So, they are going crazy at GolfWRX over Costco's new ball. Near as good as a ProV1, but goes for $30 for TWO dozen.

I may try and pick some up. http://www.golfwrx.com/408052/golfers-are-going-crazy-over-costcos-new-kirkland-signature-golf-balls/

Anybody seen them in Houston yet?

Ordered mine online. Did not see them at Costco at I10 & Bunker Hill.

I can't get over the stigma of playing a Costco ball. Makes no sense but I just can't. I'd pay more if they were just blank with a number or small symbol.

I've started playing Snell. Dean Snell developed the Pro V 1 at Titleist and the Project A at Taylormade and now is on his own. They sell direct only and shipping is free. The lower spin ball is $85 for 6 dozen and the higher end ball is about $160 for 6 dozen.

This post is not meant to degrade the new golf ball or its performance. If it is in fact a competitive ball it could be revolutionary for the industry(same as snell).

That being said, wake me up when it is used on tour. If it is used on tour it is proven. That's not to say that it cannot be as good as the Pro V or B330 or whatever because it is not on tour, but until it is I will wait. Though following this and the WRX thread will be interesting.

I doubt Costco will start paying players to play it on Tour. Those guys don't play any equipment for free.

Speaking of balls, Titleist is now selling custom logo balls on their site. You can get an A&M logo on a ProV1x for $60 a dozen

agsalaska said:

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That being said, wake me up when it is used on tour. If it is used on tour it is proven. That's not to say that it cannot be as good as the Pro V or B330 or whatever because it is not on tour, but until it is I will wait. Though following this and the WRX thread will be interesting.

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It being used on tour only proves that the company whose logo is on the ball is paying them. Costco is not in the golf business and will not be paying a bunch of players to use their ball.

Looks like they are sold out on their website. I'll keep my eye out.

Yes I understand all of that. That's why I specifically said that it was not a comment on performance.

The Milkman said:

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agsalaska said:

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That being said, wake me up when it is used on tour. If it is used on tour it is proven. That's not to say that it cannot be as good as the Pro V or B330 or whatever because it is not on tour, but until it is I will wait. Though following this and the WRX thread will be interesting.

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It being used on tour only proves that the company whose logo is on the ball is paying them. Costco is not in the golf business and will not be paying a bunch of players to use their ball.

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Totally disagree with your first sentence. With an exception or two all of the equipment on tour proves it is of high quality because it is played on tour. The fact that pros in mass are paid to play it doesn't matter. They would not in mass play enferior eqyipment. And I understand there may be a couple of one off exceptions.

That being said I do not expect it to ever be played on tour either for the reasons you state. Costco is not in that business. It won't be because the ball does or does not perform.

Costco also sells the Calloway Hex Soft for $30/2-dozen. They are as good as the NTX Tour ball I used to play.

agsalaska said:

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This post is not meant to degrade the new golf ball or its performance. If it is in fact a competitive ball it could be revolutionary for the industry(same as snell).

That being said, wake me up when it is used on tour. If it is used on tour it is proven. That's not to say that it cannot be as good as the Pro V or B330 or whatever because it is not on tour, but until it is I will wait. Though following this and the WRX thread will be interesting.

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I don't necessarily agree with your second statement. I would say that people have been paying the obscenely high prices for pro-V1's because there hasn't been a viable, affordable alternative. Its a lack of competition that keeps Titleist at the top of the list, not use by professionals. Taylor Made, Bridgestone, etc. have all sniffed around them, but Titleist continues to dominate, and that is because the aforementioned brands haven't really done much to curtail prices. If they are cheaper, it isn't by much.

Enter companies like Vice, Snell and Costco. They saw that the markup on these things is absurd and brought a similar product to the market at a much more affordable price, and from what I'm seeing, its working (for Costco at least). Most golfers may be somewhat brand loyal, but they will be wallet loyal ahead of any of that. Most of us don't make $10MM per year, and will likely make a good decision when it comes to budget.

They likely won't take Titleist down, but they will make themselves a truck load of money and may dent the bottom line of Titleist a bit. Will be curious to see what happens.

TresPuertas said:

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agsalaska said:

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This post is not meant to degrade the new golf ball or its performance. If it is in fact a competitive ball it could be revolutionary for the industry(same as snell).

That being said, wake me up when it is used on tour. If it is used on tour it is proven. That's not to say that it cannot be as good as the Pro V or B330 or whatever because it is not on tour, but until it is I will wait. Though following this and the WRX thread will be interesting.

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I don't necessarily agree with your second statement. I would say that people have been paying the obscenely high prices for pro-V1's because there hasn't been a viable, affordable alternative. Its a lack of competition that keeps Titleist at the top of the list, not use by professionals. Taylor Made, Bridgestone, etc. have all sniffed around them, but Titleist continues to dominate, and that is because the aforementioned brands haven't really done much to curtail prices. If they are cheaper, it isn't by much.

Enter companies like Vice, Snell and Costco. They saw that the markup on these things is absurd and brought a similar product to the market at a much more affordable price, and from what I'm seeing, its working (for Costco at least). Most golfers may be somewhat brand loyal, but they will be wallet loyal ahead of any of that. Most of us don't make $10MM per year, and will likely make a good decision when it comes to budget.

They likely won't take Titleist down, but they will make themselves a truck load of money and may dent the bottom line of Titleist a bit. Will be curious to see what happens.

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I agree with all of that but do not see how it contradicts anything I said. That is I agree with it assuming it is a similar product. And that's kind of my point. I will know if it is a similar product if it is played on tour. Thats not to say that it has to be played on tour to be a similar product.

I do not really like screwing around with a bunch of different stuff. I wore the same type of glove for 20 years. I have had 4 putters in 25 years and would still be on putter #2 if I didn't break it. I usually play my irons for about 5 years and one of my wedges was bought in 2008. The only reason I ever change balls is because they change every two years, but in only one cycle was it not a Pro V1 or a 1x, though I did play the Srixon ball over the winter a few years ago because of the blowout sale(hence the Kirkland strategy). I change out drivers every 3 or 4 years.

Point is I feel comfortable that the equipment used in mass on tour is generally the best quality stuff and if I stick with that stuff it limits the amount of screwing around I have to do.

I personally think the Srixon Z-Star is a viable alternative to Titleist. While it is around the same price point, I buy the top quality from lostgolfballs warehouse and save quite a bit. I've also tried Snell and Oncore (which is a unique structure).

I'll try to get some of these Costco ones, but what sells me on a ball is the feel from putting. If it doesn't come softly off the face, I cant stand the feel of it.

The two balls (ProV1 vs Costco/Snell/Oncore/Vice whatever) could be 100% identical but with a different logo and the pros would be playing the Titleist ones because they have no reason not to. They dont care about cost and they get paid to play a brand.

It was only a matter of time until someone started selling balls direct to consumer. I've read the cost to produce a dozen ProV1s is ~$4. Yes, Titleist has a larger scale than anyone else trying to enter the market, but once you figure out your production you can make a hefty profit by cutting out the middle man and these new guys have with what many say are nearly identical balls.

Quote:

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The two balls (ProV1 vs Costco/Snell/Oncore/Vice whatever) could be 100% identical but with a different logo and the pros would be playing the Titleist ones because they have no reason not to.

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Less than 25% of tour players use Titleist clubs.
Something like 80% of tour players use Titleist balls.

So for all the tour players who play Callaway, Nike, TaylorMade, Srixon, etc clubs; but play Titleist balls, it's because they think Titleist balls are the best. If they didn't feel that way, they'd be playing the ball of their sponsor.

What that also tells me is that a lot of brilliant designers and engineers for a number of great golfing companies have tried and failed to be as good as the Titleist Pro V1 family.

I have not a single Titleist club in my bag, but I exclusively play the Pro V1. I have tried a multitude of other balls, including direct market brands, and never found anything as good as a Pro V1. From driver to putter, in my opinion, it's the best there ever was.

They're back in stock! Ordered a couple of boxes.

Knew they were coming back today. Being on the West Coast appears I just missed out though. Added to cart fine, but when checking out wouldn't let me.

ORAggieFan said:

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agsalaska said:

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This post is not meant to degrade the new golf ball or its performance. If it is in fact a competitive ball it could be revolutionary for the industry(same as snell).

That being said, wake me up when it is used on tour. If it is used on tour it is proven. That's not to say that it cannot be as good as the Pro V or B330 or whatever because it is not on tour, but until it is I will wait. Though following this and the WRX thread will be interesting.

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Not really though. If it's as good as a ProV1, why would a pro play it when they get money from Titliest? There are many really good clubs not being played on tour (or very limited) because of the marketing money.

Even if it's 80 or 90% of the ProV, at the price point it's a potential awesome option for pretty much all non scratch golfers.

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Agreed... Saying that something has to be played on tour to be good is like saying that Nike clubs were the best and that's why Tiger was playing them... Those guys are so good they'll play anything that pays and make it work.

I'd be curious to know who is actually making them. I imagine it is some private label agreement and they're being manufactured by Nike, TaylorMade, Callaway, etc. Hell, might even be a lower quality version of the ProV1 and made by Titleist.

I'd guess it's Bridgestone since they make so many others.
If it's a rebranded B330 great, but I still won't hit a ball that says Kirkland on it...

TheGreatScott12 said:

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ORAggieFan said:

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agsalaska said:

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This post is not meant to degrade the new golf ball or its performance. If it is in fact a competitive ball it could be revolutionary for the industry(same as snell).

That being said, wake me up when it is used on tour. If it is used on tour it is proven. That's not to say that it cannot be as good as the Pro V or B330 or whatever because it is not on tour, but until it is I will wait. Though following this and the WRX thread will be interesting.

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Not really though. If it's as good as a ProV1, why would a pro play it when they get money from Titliest? There are many really good clubs not being played on tour (or very limited) because of the marketing money.

Even if it's 80 or 90% of the ProV, at the price point it's a potential awesome option for pretty much all non scratch golfers.

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Agreed... Saying that something has to be played on tour to be good is like saying that Nike clubs were the best and that's why Tiger was playing them... Those guys are so good they'll play anything that pays and make it work.

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Where did anyone say that something had to be played on tour to be good? I Never said that and didn't read anyone else say that.

cclearman said:

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I'd guess it's Bridgestone since they make so many others.
If it's a rebranded B330 great, but I still won't hit a ball that says Kirkland on it...

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Mental thing?

The only golf gear I can remember seeing at Costco is Callaway. Not saying these are rebranded Callaways but it would make sense.

Too snobbish apparently

Has anyone else played the Snell balls? I've played 4 rounds and really like it. I've had much better results chipping. The low spin balls are $14 and the performance ball is $26.

I just ordered some. Will report back.

LHIOB said:

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The only golf gear I can remember seeing at Costco is Callaway. Not saying these are rebranded Callaways but it would make sense.

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Back in stock!

They have now have a 3 piece ball.

What's the quality/specs on these now that it's all tied up in lawsuits from Acushnet? I know there were a lot of questions about that when more came on the market last fall.