Starting at number three, I present the now-famous Autoflex shaft by Dumina. Introduced in early 2020 during the COVID epidemic, the small Korean company claimed that their shafts didn’t use any flex designations and are to be selected solely based on a golfer’s swing speed. Against conventional wisdom, the company claimed that a super flexible, ultralight shaft can improve distance and accuracy for golfers of all swing speeds. The AF shaft, with its mysterious Korea Hidden Technology (KHT), sounded too good to be true, but more often than not, golfers who braved the steep price and the hot pink color agreed that the shaft seemed legitimate. Many also credit it with creating a whole new category of soft and hyper-flexible performance shafts.

Aptly named ‘Hammer Throw’ the rubber-like shaft featured a conventional shaft’s weight of 62g yet measured only 140 CPM to be incredibly soft and flexible. To top it off, it also featured a strong 3.5 torque similar to an S-flex shaft, all unlikely numbers that have never been combined in a single shaft before. The Hammer Throw proved to be a wonder shaft for slower swingers, helping to increase club head speed, distance, and even accuracy. We won’t know until we know but we don’t expect a Kirkland Signature wedge will be among the top performers on the market. The original finished a distant 17 th in Most Wanted testing. Frankly, that’s a lot of ground to make up, even if the value proposition is inarguable. I think the real question with all of these affordable but quality products coming out is how much pressure are the larger OEM's feeling with their prices as the word of mouth keeps getting bigger pushing more folk to buy the affordable options. I mean PXG pretty much flipped their market around (to an extent) recently and I'm curious if that was because they realized the push to be a direct to consumer option was actually fairly profitable. Are they the best option? No probably not but they are far from the worst in most cases. If Kirkland put out more options or at least better shaft options than I'd be more willing to consider. Golf landed on the Costco planet in 2016, with the appearance of the Kirkland Signature golf balls. Soon after, Kirkland Signature Wedges were also available on shelves. Over time, more and more items were added including putters, gloves, and more. I don’t make a habit of buying golf clubs from Costco, but after a few readers asked us for an insight into the Kirkland golf clubs we decided to splash some cash and see what you can get from Costco who now offers their famous Kirkland Signature golf balls, a high-end Kirkland Putter and these Kirkland Signature wedges.But this is where things get interesting. Who Makes Kirkland Golf Clubs? A beautiful golf course in Southern California near where Kirkland clubs are made On something of a whim (and because I lost two of my Vokeys!) I decided to buy the Kirkland Signature Wedges to give them a tryout. Happy I did. I should mention that a few times during my round I deliberately aimed at the bunkers. This allowed me to get a feel for both the sand and lob wedges out of the bunkers during a real round. Distance from the Kirkland Signature is strong. For some testers, distances with this wedge were stronger than any other: good to keep in mind, however not necessarily a fitting factor you need for wedges. For the price, they are very impressive, and if you’re not switching from a premium wedge you’ll likely find they out perform your current wedges.

Responsiveness around the green was not as impressive as other premium golf wedges in the MyGolfSpy 2021 wedge test. Featuring SJ Golf’s FFT technology, the Hammer Throw and FF38 also caught the attention of many WLD athletes with swing speeds over 150mph. Mind-Bending RevelationThe spin score for the Kirkland Signature wedge was 75.80 out of 100. However, for the 2021 wedge test, the highest spin score was 93.8 for the Titleist Vokey SM8. The Kirkland Signature was part of our 2021 wedge test which included 35 golfers using the Foresight GC Quad launch monitors. All golfers used Titleist Pro V1 balls to help minimize variables. When our final details were calculated, outliers were removed. In addition, we made sure to test the Kirkland Signature for players at different swing speeds and with moisture on the face as a variable. Based on the USGA photos, I think we can expect a basic no-frills sole that will do a decent enough job, given the one-size-fits-all approach. Kirkland Signature Wedge Version 2 Pricing To solve this issue, I looked at many factors that led golfers to describe whether a shaft is soft or stiff. Similar to FFT, I soon discovered that a shaft’s stiffness is not relative to its CPM value. By reinforcing a shaft through a special process I call carbon-bending, it can be made to feel as stiff as I wish without changing the original CPM or torque. Upon delving further, FreeFlex Technology (FFT) was far more amazing than I could have ever imagined. Against the norm, the inventor of FFT claimed that a shaft’s weight, flex (CPM), and torque are NOT relative to each other and that each variable can be controlled separately. According to SJ Lab, a lightweight, flexible shaft with a strong torque was possible, and vice-versa. The incredulous claim went largely unnoticed at the time, but the folks at SJ Lab recently decided to prove their technology by introducing the ultimate unicorn of a shaft.

However, on fuller golf shots the feel is not as pure. I put this down to the shaft in these wedges. Part of the reason is that these shafts are a little more flexible than I am used to, but even when hitting a 50% or 75% wedge shot there feels too much going on in the shaft, resulting in vibrations coming up into the grip of the golf club and a little less control.The Kirkland wedges come as a set of three with a gap wedge with 52 degrees, a sand wedge with 56 degrees, and a lob wedge with 60 degrees of loft. The lofts are not customizable, and the clubs are always sold as a set. Are Kirkland wedges for high handicappers? Just over a month ago, we were the first to report on the Kirkland Signature wedges on the USGA and R&A conforming clubs list. Since then, there has been a lot of speculation on how and when they would be released. As I struggled to comprehend what I just heard, Dr. Choi handed me a shaft and asked me to try and bend it. Grabbing it at both ends, the shaft felt light and soft, and I was able to bend and flex it easily. I was then given another shaft and asked to do the same. The new shaft felt much firmer from the get-go, similar to what I’d expect from a typical S-flex shaft. When I said that the second shaft felt much stronger than the first, I was in for a rude awakening. The Southern California Design Company is the Kirkland golf club manufacturer. They’re based in Carlsbad, California. The wedge shares a similar creative story to the putter in that Costco buyers approached a well-respected design firm, in this case, the Southern California Design company, to develop the wedges and work with a manufacturer for production. This isn’t SCD Co’s first time working in golf either—it had a hand in the (visual) creation of the Cobra AMP Cell irons, and another company Indi Golf and the StingRay wedges.

For gear heads, there is always a small amount of cynicism when a new company enters the golf equipment game. These companies are typically small startups selling big promises—but in the case of Costco and its new Kirkland Signature three-piece wedge set, we have one of the biggest forces in retail disrupting the golf equipment space and offering golfers performance and value as they have never experienced before. It’s certainly not like Costco offers golf club fitting services so there’s arguably not much practical value in offering variety. Still, questioning whether the Kirkland Signature wedges are the best choice for your game? Here are a few last things to consider. Are the Kirkland wedges legal? If money isn’t an issue and you want optimum performance, go get an in-person wedge fitting. It will be great for your game and a lot of fun too. However, for most golfers shopping on a budget, the Kirkland wedges bring a much-needed option to the lower to mid-end of the wedge market. You get 3 wedges that perform really well for the cost of one premium wedge!We don’t have a release date for the Costco Kirkland Signature wedges Version 2 but, given that we’re rolling into the meaty part of the golf equipment buying season, it makes sense to get them on shelves as soon as possible. When evaluating wedges, distance control is one of the most important features and Kirkland struggled to keep up with the rest. Consistency We really could just give the Kirkland Signature wedge 10/10 when it comes to value and move on. Given their performance, the price is incredible. If CBT technology is legitimately possible, the implications of his discovery are immense and may well change the way golf shafts are made. Needless to say, such a spectacular assertion begs the question, “How can such an improbable idea be possible?” The current method and its proportional relationship between WT, CPM, and TQ is widely accepted. However, it also presents a big challenge for shaft-makers, whose main goal is to make shafts that improve distance with more accuracy. This is because generating more club speed for more distance necessitates a light and flexible shaft; while improving shot accuracy requires the shaft to be firm in both flex and torsional strength.