Kirkland Signature (Costco) golf balls (MERGED) (NO BST POSTS)

[betarhoalphadelta]

8 hours ago, Girevik said:

A while back someone suggested box color.  Original ball Ksig Black (KSB), the original 3 piece Silver, the failed 4 piece Gold.  Just not sure what to call the new "V2".  Red for the shading, maybe?  I'd still iike to know what's up on the side stamp on the new V2, and if it's the 2nd 3 piece on the conforming list but with a different stamp.

 

Let's avoid that for colorblind folks like myself... 

 

I think the convention should be that whatever ball is currently in production/sale should be referred to by the number of layers, so the 3 piece V2 should just be called "3 piece" and the 4-piece V3(?) should just be called "4 piece" once released. If someone wants to discuss a previous out-of-production ball, it is incumbent upon them to clearly specify that they're referring to an "original" or "old" or other ball.

 

 

[PuttCurseRepeat]

On 4/7/2021 at 1:26 PM, Girevik said:

We've got to come up with a better way of identifying the different balls. I've been pimping using the the side stamps as (K+ for "Performance Plus" for example), but with the new 3 piece V2 having the same side stamp as the original (which I STILL don't understand and would love an explanation for) that's been mucked up.  The whole V1 - V2 thing is just getting confusing!

 

 

I thought it would be simple to refer to the different balls as follows:

[First #=layers, second #=version]

K-sig4.1 (the OG) 

K-sig4.2 (the refunded) 

K-sig3.1

K-sig3.2

 

21 hours ago, gioreeko said:

I'm an idiot I guess, lol. Trolls infuriate me for some reason. 

 

I'm starting to feel sorry for him. He doesn't realize that he's undermining whatever point he's trying to make. 

[jpdx]

1 hour ago, PuttCurseRepeat said:

 

I thought it would be simple to refer to the different balls as follows:

[First #=layers, second #=version]

K-sig4.1 (the OG) 

K-sig4.2 (the refunded) 

K-sig3.1

K-sig3.2

 

 

I'm starting to feel sorry for him. He doesn't realize that he's undermining whatever point he's trying to make. 

Your k-sig4.1 - THE OG should forever be referred to as ksig 😎. 

[Girevik]

17 hours ago, gioreeko said:

He's just a troll not keeping up with what everyone's talking about.

Dude, seriously?  I've been involved in this thread from day one and am a big fan of the balls.  Name calling is a little uncalled for just because you disagree with an opinion.  And there WAS confusion on that very page when someone referred to the "V2" balls.

Edited April 9, 2021 by Girevik

[Myherobobhope]

12 minutes ago, Girevik said:

Dude, seriously?  I've been involved in this thread from day one and am a big fan of the balls.  Name calling is a little uncalled for just because you disagree with an opinion.  And there WAS confusion on that very page when someone referred to the "V2" balls.

I don’t think this line of conversation is going to develop into anything productive... it’s easy to get mad at words on a screen, but doesn’t really change anything. That’s not directed at anyone, just general experience from being on too many forums in my life...

 

I was really hoping we’d see the four piece balls... I’m basically committed to trying them or buying snells and my snell supply is starting to wane... I’d love to pull the trigger on something, but Costco is Costco. 
 

It’s about time for me to restock for the season. 
 

still hoping the new balls are awesome... I love to see competition in markets I’m buying in! Costco releasing a killer 4 piece urethane ball is at worst a great deal for

me and at best causes the oems to change their strategy for the better.

[Wolfhammer]

21 minutes ago, Myherobobhope said:

I don’t think this line of conversation is going to develop into anything productive... it’s easy to get mad at words on a screen, but doesn’t really change anything. That’s not directed at anyone, just general experience from being on too many forums in my life...

 

I was really hoping we’d see the four piece balls... I’m basically committed to trying them or buying snells and my snell supply is starting to wane... I’d love to pull the trigger on something, but Costco is Costco. 
 

It’s about time for me to restock for the season. 
 

still hoping the new balls are awesome... I love to see competition in markets I’m buying in! Costco releasing a killer 4 piece urethane ball is at worst a great deal for

me and at best causes the oems to change their strategy for the better.

 

Same here. I guess I'll just buy another 2 dozen V2 hoping that the 4 piece is released soon. I know as soon as I buy multiple boxes of the V2 the 4 piece will drop...

[snagy2000]

19 minutes ago, Myherobobhope said:

I love to see competition in markets I’m buying in! Costco releasing a killer 4 piece urethane ball is at worst a great deal for

me and at best causes the oems to change their strategy for the better.

The traditional ball makers have altered their strategy thanks to companies like Costco, Srixon, Snell, Vice etc. who offer quality balls for cheaper...Lots of "loyalty" packs and 3 for 1 deals being offered to compete...The consumer is benefiting...

[bhj83]

8 minutes ago, snagy2000 said:

The traditional ball makers have altered their strategy thanks to companies like Costco, Srixon, Snell, Vice etc. who offer quality balls for cheaper...Lots of "loyalty" packs and 3 for 1 deals being offered to compete...The consumer is benefiting...

Pretty sure they've been doing that for years, haven't they? They've also RAISED prices and ProV1 now costs $50 instead of $48. I remember when you used to be able to get Chrome Soft and TP5 for around $40 and they're basically in line with ProV1 or a couple bucks cheaper. 

[snagy2000]

7 minutes ago, bhj83 said:

Pretty sure they've been doing that for years, haven't they? They've also RAISED prices and ProV1 now costs $50 instead of $48. I remember when you used to be able to get Chrome Soft and TP5 for around $40 and they're basically in line with ProV1 or a couple bucks cheaper. 

If anyone is paying retail for so-called "premium" golf balls, that's on them...The makers aren't going to mind one bit...Never care what their asking price are, just find ways around it if you really need to play a brand...A little planning goes a long way and will save you money...

[wantacigar]

27 minutes ago, Wolfhammer said:

 

Same here. I guess I'll just buy another 2 dozen V2 hoping that the 4 piece is released soon. I know as soon as I buy multiple boxes of the V2 the 4 piece will drop...

I now have 6 doz V2's.  Or should I say K-sig 3.2.   If and when the K-sig 4.3 drop I'll return a double dozen and buy a double dozen 4pc

[Stanks]

1 hour ago, wantacigar said:

I now have 6 doz V2's.  Or should I say K-sig 3.2.   If and when the K-sig 4.3 drop I'll return a double dozen and buy a double dozen 4pc

The application of the new nomenclature is solid. Very easy to read and digest.

 

IT IS VERY CLEAR NOW @gioreeko

 

1 hour ago, snagy2000 said:

If anyone is paying retail for so-called "premium" golf balls, that's on them...The makers aren't going to mind one bit...Never care what their asking price are, just find ways around it if you really need to play a brand...A little planning goes a long way and will save you money...

Amen. Buying on sale Or prior gen helps a lot.

[North Butte]

1 hour ago, snagy2000 said:

The traditional ball makers have altered their strategy thanks to companies like Costco, Srixon, Snell, Vice etc. who offer quality balls for cheaper...Lots of "loyalty" packs and 3 for 1 deals being offered to compete...The consumer is benefiting...

You’ve got to squint really hard to look at Taylormade, Callaway and Bridgestone mimicking Titleist’s long term spring 4-for-3 deal and somehow see Costco or Vice as being the cause. I mean, c’mon! 
 

We’ve come a long way since the days when you guys (egged on by Tony Covey) claimed Costco was going to upend the entire industry and force Titleist, et al to slash prices to compete. Almost immediately after that Callaway raised prices to match Titleist and now Titleist has upped the ante another couple bucks a dozen. 
 

Meanwhile Costco struggles to source decent 4pc balls as we enter yet another golf season...

[bhj83]

One thing that annoys me is the whole 3pc and 4pc identification with Kirkland balls. An extra piece doesn't make a ball better. I wish their 3pc ball competed better with the 3pc ProV1 and their 4pc ball would line up more with the ProV1X. As it stands, the 3pc ball is nowhere near the ProV1 unfortunately. 

[Stanks]

4 minutes ago, bhj83 said:

One thing that annoys me is the whole 3pc and 4pc identification with Kirkland balls. An extra piece doesn't make a ball better. I wish their 3pc ball competed better with the 3pc ProV1 and their 4pc ball would line up more with the ProV1X. As it stands, the 3pc ball is nowhere near the ProV1 unfortunately. 

Well in what way is it far and away from ProV? Performance? Feel? Durability surely is far off. I don’t see it flying as well through wind. But, I don’t know how much different it is feel and performance wise. I certainly haven’t sat down and tested one against the other. 

[bhj83]

8 minutes ago, Stanks said:

Well in what way is it far and away from ProV? Performance? Feel? Durability surely is far off. I don’t see it flying as well through wind. But, I don’t know how much different it is feel and performance wise. I certainly haven’t sat down and tested one against the other. 

Durability is miles different in my experience. I can play a ProV1 for 36 holes and keep going. If I hit a few full wedge shots with the 3pc V2 it is going in the shag bag due to scuffs and cuts. Driver distance also isn't close. I believe Rick Shiels posted a head to head comparison between 3pc V1 and ProV1 and everything lined up until he got to driver. 

 

For the price point I wouldn't expect it to be as durable as the ProV1 and go 36 holes but I'd at least like to be able to play 18 holes with the same ball and not have to worry about checking it for scuffs after every full wedge. 

Edited April 9, 2021 by bhj83

[North Butte]

Just now, Stanks said:

Well in what way is it far and away from ProV? Performance? Feel? Durability surely is far off. I don’t see it flying as well through wind. But, I don’t know how much different it is feel and performance wise. I certainly haven’t sat down and tested one against the other. 

I closely compared the original 3pc to ProV1x and to the original Ksig (4pc). By comparison to those two the 3pc was shorter (slightly) with every club, very poor in the wind and spun too much. For my game, notably inferior. 
 

I play with guys every week who are using the current Kirkland ball. They say compared to ProV1 or B-RX the Ksig spins more and is shorter. They like the extra spin (I would not like it) and say the distance difference isn’t enough to worry about. So it sounds a lot like the 3pc I tested way back when they first came out.
 

One of the guys says given the price difference, he doesn’t mind giving up a couple yards and the extra spin is a big bonus. I think that is a reasonable summing up of the situation.  

 

I would stop short of saying the 3pc Ksig is a worse ball, across-the-board, than Pro V1. For some people maybe not. The vast majority of people would prefer the performance of the Titleist IMO. 

[NRJyzr]

Possibly in this thread, someone compared the two versions of the 3pc ball to (i think) the Pro V1, with launch data.  Such as I remember, the 3.2 is longer than 3.1, and possibly spins a bit less, but still more than the ProV.

 

Now I wonder how close my memory is to those posts.  LOL

 

[grm24]

3 hours ago, snagy2000 said:

Lots of "loyalty" packs and 3 for 1 deals being offered to compete...The consumer is benefiting...

The buy 3 dozen get one free deals have been around well before the K-Sig balls ever existed.

Edited April 9, 2021 by grm24

[snagy2000]

1 hour ago, North Butte said:

You’ve got to squint really hard to look at Taylormade, Callaway and Bridgestone mimicking Titleist’s long term spring 4-for-3 deal and somehow see Costco or Vice as being the cause. I mean, c’mon! 
 

We’ve come a long way since the days when you guys (egged on by Tony Covey) claimed Costco was going to upend the entire industry and force Titleist, et al to slash prices to compete. Almost immediately after that Callaway raised prices to match Titleist and now Titleist has upped the ante another couple bucks a dozen. 
 

Meanwhile Costco struggles to source decent 4pc balls as we enter yet another golf season...

Butte stop being so narrow minded, or stop squinting, however you want to say it...The industry has been changed by the introduction of better quality and more affordable different tiered balls from the major OEMs to compete against all the aforementioned companies and their various discounted ball offerings which are equal to the major OEM offerings in the consumers minds...Costco's K-Sig, the name of the OG 4 piece ball in this thread, just brought more popularity and awareness to the true cost of premium offerings and alternatives available from the likes of Snell, Vice, etc to those who hate throwing a Lincoln away every time they plunk one in the water/woods...More offerings coupled with better deals from all manufacturers equal a changed market...You non-truthers can believe what you want, but its changed, and its changed for the good of the consumer...

[Stanks]

1 hour ago, snagy2000 said:

Butte stop being so narrow minded, or stop squinting, however you want to say it...The industry has been changed by the introduction of better quality and more affordable different tiered balls from the major OEMs to compete against all the aforementioned companies and their various discounted ball offerings which are equal to the major OEM offerings in the consumers minds...Costco's K-Sig, the name of the OG 4 piece ball in this thread, just brought more popularity and awareness to the true cost of premium offerings and alternatives available from the likes of Snell, Vice, etc to those who hate throwing a Lincoln away every time they plunk one in the water/woods...More offerings coupled with better deals from all manufacturers equal a changed market...You non-truthers can believe what you want, but its changed, and its changed for the good of the consumer...

You’re not wrong but neither is he. The premium offerings from the big 3 have all gone up in price. Hell, even Wilson has upped the price on their premium offering and I don’t know anyone that use them.

I won’t say Kirkland changed the game in terms of cost cutting. I’d credit that to Snell and Vice along with a handful of others.

 

[bhj83]

8 minutes ago, Stanks said:

You’re not wrong but neither is he. The premium offerings from the big 3 have all gone up in price. Hell, even Wilson has upped the price on their premium offering and I don’t know anyone that use them.

I won’t say Kirkland changed the game in terms of cost cutting. I’d credit that to Snell and Vice along with a handful of others.

 

There is no price cutting so no one has made a dent there. Prices are going up, just like everything else with golf. None of those small guys (Costco, Snell, Vice) have had an impact on Titleist in that kind of way. 

[Stanks]

27 minutes ago, bhj83 said:

There is no price cutting so no one has made a dent there. Prices are going up, just like everything else with golf. None of those small guys (Costco, Snell, Vice) have had an impact on Titleist in that kind of way. 

Titleist most definitely has business taken away from them with these new offerings. Is that number quantifiable or able to be determined to the dollar figure? I’m sure it could be but, that would take a lot of digging and time and money itself. 
With every new competitive option in the ball industry introduced, Titleist loses market share. So do all of the other manufacturers. Again, that may not make a difference in the grand scheme of things but they’re definitely losing a few customers.

Prices are going up throughout, though. Clubs, balls, clothes, tee times, etc etc. all going up.

[snagy2000]

24 minutes ago, bhj83 said:

There is no price cutting so no one has made a dent there. Prices are going up, just like everything else with golf. None of those small guys (Costco, Snell, Vice) have had an impact on Titleist in that kind of way. 

It's really not that hard to understand, it's not about premium balls. It's about total ball market share! 

[North Butte]

Sure, cheap balls today are FAR better quality than cheap balls 20 years ago. I've made that point repeatedly in this and other threads. There have always been balls as cheap as the Kirklands, they just used to be horrible low-performance rocks. 

 

But the price of Pro V1's, Bridgestone B-series and the like has not been affected in any way by the fact that cheap-ball buyers now get good performance instead of rocks. There have always been very, very profitable "Tour" balls and they are still there. In fact, their price keeps going up over time yet they keep selling in massive numbers. 

 

There have also always been $1 and $2 golf balls. They still exist and it's a very good thing for consumers in the $1 and $2 golf ball spaces to have such cheap and cheerful options as exist now.  

 

Life is good for golf consumers in any budget category right now. If you've got a lot of money to spend, the quality of the "Tour" balls and top-end clubs is outstanding. And if you are shopping at a lower budget level between cheap and cheerful golf balls, the thriving used club market and the rapid turnover of models meaning 2-3 year old NOS clubs are widely available at less exorbitant prices than the latest models.

[golfn808]

👍 could not agree more.

[NRJyzr]

3 hours ago, NRJyzr said:

Possibly in this thread, someone compared the two versions of the 3pc ball to (i think) the Pro V1, with launch data.  Such as I remember, the 3.2 is longer than 3.1, and possibly spins a bit less, but still more than the ProV.

 

Now I wonder how close my memory is to those posts.  LOL

 

 

One of the posts with launch monitor data.  I remembered incorrectly, the ZStar was the non-Costco ball included

 

 

[Girevik]

I've not been playing golf all that long, but it seems to me from what I've heard there's a new demographic that's been introduced.  A number of years ago, as a couple of the above posters have said, you always had the premium ball that some golfers were willing to pay for, and cheap balls for those who either didn't want to pay for better ones or not educated enough to know the difference. 

 

What I see now is that a new "value ball" has been introduced.  These are balls that may not provide the performance as the $4 ball at the top of the market, but give much more bang for the buck for many (maybe most) golfers.  Sure, it started with Snell and Vice, but they were very niche companies that only those who followed golf seriously had even heard of.  I think Costco brought them more into the mainstream with the Ksig line.   Plus the power of Costco's size scale I think allows them to come in at lower prices than the smaller value ball manufacturers.

 

I agree with what folks have said about there always being a market for a tour level ball.  People will always want to get them because either they're that good, or they want to play what the pros play.  But it seems to me that over the past few years the big boys like Titleist have introduced new balls into their line to try to compete in this market, like the Velocity.  Or am I wrong about that and they've always been there?

Edited April 9, 2021 by Girevik

[snagy2000]

5 minutes ago, Girevik said:

I've not been playing golf all that long, but it seems to me from what I've heard there's a new demographic that's been introduced.  A number of years ago, as a couple of the above posters have said, you always had the premium ball that some golfers were willing to pay for, and cheap balls for those who either didn't want to pay for better ones or not educated enough to know the difference. 

 

What I see now is that a new "value ball" has been introduced.  These are balls that may not provide the performance as the $4 ball at the top of the market, but give much more bang for the buck for many (maybe most) golfers.  Sure, it started with Snell and Vice, but they were very niche companies that only those who followed golf seriously had even heard of.  I think Costco brought them more into the mainstream with the Ksig line.   Plus the power of Costco's size scale I think allows them to come in at lower prices than the smaller value ball manufacturers/

 

I agree with what folks have said about there always being a market for a tour level ball.  People will always want to get them because either they're that good, or they want to play what the pros play.  But it seems to me that over the past few years the big boys like Titleist have introduced new balls into their line to try to compete in this market, like the Velocity.  Or am I wrong about that and they've always been there?

Nope, hit the nail on the head. Mercedes/BMW gonna Mercedes/BMW, but they both have released a bunch of cheap class cars into the market as of late to compete for overall market share. 

[NRJyzr]

52 minutes ago, Girevik said:

I agree with what folks have said about there always being a market for a tour level ball.  People will always want to get them because either they're that good, or they want to play what the pros play.  But it seems to me that over the past few years the big boys like Titleist have introduced new balls into their line to try to compete in this market, like the Velocity.  Or am I wrong about that and they've always been there?

 

In the 90s, Bridgestone had the MC Spin, under their Precept brand.  Maxfli had the XS Tour, which was played on the PGA Tour.  Both of these were more reasonably priced, coming in at $20 to $24 per dozen, compared with the $36/doz of the premium wound balls at the time.  Top Flite also had the ZBalata, and later the XL2000 Exceptional Spin, that was the darling of the golf forum world at the time (GEA).  Wilson had the Ultra Metal Matrix Tour Balata that wasn't bad.

 

Even Callaway has HX 2 piece balls for sale in that "midprice" market, at the time their top of the line were the HX Red and HX Blue (and possibly also CTU30).

 

So maybe not *always*, but mid priced golfballs that were more than just a distance ball have been around for a while.  Its not a new phenomenon 

 

Edited April 9, 2021 by NRJyzr

[North Butte]

14 minutes ago, Girevik said:

I've not been playing golf all that long, but it seems to me from what I've heard there's a new demographic that's been introduced.  A number of years ago, as a couple of the above posters have said, you always had the premium ball that some golfers were willing to pay for, and cheap balls for those who either didn't want to pay for better ones or not educated enough to know the difference. 

 

What I see now is that a new "value ball" has been introduced.  These are balls that may not provide the performance as the $4 ball at the top of the market, but give much more bang for the buck for many (maybe most) golfers.  Sure, it started with Snell and Vice, but they were very niche companies that only those who followed golf seriously had even heard of.  I think Costco brought them more into the mainstream with the Ksig line.   Plus the power of Costco's size scale I think allows them to come in at lower prices than the smaller value ball manufacturers/

 

I agree with what folks have said about there always being a market for a tour level ball.  People will always want to get them because either they're that good, or they want to play what the pros play.  But it seems to me that over the past few years the big boys like Titleist have introduced new balls into their line to try to compete in this market, like the Velocity.  Or am I wrong about that and they've always been there?

Twenty years ago Titleist had the Pro V1, a slightly lower priced much lower performance NXT and a cheap two-piece ball (various names). There were also occasional extra models but those were the three core product categories. 
 

Now they have multiple versions at each price point. Three at the top (not counting the niche Left Dash), two versions in the old NXT slot and still a cheap 2pc. Somewhere along the lines they stuck in the Velocity which I think is sort of a slight upswell from the cheapest model, focused on distance.