Kirkland 4 Piece Ball

[TeddyBaseb@ll]

I just received an email from Costco offering the Kirkland 4 Piece Ball ($29.99 for two dozen).

Was this offering expected?

Is this a new ball or the old stock they had in reserve from when they turned the industry upside down?

Have you had a chance to test this ball?

[KurtActual]

Shows it on the Costco main website too.

 

This could be interesting!

 

Edit: Ordered 2 dozen. Time to test.

[JonMUSC08]

saw this too! For the money its a good ball when compared to other balls in its price range

[Kenny B]

Interesting.  The box says Made in China.  The original KSig 4-piece ball was made in Korea.  

Costco has been selling a 3-piece urethane ball made in China, so maybe they got some 4-piece overruns from the same factory.  I liked the original Korean ball, but the China ball... not so much.  However, 2 dozen for $30 is a great price.

[DougC.]

I ordered 2 boxes as well. I'll be following this thread.

[chisag]

1 hour ago, Kenny B said:

Interesting.  The box says Made in China.  The original KSig 4-piece ball was made in Korea.  

Costco has been selling a 3-piece urethane ball made in China, so maybe they got some 4-piece overruns from the same factory.  I liked the original Korean ball, but the China ball... not so much.  However, 2 dozen for $30 is a great price.

 

... I hear ya Kenny, the 3 piece ball made in China is an excellent ball for those that need more spin. Works great for the Mrs but way too much spin for me. I ordered 4 dozen of the 4 piece because ya never know if these Signature One's are an improvement over the Tour Performance, equal in performance or not as good as the "original". Worst case scenario is at $75 including tax and shipping, they are a good practice ball or make a great gift. 

Edited September 13, 2019 by chisag

[CouveGolfer]

Ordered and will report back. Fingers crossed they're similar to the originals...

[RickyBobby_PR]

2 hours ago, CouveGolfer said:

Ordered and will report back. Fingers crossed they're similar to the originals...

Considering the original ones aren’t on the confirming list I would put the chances at. It that similar 

[PlaidJacket]

I've still got a few dozen of the original K-Sigs. Loved them. I don't recall that they are non-conforming.

[chisag]

... And like Keyser Soze - they're gone. 

[cnosil]

27 minutes ago, PlaidJacket said:

I've still got a few dozen of the original K-Sigs. Loved them. I don't recall that they are non-conforming.

The originals have been removed from the USGAs conforming ball list. Because of that they are technically not approved for play in a USGA event thus "non-conforming"

[JohnSmalls]

I’m ready to see one cut open!   

[Kenny B]

5 hours ago, cnosil said:

The originals have been removed from the USGAs conforming ball list. Because of that they are technically not approved for play in a USGA event thus "non-conforming"

How does a ball that was on the conforming list get removed from the list and now non-conforming??  What changed?

[storm319]

7 hours ago, Kenny B said:

How does a ball that was on the conforming list get removed from the list and now non-conforming??  What changed?

Submissions expire after 12 months on the list. After that, OEMs must resubmit  for the ball to be used for competitions enforcing the one ball rule. 

https://www.usga.org/content/dam/usga/pdf/2019/equipment-standards/2019-usga-golf-ball-submission-guidelines.pdf

[PlaidJacket]

7 hours ago, Kenny B said:

How does a ball that was on the conforming list get removed from the list and now non-conforming??  What changed?

Same question here.

[CarlH]

I could get more interested in this ball IF I knew that I could continue to buy the same ball when I need new ones and that it's going to perform as well as the last batch I bought.  Until then, I'll keep playing a more reliable (as in availability) ball.

[Kenny B]

14 hours ago, storm319 said:

Submissions expire after 12 months on the list. After that, OEMs must resubmit  for the ball to be used for competitions enforcing the one ball rule. 

https://www.usga.org/content/dam/usga/pdf/2019/equipment-standards/2019-usga-golf-ball-submission-guidelines.pdf

I see that in your reference, but it still doesn't answer the question about why the ball is now non-conforming... it's just not on the current list.  

So, when a ball is conforming and on the list, the packaging can state that the ball "Conforms with the Rules of Golf", but after a year that ball is no longer conforming??  That makes no sense.

[BestGuess]

Conforming or not I had a dozen of the Korean made Kirkland's left in the closet..the covers cracked (I know it was over 100 degrees) was amazed I never had that problem with them before.. guess they did not age well....anyway I see the new 4 piece is a different ball made in China...I would bet it is very close to or exactly like other on line ball companies are selling.  Safe to say it is NOT the Taylormade  type ball the original Kirkland 4 piece was.   Will see I got my order in before they ran out again...It is a wonder with a 2 24 pack limit they ran out so fast....Ebay sellers seem to have endless supply selling them already....

[BIG STU]

7 hours ago, Kenny B said:

I see that in your reference, but it still doesn't answer the question about why the ball is now non-conforming... it's just not on the current list.  

So, when a ball is conforming and on the list, the packaging can state that the ball "Conforms with the Rules of Golf", but after a year that ball is no longer conforming??  That makes no sense.

Kenny----- Does anything involving the USGA make any sense?    Ya know old buddy just saying

[RickyBobby_PR]

8 hours ago, Kenny B said:

I see that in your reference, but it still doesn't answer the question about why the ball is now non-conforming... it's just not on the current list.  

So, when a ball is conforming and on the list, the packaging can state that the ball "Conforms with the Rules of Golf", but after a year that ball is no longer conforming??  That makes no sense.

Considering the first ball wasn’t produced for long due to the lawsuit and also supply it would be hard to resubmit it for approval. 

While the usga or r&a decisions don’t always make sense the conforming list is pretty easy and straightforward. It’s either on there and approved for play or it’s not and if one was competing or scoring for their hdcp they couldn’t use the product...unless there was some form of e emotion either from the governing bodies or the tournament 

[storm319]

9 hours ago, Kenny B said:

I see that in your reference, but it still doesn't answer the question about why the ball is now non-conforming... it's just not on the current list.  

So, when a ball is conforming and on the list, the packaging can state that the ball "Conforms with the Rules of Golf", but after a year that ball is no longer conforming??  That makes no sense.

The ball is not non-conforming in the sense that it failed one or more of the conformance tests, it just cannot be used in any event where the list has been adopted as a local rule (one ball rule often accompanies this). That would be all events hosted by the USGA, R&A, PGA of America, PGA Tour, and ANGC amping others. Basically if the ball is not being actively played on tour nor actively marketed at retail, it likely won’t last long on this list but can still be played where the local rule is not adopted. Simply the USGAs way of keeping the list tidy and making it easier to maintain (personally I think the inclusion period should be longer).

[downlowkey]

1 hour ago, storm319 said:

The ball is not non-conforming in the sense that it failed one or more of the conformance tests, it just cannot be used in any event where the list has been adopted as a local rule (one ball rule often accompanies this). That would be all events hosted by the USGA, R&A, PGA of America, PGA Tour, and ANGC amping others. Basically if the ball is not being actively played on tour nor actively marketed at retail, it likely won’t last long on this list but can still be played where the local rule is not adopted. Simply the USGAs way of keeping the list tidy and making it easier to maintain (personally I think the inclusion period should be longer).

Thanks for posting the USGA ball submission guidelines document. Most of the little bureaucratic twists contained therein seemed to be directed at merely making the job of maintaining the conforming list more manageable for the USGA.

My reading of it suggests that had Costco held back several dozen of the original 4 piece K-Sig, mailing the USGA two dozen (in original retail packaging) per year would have been all that was required to keep it on the conforming list. So, twenty boxes would have been sufficient inventory to keep the ball on the conforming list for a decade. Easily managed within a golf specific organization, but probably way down the list of priorities for a company like Costco.

[storm319]

6 hours ago, downlowkey said:

Thanks for posting the USGA ball submission guidelines document. Most of the little bureaucratic twists contained therein seemed to be directed at merely making the job of maintaining the conforming list more manageable for the USGA.

My reading of it suggests that had Costco held back several dozen of the original 4 piece K-Sig, mailing the USGA two dozen (in original retail packaging) per year would have been all that was required to keep it on the conforming list. So, twenty boxes would have been sufficient inventory to keep the ball on the conforming list for a decade. Easily managed within a golf specific organization, but probably way down the list of priorities for a company like Costco.

You hit the nail on the head. The guidelines are absolutely focused on ease of maintenance for the USGA (I would do the same if I were in the same position although I think 24 months is more reasonable than 12). Ultimately the USGA has been using the conditional local rule paradigm for years to avoid bifurcation as many of these rules are focused on reigning in players at the highest levels while not interfering with the majority of amateur play.

As for why Costco/SM Global are not continually resubmitting the original ball, the reality is there is no incentive for them to pay to resubmit a ball that they are no longer selling ($1200 per submission is nothing for Costco, but they are getting nothing for it). Also with limited stock that was available, there would be very few people playing this ball in an event that has the list enforced via a local rule. 

[chisag]

On 9/13/2019 at 7:57 PM, JohnSmalls said:

I’m ready to see one cut open!   

 

 

 

[KurtActual]

Looks like a much thinner outer urethane layer. Something MGS said made the 3 piece only a “good” rating


Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[chisag]

2 minutes ago, KurtActual said:

Looks like a much thinner outer urethane layer. Something MGS said made the 3 piece only a “good” rating
 

 

... Tony also got reckless stating the new 4 piece Performance One would have the exact same cover and thickness as the 3 piece. 

[Tsecor]

i wonder if the putters and wedges will be any good.

Edited September 17, 2019 by Tsecor

[chisag]

8 minutes ago, Tsecor said:

i wonder if the putters and wedges will be any good.

 

... I think we can assume that like most Kirkland products, they will be very good. Whether or not they fit our individual preferences will be the big question. I like a straight leading edge on my wedges so that is a deal breaker for me. Of course soul grind is also essential and I doubt they will offer multiple grinds but the average player can probably use a standard type sole and bounce and at that price I think they will be a no brainer. 8620 is cheap and I hate it when OEMs charge $150 for wedges made out of it and not a forged 1025/1020 carbon steel, so the $99 price point for 2 will be much more inline with what they cost to make. 

[JohnSmalls]

2 hours ago, chisag said:

 

 

 

Thank you!  It looks good thus far!  Have you played it yet?

[chisag]

4 hours ago, JohnSmalls said:

Thank you!  It looks good thus far!  Have you played it yet?

...My tracking info says they are due to arrive tomorrow 9/18. Hopefully they get here in time to play some twilite golf!