Everyone is losing their minds over these Costco golf balls
Some of the best golf balls in America are apparently from Costco — and they've been sold out for most of the past two months. Sold for just $1.25 apiece, Costco's wildly popular Kirkland Signature brand golf balls are suddenly causing quite the commotion in the billion-dollar industry, The Wall Street Journal reports, with secondary market prices soaring. The balls are thought to perform as well as rival balls that sell for more than twice as much, "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."
Released in the U.S. last fall without much fanfare, the Kirkland balls were originally manufactured in South Korea by a company called Nassau Golf, which sold an "excess supply" of the balls to Costco. The retail giant ordinarily isn't very involved in the golf business, but when avid golfers discovered the impressive quality of the balls, they quickly became a fan favorite. Major players in the industry are apparently fascinated by the product as well, the Journal reports: "The ball was such a curiosity to one major equipment company that employees there cut one in half to study its interior, hoping to discern more about its origin and composition."
Costco removed the online listing for the item in mid-January after they went out of stock, and no one knows when or if they'll make a comeback. Golfers are now relying on eBay and other private sellers to get their hands on the "coveted" product.
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"When Costco gets them back, I'm going to buy enough to last me another 10 years," one golfer told the Journal.
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Kelly Gonsalves is a sex and culture writer exploring love, lust, identity, and feminism. Her work has appeared at Bustle, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, and more, and she previously worked as an associate editor for The Week. She's obsessed with badass ladies doing badass things, wellness movements, and very bad rom-coms.
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