Sam's Club puts sticker shock in reverse
Membership-only retail store enters the golf ball market with the Members Mark Pro Series 2 balls that are ideal for the everyday golfer. Better yet, they cost just $27.98 for two dozen — yes, two.
Shopping for golf equipment can be summarized in two words: Sticker shock.
These days, it’s $55 for a dozen Titleist Pro V1 balls; usually $649 for the big companies’ newest, hottest drivers; $399 for fairway woods; and around $200 per iron. Add a sweet putter and a bag and a new set dings you for $3,000.
Ouch.
Not to sound like an old guy, which I am, but that’s about what my first new car cost many decades ago (a 1974 Plymouth Duster).
Sticker shock is always worse for seniors because we remember what things used to cost. Candy bars, a staple of my childhood existence, were a nickel once upon a time. Of course, that was back when Abraham Lincoln and I grew up together in a small log cabin and a quarter bought you five packs of baseball cards with gum.
That was then. Now, sticker shock in golf also occasionally goes the other way, the good way. It is possible to be pleasantly surprised. Exhibit A comes from an unexpected source — Sam’s Club, which has dived into the golf market.
Two dozen of the new Members Mark Pro Series 2 balls at Sam’s Club are available for $27.98. That’s 24 balls for $28. Or 56 balls for the same price as 12 Pro V1s, the game’s acknowledged gold standard in balls. In fact, a recent special sale at SamsClub.com had two dozen Pro Series 2 balls available for $3 off at $24.98.
“We know a lot of our Sam’s Club members play golf,” says Robert Parvis, senior director of sporting goods at Sam’s Club. “By offering our members a great ball at such a great price, we’re able to make golf more accessible for people and we help them create more memories. I’m seeing it with my own kids. They’re 13 and 15, they’re not great golfers, but they’re excited to be able to play with new golf balls because they’re using the Member’s Mark balls instead of something else. I want them to have those golf memories.
“For Sam’s Club, it’s really about trying to drive value. Our brand is about providing a better quality of life for our members through great items and great value. That’s what we’re trying to do with this golf ball. It’s funny because I’ve had to correct at least two or three people who say, ‘Twenty-seven ninety-eight for a dozen balls, that’s a great price.’ I tell them, ‘It’s $27.98 for two dozen.’”
Sam’s Club isn’t the first members-club big-box store to offer golf bargains. Costco created a Tickle Me Elmo/Cabbage Path Dolls-like phenomenon in 2016 when it started selling Kirkland Signature balls at $29.99 for two dozen. They were three-piece balls of pretty good quality and they emptied off the shelves in record time. Titleist’s parent company, Acushnet, later sued Costco over several patent violations. The case was settled out of court in 2018 and Costco got back into the golf ball business in 2019 with a redesigned three-piece Kirkland ball (currently $29.99 per two dozen).
Costco proved there is still a market for affordable golf gear. It also sells a line of low-price golf clubs in which a full set would run about $1,000. Parvis said Sam’s Club has no plans as yet to get into the equipment business.
So just how good are the Member’s Mark Pro Series 2 balls? For the price, they’re excellent. They are three-piece balls with a urethane cover and engineered core. They’re made in Vietnam (same as the Kirkland balls). For the quality, the Pro Series 2 are very good. They’re not on the same level as the Titleist Pro V1 or the other top-of-the-line balls, but they’re more than good enough for everyday play.
I’ve been giving them a tryout the last few weeks and have been impressed. The Pro Series 2 has a slightly harsher sound at impact yet has a soft feel. It almost qualifies as a distance ball, but it performs pretty well around the greens, too, and checks up better than a distance ball would on chips and pitch shots. They are also bright, bright white, brighter than the usual top-line balls I normally use.
Would I play the Pro Series 2 in an important tournament, say, U.S. Senior Amateur qualifying? Probably not, because the Pro V1 and the other top balls perform a little better and I need every advantage I can get. Would I use the Pro Series 2 for everyday golf? Yes, absolutely, and for the vast majority of golfers, who are not single-digit handicappers, this ball is more than good enough.
The Member’s Mark balls are available at Sam’s Club, obviously, but since I don’t live near one of those, I can order them at the same price online at SamsClub.com. I don’t have to be a Sam’s Club member to do it. Shipping is free if you spend more than $50.
Sam’s Club has more golf gear, too. An even better deal than the balls might be its four-pack of cabretta leather gloves for $22.98. I’m six rounds in and this glove has won me over. It’s a perfect fit, it delivers the thin, soft feel I want and it’s surprisingly durable. After six rounds and numerous practice range sessions, it’s still going strong.
“We’re really excited about our first Member’s Mark golf ball and we’re really proud of the gloves,” Parvis says. “The reviews have been positive, you can see online that the glove gets 4.7 stars in the reviews. It’s been really great.”
Sam’s Club can dress golfers, too. It sells golf polos, under the category of “performance pattern polo” for $9.98. They’re stretchy and light. They’re 44% recycled polyester, 43% polyester, 13% spandex and made in Jordan. The polos come in seven colors and designs, and look like something you’d find in an on-course golf shop (minus the club logo, of course). Golf shorts start at $10.98 and golf slacks at $16.98. The quality is surprisingly good.
“The uniqueness of what we try to do at Sam’s Club is justify the fact that people have to pay to shop with us,” Parvis says. “At $27.98 for 24 golf balls, it doesn’t take many rounds of golf to pay for your annual membership fee. And we’re able to do that across all of our items.”
The balls are a good deal at Sam’s Club. The gloves are even better. Not to sound like an old guy again, which I still am, but the price is right. Am I cheap? I prefer thrifty. My public relations person says I’m “value-oriented.”
Well, aren’t we all?
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Fyi im foing live masters thread on substack til 1 pm.
Agree. We dont have clubhead speed to tell diff. Only thing would be chipping snd pit hing, ehether u can make ball stop when u wsnt.