Kirkland Wedge Review - Yes, the real ones!

[johnnied]

PIcked up a set of the new Kirkland wedges at Costco (San Diego Morena) today. $159.99 Came as a set of three; a 52-10, a 56-10 and a 60-8. All lies are 64deg. The 52 is D3, the 56 and 60 is a D4. I went and hit a bucket off of mats, but more on that in a second.

 

The wedges are a tour chrome finish with a basic plain back with the words Kirkland Signature. The toe has the degrees and bounce inscribed. The face is crossmilled and looks like the Vokey SM5's  The bounce pattern is similar to a Vokey "D" grind, and is the same on all wedges. The words "Carbon Steel" are etched into the back of the hozel. The shaft is a stepped pattern in steel. Don't know whose. The grip is a black composition grip similar to a tour velvet with the words Kirkland Signature on it.

 

Overall the presentation is nice and professional looking. No razzle dazzle.

 

I hit the 52deg first. Swing weight is D3, and it felt fine. I hit it about 105 yds, or about 10 yds shorter than my 50deg, which is expected. Hits and results were repeatable. One thing I found was that the shaft seemed lighter and a little softer than my Vokeys and if I tried to swing hard the head couldn't catch up fast enough and it felt like a hockey shot. But just slowing down a little produced the 105 yds over and over again. I could feel the clubhead on the entire swing, which I like.  The wedges are tour chrome, and I'm used to black finish so looking down was different, but got used to it after a few shots. Lining the grooves up to the target line was easy.

 

Now the 56deg. Swing weight is D4, and felt fine. I hit it aout 95 yds or about 5 yds shorter than my 54 Vokey (bent to 55). Same thing happened when trying to hit it hard, the shaft tip wouldn't catch up, so timing was a little bit of an issue. Clubhead feel and lining up were good.

 

The 60deg has a bounce of 8 deg, is a D4, and seems to have a higher toe than the others.The high tow is good for when you open up the clubface to "loft" it up. Well, this is where the grind becomes a problem. With the "D" grind on the 60deg, opening up the clubface caused the hozel area and back center of the sole to dig. You could see the mat stroke lines at the back of the sole.  What should happen is that the center of the sole should be the highest bounce, but because the sole is so deep when you open the clubface the back of the sole and hozel area catches, which closes the clubface, and shots went left.

 

My first thought was to take it into the garage and change the grind to more of a "M" grind. This would remove metal from the back of the sole and some from the hozel area. But before I do I thought I'd experiment some more. So I hit some in-between shots and chips.

 

Chips and pitches were good and predictable. I could control the distance OK. Spin was excellent. Pitching 20-30 yds with the 60deg was the easiest of the three wedges.

 

I would have no hesitation putting these in my bag, but would need a few mods first. 1. I'd grind down the 60deg so I could open up the face without digging. 2. Adjust the lies to 62deg (2 deg flat)  and 3, change the grips to Lamkin cords. The last two are personal fitting issues that have nothing to do with the clubs.

 

So do I keep them or do I take them back?  It was $159 for 3 wedges, great deal. My Vokeys are $184 each. I think I'll do some grinding and tweeking and see if I can dial these in. And, at $159 I might just see if I can beat my buddy at the helicopter game.

Johnnie

[molecularman]

Good review,  thanks for taking the time to write it up.

  60 bucks a piece is a nice deal and hard to beat. Sounds like the 60* won't fit people that like hitting a variety of shots around the green - but perhaps Costco will take feedback and tweak things in a second iteration if they are successful. 

[TonytheTiger]

Awesome review! Do they have any more at any of the San Diego locations? Also, did you happen to see the putter there too! Would love to try them both out.

 

Sadly, if I would consider putting these wedges into my bag, I would need them to all be X-stiff, maybe one day kirkland will make their own X-stiff shaft!!! 😄 

[bladehunter]

great review.  Very thorough. 

 

 

And Nice passive brag on the helicopter game.  Not everyone can play that.  😂

Edited October 11, 2020 by bladehunter

[youngwaldo]

Pass.  

 

Wk

[TheMoneyShot]

Nice review!  I’m kind of surprised these are not being sold online yet. 

[ASN21]

On 10/11/2020 at 8:43 AM, TheMoneyShot said:

Nice review!  I’m kind of surprised these are not being sold online yet. 

Yeah I’m surprised as well. The putters came online shortly after being spotted in store iirc. 

[tbowles411]

Good review.  Thank you.  This will help get people in the game at an affordable price.  Equipment without the excessive markup is great.

[nick_CO]

Great review. I might have to drag my buddy who has a membership to Costco to go get a set. 

[toc]

Good review, the club head not being able to catch up on wedge shots is a new one. Well played

[Rory4Pres]

Great review OP.  Not my cup of tea but it's nice to get a real review of costco's latest knockoff.  These seem like they would be a great fit for a beginner to average golfer with a driver swing speed under 95.  Then again, I've always preached, why buy new in most cases.

[Bad9]

48 minutes ago, Rory4Pres said:

Great review OP.  Not my cup of tea but it's nice to get a real review of costco's latest knockoff.  These seem like they would be a great fit for a beginner to average golfer with a driver swing speed under 95.  Then again, I've always preached, why buy new in most cases.

 

What is Costco knocking off? Its a blade wedge set(is there a more ubiquitous golf club style in existence) that is not trying to look like another brand.

[jgonz69]

57 minutes ago, Bad9 said:

 

What is Costco knocking off? Its a blade wedge set(is there a more ubiquitous golf club style in existence) that is not trying to look like another brand.

Really. Can you believe the arrogance in that reply?

[TheMoneyShot]

4 hours ago, tbowles411 said:

Good review.  Thank you.  This will help get people in the game at an affordable price.  Equipment without the excessive markup is great.

Yes, now you can save more money and buy cheaper sticks.  It will make the wife more happy too👍

[AcesAndHoles]

Do we know if any of the East Coast stores got them? 

[bwgerho]

Nice summary of your test.  

Suggestion on bending: the wedge says "carbon steel", but this can be cast carbon steel which may be brittle and consequently intolerant of bending.   

[Lobby]

If we're worried about knockoffs, let's look at all the Ping Anser clones out there.

There are a bunch.

[gentles]

Would love to see some address pics of these - based on the pics it looks like the same generic components heads I've seen Haywood Golf and Corey Paul Functional Art using, with a strong milling pattern on the face and quite a round leading edge. 

[johnnied]

I was at another Costco in San Diego today, but no wedges. No putters either. Sorry.

[gordita]

Eager to try them out, bummer none of the bay area costco's have them

[kcsf]

On 10/13/2020 at 11:27 AM, jgonz69 said:

Really. Can you believe the arrogance in that reply?

Not only do I believe it, I condone it as he spoke of nothing but facts sir. You remind me of Roy Rogers horse, but I can't seem to remember its name...

 

[Rippin6Gears]

22 hours ago, johnnied said:

I was at another Costco in San Diego today, but no wedges. No putters either. Sorry.

Do you have the Costco part number off your receipt? 

[Jwin323]

4 hours ago, kcsf said:

Not only do I believe it, I condone it as he spoke of nothing but facts sir. You remind me of Roy Rogers horse, but I can't seem to remember its name...

 

Trigger?

[jgonz69]

7 hours ago, kcsf said:

Not only do I believe it, I condone it as he spoke of nothing but facts sir. You remind me of Roy Rogers horse, but I can't seem to remember its name...

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by jgonz69

[weemanss]

Got a set of wedges over the weekend, took them to the course to practice. Initial impression is that these are awesome! Hit full shots on the range and played around on the chipping area (< 50 yards). I can do everything I want, hit a variety of shots - and they performed great! Incredible deal, do yourself a favor and grab a set.

[osueng02]

On 10/20/2020 at 11:01 AM, weemanss said:

Got a set of wedges over the weekend, took them to the course to practice. Initial impression is that these are awesome! Hit full shots on the range and played around on the chipping area (< 50 yards). I can do everything I want, hit a variety of shots - and they performed great! Incredible deal, do yourself a favor and grab a set.

 

Where are people finding them? They are not online yet and I check my local store weekly.

[gordita]

after calling a couple of costco's in SF bay area, I can tell you that they do not intend to carry these in any locations (disappointing).

[PeterHenric]

2 hours ago, osueng02 said:

 

Where are people finding them? They are not online yet and I check my local store weekly.

I stumbled upon an entire pallet of them at the Summerlin Costco in Las Vegas. They also had a pallet of their gen 2 3 piece ball. I picked up a few boxes of the balls and 2 sets of the wedges. 
I haven’t seen the wedges or the balls in any of the other Costco’s in Vegas but I haven’t looked at all of them either. From the amount in store, I’d say they just got them in stock. 

[PeterHenric]

A few comparison pics of the KS wedges and my SM7 54 and 58° wedges

[PeterHenric]

On 10/15/2020 at 1:22 PM, Rippin6Gears said:

Do you have the Costco part number off your receipt? 

1460141