Vintage Wilsons Attack Kauai!

Swingingk · January 21, 2016

My wonderful wife saved enough to get us to Kauai this winter for a warm vacation, and bringing along a set of clubs was a no-brainer. A 1-pw set of 1971 Wilson Staff "Button-backs" has been the second love of my life for two seasons now so into the travel bag they went - sans the 1 and 2 irons. The rest of the bag is somewhat newer. Not a complete classic set for sure but the old Staffs and I get along so well I just had to take them.

With the Canadian dollar in the crapper, playing the expensive courses was out of the question. I played Kiahuna near Poipu once, the Puakea course once, and the amazing Kukiolono course several times. Kukiolono isn't a big deal by GolfWRX standards but get this - 9 holes with cart - in Hawaii - for $20! My beautiful blades and I made shot after shot of sweet Dynapower love. I've tried a LOT of different irons in my relatively short time golfing, but I'm here to tell you... I'm never going anywhere without my Button-backs. Wilson!!!! ☺

stevemcgee99 · January 21, 2016

I LOVE Kukuiolono! That's the first course where I hit a ball and my playing partners said 'nice!'. Never considered myself as someone who might be able to play the game before that.

Kauai is a great place. And Wilsons are great clubs. I plan to take my 56 set this summer.

oldschoolrocker · January 21, 2016

BZ for the post Swing. You hit the nail on the head for me twice with that post.

I learned to play in Hawaii years ago, and I played a round yesterday, with a set of 2-pe Buttonbacks in the bag.

A bit envious of the weather there at the moment, as we are experiencing a colder than usual period along the coast of South Carolina at the moment.

Swingingk · January 21, 2016

Right on guys - super glad I could bring back some fond memories for you. Kukuiolono is a pretty amazing place. The locals and staff are rightfully proud of it and without trying to sound too goofy, I try to pay it the respect due an over 100 year old course.

For those who don't know, the land it is on was donated by plantation owner Walter McBride and dedicated in 1911. Mr. McBryde gave it (back) to the people with the condition that a round of golf never be priced higher than the cost of operation. In this day and age its rather unique that his wishes are still honored. My Father-in-law said he played it back in the 80's at $7 for nine holes. I paid $10 + $10 for a cart. I'll even go as far as to say that the greens were in better shape that some courses where I've paid 10 times as much to play. Too awesome!

Ps: My hometown in Saskatchewan posted record low temperatures this week of -40 degrees. That sure makes $20 golf in Hawaii that much sweeter! ☺

No_Catchy_Nickname · January 21, 2016

Love the irons! I would love to get hold of a classic set of Wilson irons, but they're hard to find where I am.

And as for the pictures of the course...well, let's just say I woke up at 6.30 this morning to practice and it was 1 degree Celsius (that's about 34 degrees cubic Fahrenheit to the square root of 4 for you American folk :taunt: )

Boricua Golf · January 21, 2016

Golf in Hawaii is just out of this world, I lived there for the past 6 years and had the best time of my life, it is breathtaking and challenging at the same time, I am glad you guys enjoyed the island, Kauai is very quiet and away from the craziness of the other island (I mean that in a great way), I miss Hawaii incredibly, but the Army said I had to come back to the mainland US, so here I am in VA with snow and freezing temps...oh joy!!!

minimal45 · January 21, 2016

Thanks for sharing the pics and the clubs. Jealous of the weather and great golf but good to see others enjoying the game. I always check out the bargain rounds when on vacation and generally find some hidden gems for courses. The wilson irons have a coolness factor beyond anything made today.

oldschoolrocker · January 21, 2016

Where you at no catchy? I am sure between all of us on here, you put your order in and one of us could find and fill it.

No_Catchy_Nickname · January 21, 2016

Where you at no catchy? I am sure between all of us on here, you put your order in and one of us could find and fill it.

Thanks for the offer! I'm in Kitakyushu, Japan (The most southern of the big four islands), so postage will be a little on the high side, I'm afraid. I'm actually going back to Britain in a couple of months for a week or two, and I'm going to have a look there for Wilsons and other classic clubs (I have an early Eighties Titleist Tour Issue there as well). I've also just bought a set of MP-14s, so if any more clubs start arriving, the wife might be using them first to beat my brains out!

jbucher · January 21, 2016

I have growing affection for The Button Backs. They are sweet when hit correctly. Glad the OP enjoyed the sun on the vacation!

Jimmy B :smilie_wilson:

stevemcgee99 · January 22, 2016

I'm in Tokyo now - Shinbashi where the golf stores are. Haven't seen any good stuff yet...

Swingingk · January 23, 2016

Another fun aspect of classic irons I enjoy is the difference in lofts per the respective club number. Pretty much every time I hit a nice shot my playing partner would ask what club I hit there. The quizzical looks I kept getting were very entertaining. He was playing new Cobra Bio-cells and I think there's about a two club difference to my Dynapowers - maybe three. ☺