WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Toulon Golf has released its latest small batch of putters, the Carbonetti Meadow Club, a traditional ear-shaped mallet that features a wood sole plate from a famous tree that used to stand on the first course Dr. Alister MacKenzie designed in North America. Milled from 904L stainless steel, it features a super fine double fly milled face and tungsten weights, with a piano black finish and a stylized logo from the Meadow Club as an alignment aid.
PRICE: $2000. The Carbonetti Meadow Club is available for purchase on a first come, first served basis on ToulonGolf.com. The limited-edition putter is being released on the same day as the 2024 Masters to celebrate another legendary Dr. MacKenzie-designed course.
3 COOL THINGS
1. The tree. In the early 1900s, more than a decade before the Golden Gate Bridge was even opened, Dr. MacKenzie traveled by ferry north across the water from San Francisco and then by horseback to the Bon Tempe Meadow. It was there, in a tucked-away glen below Mount Tamalpais, that he found the site of what would become his first course design in North America.
On a hill adjacent to what would become the fourth tee at the Meadow Club, a madrone tree had sprouted. Madrone trees are native to the coastal region in Northern California and Oregon and have very hard, reddish wood. In 2022, after roughly a decade of growth, the tree was deemed an environmental hazard by the local government and would have to be removed. After playing many rounds at the Meadow Club while at the University of San Francisco, two of the brothers Toulon had become fond of the tree. As it had become an important symbol to the Toulon family, they found a way to acquire it and had it shipped to Brooklyn to fashion sole plates for this putter. A putter seems a fitting way to immortalize the iconic tree on MacKenzie’s first course, as the architect famously believed that any properly designed hole could be played with only the flatstick.
2. The club. This is not just a collector’s item. It is meant to be played. Designed by Sean and Tony Toulon, the traditional-looking mallet features a slight single-bend neck that fits into a rounded top line. The super fine double fly milled face creates a slight click at impact with a soft feel at impact. The main attraction, again, is the sole plate, hand made by master luthier and musician Jimmy Carbonetti.
3. The Guitar. While the wood from the famous tree on MacKenzie’s first North American course will live in perpetuity in this run of putters, Carbonetti also crafted it into a guitar. So now, forever, the famous madrone can help make smooth strokes on the greens and play soothing tones around the clubhouse.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
