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Bringing back the blade: Maverick McNealy ends mallet experiment, returning to ‘Hideki reject’ putter

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In a world where many think putting with a blade is a dying art…rise Maverick McNealy.

Now his story doesn’t come without a slight bit of villainy. He, too, went to the dark side, but swiftly returned. It’s a plot for one of the greatest sci-fi movie franchises.

As McNealy heads to TPC Sawgrass for The Players Championship, the world No. 25 is coming off a week’s spell using the TaylorMade Spider putter on the West Coast. Surprisingly, though, and against all odds, McNeally has returned to his Odyssey Toulon Prototype Santa Monica blade, instead of following the mallet crowd.

“I think there’s, there’s a lot of value in a mallet to, to align properly and look where you’re aiming and stroke it that way,” McNealy said on why he made the initial switch to a TaylorMade Spider Tour X.

Oddly, he equipped it with the short slant neck instead of the L-Neck, which potentially would have better represented his Toulon blade.

His one-week experiment resulted in a missed cut at the Genesis Invitational, during which he lost over 3 strokes on the greens. A drastic decline from the player who led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting in 2023 and hasn’t been outside the top 30 in the stat since 2021.

At the time, the change in putter meant that only four of the top 25 in the Official World Golf Ranking were using a blade putter, with almost half using a variation of the Spider. You couldn’t blame McNealy for trying it either, with five of the first six winners on Tour this season all using the TaylorMade mallet.

For McNealy, though, the Spider couldn’t replicate an all-important key that his Toulon has – sound.

“The sound of this Toulon, for whatever reason, it just matches perfectly with my ear with the speed I’m trying to hit,” McNealy said. “… the slightly louder sound has helped with faster greens.”

The Spider switch has helped McNealy. In the opposite fashion to some, most notably Rory McIlroy, who likes to practice his putting with an older blade putter, McNealy thinks the Spider has helped him train his putting stroke.

The Toulon blade in question actually has a comical backstory. McNealy describes it as a “Hideki reject.”

The putter itself was originally designed for the Japanese superstar. Matsuyama is a chronic putter swapper, travelling and testing at least a handful each week he’s out on Tour, but it was McNealy who picked it up off the Tour truck, having putted with prototype Toulon Stanford for most of his career.

Although the Toulon didn’t make it in Matsuyama’s museum-like collection of flatsticks, it fortunately found a great home with McNealy.

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Equipment

Odyssey extends Damascus Milled lineup with 3 new putters

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Odyssey Golf announced Tuesday that the already popular Damascus Milled putter lineup is getting more options.

Initially launched back in April, only in a Damascus Milled #7 head (in plumbers or double bend configurations), the family grows to four with a One Wide, Two and Rossie S shape, all available in the second limited-edition drop at retail on June 6th.

“Damascus Steel is a beautiful material, and the patterns tell the story, because every one is different” said Odyssey General Manager, Jacob Davidson. “But what stands out is that  as beautiful as these putters are, the feedback from Tour has been the exceptional feel of these putters. We wanted to deliver the most premium performance-driven putter we’ve ever done at Odyssey. When you look at this product, we have so much confidence because there is not one thing we’d do different. On this one we really took our time over  the last couple years to try to perfect the design.”

Created from a layered construction of multiple steel alloys, this Damascus Steel insert is forged, folded and pressed to create a unique, striking pattern in every piece. Think of it like a fingerprint. Each Damascus construction comes with its own 1-of-1 style pattern. No offerings will ever look the same.

The layered structure, combined with a specialized heat treatment, delivers a finely tuned, highly responsive feel different from other insert materials. The Damascus steel is audibly different compared to other inserts, potentially with slightly more feedback. Odyssey also uses AI-designed back contours to maintain consistent ball speed across the face, blending traditional craftsmanship with modern tech.

Each head in the line is precision-milled from stainless steel and features a blasted silver finish to complement the Damascus insert and sole plates.

With Tour feedback, Odyssey has also developed, in collaboration with Golf Pride, a grip featuring meticulously crafted edges, pistol shaping and a classic modern tour feel.

Odyssey Damascus Milled One Wide
Odyssey Damascus Milled Two
Odyssey Damascus Milled Rossie S
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L.A.B. Golf launches new VZN.1i putter

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L.A.B. Golf has been the pioneer when it comes to Lie Angle Balanced putters for years now. When you talk to another golfer and zero torque putters comes up, as it will since it is the hottest thing in golf, the first brand out of their mouthes is L.A.B. Golf. Currently their putter line up has something for every golfer, wether your like blades or mallets. But the company has a new creation for golfers that we saw out on tour just a few weeks ago and is now available to us, the VZN.1i putter.

One of the big stories with the new VZN.1i putter is alignment in the form of the shape. L.A.B. has always given us plenty of alignment options in their putters with different line formations and shapes that can be laser etched onto the top of the putter. With this new design they used the shape of the head and the open cavity in the middle to help enhance the alignment for players. These shapes help players lock into their intended line to improve accuracy and concistency.

“VZN.1i was approached formulaically by combining everything we’ve learned from the success of previous L.A.B. Golf models into a familiar mallet shape that’s easy on the eyes and even easier to putt with,” said Cameron Day, Senior Vice President of Product at L.A.B. Golf. “Every L.A.B. putter is engineered to roll the ball on its intended line through Lie Angle Balance technology. With VZN.1i, we took things a step further by simplifying another critical aspect of putting: alignment.”

Like most of the other L.A.B. mallet putters the VZN.1i is machined from a solid block of aluminum and features a 303 stainless steel face insert. Steel face inserts on all L.A.B. putters not only enhance the sound and feel but they improve ball speed for better distance control. The new shaping also offers two ways of picking up your ball, using the sole or the rear flange can scoop up the ball. The company is offering the VZN.1i with a 1.5 degree forward shaft lean or a vertical shaft option in order to fit more golfers. Each VZN.1i is hand balanced and 10 other stages before it is complete and ready to ship. L.A.B. has its custom program where the golfer can select their length and lie but also head color, shaft upgrades, and grips to make their VZN.1i fit them perfectly.

The VZN.1i is available now starting at $499 for stock models and $599 for custom.

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2026 Edition: Most comfortable walking shoe? – GolfWRXers discuss

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In our forums, one user has asked a question sure to interest all sorts of golfers. What’s the most comfortable walking shoe of 2026?

@RobDMB posed the following question:

“Looking for suggestions/recommendations on the currently available most comfortable walking shoes – preferably waterproof. Essentially looking for something comfortable like a running shoe, but with some stability and waterproof for golf. Decent room in toe box as well. Any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks!”

Our members in the forum have been sharing their own recommendations on the best walking shoes that can also survive a number of golf rounds. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

  • SheriffBooth: “To check all your boxes I’d vote for whichever of the current Nike lineup fits your feet the best. Obviously the Victory Pro 4 and Victory Tour 4 are good enough for the two best players in the world, but the new Pegasus, Next% Tour 3, and Tempo all look really good too.”
  • i*windows: “when I had issues with my feet I played in Asics running shoes they were a little bit like the hoka’s above, very comfortable, now I’m back to Ecco shoes which are great.”
  • mshills: “Everyone’s feet are different so this will be a long list of lots of different shoes. For me, anything from Ecco’s Biom lineup. Nothing else comes close.”

Entire Thread: “2026 Edition: Most Comfortable Walking Shoe?”

If you aren’t a member, join us in the GolfWRX forums today!

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