OT- Costco Wedges ....

[Lou_Duran]

... have hit the stores.  The one nearby in Frisco, TX has a full pallet near the entry.  $160.  Dept. store look; cheap, thin grip.  The store also has a partially full pallet of the putter for $140.  I play a Cameron Newport 2 and the Kirtland putter has a wider sole.  I am probably wrong, but I doubt that either of these will have the same impact as the four-piece ball.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Lou,


Haven't see the clubs, but did finally find the balls and bought a few dozen.  On whatever first tee, I sort of apologized for "trying out" these out of curiosity, and was surprised to see how many others were playing them.  Supposedly ProVI at Pinnacle prices.  If you are a C or D golfer and playing a course where you could (and will) lose a lot of balls, they are a good value.


To me, they don't seem to have the same "pop" a real one does, nor did I get any extra distance over a mid priced ball (what would it be, 2 yards or something?) but I didn't lose any distance either.  I still think Bridgestone, Callaway or Nike balls all have better "feel" which I realizes is mostly sound.


Ditto, I just bought the 5 glove pack for about what one golf glove costs in golf shops, and I can't tell much difference there.


My guess is that most golfers would balk at a department store putter or wedge, but then, what do I know?  Those things seem like they get a lot more personal to golfers.

[Lou_Duran]

Jeff,


I bought four dozen of the 4-piece ball right before they stopped selling them.  They performed for me as well as my ball of choice, the ProV1x, but didn't wear as long, in fact, looking beat after a single round.  I still have about a dozen left, and have given most of the others away.  The 3-piece Kirtland ball currently in the market feels like a Titleist NextTour, a bit too hard for my taste.  I have a friend who spins them back like a balata, but I don't get much spin from them, especially around the greens.  All the premium brand balls are good.  Not impressed with the Vice or Snell.  A friend gave me a Clear and I couldn't see the reason to pay $60+ per dozen (now reduced to $32).

[David_Tepper]

Vlogger Rick Shiels tests the Kirkland wedges:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUrH3IzyjGs

He likes them!

[John McCarthy]

deleted for being teeny tiny

[John McCarthy]

Mine arrive Monday or Tuesday.  Looking forward but on WRX the reviewer said the 60 must be ground near the heel for flop shots. 

[Lou_Duran]

Vlogger Rick Shiels tests the Kirkland wedges:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUrH3IzyjGs

He likes them!

For the price!


The question is, does one get that much more from a Ping Forged Glide at $199 than a Kirtland for $56?  I guess it depends on how good one is with the wedges.  I don't practice, so my wedges last at least a full year.  I have a friend who goes through three 56° Vokeys each year, so the Kirtland may be a better option.

[jeffwarne]

 I don't practice, so my wedges last at least a full year.  I have a friend who goes through three 56° Vokeys each year, so the Kirtland may be a better option.

wow.
I get it, but wow.
Maybe Taylormade's replaceable faces were a good idea

[Ira Fishman]

Regarding golf balls, I tried the new Titleist Tour Speed last week which are softer and less expensive than the ProVs. I liked the performance around and on the greens. I have been playing the Callaway ERCs most of the year and still cannot decide how much I like them. It has been a challenge as my swing speed declines to find a good all around ball.


Ira

[John Kavanaugh]

 I don't practice, so my wedges last at least a full year.  I have a friend who goes through three 56° Vokeys each year, so the Kirtland may be a better option.

wow.
I get it, but wow.
Maybe Taylormade's replaceable faces were a good idea

I would bet Lou’s buddy plays were range balls are gratis. Don’t wear out your good wedges on the range.

[mike_beene]

There is one ball that really lasts: the Srixon Z Star. You don't get the skinned cover after hitting a spinner, or a cart path.

[AChao]

From shopping at Costco for years and having two friends who are kind of big deals in the retail industry that like shopping at Costco, I'm sure the wedges and putters will sell-out no problem.  We're not their target market.  Costco has a very specific formula with well-defined demographic that fits in their existing membership profile.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Just saw an industry newsletter.  Costco balls are made in South Korea, all premium balls are made in USA, explaining the cost difference.  They also had some quality control issues, plus early on, lawsuits.  I suspect that the gloves and clubs are also made overseas.


Not all that unusual.  I was at the Taylormade Kingdom some years back and they explained that they made premium clubs and custom fitted tour player clubs here, but that their lower level clubs were made overseas.


I bought a few dozen, played them my last few rounds. I didn't think they were anything special in extra distance or feel, and I am now rethinking "buy American" despite my cost increase.  (Slight, because I don't play top line balls)  Maybe I got some from the batch that needed some quality control enhancements.

[John Kavanaugh]

Costco has a very specific formula with well-defined demographic that fits in their existing membership profile.

The same formula good looking women have been using for years.

[Lou_Duran]

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?   

[John Kavanaugh]

Those who buy from a pallet will die on a pallet. It's not the war I want to fight.

[Lou_Duran]

Very clever, JK.  I guess I won't care after my last breath.


You know, it just dawned on me that instead of building roads, you would have done even better in the funeral business.  My father-in-law used to sell funeral cars and he noted that his customers invariably had a great, off-the-wall sense of humor, could drink him under the table, and enjoyed a much heftier bank account.

[John Kavanaugh]

I just buried my dad in a coffin hand made by monks at a monastery near my home. You had to screw shut the lid but it was around $2,000. As I went through his stuff I was surprised at the extent of his love of well made items. I hear Costco has a great deal on coffins. I think he would have cared, it is only for eternity after all.

[Ronald Montesano]

This is the most fun JK I've had the pleasure to read. Can Lou and John take their show on the road?


Is anyone shocked that a vlogger likes a product? Like it, and advertising may follow. Only ones who tell it as is, are MGS.

[Mark Smolens]

 I don't practice, so my wedges last at least a full year.  I have a friend who goes through three 56° Vokeys each year, so the Kirtland may be a better option.

wow.
I get it, but wow.
Maybe Taylormade's replaceable faces were a good idea

They were a good idea until the bastards stopped making the replacement faces. . . yes, I'm bitter. Now relegated to regular checks of E-Bay to see if there are any faces on the market. $50 for a face is still better than a $145 wedge.

[Tim Martin]

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

[Steve Lang]

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! [size=78%] [/size]
[/size]

[John McCarthy]

I played 18 with the new Costco wedges last week.  They feel ok.  The shaft is a regular flex (which I forgot about) so when I tried to hit a full shot with the 56 the head lagged behind and fluffed it to the right.  I hit the 60 out of the sand once and that felt fine.  The few pitches I hit with the sixty was ok. I didn't hit the gap. 


I just have to figure out my distances, which takes time on a grassed range which is in short supply right now.  I have never spun the ball much and I will be interested to see if I can hit that two hop stop pitch. 

[John Kavanaugh]

When I was younger and quicker I would feel like a new wedge would play differently in a month. Could have been the ball or it might have been me. This 72 yr old buddy of Lou probably has the same memories. I just bought a new set of Vokey wedges and was shocked at the lack of easy spin. I think it's a technique thing.

[AChao]

Costco has a very specific formula with well-defined demographic that fits in their existing membership profile.

The same formula good looking women have been using for years.