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Can Sam’s Challenge Costco? We Tested Member’s Mark 3-Piece Versus Kirkland Performance+
When Costco’s Kirkland Signature golf ball first hit warehouse shelves, it took the golfing world by storm. Here was a urethane-covered ball for less than $20 a dozen—something industry experts had deemed impossible until the retail giant made it happen. While the three-piece offerings that followed—now in their fourth generation—have never quite lived up to the performance of that legendary original, they’ve maintained a cult following largely because of their insane value proposition.
Costco’s legion of loyal followers knows the drill: grab a hot dog and a dozen golf balls for what most brands charge for four sleeves. It’s bulk buying at its finest and, for years, Kirkland has dominated the under-$20 urethane space almost unopposed—if only because virtually no one else was playing in that sandbox.
But now there’s competition in the warehouse aisles.
Sam’s Member’s Mark: The alternative to the alternative?
Recently, we published data showing how the new Kirkland Performance+ stacks up against the Titleist Pro V1. What we didn’t tell you is that at the same time, we tested another challenger: Sam’s Club Member’s Mark Pro Series 2 golf ball. Today, we’re comparing the performance of golf balls from the biggest names in bulk goods. How weird is that?
Since Costco’s launch, they’ve essentially owned the ultra-affordable urethane category. With Sam’s entering the fray, we wanted to see how this other warehouse ball compared to what has become the de facto gold standard in budget-friendly premium golf balls. Think of it as rotisserie chicken versus … well, other rotisserie chicken, but for your golf bag.
The question isn’t whether either of these balls will dethrone the Pro V1—they won’t. The question is: In the battle for warehouse supremacy, which bulk retailer makes the better golf ball?
Let’s dig into the data.
About the test
To execute the test, we partnered with CoolClubs, one of the most respected names in club fitting and robot testing. The majority of testing was conducted outdoors at SunRidge Canyon Golf Club in Arizona.
Data was collected with Trackman (drivers and irons) and Foresight GCQuad (wedges).
While the larger test will be conducted at three speeds, for this smaller test the driver’s speed was set to 100 mph. Irons were tested at 81 mph while the wedge test was designed to replicate a greenside shot of approximately 40 yards.
Hot off the gauges
Before turning the test over to the robot, we took some quick measurements on our Ball Lab gauges. Note that the sample size is a bit smaller than what we would typically run for the Ball Lab. We simply wanted to get a general idea about compression, weight and diameter.
Compression
On our gauges, the Kirkland Performance+ measured 97. That’s roughly on par with the Pro V1x and a four- to five-point jump from previous Kirkland models. The Sam’s Member’s Mark Pro Series 2 measured roughly 96, ever-so-slightly softer than the Kirkland ball.Weight
As was the case in our previous test, there was nothing particularly noteworthy in the weight measurements of any of the balls. The Kirkland Performance+ was again slightly heavier but both fell well within the confines of the USGA rules.
Diameter
Likewise, the Kirkland Performance+ was, on average, the larger of the two balls. The Sam’s Member’s Mark was smaller although I’d say both would reasonably fall on the larger end of the tour category.
Consistency
Again, noting that our sample size was slightly smaller, the Kirkland was slightly more consistent across the board, but I couldn’t in good faith say it offers a meaningful quality advantage.
With that out of the way, let’s look at what happened when we hit the golf balls.
Driver data
| Ball | Ball Speed | Launch Angle | Spin Rate | Max Height | Descent Angle | Carry Yards | Total Yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkland Performance+ | 145.04 | 13.28 | 2,857 | 85.14 | 34.60 | 239.82 | 267.75 |
| Sam’s Member’s Mark | 144.64 | 13.06 | 2,829 | 90.54 | 36.58 | 239.04 | 264.52 |
Observations:
Ball speeds were relatively close with the Kirkland producing about 1/2 mph more ball speed on average. The Sam’s Member’s Mark launched a bit lower while producing less spin. Notable, despite the lower initial launch, the Sam’s ball produced a higher peak trajectory. By the numbers, the Kirkland spun a tick more than the Sam’s ball, but the differences are not significant. The Kirkland also edged out the Sam’s in carry and total distance with the meaningful difference in the latter likely attributable to the steeper descent angle of the Member’s Mark.Driver dispersion and consistency
Observations:
While wind can not entirely be excluded as a factor, the Kirkland Performance+ produced the tighter downrange dispersion by a meaningful amount.
7-iron data
| Ball | Ball Speed | Launch Angle | Spin Rate | Max Height | Descent Angle | Carry Yards | Total Yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkland Performance+ | 117.57 | 19.24 | 4,951 | 101.10 | 48.38 | 167.41 | 176.93 |
| Sam’s Member’s Mark | 117.58 | 19.11 | 4,714 | 99.41 | 47.42 | 168.22 | 178.92 |
Observations:
On 7-iron shots, ball speeds were virtually identical. This is not surprising given the similar compression of the two balls. The Kirkland produced more than 200 rpm of additional spin, flew higher and landed a bit more steeply which explains the small distance advantage for the Sam’s ball.The broad strokes takeaway here is that the Sam’s Members Mark Pro Series 2 and new Kirkland Performance+ are more similar in performance than the Kirkland and the Titleist Pro V1.
7-iron dispersion and consistency
Observations:
While it can be difficult to ascertain from the shape of the ellipses, the Sam’s Member’s Mark produced a slighly smaller (7.4%) dispersion area.Wedge data
| Ball | Ball Speed | Launch Angle | Spin Rate | Max Height | Descent Angle | Carry Yards | Total Yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkland Performance+ | 43.60 | 35.93 | 5,566 | 22.43 | 41.85 | 36.78 | 41.83 |
| Sam’s Member’s Mark | 43.13 | 36.52 | 5,306 | 22.43 | 42.25 | 36.13 | 41.18 |
Observations:
Despite the low-speed impact, the Kirkland produced nearly 1/2 mph more ball speed, while launching nearly 1.5 degrees lower. The Kirkland ball produced roughly 250 rpm more spin. Carry and total distance numbers were similar although there was some variation in how those numbers were achieved.Wedge dispersion and consistency
Observations:
The scale of the chart inflates differences between balls.
Even with allowances for small numbers, the Kirkland ball was more consistent from front to back. The Sam’s ball was a bit tighter from left to right although you’d be hard-pressed to find any meaningful differences beyond the higher spin rate of the Kirkland ball.Which One’s Better?
As with most things in golf, it depends on what you’re looking for.
If you’re chasing value, both the Kirkland and Member’s Mark balls deliver plenty of bang for the buck. They’re urethane-covered, offer reasonable performance and cost about half (or less) than a dozen Pro V1s.
But when we dig into the numbers, the Kirkland ball shows some clear advantages, especially off the tee.
With the driver, Kirkland posted better total distance and tighter dispersion which means more predictable performance and fewer big misses. The low initial launch of the Sam’s ball, paired with higher peak height (and what we believe will prove to be above average spin rates for the category), suggests a ball that might struggle in windy conditions.
With irons, Member’s Mark was a little tighter in terms of dispersion area but the differences in spin, height and distance were minimal.
While the Kirkland dispersion chart is a little easier on the eyes, wedges were a draw with no statistically significant differences in performance or consistency.
It’s also worth noting that while both balls spun reasonably well, Kirkland tended to spin a touch more across all clubs which might suit players who want a bit more stopping power into the green.
The bottom line
Neither of these balls is perfect and they’re not meant to be. The perfect ball doesn’t exist but if you’re looking for a low-cost urethane option that holds up surprisingly well from tee to green, Kirkland Performance+ still holds its own as the category benchmark. While I wish there were more separation between these two value options, the Member’s Mark Pro Series 2 is a worthy challenger. That said, based on this data, the original warehouse ball still has the edge.
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