Two iconic cities.
Two different strokes.
Some Toulon history.
The unveiling of the Toulon Small Batch Midwest putters is, in some ways, exactly what you would expect: refined, elegant and carrying a bit of an industrial nod. While I don’t personally believe either city could be described as refined or elegant, let’s call that personal bias. What isn’t up for debate is the Toulon family’s connection to the Midwest, which gives this release a little more meaning than simply putting two city names on a pair of putters.
Toulon Golf has never been shy about treating a putter as more than a collection of angles, weights and face milling. The Small Batch line often begins with a place, an idea or a piece of history, then uses that inspiration to shape something golfers can actually put in the bag. With Small Batch Midwest, Toulon is pairing Chicago and Milwaukee in one collection, but this is not a case of applying two city-inspired color schemes to the same head. In fact, it is just the opposite.
These two putters that make up Toulon Small Batch Midwest could hardly be more different. Chicago is a compact, modern blade with a double-bend shaft and only 10 degrees of toe hang. Milwaukee stretches the classic pintail silhouette to nearly 4.5 inches and combines a sculpted flow neck with 60 degrees of toe hang. One favors a quieter stroke with less face rotation. The other is designed to release.
The common thread is the way each design looks backward without becoming trapped there. Chicago draws from a musical tradition that moved forward through mentorship and reinvention. Milwaukee revisits a putter shape that has been around for generations and asks what it might look like with a bit more modern thinking. That gives Small Batch Midwest a cohesive story, even if the two heads occupy opposite ends of the fitting spectrum.
Toulon Small Batch Chicago
Important note, this is not the first Toulon Chicago. The name first appeared in 2017 and 2019, but the Small Batch version is a substantial reworking rather than a simple return. Toulon describes the new shape as slightly shorter and wider than a traditional blade, with inspiration pulled from its Madison, Austin and Small Batch Tulsa designs. The result is symmetrical and structured, though the softened shoulders keep it from looking overly mechanical.
The most important change goes beyond the aesthetics. For the first time in the Small Batch series, Toulon is using a double-bend shaft configuration. It brings Chicago close to face balanced, leaving just 10 degrees of toe hang. Golfers who make a relatively straight-back, straight-through motion will immediately like what they see here.
Chicago is slow milled from 904L stainless steel and finished in Brilliant Black PVD. The material and reflective finish give the head a dark, polished presence, while an Ultra Fine Double Fly Cut face is intended to produce precise feedback through a distinctive sound. A white sight dot provides the only alignment cue on top, and the package is completed by a black stepless double-bend shaft and black-and-white Toulon Pistol Midsize grip.
The Chicago story is found on the sole. Buddy Guy’s signature polka-dot motif appears exactly 34 times, connecting the blues legend with another Chicago icon, Walter Payton, who wore No. 34 throughout his career. It is a clever detail because it does not overwhelm the head at address, yet it gives the putter a specific sense of place once it is turned over. It’s that type of subtlety that lets this putter shine through the city.
Toulon Small Batch Milwaukee
If Toulon is putting a Wisconsin name on something, you know it will be refined. For Milwaukee, the company went back to the traditional pintail, a shape that has always carried more than a little romance, and rebuilt it around the expectations of a modern putter.
The subtle but present curved topline creates the familiar soft, high-toe appearance, but the construction changes dramatically behind it. A new cavity removes mass from the center and pushes it toward the perimeter, increasing MOI while allowing the blade to extend to nearly 4.5 inches. At approximately 355 grams, Milwaukee should have considerably more stability than a glance at the photo would suspect.
The flow neck received just as much attention. Its position and transition into the thin topline preserve the elegance of a classic pintail while producing slightly more than a half-shaft of offset. The resulting 60 degrees of toe hang makes Milwaukee the clear choice of the pair for golfers who create more arc and face rotation in their strokes.
As a non-Wisconsin person who does enjoy Culver’s, the whole “Cream City” reference was lost on me at first, so let me explain it. Milwaukee’s city connection is built directly into the putter’s face. Its new Cream City Brick face milling pattern references the light-colored brick that became part of Milwaukee’s architectural identity. More than decoration, the pattern reduces the face-to-ball contact area to slightly soften sound and feel at impact. Cream-colored paintfill is joined by green and blue accents, all set against Toulon’s Brilliant Midnight Black PVD finish. A Vintage Cream Toulon Pistol Midsize grip and KBS CT Tour stepless chrome shaft finish the look.
Two Cities, Two Very Different Putters
The storytelling will draw the initial attention, but the contrast between the two Small Batch Midwest putters stands out. Chicago weighs 360 grams and presents a compact, nearly face-balanced option. Milwaukee comes in at 355 grams, yet its longer body, perimeter weighting and pronounced toe flow create an entirely different experience. Both are built with 3 degrees of loft and a 70-degree lie angle, but that is about where the similarities end.
While Toulon Small Batch putters are often viewed as collectibles, Chicago and Milwaukee are also very different tools built for very different putting strokes. The city connections give each one personality, but the designs underneath them are what make Small Batch Midwest particularly interesting. Heck, I even learned what Cream City means along the way.
Toulon Small Batch Midwest Pricing and Availability
The Toulon Small Batch Midwest Chicago and Milwaukee putters will be available beginning September 24, 2026, with each model priced at $1,800.
For more information or to purchase, visit toulongolf.com.
