News·18 October 2026·2 min read
A $67* (£50.24) Costco Wedge Beat the Vokey SM11 in MyGolfSpy's 2026 Test — and the Gap Was Consistency, Not Spin
Both wedges scored an identical 9.0 for spin. The separation came from somewhere less glamorous.
MyGolfSpy's 2026 Most Wanted wedge test was won outright by the Kirkland Signature GEN 3 Forged, a Costco wedge sold at roughly $67* (£50.24) a head, and the site has since published a direct head-to-head against the Titleist Vokey SM11. The detail worth reading is where the margin came from: not spin, where the two tied, but consistency.
What the head-to-head actually found
MyGolfSpy's comparison puts the Kirkland GEN 3 at 9.1 overall against 8.9 for the SM11, with accuracy following the same 9.1-to-8.9 split. Spin was scored identically at 9.0 for both. The widest gap in the table was consistency, 9.0 for the Kirkland against 8.4 for the Vokey. On price, the Kirkland is $199.99* (£149.97) for three wedges; the SM11 is $199.99* (£149.97) for one.
The protocol matters as much as the result. MyGolfSpy says the 2026 wedge test covered 15 models across 240 hours and 11,400 shots, with every wedge tested at 56 degrees, and shots hit as full swings, 50-yard shots in dry conditions and 50-yard shots with moisture added. That is a controlled comparison of one loft, not a verdict on a full wedge setup.
Verified DataSource: MyGolfSpy.
*Converted to £ at the exchange rate on 18 October 2026, the day this article was published (US$1 = £0.74989). Prices are as reported and subject to change; the conversion was correct at the time of publishing.
The caveats MyGolfSpy itself flags
The site's own review notes the obvious practical problem: you need a Costco membership, and the wedges sold out almost immediately when they reached shelves. A test win you cannot buy is a data point, not a purchase plan.
There is a second limit. A single-loft comparison tells you little about bounce and grind suitability, turf interaction on your home course, or how the wedge fits the gap below your shortest iron. MyGolfSpy made that broader point itself this week in a follow-up piece arguing that a test winner is a starting point for a fitting rather than the end of one — the same article that revisited the Kirkland result.
Why a tied spin score is the interesting number for ball fitters
If two wedges separated by $130* (£97.49) a head score the same for spin, the spin you actually get on a 50-yard shot is being set somewhere other than the club head — by strike, by turf, and by the cover on your ball. That is consistent with what the same publication's ball testing has shown repeatedly about urethane versus ionomer around the green.
That is the fitting order we'd argue for at KaddieIQ: sort the ball before you spend on short-game hardware, because the ball is in play on every shot and costs a fraction of a wedge re-fit. BallFIT is free and brand-agnostic — we don't sell balls, and we have no stake in whether the answer is a tour urethane model or a $25* (£18.75) dozen. We'd rather you spent the $130* (£97.49) difference knowingly.
Questions? contact@kaddieiq.com
What “Verified Data” means
The figures inside a Verified Data panel are checked against a named, public source — a retail listing, a press release, an independent test — before they are published, and we link to that source directly. They are not the same as a manufacturer’s own performance claims, which we report as claims, in the body text, until an independent test confirms them. If a number carries the badge, you can check it yourself at the source link below the panel; if it doesn’t, treat it as reported rather than verified. KaddieIQ is not paid by any equipment brand and sells no clubs or balls.