OT- Costco Wedges ....

[AChao]

So true Lou.  Nothing over 20% retail margin which is used to cover operating costs.  All membership fees are basically what Costco makes.

JK,


The senior who wears out three 56° Vokeys annually is a member of a club that includes the cost of the practice area in the dues.  He is 72+ and shoots his age a few times each year, mostly because of his tight short game.  I suspect that he is willing to pay 4x the cost of a Kirkland wedge for his Vokeys.


JB,


The 3-piece Kirkland ball is pretty ordinary, even at $25 for two-dozen.  The local Costco just got a pallet in and it was mostly full a couple of days later.  By comparison, a pallet of the 4-piece ball sold out in an hour with a two-pack (4 doz) max limit.


The pallet of wedges showed very little action, maybe 7 or 8 sets sold in 2+ weeks, and there were still plenty of putters as well. The clubs are "manufactured" by So. California Design Co., a multi-product consulting group, and with offices also in Asia, I suspect that the clubs were made offshore.


AChao,


Costco seems to be run by very smart people who know their customer well- maybe they should be operating golf courses!  I just got charged $120 for my annual dues- no warning, no options- but I guess they know me pretty well too as I will most likely pay it.  If my math is right, they collect over $10 Billion before selling a single product.  Brilliant!


I did read this morning that it is paying a special dividend before year-end ($4.4 Billion), largely motivated in its timing to beat a threatened huge tax increase on dividends in 2021, courtesy of the new administration.  And I wonder who got the company's financial support?


I did see the wedges in eBay for much higher prices.  If these sell, then maybe the wedges are a hit and my local store is just in an anomaly.  Can't get a half share of the stock for the price of the wedge set.  I wonder what is the better value?   

[Lou_Duran]

How much practice would be required to wear out the faces of three sand wedges in one season?

imho, Way too much for an amateur...  must be some of those famed TX side bets at play!

I don't know Tom very well, but I doubt that he is given to exaggeration.  He grew up at Athens CC (pre Mike Young) and said he had a 64 or 65 as a junior.  In the senior club championship during my first year at the club he played ahead of me in the next to last group and shot 73 from 6800 yards to beat me by a stroke on a difficult day.  He plays with the seniors most of the time in a $20 points game (modified handicap Stableford) and probably does well.


My 58° Glide forged SW which probably has around 8 months of use sans practice should have been replaced two months ago- I can't remember the last time I backed up a full shot with it.  Our superintendent sands the heck out of everything so it is just not my 58° that looks worn out.  My i500 irons are a little over a year old and they don't look good.   

[Garland Bayley]

Lou,

Can you get on a launch monitor from time to time and document the degradation of your clubs?

[Steve Lang]

   Lou,


I can remember last time i backed a ball up, like 15 years ago in San Antonio, La Cantera Resort, Palmer Course, ground was really hard in the highlands, I think my 53 deg 588 RTG wedge was at least 10 years old at the time...  the Cleveland logo is pretty much smeared off the bottom now, but it still works fine up to 85 yds or so     


Yesterday in our local COSTCO I watched as a family looked at the wedge set in the front of the store entrance aisle, debated, and then there was a pretty excited jr golfer who got to place the box into the cart, he was probably 14 or 15... and took control of the cart as they headed off past the computers and phone kiosk, probably to protect to goods! 

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Here's the official GOLFWRX Wedges review:


https://www.golfwrx.com/637692/costco-kirkland-signature-wedge-review-golfwrxers-discuss/




I will return the Kirkland S1 Putter that I bought about a month ago. I've discovered that my 30+ old Ping Zing is better for me.

[Ira Fishman]

For you Pro V1 junkies, TGW has them on sale at $40/dozen.

[Ed Brzezowski]

Tried their gloves this season, I usually wear the heel pad out like crazy. The Costco glove feels great and has 50 rounds on it without any wear. Not a fan of the ball but the gloves are well done.


ed

[Pat Burke]

Lou,

Can you get on a launch monitor from time to time and document the degradation of your clubs?

I’m going personal not scientific. And I mean not in the least.


In the current grooves configuration when I started playing again in an attempt to play Champions events, it took a while for me to find wedges that I could control well. 


Now, I was a low spin guy (let me know and I’ll bore you with the whys!)
So the harder balls and new grooves made things tough for me to control distance as well as I liked.


I finally found wedges from Taylor Made with a shaft and sole grind that worked for me.
I would typically hit close to 200 lob wedges 5 days a week. I’d also hit hours of chips, bunker shots, and little pitches


I’d see a difference within a month on controls and spin. Not a lot, but mostly noticeable with “iffy” lies.


I started to use a wedge rotation. Three wedges that were basically identical. I’d use one to practice and play until it showed wear.
I’d use the new one for tournament rounds and mostly practice and play at home with the slightly worn ones. 


But
I did see some performance differences pretty quickly   Not dramatic but I believe there were some control differences

[Garland Bayley]

Would it not be the bunker shots that contributed the most to the wear?

[Pat Burke]

Would it not be the bunker shots that contributed the most to the wear?

Absolutely. Even sandy grass turf wears irons quicker. I had a lot of shaft lean and was steep so sandy soil was a quick wear issue.


Bunker shots impacted the sole grind as well, but usually for the better for me me somehow. I like a very flat sole with a decent amount of bounce overall