Golfing News & Blog Articles
Toulon First Run Putter Line
Toulon Golf was conceived last summer when Sean Toulon retired from Odyssey golf. Since we are now about nine months post-conception, Toulon Golf is right on time for giving birth to their first official putter line. This new First Run Collection is the first retail putter line from Toulon Golf.
(There are so many half-truths in that last sentence.)
First of all, the First Run Collection is by no means the first line of Toulon putters. Sean Toulon and his sons started Toulon Golf once before, back in 2015 when Sean initially retired from a very productive tenure at TaylorMade.
Those of you who play a TaylorMade Spider putter have Sean Toulon to thank for it.
Anyway, Sean retired from TaylorMade and started up his family putter company. Toulon Golf produced milled putters as an independent entity for a short period before Sean was wooed back into golf gear’s big leagues by Odyssey/Callaway.
It was at this point that Toulon putters became the high-end milled brand of putters for Odyssey.
Then, in the summer of 2023, Sean retired (again) and started the Toulon Golf putter company with his sons (again). Since then, Toulon Golf has released a handful of very limited run, and very expensive, Small Batch putters, but nothing really targeted toward the golfing masses.
That changes today. Well, sort of.
With a price tag of $600 and relatively limited production runs, Toulon does not expect the First Run Collection to be found in the bags of the golfing masses. These are still boutique luxury putters, but not to the level of Small Batch. Still very fancy but just not as fancy.
The new Small Batch putters are like a nice BMW 3-Series whereas the Small Batch putters are M3 Competition models.
Sounds like it is time for a Toulon test drive.
2024 Toulon First Run Collection: 100% Milled
All eight models in the 2023 Toulon First Run Collection are 100 percent milled from 303 stainless steel. That stainless steel is the industry-standard putter material these days, delivering the machinability the companies like and the feel we golfers like.
The faces have a new mid-depth Double Fly Cut milling pattern. When you run a finger across the face, you can feel how the texture varies from top to bottom. Though the impact feel varies from model to model, I would describe it as soft. The face milling also influences the sound at impact though, once again, the shape of the head causes tonal variation as well.
All of the mallets and one of the blades feature milled aluminum sole plates as well.
2024 Toulon First Run Collection: New Milled Geometries
You may recognize a few of the model names. I hope so, since six of eight are previously released designs. A “previously released design” does not mean Toulon just rolled out the old CAD files and slapped on new paint. The older designs have also been retooled and two of the heads are completely new designs.
The milling on the 2024 Toulon First Run Collection is superb. The original batch of Toulon Design putters released in 2015 were decent milled putters but not quite up to the level of their competitors. During his tenure at Odyssey, Sean Toulon was able to consistently improve on the Toulon milled putter design.
By the time the last batch of Odyssey/Toulon putters was released in 2022, Toulon milled putters were on par with the other major milled makers.
The Toulon First Run Collection continues this improvement trend. The milling is clean and interesting. I could spend the rest of this article pointing out little edges and angles where Toulon has added a bit of flare to the geometries.
Do these elements add to performance? Of course not, but they do add to the desirability for milled putter consumers. The little facets catch the light and make the putter intriguing. Maybe these nuances are lost on the casual consumer, but they check off boxes for the detail-oriented milled putter customer.
2024 Toulon First Run Collection: Adjustable Weighting
All of the Toulon First Run Collection putters feature adjustable sole weights. Changing the weights allows the golfer to make the various heads 10 grams lighter or 30 grams heavier.
All of the sole weights are toward the front edge of the putters, even the mallets. This was a design element that Toulon incorporated into their last line of production putters at Odyssey. Forward weight position improved MOI and center of gravity position.
For the heavy-handed, Toulon will also be offering all of the heads in a Heavy-Spec configuration. For an extra $50, you can get a heavier head, longer shaft and larger grip. This essentially allows you to turn any of the First Run Collection models into a counterbalanced putter.
2024 Toulon First Run Collection: Neck Options
Three of the First Run Collection mallets will be offered with two neck options. You can buy the Memphis with a double-bend neck if you want it face-balanced or a flow neck to add blade-like toe hang to the Memphis.
The Las Vegas and the new Alcatraz mallet can be ordered with either a H1 crank hosel (plumber’s neck) or a double-bend neck. Again, the difference will be one of toe hang. If you want more of a blade-like feel with your mallet, go with the H1.
2024 Toulon First Run Collection: Chocolate PVD Finish
All of the Toulon First Run Collection putters are finished with a Chocolate PVD finish. You may think that “chocolate” equates to “brown.” It does to an extent but this finish is so much more than just a brown coating.
As you look through the photos in this article, you’ll see how the finish changes depending upon the amount of available light. Many of these photos were shot on an overcast day and the finish looks very chocolatey.
Add a little more sun, though, and the dark chocolate melts into bronze and rose gold hues. You’ll notice how the angles of the putters also influence how light or dark the finish appears. In general, the blades seem a bit darker than the mallets but even within the blades there is variation. The San Diego blade looks darker than the Madison blade.
I applaud Toulon for going with an atypical Chocolate PVD finish but it does seem a bit risky. Differences can be scary. Will the public gravitate towards it or away from it? There is a reason why so many putters out there are black or silver.
This finish absolutely separates the Toulon First Run Collection from its competitors. The sales numbers will tell if that is a good thing.
2024 Toulon First Run Collection Blade Putters
The Toulon First Run Collection includes four blades. Three of them—the Austin, Madison and San Diego—are based on previous Toulon shapes. The fourth, the New York City, is a new wide-body long-neck model.
If you are a lefty, Toulon does have a city for you—as long as you like San Diego.
Though only four models, the First Run Collection blades deliver some diverse visual and play options. You’ll not find a flow neck or a center-shaft, but the differences between the models make them feel and roll like distinct individuals.
2024 Toulon First Run Collection Madison
The Toulon First Run Madison is the best putter in the batch—at least for me. I appreciate the relatively compact profile at address and how the putter sits very naturally behind the ball. The lines of the cavity and the single sight line are perfect alignment tools. This putter is so pure.
Again, I am not saying the Madison is the best putter for everyone, just for me. You may have a different favorite. That’s OK. You’re wrong, but that’s OK.
The feel is soft and responsive. Simply put, everything feels right. I suppose this should come as no surprise as the 2022 Toulon Madison made a similar impression. At the time, I would have said that Toulon had produced their best possible Madison.
Somehow, this one is better looking and better feeling. After rolling it, I fully support the change from the previous Double Diamond face milling to the new Double Fly Cut pattern. The feedback and roll are noticeably better with the new face milling.
2024 Toulon First Run Collection Austin
The Toulon First Run Austin is a great example of how Toulon has tweaked and turned the blade designs to make them different-looking and -playing. At first glance, the Austin looks quite a bit like the Madison.
Both have a rounded profile, similar to a classic PING Dale Head Anser. After that, the Madison and Austin designs diverge. The most obvious difference is that the sight line on the Madison is replaced with a top line dot on the Austin.
At address, you’ll notice that the cavity of the Austin is wider than the Madison’s cavity. To keep the overall weight similar to the Madison, this expanded cavity required that the bumpers be a bit steeper on the Austin.
The overall head weight is the same but the weight is positioned differently in the two blades. This makes the blades feel a bit different in the swing and at impact. It’s subtle. If you are not swinging them one immediately after the other, you may not notice. Think of them as fraternal twins that look very similar.
Keeping with the theme of subtle changes, the Austin’s plumber’s neck connects to the head a bit back from the face. This creates only three-quarters of a shaft of offset at address compared to the Madison’s full-shaft offset. This makes the view behind the ball a little different at address and tweaks the swinging of the putter a bit as well.
2024 Toulon First Run Collection San Diego
The San Diego is Toulon’s most popular blade putter. More people have purchased a San Diego than any other putter since Toulon Golf was started seven years ago.
That makes sense to me as the San Diego is Toulon’s interpretation of PING’s monumentally popular Anser 2 design. The San Diego is slightly longer heel-to-toe than the Madison or Austin. The overall profile of the San Diego is far more squared-off than those blades as well.
Essentially, if you are an Anser 2 or Newport 2 player, the San Diego would be your Toulon putter of choice.
One interesting feature about the San Diego is that the more squared-off angles make the Chocolate PVD finish appear darker on this head. Same goes for the squared-off New York City. I suppose the physics of light reflecting at different angles from the putters’ different angles could explain why this is the case, but that sounds like it requires math and I’m fresh out of protractors and calculators.
2024 Toulon First Run Collection New York City
Has a putter ever made you mad? I’m not talking about getting mad at it when it misses a putt for you. That kind of fury happens to all of us. Did you know that specific angry situations are the No. 1 causes of new putter purchases and spontaneous putter scuba-diving expeditions?
It was the expectation versus the reality of the New York City model that got me a little hot. In the release information, I read “long-neck blade” and had visions of a face-balanced long-neck Madison. Something in the more delicate direction.
Pulling off the headcover, I discovered a New York Giant!
The Toulon First Run New York City is a big, square blade. At the risk of oversimplification, take a Toulon Chicago and add a longer-than-usual plumber’s neck, and you will have the Toulon New York City putter. A “performance-enhanced” Madison would be another way I’d describe the NYC.
Ultimately, the New York City is a new design for Toulon. Due to its enhanced size, some of the stainless steel material on the sole was removed and replaced with an aluminum sole plate. In this way, the NYC is more similar to the other Toulon mallets than the blades which just have sole weights.
The H1.5 neck is longer than the traditional H1 plumber’s neck, but it does not make the NYC face-balanced. Toe hang is at about 4:00, the same as the San Diego.
The NYC is a mallet and a blade and should be a prime candidate for the Heavy-Spec treatment.
2024 Toulon First Run Collection Mallet Putters
The Toulon First Run Collection includes four mallets, arguably seven if you include the available neck options. As with the blades, three are revisions of previous Toulon mallet designs, and one is new.
Left-handed players have two mallets to pick from. Both the Las Vegas with the H1 neck and the Alcatraz double-bend have been built to point in the “wrong” direction.
Of the four mallets, the Las Vegas and the Alcatraz are large mallets and the Memphis and the Atlanta are more mid-mallets. The two pairs of mallets are different enough that they come with different-sized headcovers.
All the mallets feature aluminum sole plates and adjustable sole weights toward the front edge. This weight scheme influences the center of gravity and the moment of inertia values for the mallets. Ultimately, the weight position is intended to improve performance.
2024 Toulon First Run Collection Memphis
The Toulon First Run Memphis has undergone quite a bit of nip and tuck since the 2022 version. While the previous Memphis models were big round mallets, this new Memphis seems to have spent the last two years taking Ozempic. Gone are the previous Memphis’s love-handle bumper bumps and extended backside bulges.
The new Memphis is a more compact version of the previous designs. Whereas the old version was a large round mallet, the First Run Memphis has moved into mid-mallet territory.
With the slant neck and the now unbalanced heel and toe regions, the Memphis is starting to resemble the Odyssey #9. Not to that extreme but it’s heading in that direction.
Toulon said they had produced new takes on their classic designs. The changes that they made to the Memphis shows they were not kidding around.
2024 Toulon First Run Collection Atlanta
Did you have that one girl or guy in high school you knew wasn’t good for you but you just couldn’t move on from? If high school classmates were putters, that toxic crush would be the Toulon Atlanta.
The Atlanta and I had a thing when it was released. So hot on the practice range, then icy when it counted on the course.
When I was play-testing these, the Atlanta was making everything, telling me that we were made to be together and that it would never crush my spirit again by leaving me for that rich guy on the football team with the badass Mustang GT convertible.
Sorry, I got distracted.
Anyway, the temptress named Atlanta is a compact round mallet where that annoying round rear section has been sawed off. The square bumpers and rectangular middle region square up beautifully behind the ball, making targeting your future together a dream.
2024 Toulon First Run Collection Las Vegas
It’s a safe bet that the Toulon First Run Collection Las Vegas will be the most popular mallet in the line. Cringe-inducing “safe bet” with Las Vegas pairing aside, the Las Vegas is going to find its way into a lot of golf bags, professional and amateur.
The version of the Las Vegas shown in the photos with the H1 neck is the one that will generate the most interest. The Las Vegas with the double-bend neck is a classic fang/#7 mallet design. There is nothing wrong with it and mallet players will gravitate towards it as well. It just doesn’t fit the mallet zeitgeist like the Las Vegas – H1.
The Las Vegas with the H1 neck represents the current state of mallet play—people using mallets that play like blades. The fang-shaped mallet has been popular with mallet players for decades but the addition of the plumber’s neck brought blade players into the mallet fold as well.
Simply stated, this mallet plays like a blade. The toe hang provided by the plumber’s neck allows the Las Vegas to gate open and closed like a blade. This makes the blade player comfortable playing the mallet.
Why not just play a blade putter then?
Mallet putters offer additional alignment features and MOI values that are just not possible with a blade. For example, I’m not sure how one could add those long cavity alignment lines on the Las Vegas to a Madison. It’s tough to paint air.
The H1 Las Vegas has the best elements of both designs.
2024 Toulon First Run Collection Alcatraz
The Toulon First Run Alcatraz is a new mallet design. I bet you have some questions about this new mallet. I know I did when I first saw it.
First of all, why is it named Alcatraz? All of the other putters are named after cities. Alcatraz is not a city. Alcatraz is a prison in San Francisco Bay. I know it’s not a city because I’ve been there. I didn’t see a single Starbucks or In-N-Out Burger on the island. Therefore, Alcatraz is not a city.
You may be thinking the Alcatraz looks like the Odyssey Jailbird and that is why they named it Alcatraz. That could be true but it still doesn’t make Alcatraz a city. After a brief consultation, Mr. Cash says the mallet should be named The Folsom …
Getting to the main point, the Toulon Alcatraz is a fully milled version of the Odyssey Jailbird. As you can see in the photo above, it is not an exact replica of the Jailbird Cruiser or Jailbird Mini but the three putters definitely share a cellblock.
Can the Alcatraz truly be a Jailbird if it lacks the stripes?
In some ways, the Alcatraz is a fang-shaped putter where the fangs connect at the rear end. The empty center gives you peripheral weighting like having fangs would but the putter maintains a complete perimeter of metal.
Kidding about the name aside, I was quite impressed with the Alcatraz. It is very easy to aim and produces a satisfying thud at impact. Had I had the H1 version in hand for testing, the Alcatraz could have given the Madison a run for the Dave’s Top of Class spot.
By the way, if you want to know more about the play comparison between the Ai-One Jailbird Mini and the Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser versions, stay tuned.
Final Thoughts on the 2024 Toulon First Run Collection Putter Line
For a “first” line of putters, the Toulon 2024 First Run Collection is very diverse. As I rolled balls with the cohort, there were some “yeps” and some “nopes” for me. That is exactly what a line of putters should deliver. A putter that doesn’t work for me may be just the thing for someone else. The models in the Toulon First Run Collection should meet the play needs of the majority of golfers.
Before you say it in the comments, perhaps there will be a center-shafted model in the 2025 Second Run.
For someone who has “retired” from golf, it sure seems like Sean Toulon has put a great deal of effort into developing the Toulon First Run Collection. This is a big release from a small putter company. I’m not kidding about the “small”, either.
If you order a putter from Toulon Golf, it will likely be built by Sean, Tony, or Preston Toulon.
The size of their operation likely explains why there will be only hundreds of the First Run Collection putters available, not thousands or tens of thousands like when Odyssey was producing Toulon putters. This reduction in production also explains how Toulon was able to become a direct-to-consumer company.
Overall, this batch of putters from the second incarnation of Toulon Golf is vastly improved over the first batch from nine or so years ago. It’s like when you re-roll a putt after your first attempt missed. The second time typically produces a better result.
Find out more about the 2024 Toulon First Run Collection putter line at ToulonGolf.com
FAQ: 2024 Toulon First Run Collection Putter Line
Are these the same models as the Toulon Small Batch putters?
Some are similar but they are not the same. Typically, the Small Batch putters have unique takes on the designs that are different from the production offerings. Take a look at the Small Batch Monaco compared to the Las Vegas and you will see what I mean. Plus, Small Batch putters are usually made from 904L “Rolex” stainless steel.
Are Toulon putters played on the PGA Tour?
Since the original founding of Toulon golf in 2015, Toulon putters are the second-most played milled putters on Tour and have recorded 63 tournament wins. Check here for a full rundown of the Toulon putter wins.
Why are these putters 303 stainless steel and not 904L stainless steel like the Small Batch putters?
I’d say there are two main reasons. First, only using the 904L for the Small Batch putters adds to their mystique. The second, and most likely, reason is that the 904L steel is expensive and would boost the price of the First Run Collection beyond that of a marketable retail line.
Is Toulon finished with Small Batch putters now that the First Run Collection has launched?
Not at all, We should expect to see new Small Batch putters from Toulon about once a month. Rumor has it that there are other special projects in the works at the Toulon workshop as well.
The post Toulon First Run Putter Line appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
