaft: Ping Z-Z115
Wedge: Ping S159 (60-08B)
Shaft: Ping Z-Z115
Putter: PXG Battle Ready II Brandon
Shaft: BGT Stability Tour Spec One
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour X
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Bill Barker
Jun 25, 2020 at 11:21 am
Well the balls seem to work well if you don’t mis-hit them and leave a cut which I haven’t seen on a ball in years.
Charlie
Jun 24, 2020 at 4:08 pm
I have been very happy with the Kirkland golf balls. For me, they perform as well as name-brand pro model golf balls that cost 2-3 times as much. At my grip-it-and-rip-it local GC near Austin, TX, I lose very few balls but seems like every month I find lost Kirkland balls more often. Must be more and more golfer are using them.
Delbert
Jun 24, 2020 at 3:21 pm
A bag deal with Justin Rose or John Daly is next. We find those Kirkland balls in the range bucket every day. They are taking over. Run!
boydenit
Jun 24, 2020 at 10:11 am
Go Costco Go! Enough of the overpriced China stuff! Golf Shafts $399, Drivers $500, Bags $250, Putter $299, Golf Balls $52/12 that are off center! Kirkland balls are 24 for $30, Gloves are 4 for $20 and now a Kirkland putter! Golf needs healthy dose of Deflation!
Brian
Jun 24, 2020 at 8:56 am
The Kirkland stuff prior to the putter would suffice, but I have to imagine this will be the start of more clubs. Can’t wait to see what irons or wedges the come out with
Cody Reeder
Jun 23, 2020 at 10:21 am
So who is going to end up more disruptive? PXG with their ultra premium price strategy or Kirkland with the budget strategy??
simms
Jun 23, 2020 at 6:16 pm
PXG is playing the low end game also, where you been.
jgpl001
Jun 23, 2020 at 4:07 am
Why would anyone want to buy this stuff when OEM’s last model and mint second hand clubs are heavily discounted – M5/M6, SM7 wedges, Cobra F9, Callaway Epic, Ping G400, Ping i200, etc.
Would you rather bag a mint M5 with a top notch upgraded shaft for $250 or a Costco driver?
If the answer is the Costco driver than you are on the wrong website…
Ryan Barath
Jun 23, 2020 at 9:06 am
It’s a very valid point, but we have to remember that there are a lot of regular golfers that don’t want or like to buy used equipment, and also want to be able to buy a club/clubs and immediately use them.
Costco has built one of the biggest businesses in the world by delivering exceptional value and building a strong relationship with its members. “If Kirkland is on it, then it must be a great product” is how many shoppers view Costco products and if they do deliver something as I have hypothesized then it will sell and it will be a great value for those golfers looking for new wedges.
jgpl001
Jun 24, 2020 at 9:31 am
And you make a good point also, but the look of a bag and the clubs you play means a lot (snob value is alive and well) and a Kirkland bag with Costco clubs leaves me a little flat. For me the point is if you go into any golf shot there will always be bargains in OEM lines, discontinued models, etc., just pick them up, pay and go out and play
je
Jun 22, 2020 at 1:02 pm
Not sure about it. Many good major brand clubs will be heavily discounted a couple of years later. I even got mint callaway 2019 wedges for $60 from callaway preowned. Last year, it was $160. I know many were curious and bought ks1. But aren’t those good odyssey putters half off years later? And aren’t those odyssey putters better? For wedges, they lost values even quicker as new wedges will give more spin (at least they claim so). Looking at the price of a few year old vokey wedges, the most popular brand in wedges, I’m not sure how many would buy kirkland wedges.
gwelfgulfer
Jun 22, 2020 at 11:53 am
If they want to change opinions, do a 50/54/58 set rather than 52/56/60 given the jacked lots of things, it would better suit gapping. Well, unless you have one of those sets that has 2 ‘wedges’ before you even get to a the 50/52 degree range…
Carolyn
Jun 22, 2020 at 11:15 am
At my Costco they are selling 2 dozen VICE 3 piece urethane balls for $29.95…the last issue of the 4 piece ball was a flop…they still had a few putters this week but I did not see it as such a great deal, just an Odyssey putter with a different name plate. What next maybe a Driver from the same company that makes the Tommy Armour for Dick’s they can sell for $199?.
Fredo
Jun 22, 2020 at 11:11 am
There is 2 chances I would game any big box stores equipment, slim to none, and slim left town. Sorry had to get that in. The real reason is that I want my local golf retailer (Alameda GolfWorks and Corica GC) and golf courses to stay open, so I support LOCAL!
Tyler Durden
Jun 22, 2020 at 12:28 pm
NOBODY CARES
juno
Jul 27, 2020 at 9:37 am
You cared enough to comment.
brian
Jun 22, 2020 at 1:47 pm
I’ll support my local golf courses by playing more rounds with the money I save on golf balls, gloves, and gear from Costco.
brian
Jun 22, 2020 at 9:33 am
I have to say, I’ve been very happy with the Kirkland golf products I’ve used. The original 4 piece ball was fantastic and the 3 piece is a great value proposition and performs very well. However, in my opinion, the Kirkland gloves are the real winner. The sizing is a little bit inconsistent, but the quality for the price ($5 per glove) for a piece of equipment you replace with regularity cannot be beat. They’re also very durable, from my experience.
Brandon
Jun 23, 2020 at 12:05 am
Agreed. I have enough K Sig gloves in the closet to last a few years.