Kirkland Putter vs Scotty Cameron: Is the KS1 Worth It?

What it is	Putter
Premium milled blade, USA-made	Scotty Cameron Special Select / Studio Style Newport 2	Amazon →
Milled face, around $150	Cleveland HB SOFT Milled / HB SOFT 2	Amazon →
Soft insert, forgiving mallet option	Odyssey Ai-ONE / Ai-ONE Double Wide	Amazon →
Double-milled mallet, roughly $130	Wilson Infinite (Buckingham / Windy City)	Amazon →

+ 1 more in the full list ↓

The KS1 is not a Scotty Cameron and never claimed to be. Costco took the most copied shape in golf, the Anser/Newport blade, milled it from 303 stainless, and sold it for roughly a third of a Scotty's price. Here is how it lines up against the Scotty Cameron Newport 2 and Phantom, the Cleveland HB SOFT 2 and the TaylorMade TP Hydro Blast Bandon 3.

Prices move and the KS1 is often out of stock, so check the live listing before you buy.

Head to HeadKS1 vs Scotty Cameron Phantom, Cleveland HB SOFT 2 and TaylorMade Bandon 3

KS1 vs Scotty Cameron Phantom. These are different kinds of putter, so the real question is blade or mallet. The KS1 is a heel-toe-weighted blade; the Phantom is Scotty's mallet family, with larger, more stable heads. If you want a blade, the Newport 2 is the Scotty to compare. If you want a mallet, the Phantom costs several times what the KS1 does, and a forgiving mallet at a lower price is easy to find, such as the Odyssey Ai-ONE Double Wide or the Wilson Infinite below. Not sure which shape suits your stroke? Start with the mallet vs blade putter guide.

KS1 vs Cleveland HB SOFT 2. The HB SOFT 2 costs a little more than the KS1 at Costco prices, but it is the one you can usually buy. Cleveland offers nine models matched to a straight or slight-arc stroke, a 365g head on the Model 11 (the KS1 is 340g), and custom lengths from 32" to 38". The KS1 counters with adjustable sole weights and a lower price. Cleveland's pricier HB SOFT Milled line runs $199.99 to $249.99, so do not mix the two up when you shop.

KS1 vs TaylorMade TP Hydro Blast Bandon 3. The Bandon 3 is a double-wing mallet with a short slant hosel and 32° of toe hang, which TaylorMade pitches at golfers whose putter face rotates more through the stroke. Its Surlyn Pure Roll insert is a different feel from the KS1's milled steel face. Both suit a stroke with some arc; pick the KS1 if you like the look of a blade, and the Bandon 3 if you would rather have a mallet with an insert face. Length options are similar: 34" or 35" on the Bandon 3, a single 34.5" on the KS1.

The SubjectWhat exactly is the Kirkland KS1?

The KS1 is Costco's first-ever golf club, introduced in 2020 under the Kirkland Signature private label. It's a classic Anser/Newport-style blade, the same heel-toe-weighted shape that has defined the category for decades, CNC-milled from 303 stainless steel. That last detail is the whole pitch: 303 stainless is the exact grade Scotty Cameron uses, which is why the marketing leans so hard on the idea of a milled putter for a fraction of the price.

It originally retailed at $149.99, though Costco has at times sold it for as little as $99–$129.99. The head is 340g with 3° of loft, carries two adjustable heel-toe sole weights (roughly 10 grams each), and uses a Truline contrast alignment aid up top. It ships in a single 34.5-inch length with a SuperStroke Mid Slim 2.0 CounterCore grip, itself a roughly $35 component. On paper, that's a remarkable amount of putter for the price. One catch worth flagging up front: the extra weight kit and the Allen key needed to swap weights have, depending on the run, sometimes been sold separately, and at least one reviewer received a unit without the Allen key.

The KS1 sells as a right-handed club, with a left-handed version stocked separately when Costco has it. The 34.5-inch length is the only one offered, so if you need shorter or longer, a local shop can cut the shaft down cheaply or adjust the lie. Not sure what length you need? The putter length chart shows how height and posture map to length.

The Real DifferenceKirkland KS1 putter vs Scotty Cameron: the build distinction that matters

Here is the single most important thing to understand, and it's the reason the two putters feel different in your hands. The KS1 uses a milled 303 stainless steel face insert set into the head. A premium Scotty Cameron (the Special Select or Studio Style Newport 2) is milled from a solid block of 303 stainless with no insert at all, and it's milled in the USA. So while both clubs are "milled 303 stainless," only one is a single continuous piece of steel from face to flange.

That construction gap is what you hear and feel at impact. The solid Scotty head produces the soft, dense, "thuddy" feel that putter snobs pay for. The KS1's inserted face is a notch firmer and thinner, and reviewers describe a "click" or a "clud" rather than a soft press. Neither is wrong; it's a genuine difference in character. Plenty of great putters use inserts. But if you're chasing a cheap milled putter that feels like a Scotty Cameron, set your expectations: the KS1 looks the part and gets close, but the feel is a step behind.

Same shape, same grade of steel, but a milled insert is not a solid head, and your hands will know it.

Prices and stock move constantly. The KS1 has sold anywhere from about $99 to $149.99, and Scotty pricing varies by model. Treat every number here as approximate and verify current listings before you buy.

How it actually feels and performs

Strip away the brand and the build talk, and the on-course story from credible, independent reviewers is consistent. Read just about any serious Kirkland KS1 putter review (Plugged In Golf, MyGolfSpy, Golf Insider, among others) and the conclusion lands in the same place: the KS1 is uncommonly good for the money, roughly 80–90% of a premium milled putter's look and performance for about a third of the price. That figure is a reviewer's qualitative estimate, not a lab result, so treat it as a feel impression.

The weaknesses reviewers mention most:

• Feel and sound. Firmer and thinner than a solid milled head, as covered above. There are better-feeling putters out there, but for the money, the KS1 is fine-to-good, not bad.
• A slightly chunky top-down look. At address it reads a touch heavier and blockier than the cleaner premium blades it imitates.
• The lighter head. At ~340g it's about 10 grams lighter than a comparable Scotty, which a few players found affected their distance control on longer putts. The adjustable sole weights help you tune this.
• The grip can dominate. The counter-weighted SuperStroke is a quality grip, but some reviewers felt its weight masked the feedback from the head.
• A cheaper headcover. You get a Velcro-closure cover rather than the magnetic covers on premium putters. Minor, but it's part of the cost-cutting picture.

None of those are dealbreakers for a recreational golfer. They're the predictable compromises behind a milled blade that costs a hundred-and-something dollars.

Who actually makes it, and the resale question

The KS1 is not designed or built by Scotty Cameron. It's a private-label product manufactured overseas (widely reported as China) at a factory that also produces putters for other brands, so it is not a rebadged Cameron.

That mass-market origin shows up in resale. Scotty Camerons hold their value about as well as anything in golf, frequently reselling near or even above retail. The KS1 has almost no resale upside. Once you buy it, the money's spent. The offsetting advantage is Costco's famously generous return policy, which effectively lets you test the KS1 risk-free. If you don't get along with it, take it back. That return window is the closest thing the KS1 has to a fitting session.

Do you even need a $400 putter?

Before you agonize over the Kirkland KS1 putter vs Scotty Cameron price gap, remember that a premium putter does not magically lower your scores. So are expensive putters worth it? For most recreational golfers, not really, at least not in the way the price tag implies. What actually moves your putting are the boring fundamentals: a proper fit (length, the right toe hang and neck style for your stroke, head weight matched to your tempo) and reps on the practice green. A flawless fit on a budget putter will out-putt a poorly matched $450 blade every time.

A great putter doesn't make putts. A great stroke, on a putter that fits you, makes putts.

The rule across the bag is simple: spend where it buys you real performance, not where it buys you a logo. If you're still assembling your set and weighing where the dollars should go, browse more gear guides, and see the golf ball buyer's guide for the cheapest big upgrade in golf, which isn't a putter at all. It's playing the right ball, consistently.

The OptionsKirkland KS1 putter vs Scotty Cameron: the options, plus alternatives for when it sells out

The KS1 sells out constantly and has commanded resale markups north of $250, so a sold-out backup plan isn't optional, it's the plan. Prices move, so check the live listing before buying. For more options at lower prices, see the putters under $100 guide.

Decision MatrixWhich one fits the golfer you are

Same five putters, sorted by the kind of buyer each one is actually for. The ratings below are relative to one another, not absolute scores, and they trace straight to the trade-offs covered above: feel, forgiveness, value, and resale.

Avoid TheseCommon mistakes buyers make

• Paying resale markup for a KS1. The whole argument for the Kirkland is the price. The moment you're handing a reseller $250-plus for one, you've erased its only real edge over an in-stock Cleveland HB SOFT or Wilson Infinite at retail. Wait for restock or buy a backup, but don't overpay.
• Expecting Scotty feel from an insert. The KS1 looks like a Newport, so people assume it should feel like one. It's a milled insert, not a solid head. Going in expecting a firmer "click" instead of a soft "thud" saves you the disappointment.
• Skipping the length and toe-hang check. The KS1 ships in one 34.5-inch length with no fitting, so plenty of buyers play a putter that's the wrong length or balance for their stroke. If 34.5" isn't your number, a shop can cut it down in minutes. A putter that doesn't fit you won't sink putts no matter whose name is on it.
• Ignoring the missing-parts catch. The extra weight kit and the Allen key to swap the sole weights have sometimes shipped separately, and at least one reviewer got a unit with no Allen key. Open the box and check before you toss the packaging.
• Treating Costco's return policy as a fitting session you skip. The generous returns let you test the KS1 risk-free, but only if you actually roll it on a real green for a week first. Most people never do, then keep a putter that never suited them.

The last word

So, on the Costco putter vs Scotty Cameron worth it question, where does it land? For the right buyer, the KS1 can make sense. If you like a classic milled blade, you're shopping on a budget, and you can live with a firmer feel and a no-frills package, the KS1 is a low-cost way into a milled blade, and Costco's returns mean you can try it with nothing to lose. If you want the genuine soft, solid feel, you're going to get fitted, or you care that your putter holds its value, the Scotty Cameron earns its premium and you'll know it every time you address a ball. What you shouldn't do is buy either one expecting it to fix your putting. Get fit for length and toe hang, put in the reps on the practice green, and then choose the putter that makes you want to practice. That's the one that lowers your scores.

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