TaylorMade Is Taking Costco To Court Over The Store's Popular Kirkland Signature Irons

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TaylorMade is going to war with Costco alleging that golf clubs sold by the big box retailer infringe on several patents tied to a particular set of irons designed by the well-known golf brand.

For the non-golfers out there who may not know, Costco has sold golf equipment for years under the Kirkland Signature brand. The Kirkland Signature golf balls, wedges, putter, and gloves have garnered a legitimate cult following mostly due to the price point of each item compared to the big-name golf manufacturers.

In December, Costco and Kirkland introduced the Kirkland Signature Player irons for $499 which sold out in just hours online. Some were quick to note that the new clubs looked similar to TaylorMade's very popular P790 irons, including the TaylorMade brand itself. A set of P790 irons will run you at least $1,200.

A complaint filed in the Southern District Court of California, TaylorMade alleged Costco and Southern California Design Company - the Kirkland iron's designer - infringed on five separate patents, all of them tied to the P790 design the brand claims to have "revolutionized the filled-iron category" back in 2017. 

TaylorMade P790 irons on the left, Kirkland Signature Player irons on the right.

The "filled-in" part of this is where it gets messy, at least in TaylorMade's eyes.

TaylorMade fills the cavity of the P790 irons with a polymer named SpeedFoam. Costco advertises the Kirkland irons to have an "injected urethane insert."

According to GOLF, the complaint "claims Costco falsely advertised the inclusion of an injected urethane insert in its Players Iron set that is not housed inside the cavity."

The complaint includes a total of 11 exhibits alleging that Costco’s iron share numerous design patents tied to the P790, specifically the cavity design, face construction, and aperture into the enclosed cavity.

In summary, this is just a bunch of nerdy golf equipment specification talk of TaylorMade saying ‘your irons look a lot like ours and we’re pretty sure you copied us entirely.' 

Another way to look at it is TaylorMade claiming that it's the only golf company that can fill irons with foam, which if it owns the patent, that's essentially the case despite how odd that may seem.

TaylorMade is seeking "compensatory damages, including opportunity costs and enhanced damages in an amount to be proven at trial."

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.