Let’s start with a fun (or demoralizing fact) – according to a 2016 New York Times report, an estimated 300,000,000 golf balls are lost every year by American golfers.
That’s right! Not in the world, just in the United States alone! Not only this but it is believed that American golfers spend a whopping $650 million + on golf balls each year.
From these startling statistics, it’s no surprise that many of us are looking to buy golf balls pretty frequently.
If you’re one of the many that lose too many golf balls to admit and news some new ones, then you’ve probably become used to spending more than you would like.
Take a premium golf ball, for example. On average, these can cost up to $4 to $5 each. Frustratingly, these may only last for one hole, too.
If you’re sick of spending too much on golf balls but want to use cheaper models with the same performance traits, then maybe the Kirkland Signature and Titleist Pro V1 golf balls are the ones for you.
Today, we want to help you choose the perfect golf ball for your game at the right price.
That is why we did a bit of shopping and bought a batch of Kirkland Signature and Titleist Pro V1 golf balls to test out and review.
Read on to find out more about how these two golf ball designs differ from one another and which one we consider the best overall.
Kirkland Signature vs Titleist Pro V1 Specifications
Let’s start by looking at the all-important specs of these golf balls.
(Price – Affordable $ – Expensive $$$$$)
Kirkland Signature
- Price – $
- Layers – 3
- Cover – Urethane
- Compression – 90
- Feel – Mid
Titleist Pro V1
- Price – $$$$
- Layers – 3
- Cover – Urethane
- Compression – 87
- Feel -Soft
Cover And Layer
The Kirkland and Pro V1 are both designed with a urethane cover. Therefore, they are considered premium golf balls.
Most of the time, three to five layers are used by players with low to mid-handicaps.
This is because these types of balls tend to offer a superior performance whilst out on the golf course.
This is especially true of their higher spin rates.
Both of these golf balls are made with 3 layers, which helps them spin more.
However, if you have a high handicap or are a beginner to golf, we do not recommend these balls.
The reason behind this is because of the excess spin which can be hard to control for novices.
For instance, if you have ever sliced or hooked the ball so it has ended up on the wrong fairway, this has probably been down to excess side spin on the golf ball.
Don’t worry, though, it’s something we have all done! But, a ball that spins more can make this happen more often.
Two-piece golf balls are typically used by players to strike in the 90s and 100s.
These golf balls tend to be cheaper and fly straighter, meaning they should perform better for high handicappers and beginners.
The spin rates of these two balls on the green are also higher than value golf balls. If you shoot above 90, you probably struggle to get backspin on the ball.
If this is the case, the Kirkland and Pro V1 golf balls may not be necessarily right for your needs.
Both of these golf balls feel a little softer than those with ionomer or surlyn covers and will spin more on the course.
Therefore, the price tags of the Kirkland and Pro V1 golf balls are somewhat higher, although the Kirkland Signature ball is considerably less expensive than the Pro V1.
Compression
Both the Kirkland and Pro V1 golf balls have similar compression ratings. The Kirkland rating is around 90, whereas the Pro V1 stands at about 87.
These numbers mean both balls are deemed to have high compression so are ideal for faster swing speeds of over 95 mph.
Because they have higher compression, they require more force to compress fully.
If the ball is not compressed enough, it may not perform as you want it to.
After testing high and low compression balls, we found that compression only seems to make any kind of difference when the swing speed is 100 mph plus.
However, other factors should be taken into account, as well, such as sin, price, and ball flight.
Our Tests
To know how well these golf balls perform, we undertook some tests to see the differences between them both.
Here’s how we tested the Kirkland Signature and Pro V1 balls:
- We used the same clubs (Taylormade PSI Forged 6-iron, Mizuno MP-T10 56* sand wedge, and a Taylormade M1 460 Driver.
- Different golfers with different handicaps tried the balls out, with handicaps ranging from 0 to 15 and swing speeds of 90 to 100 mph.
- Each tester hit each ball 10 to 12 times with each club.
- We recorded ball data using the Trackman 4 golf radar.
Results
We randomized the golf balls and clubs for each tester to make it as fair as possible.
Each player had three shots with each ball and switched the golf balls until 10 to 12 good shots were made.
Then, the testers switched to another club and continued this method.
Let’s take a look at the 6-iron test results using the Kirkland Signature and Pro V1 balls first.
6-Iron
We discovered that both bills have very similar launch conditions.
However, the Titleist Pro V1 traveled a little further and faster, but overall, the Kirkland golf ball launched higher than the Pro V1.
Sand Wedge
Data from using the sand wedge on the Kirkland and Pro V1 balls showed very similar results.
Overall, the Pro V1 launched slightly further and faster than the Kirkland Signature. But, the Kirkland ball tended to spin over 200 rpm more than the Pro V1.
Moreover, the Kirkland Signature golf ball flew around three feet lower on average, but the average distance ended up being around a quarter of a yard shorter.
Driver
When using the Driver club, the Kirkland Signature golf ball tends to travel 1.5 mph quicker than the Titleist Pro V1.
Not only this, but it traveled 10 yards more, as well. As you may know, on average, the less spin there is, the better when using a driver.
Our tests found that the Kirkland Signature balls spun 300 rpm less than their Pro V1 counterpart.
From our tests, it’s plain to see that the Kirkland Signature golf ball is the winner on just about every aspect.
In Summary
Based on our tests, we discovered that the Kirkland Signature golf ball is superior to the “number one” golf ball, the Titleist Pro V1.
The most significant differences between the two balls were found when using the driver with the Kirkland traveling 10 yards further, on average.
Both perform very well, but considering the difference in price, the Kirkland is the best performer, although it is still not a leading brand.
With this being said, both balls are very similar and the best way to find out what is right for your game is to test them out yourself.
Hi, my name is Garratt Shmidt and I have been playing golf in my spare time for almost a decade.
Before I found a passion for golf, I didn’t see the appeal. I thought it was slow, repetitive, and quite frankly boring.
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