Costco last fall began selling a new brand of golf balls that became a "hot item among fanatical golfers" in the revelation that they "perform like rivals that sell for more than twice as much," according to Brian Costa of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Available for $29.99 for two dozen, the Kirkland Signature balls "instantly ranked among the cheapest on the market." Now, Kirkland's popularity is "threatening one of the sport’s long-held consumer beliefs: when it comes to the quality of golf balls, you generally get what you pay for." Making the phenomenon "all the more surprising is that Costco isn't really in the golf business," and it "doesn't endorse any professional golfers." The balls were "made at a factory in South Korea by a company called Nassau Golf, which also manufactures balls for TaylorMade." Nassau officials said that the company had an "excess supply that it sold to Costco through a third-party trader." But that supply "appears to have been exhausted by overwhelming demand." The balls have been "out of stock for much of the past two months, save for a few fleeting spurts of availability." Within the past week, Costco "removed the listing for them from its website," and it is "unclear when or even if they will be in stock again." One Nassau exec said that the company "believes the expected retail price for the ball would be closer to $45 per dozen, all costs considered." The exec said that both Nassau and TaylorMade, its biggest client, are "unhappy with the rise of the $1.25 golf ball and that the company won’t sell excess supply in such large quantities again" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/20).
