COSTCO K-Sig - Titleist suing!

Weirfan

That's awesome. Always good to find a ball that you have ultimate confidence with.

I just don't see them worthy of 2+ hours of my life spent waiting in an online queue, competing against the idiots buying bulk, who think they can get $50/doz on eBay, as if it's a must-have Black-Friday item.

My time is more valuable than that, personally.

Continued good luck playing them/finding them!

Remember when Titleist was sued by Callaway for patent infringement with the ProV golf ball? Callaway had purchased Top Flite (as I remember) and Titleist had ignored Top Flite using patents held by Top Flite in the manufacturing of the ProV, because they knew they were in financial difficulty. I suspect Titleist had planned to buy Top Flite as they went into bankrupcy, but Callaway acquired Top Flite and its patents. Callaway sued because the ProV infringed on 4 patents held by Top Flite, then the legal property of Callaway.

That law suit went on for 6 years and was finally settled, but the settlement was never disclosed. Rumor was that Titleist settled by agreement to share patent rights it held with Callaway in other areas of golf ball production. Now Titleist is seeking to stop Costco from marketing a ball produced by a third party in South Korea. I wonder if the actual manufacture of the ball for Costco has acquired its rights from Callaway. Costco has marketed golf balls and golf equipment for Callaway and SM Global was also involved with Callaway.

O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!

Ultimately I personally think there's an enormous amount of hype and hoopla about a product from a very small segment of consumers, especially considering the notable degree of unavailability across the board.

Some will obviously point to Titleist's alleged legal action being taken against the manufacturer regarding patent infringement to make an argument that the ball is indeed on the same level as that of their ProV1, but keep in mind that every reputable, established company at that level is going to press that button if they suspect that their research and development efforts are being stolen from any company, no matter how large or small, no matter how impressive or how insignificant their sales are. If it's your company and you devoted tens of millions of dollars into the R&D aspect - you don't want anyone stealing your concept.

Not to say that the Ksig ball isn't worth the $20/doz or whatever... I just don't think there's enough there to remotely put a dent in an established company like Titleist, so I don't think that's their motivation in pursuing legal action.

I think what they're doing is more out of principle than any real concern that this product is going to take a sizable chunk out of their revenue. And quite frankly who could blame them, when there are laws that protect a company from having their proprietary ideas stolen from them.

A year from now, the Ksig will be history and the only people who won't forget about them are those stuck with a surplus in their basement because they can't sell them on eBay for more than they paid for them.

Rickochet

Very common response. Which is why I suggested that only the golf internet nerds amongst us really know anything about the ball, since they're not being made available but to a very small segment of the overall golf population, and we're left reading the reviews based on (primarily) one golf-specific site that claims to have tested the ball with comparable results to that of the other premium balls.

If you went to your club and conducted a data poll, I would reckon maybe a handful of members out of 200-300 players would know that this ball even exists.

I'm not arguing that the ball isn't worthy of said praise... but rather pointing out that it's basically a throwaway sample size that realistically doesn't factor on a larger scale. Titleist isn't losing marketshare to this ball whatsoever, but moving forward with legal action out of principle to their patent. The manufacturer of the Ksig doesn't have the financial means, or desire, to compete against Acushnet in a patent-infringement lawsuit, which is why they'll be a thing of the past in short order.

If you're one of the lucky few who were able to purchase the ball and love the performance, you'd be well served to stock up on 'em while you can.

Not sure where it says the ball is available again, it is not....all I read is a new ball from Costco is on the conforming list.

ode - one of the links had someone that alerted MGS of container ships had arrived with Costco golf balls as cargo.

"A couple of weeks ago, an alert reader brought it to our attention that SM Global (listed on the USGA list as the manufacturer of the K-Sig – it’s actually the importer) received a sizeable shipment (20 containers, each weighing 40,000 lbs) of golf balls from Korea in July.

Further confirming impending availability, a source inside Costco tells us that (my edit: the replacement) K-Sigs have arrived at distribution centers and appear to be headed to new store openings in Michigan, Nebraska, California, and New York. From there it’s likely only a matter of time before they reach other Costco locations."

mikeintopeka ok, not sure how i missed that, still more speculation. We have no idea when it will be available (for sale at costco ) and what ball it will be.