Kirkland Signature 3-Piece Golf Balls Review

Our in-depth review of Kirkland’s Signature 3-Piece golf balls – an updated version of Costco’s original three-piece urethane-covered balls.

Costco grabbed golfers’ attention across the globe when they released their original Kirkland Signature ball with its three-piece design and urethane cover drawing comparisons with the best golf balls. The difference? It was a fraction of the price compared to the better-known models.

The new Kirkland Signature golf ball is still a fraction of the price, boasting a thinner urethane cover and a larger core. But is it better than its predecessor? Let’s take a look.

Key tech: Kirkland Signature Performance+

Kirkland may not be a brand as formidable as the likes of Titleist or TaylorMade, but that is not to say they are incapable of manufacturing a very technical golf ball, worthy of challenging the best they are competing with. What technology is packed into the Signature 3-Piece?

Highly elastic rubber core

The highly elastic rubber core has been increased from the original version of this ball, this helps to maximize distance by transferring more energy to the ball from your swing.

Speed-boosting mantle

Designed to work best while interacting with the soft cover, the speed-boosting ionomer mantle helps to control spin with long irons, while generating high spin with short irons, and optimizing spin with wedges for control around the greens.

Soft urethane cover

The soft urethane cover of this ball features a new proprietary TPU with improved scuff resistance and impact endurance making the ball more durable. The cover has a 338 dimple pattern with modified depth for optimized flight and height.

How the Kirkland Signature Performance+ performed on the course

Kirkland’s original ball impressed overall, but it was high spinning and relatively short off the tee. This has been addressed in the new model thanks to an increased core size, which the brand says means more energy transfer to the ball.

Testing the two balls side by side, we found the newer model was a few yards longer, thanks to a lower spin rate (around 300rpm less than the original). It also launched marginally lower and delivered more ball speed. Overall it felt far more controlled off the driver.

However, while it spun less than its predecessor, the Kirkland Signature 3-piece golf ball still produced far more spin than urethane-covered competitor balls from Titleist, TaylorMade, Srixon and Wilson. It isn’t a massive deal, but in windy conditions, you’d definitely be losing yards on the other balls off the tee. That may be something you’re willing to accept for the price.

The spin numbers improved greatly over the original Signature with our 7-iron, gaining us yards, while launching at an almost identical angle and flying a few yards further.

When it comes to the short game, the original Costco ball really impressed with a performance comparable to high-end Tour balls. As with the long game, the new model’s spin levels have dropped in this area, too, losing almost 500rpm from 100 yards and up to 2,000rpm from 50 yards. Nonetheless, we were still impressed by the level of spin and control it offered, and, for most amateur golfers, it would still perform well.

Around the greens, it felt soft, as you’d expect from a urethane-covered ball, and it was a delight to putt with.

It’s also an impressively durable ball. Thin, urethane covers can often mark and scratch easily, but even after hitting a lot of shots out of the rough, trees, and bunkers, it was still in a perfectly usable state. One ball did suffer notable cover damage after a high and offline shot from a gravel path, but that’s to be expected from most balls.

Overall, it’s an excellent all-round golf ball, especially for the price, and is a marked improvement on the first generation.

How the Kirkland Signature Performance+ performed in our robot golf balls test

Driver 85mph Swing
Ball speed (mph) / Launch angle (º)	123.1 / 13.1
Backspin (rpm)	2,998
Carry (yards)	190.3
Driver 100mph Swing
Ball speed (mph) / Launch angle (º)	144.9 / 12
Backspin (rpm)	2,904
Carry (yards)	237.9
Driver 115mph Swing
Ball speed (mph) / Launch angle (º)	166.3 / 10.5
Backspin (rpm)	2,307
Carry (yards)	289.8
7-Iron
Ball speed (mph) / Launch angle (º)	105.7 / 20.7
Backspin (rpm)	6,176
Height (feet)	85.3
Descent angle (º)	46.2
Carry (yards)	144.7
Wedge
Backspin (rpm)	7,985
Shot area (sq yds)	6.8
Carry (yards)	104.4
Average shot area
Averaged over driver, 7-iron, and PW	21yds sq

So much has been said about Kirkland Signature balls since Costco entered the market, but this test highlights how the model performs against the very best. Make no mistake, the Kirkland is a very high-spin golf ball, which means the model is either shortest or joint shortest at 85mph/100mph with a driver, and 7-iron, so this model is likely to be less useful for higher-speed players.

However, that same high spin DNA means the model is also our second-highest spinning ball with a 7-iron and fourth-highest spinning with a wedge, traits that could prove useful possibly as an alternative to golfers who play two-piece golf balls. Incredibly with an average of just 21yds sq the Kirkland is also our third most accurate golf ball. These are results we couldn’t have predicted prior to testing.

So, if you’ve tried two-piece balls and found them to be too hard or too low spin, so long as you’re willing to put 7.9 yards of carry distance on the line (averaged across the 85mph and 100mph driver speeds and with a 7-iron) versus the Srixon AD333 (11p per yard), or 12.5 yards versus the Wilson Duo Soft (10p per yard) you can completely out spin them with an iron and wedge, whilst also being more accurate.

Hopefully, that should be food for thought for golfers who usually buy predominantly on budget, and those whose number one focus isn’t just speed and distance.

Kirkland Signature Performance+ availability

Currently, you can only purchase the Kirkland Signature golf balls in white. The balls are traditionally numbered 1 to 4.

You can buy directly from Costco, where they are sold in packs of 24 for £32.98/$34.99 per pack. However, in the UK you have to purchase at least two packs £65.96), but you will get 48 golf balls for below £1.40 each. They are also available to purchase from Amazon.

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Kirkland Signature 3-Piece

RRP: £32.98 per two-dozen | VIEW UK OFFER | $34.99 per two-dozen | VIEW US OFFER

Construction: Three-piece golf ball

Compression: 95

Cover: 338-dimple urethane cover

Colors: White