Look, we don’t know what’s going to come of TaylorMade’s lawsuit against Costco. Pictures tell us little if anything, but they are fun to look at. But the fact that golf’s social media brigades lose their freaking minds over a $499 iron set from the same people who make the best damn pesto I’ve ever had should tell you we’re on the outskirts of the Twilight Zone.

Sure, the Kirkland Signature irons may be a hell of an alternative to mainstream OEMs. And The fact TaylorMade is suing Costco over said irons may make you want them even more. But seeing as how the Kirkland’s were scarce in the first place., you might want to consider an alternative to the alternative.

Yep, Kirkland Signature is the 1,000-pound gorilla in the room. But don’t make the mistake of thinking the Costco house brand is the only lower-priced alternative to mainstream golf OEMs.

Kirkland may be an alternative, but there are plenty of golf-specific alternatives to Kirkland.

As we go through this list, you’ll see some surprising similarities between what these brands have to offer. However, they all have two key differentiators separating them from Costco.

The first is they’re not being sued by TaylorMade (and there’s a reason for that). And second, they’re golf-only brands. You won’t find a roasted chicken or a six-pack of toothpaste anywhere. But you will have a certain level of customization through some of these brands that you won’t find at Costco.

Alternatives to Kirkland: Some Things to Consider

The five companies listed here aren’t the only alternatives to Kirkland, they’re just the ones we chose to feature. Since each brand we list features a hollow-body, “foam-filled” player’s distance iron, it’s fair to ask why TaylorMade isn’t suing these companies, as well. There are two reasons.

First, the companies listed here aren’t what you’d call deep-pocket competitors. They’re not much of a threat to TaylorMade, or anyone else, for that matter.

More importantly, some of the hollow-body offerings shown here are most likely open-source models from China. It’s also likely they come from the same factory.

But don’t equate “open-source” with “junk.” Several of the companies we’ll highlight have seen their products perform very well in MyGolfSpy testing.

The companies we list are all direct-to-consumer brands, although one (Haywood Golf) does offer its products through Club Champion. You will notice what we’d consider the two “O.G.” DTC brands, Ben Hogan and Sub 70, aren’t listed. But both are more than viable alternatives with excellent customer service and custom capabilities.

And finally, there’s always the question of fitting. As we’ve said many times, there’s no substitute for an in-person fitting. However, these companies are golf-specific and do offer golf-specific customer service and varying degrees of customization. If you know your specs, you can get a pretty solid fit.

And, frankly, the attraction on this end of the spectrum is price. You’ll save plenty compared to mainstream OEMs and you’ll wind up with a pretty decent set you can play good golf with.

Which, after all, is the whole point.

Haywood Golf

Haywood was started in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2018 by Joshua Haywood, right after the reborn Ben Hogan Company and Sub 70 launched the current direct-to-consumer wave.

Haywood’s stock driver features a carbon fiber crown, an 811 titanium body, a forged titanium face and an adjustable hosel. It’s $349 with your choice of several no-upcharge shafts from Project X and Fujikura. Premium shaft options include the Ventus TR ($250 upcharge) and the Mitsubishi Diamana ($300). You can also buy the head only for $299 and go from there.

Fairways and hybrids are also available.

Irons are the easy get for DTC brands, as much of the recent technology is available as an open model from foundries in China. The Haywood CBs are forged from 1020 carbon steel and then milled. They start at $700 for a six-piece set and you have your choice of no-upcharge and premium shafts from True Temper, KBS, Nippon, Project X, Aerotech and Recoil.

Haywood Signature irons are a hollow-body player’s distance style club. No part of the multi-piece construction is forged and they run $675 for a 5-PW set. As we got through this list, you’ll see other brands with a very similar offering.

Haywood offers a full line, with several iron sets, a driving iron, wedges and putters.  A forged, milled face wedge will run you $110 while putters range from $174 to $200.

Haywood charges $15 per set for loft, lie and length adjustments, respectively.

Maltby

Maltby has long been a favorite of bargain seekers and amateur club makers. Available through Golfworks.com, Maltby offers a full line of gear either assembled, in a kit with shaft and grip or as heads only.

Buying a custom-assembled set is straightforward. The Maltby TS-2 Forged is Maltby’s foam-filled player’s distance model. The head itself is $49.99. You then pick your set makeup, your preferred shaft and grip and any customization you might want. A 5-PW set with KBS Tour Lite shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips comes to $558.78.

You go through the same process with drivers, fairways, hybrids and wedges. A Maltby KE4 TC Max all-titanium driver with a Fujikura Vista Pro shaft runs $281.18 (the club head only is $179.99). And a Maltby 1025 forged TSW DRM (Diamonized Raw Metal finish) wedge with a KBS Hi-Rev shaft will cost you $83.13.

Golfworks was founded in 1976 by Ralph Maltby, and the company designs its own products.

The upside of Maltby is if you’re a gear geek you’ll find a ton of options to build your own high-quality set. And it’s highly doubtful you’d ever run into anyone with the exact same sticks. The downside is if you’re not a gear geek, you’ll find a ton of options that you have to somehow navigate through.

Takomo Golf

Takomo has quickly become the darling of the internet and is another solid alternative to Kirkland. And even though the name sounds Japanese, Takomo touts its Scandinavian heritage as it’s based in Turku, Finland. Its 101 and 101T irons are both player’s distance irons and come in at $489 for a seven-piece set (KBS Tour/Tour Lite/MAX are standard. C-Taper and C-Taper Lite are a $100 upcharge). Length and lie adjustments are $10 each.

Takomo also has the 201, a forged cavity-back for $589, and the 301 MB and CB at $649. The Takomo Ignish D1 driver features a carbon crown, adjustable sole weights and the HZRDUS Smoke Red shaft. It’s $359. The company recently added fairway woods ($259).

Utility irons run $119 while the Skyforger forged wedges are very appealing at $99 a pop. As with the others on this list, always check stock as some items are on backorder.

Again, you’ll see a similar design to the others on this list. There are DTC companies out there offering irons that look the same with virtually identical specs, all the way down to blade length and offset. Again, that doesn’t make them bad performers, but it does suggest these are open models with perhaps slight technical tweaks.

MacGregor/RAM

We’re putting these two alternatives to Kirkland together because they’re owned by Simon Millington’s Golf Brands, Inc. of Las Vegas. Millington, who is also the new licensee for Ben Hogan, resurrected MacGregor and RAM as direct-to-consumer brands that bring plenty of value to the table.

The RAM FX-77 irons are hollow-body player’s distance irons. They carry the same design and construction as similar offerings from Takomo, Haywood and others. The big difference? They’re $399 for a 5-PW set ($449 for 4-PW) in stainless or black. The KBS Tour 90 is stock, but custom shafts and grips are available at an upcharge. Heads only are $249.99.

Millington also offers demo irons for you to try for 30 days with a full store credit refund when you return them. Shipping is covered both ways.

The FX-77 ranked second in forgiveness in last year’s MyGolfSpy game-improvement iron testing.

For true bargain hunters, RAM drivers, fairways, driving irons and wedge sets are all under $100. And six dozen RAM Tour Spin three-piece Surlyn balls will run you $79.99. That’s a little over a buck a ball.

MacGregor’s centerpiece is the Austie Rollinson-designed MT-86 Pro/MT-86 OS forged irons at $799 for a six-piece set. But bargain-hunters will find joy with game-improvement sets such as the VIP, DX Carbon or V-Foil irons starting at $199.99. The MacGregor Wizard hybrid iron set is reminiscent of the Cleveland Halo series and is $349.99 for a seven-piece set. The Wizards are also customizable.

A MacGregor MacTec driver will run you $149.99 while fairways, hybrids and driving irons are all under $100 (a set of three hybrids runs $199.99). A MacGregor Tour Grind milled-face three-piece wedge set is $119.99 in chrome, $169.99 in black. MacGregor also has a variety of putters under $100.

PXG

I’m guessing you weren’t expecting PXG on this list but here we are. The company that started as ultra-premium isn’t exactly flipping the script but its 0211 series is worthy of your bargain-hunting attention.

PXG’s most current 0211 XCOR2 irons are $99.99 per stick ($599 for a six-piece set) while the 0211 driver starts at $199.99. One thing about PXG: its discounts come from out of nowhere and with no warning so it’s always worth checking the website.

0211 fairways start at $149.99 and hybrids at $139.99, while 0211 series putters are $119.99 each. PXG is also offering in-person, full-bag fittings at its over 200 locations in the U.S. for just $25. Additionally, PXG’s Heroes program offers generous discounts to former and current military members and first responders.

Alternatives To Kirkland: A PostScript

As we said at the outset, no one knows how the TaylorMade lawsuit against Costco is going to shake out. Currently, there are no Kirkland Signature clubs listed on Costco’s website. Legality aside, Costco is getting a huge pat on the back for making golf more affordable, but it isn’t the only and it certainly wasn’t the first. The companies we’ve listed here, plus the O.G. DTC brands Sub 70 and Ben Hogan, are all players and, more importantly, bring golf-specific juice to the table. You will have more custom options (which will add to your cost) but you will have access to a greater level of golf-specific customer service.

And, with a few of the companies listed, you can buy heads only and build them yourself or have a local fitter/builder do it.

You won’t get the absolute latest big-name OEM technology from these companies. But you will get solid value at roughly half the cost.

Which, no matter how you slice it, doesn’t suck.

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