The Wilson 8802

The Wilson 8802 in its original 1964 form came about as a renaming rather than a new design. The maker's page lists that when Arnold Palmer left Wilson in 1963, Wilson took his name off the putter and renamed it The Wilson 8802, with the number itself carrying no deeper meaning: it was simply the putter's item number in the Wilson catalog at the time. The head was produced and marketed in 1964, and that year is the anchor for everything the record holds about this release.

The specifics collected on this original run are precise on a few identifying points. The maker's page lists a face height described as exactly the diameter of a nickel, 13/16 inch, a chromed satin or frosted finish, and a black leather grip with a silver thread spiraling the entire length, with a logo on the cap consisting of two flags, one red and one blue. The shaft is described as having 5 steps, with the first step measuring 8 to 8 1/2 inches from the end of the putter head hosel, and banded with a head speed band showing two green triangles containing the words Head Speed. Left-handed models are noted as having appeared as early as April of 1964, placing them within the same original release window.

On authenticity, the record is direct: the bottom of the club should read The Wilson 8802, with Wilson in red and The and 8802 in black, and critically, the maker's page lists that an original 8802 should NOT have the word original stamped on the bottom of the head. That single marking detail is presented as the dividing line between this 1964 release and later stampings that carry the word outright, and it's the detail collectors of this specific year tend to check first.