The Toulon Golf Small Batch Scottsdale putter is named after the city in Arizona.
The Toulon Scottsdale is a small mallet design imbued with lots of western flair.
Available Feb. 14 at ToulonGolf.com with a MSRP of $1,800.
Howdy, pardner!
Quick, someone get Jellyroll on the phone. Having visited Dallas, Team Toulon continues their western-wear phase this month with their new Small Batch Scottsdale putter. While the wind flaps their chaps, the Scottsdale rolls balls across greens like tumbleweeds across a desert.
Realistically, the roll is probably better than tumbleweeds. They tend to roll erratically with the wind. Putts must roll straighter than those rambling botanicals.
I believe I’ve just created the new tag line:
The Toulon Scottsdale is ready for the Wild West, and the rolls are even straighter than a tumbleweed!
How is Arizona a golf state?
Many of us just finished watching the WM Phoenix Open in Arizona last weekend. The thing is that not many people realize just how amazing it is that there is a golf course in Scottsdale. In fact, there are a lot more than one golf course in Arizona.
Not to drop too much science on you but Arizona is in a desert ecosystem. Not a desert with sand dunes but more of a rocky arid landscape. Like the sandy desert, the rocky desert is not very moist.
Even so, the Sonoran Desert supports a wonderfully diverse community of animals and plants. You have Gila monsters, scorpions, kangaroo rats, prickly pears, saguaros and lots of other kinds of cacti. Watch out for them jumping chollas if you are out hiking. They are aggressive!
You know what doesn’t naturally grow in a desert? Grass.
Humans in Arizona have proudly given nature the middle finger by building more than 200 golf courses in the state. Big golf companies like PING and PXG have their headquarters in Arizona. It’s an unlikely golf state but it is actually a golf powerhouse, especially the city of Scottsdale.
Toulon’s western flair
Scottsdale’s environment makes it an unlikely location for golf courses but it has lots of them and has become a golf destination. That said, Arizona is still the Wild West even if much of the frontier landscape around Phoenix is covered with concrete and asphalt.
This was once the land of gunfights and outlaws. The Arizona Territory was not for the timid. It took a strong person to survive in the harsh environment.
The Toulon Scottsdale is made for the gunslinger. It features engravings that one might find on a trusty Colt and curves straight from the edge of a Buck knife. The dark brown finish and paint deftly complete the southwestern look.
(Let’s ignore that they named the finish Milk Chocolate and instead call it Javelina Brown.)
Like the habitat, the shape of the Toulon Scottsdale is exotic. This is a small round mallet with a continuously sloping back edge and a plumber’s neck. That is not a common build we see these days.
The neck is attached toward the heel of the putter, giving the Scottsdale a deeper toe hang than usually found with a plumber’s neck. As such, it is suited more for strong-arc players. That seems appropriate as these are the players that are slinging their putters open and closed the most.
The bullet (pow, pow, pow!) milled into the sole helps to balance out the weight of the neck.
You don’t need to trade your spikes for spurs when you putt with the Small Batch Scottsdale but you probably should.
Specifications: Toulon Small Batch Scottsdale Putter
Material: 904L stainless steel
Construction: CNC-milled
Finish: Milk Chocolate with cream and gold paint
Face: Ultra Fine Double Fly
Neck: H1 (mounted toward heel)
Toe Hang: 36°
Offset: One shaft
Loft: 3°
Lie: 70°
Weight: 355 grams
Shaft: Chrome steel
Grip: Black and Gold Toulon Pistol Midsized grip
Production run: 75
MSRP: $1,800
Dave’s bonus content: Three must-do things in Scottsdale
Having lived just south of Scottsdale (Go Devils!) for a number of years, I thought I would pass along some of the must-do activities should you make the trip for some desert golf.
Check your calendar
I wish I was joking about this. There are some days in the greater Phoenix area (which includes Scottsdale) that are hot. Not your normal hot but “How did I get transported to the surface of the sun?” hot.
There are certain times of the year in Arizona when your 1 p.m. tee time is downright life-threatening. When I lived there, there was a day or two when it was too hot for planes to take off. If you put a tee in the turf on a day like that, your score may be 6 (feet) under.
You’ll pay less at the pro shop in the summer than you would during the winter but you will likely spend that savings on Gatorade. Shoot for spring and fall visits if you can.
Hit the links, then the diamond
One of the best things about spring in Scottsdale is the MLB Cactus League baseball season. The weather has (probably) not yet hit 100°F and the days are long enough that you can get in a round of golf and a spring training game.
Fifteen major league teams play games within a 50-mile radius. Games start in late February and run until the end of March. Tickets are cheaper than you will find in a major league ballpark and the ballparks are smaller as well.
Gain 10 pounds
If you do it right, your trip to Arizona will bulk you up more than a Disney cruise. Scottsdale has a slew of delicious restaurants. A few have closed since I moved away like the iconic Pinnacle Peak Patio Steakhouse where the neckties of overdressed patrons were cut off and stapled to the rafters.
Not sure if Amy’s Baking Company is still open in Scottsdale, either.
Regardless, there are multitudes of other places to fuel up on southwestern cuisine after golf. I have a great suggestion if you are looking for some Sonoran spice. Go to Los Dos Molinos. Be warned, the spice levels are legit. Even the tap water has a bit of a kick. I think I miss that restaurant the most.
Final thoughts on the Toulon Small Batch Scottsdale
Whether it makes sense or not, there is no denying that Scottsdale, and the whole state of Arizona, is a place for golf. The building of golf courses in the desert shows how tough Arizonans are when it comes to dealing with nature. You’ve got to be tough when the temperature on some summer days doesn’t dip below the century mark until well past midnight.
The state’s history of gunfights and outlaws gives Arizona a frontier flavor but the history runs far deeper than that. You should definitely visit, just maybe not in July. The summer dust storms and monsoon rains are something to behold, though.
Did Toulon capture the essence of Scottsdale in this new Small Batch putter? Admittedly, its been 20 years since I left the Grand Canyon State but I do get a distinctly western vibe from the Scottsdale. Maybe with just a couple of hints of Taliesin West and Arcosanti thrown in for good measure.
If it fits your fancy, it will cost you less than a $20 gold coin.
Find out more about the Toulon Golf Small Batch Scottsdale putter at ToulonGolf.com
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