Gear: Kirkland Signature Players Irons – Blink and you’ll miss them

Costco Wholesale released its house-brand irons on Saturday morning and, by the afternoon, there were none left.

By Tony Dear

The intriguing story of Costco’s golf equipment division and its cult-status products continued this weekend with the appearance, and rapid disappearance, of its Kirkland Signature Players irons.

Buyers quickly snapped up every available set of the TaylorMade P790 lookalikes which were added to the USGA’s conforming list earlier this year.

The whole Costco/Kirkland golf saga began, you’ll remember, in 2016 when the Issaquah, WA-based volume wholesaler/big-box-retailer began selling its highly-rated, four-piece, urethane-covered ball for the incredible price of $29.99 for TWO dozen. Other versions of the South Korea-made ball, a putter, and wedges followed, and an adjustable driver was added to the governing body’s conforming list in November.

It is believed the company put about 4,000 to 5,000 sets of the irons on sale last week. They sold out in a few hours and, as hinted at above, closely resemble TaylorMade’s hugely popular P790 player’s-distance iron.

The Costco website describes its club as being “built for distance and forgiveness with a stainless steel body, injected urethane insert, and an internal tungsten weight for optimal launch, forgiveness, and playability”.

You could tell from blog posts, online group chats, and comments on social media that an almost-feverishly fervent collection of enthusiasts had been waiting on its appearance for some time. And, judging by some of the comments, those enthusiasts seemed well-pleased.

One or two rather snarky commenters alluded to how much it looked like the P790. But, on the whole, the response was extremely positive. No actual reviews have been posted yet as the club is yet to ship. But, given the quality of Costco/Kirkland’s previous releases, the irons’ impressive components (True Temper Elevate 115 steel shaft in regular or stiff and Lamkin Crossline 360 grip), and the fact it is priced at just $499.99 (7-piece) including shipping and handling, we don’t expect to see many ratings of three stars or lower.

A common question among forum/group members was if and when Costco would be restocking the irons. It’s highly likely they will be available again sometime but when that will happen is anyone’s guess. We contacted Costco’s corporate offices on Monday and, after roughly 45 minutes of hold-time and being sent from one department to another, we eventually got the response we had expected all along. “No one knows I’m afraid. We don’t know when something will be made available again so, at the moment, you know as much as I do.”

It wasn’t clear who the ‘we’ the Costco employee referred to was or how high up the company’s food chain he was. But Costco is well-known for being very tight-lipped on such matters so, right now, it may be only one floor of employees (one office?) which knows with any certainty when the clubs will re-appear.

House-brands in the US – Tommy Armour, Top-Flite (Dick’s Sporting Goods); Prosimmon (Wal-Mart), Lynx and MacGregor (the now-deceased Golfsmith) – have traditionally not been held in very high regard. Thought of as once-great brands that fell on hard times, they were picked up for cheap, and they are usually dismissed as afterthoughts, ‘knock-off’ or ‘bargain-basement’. There’s certainly a degree of truth in that, though Kirkland’s golf products are doing a good job of dispelling the theory that all house brands are without merit.

The Kirkland logo may not be as sophisticated or attractive as Mizuno, Cobra, or Ping’s, and the immediate assumption, should you be lucky enough to ever see the irons in one of the company’s 600+ stores across America, is likely to be negative. They are, after all, made by a company that also makes popcorn, contact lenses, alkaline batteries, olive oil and 350 other items. But having seen and tested Costco/Kirkland’s previous golf products, we’re willing to bet the Players’ irons are superb value for money, and that it might be worth keeping an eye, or computer tab, open for when they return to costco.com.

 

---

Colorado AvidGolfer Magazine is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram