Who Makes Kirkland Golf Balls? (With Review)

Golf equipment doesn’t exactly come cheap. When Kirkland golf balls came out, every golfer with a budget was overjoyed.

They were quality balls that lasted for a very long time and gave a great performance.

They were sold by Costco, an industry giant, and were the cheapest quality golf balls on the market.

When they first came out, everyone had the same question on their mind—who makes Kirkland golf balls?

I went deep into the rabbit hole for this one—you’ll be surprised to know what I found!

Most people assume that Kirkland golf balls are manufactured by Costco, but this is not the case.

View Kirkland Golf Balls here.

The Manufacturer of Kirkland Golf Balls

Most Kirkland products are manufactured by independent contractors. Kirkland Golf balls are manufactured by Qingdao SM Parker, a giant company based in China.

 However, there are a lot of bloggers spreading misinformation that Costco manufactures Kirkland golf balls itself.

 Qingdao is actually a huge player in the sports manufacturing industry. They specialize in golf equipment, and Kirkland golf balls are their highest selling product.

Kirkland Performance+

The 3 piece golf ball is by far the most popular golf ball by Kirkland. It is officially known as Kirkland Performance+.

 The pricing is way less than its competitors.

In line with Costco’s budget pricing, a 24 pack of these golf balls cost only $24.99. For urethane-covered golf balls, this is a pretty amazing price point.

It is a low launch and high spin golf ball with 338 dimples. The design is quite solid and matches many high-range golf balls by brands like the Titleist Velocity, Callaway Warbird, and Volvik Vivid.

Review of Costco Golf Balls

Kirkland 3 piece golf balls or Kirkland Performance+ golf balls are most often compared to the Titleist Pro-V1x, the first choice in golf balls for most professional golfers.

 They are similar in many ways.

The Kirkland 3 piece golf balls are definitely a great alternative for golfers on a budget.

When it comes to distance, the Kirkland golf balls only fall short by 10 yards on average compared to the Titleist golf balls.

This remained constant across different kinds of golfers with different styles and swing speeds.

They have a considerably higher spin than the Titleist balls.

The higher spin means that the distance is reduced, and accuracy takes a hit too. Whether this helps you or not depends entirely on your game.

See them here.

On the other hand, golfers with typically slower speeds get more stopping power. If this is something you’ve been lacking in your game, Kirkland 3 piece golf balls could be of greater use to you.

Taking everything into consideration, Kirkland 3 piece golf balls are best for beginners to mid-level golfers who cannot afford to spend too much and lack stopping power.

Kirkland 4 Piece Golf Ball

Kirkland first launched the 4 piece golf balls in 2016. It had amazing reviews, and almost every golfer and reviewer was a huge fan of these golf balls.

Costco claimed that these golf balls were of equal or higher quality than the golf balls on the market.

Acushnet Holdings co., the manufacturer of Titleist golf balls, subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Kirkland 4 piece golf balls. There were 10 counts of patent violations.

The case was eventually settled outside of court, and the sale and production of the 4 piece golf balls were stopped.

In 2019, Costco released a new 4-piece golf ball. While it was sold at the same price point, the quality was exceptionally bad this time.

 There were thousands of bad reviews, and online platforms like Reddit were flooded with pictures of the cracking golf balls with damaged covers.

After receiving a barrage of bad reviews, Costco decided to entirely pull the 4 piece golf balls from the market.

See them here.

 They started offering a very liberal return policy for the 4 piece golf balls as damage control.

People who purchased the Kirkland 4 piece golf balls were refunded their money and weren’t even required to return the balls.

Does Costco Sell Golf Clubs?

Since there was such high demand for cheaper golfing equipment with the excellent reception of the Kirkland 3 piece golf balls, Costco also decided to launch a line of golf clubs to maximize profits.

The Kirkland Signature 1 was launched in 2020, and subsequently, a 3 piece wedge club set also entered the market.

The wedge set has good customer reviews and solid sales numbers. The pricing of both products is pretty nominal, as is typical of Costco.

The Signature 1 golf clubs are approved by USGA Informational Club Database and can be used for tournaments.

See who makes Kirkland Golf Clubs here.

Who Manufactures Kirkland Golf Clubs?

Qingdao SM Parker does not manufacture Kirkland golf clubs, unlike Kirkland golf balls. They are manufactured by the Southern California Design company.

 They are known for their product quality, and the customer reviews of Kirkland golf clubs speak for themselves. Costco also sells Callaway golf clubs.

FAQs

The Bottom Line

Golf equipment is fairly new territory for Costco, so it was bound to hit a few snags in the beginning.

The untimely exit of the Kirkland 4 piece golf ball followed by the disastrous return really put a dent in Kirkland’s reputation.

See them here.

However, Kirkland did make a remarkable comeback with its 3 piece golf balls. With the launch of Kirkland golf clubs, it is evident that Costco is planning to expand into the golf industry soon.