on qualified purchases at our brands now thru 5/4/26.
About This Item
THE EVOLUTION OF AN ICON
Small Batch Columbus is a modern interpretation of the putter behind one of golf’s greatest victories.
Developed in collaboration with legendary designer Clay Long, it reimagines that iconic design for today’s game while staying true to its original DNA. To meet modern course conditions, Columbus is built to a contemporary 360g head weight.
The original putter was oversized by design—created to push MOI beyond 6,000 and deliver forgiveness for any miss bias. That required an extended blade length of 6 inches, far longer than today’s standard.
Achieving that performance came with tradeoffs. To manage weight, the original design relied on aluminum, as steel would have pushed the head well beyond playable limits.
THE BIG GUY LEAN TEST
The original head was fully aluminum, including the hosel. While lightweight, aluminum lacks the strength of steel, making durability a challenge.
During development in 1985, Clay passed out samples to a few buddies. When some of them leaned on the putter in a traditional pose, a few hosels snapped. This later became known as the “Big Guy Lean Test.”
At the time, there wasn’t much that could be done to improve durability, so the eventual champion received one simple instruction: don’t lean on it too hard. With that in mind, we set out with Clay to reimagine the original design. The objectives were laid out.
1. Bring headweight to 360
2. Bring blade length down to 5.5 inches
3. Maintain the MOI level of the original
4. Improve sound and feel
5. Pass the Big Guy Lean Test (BGLT)
ENTER 904L STAINLESS STEEL
We had an idea to pass the BGLT. Our go-to material for Small Batch projects is 904L stainless steel, chosen for its strength, beauty in milling and polishing, and exceptional sound and feel. Columbus’ larger footprint allowed for a multi-material construction, so we milled the front section, including the hosel, from 904L. This solved the durability issue, but using it throughout would have pushed head weight beyond playable limits.
The rear stays true to Clay’s original design, using aluminum. Columbus is a true multi-material oversize blade, pairing slow-milled 904L stainless up front with aerospace-grade 6061 aluminum in the rear. This combination achieved our targets for sound, feel, weight, and blade length while solving the BGLT challenge.
The result is a highly playable shape that delivers the sound and feel we wanted, while matching the original design’s MOI in a more refined size.
ONE FINAL CHALLENGE
We still had one more challenge to overcome. The ’86 championship putter had a black head and a silver face. Back then, the aluminum head was simply spray-painted black and the face was machined down to the aluminum – leaving the face silver.
We weren’t super enthusiastic about the idea of spray painting 904L and machined aluminum in 2026. For the first time, we milled the 904L front section, completely finished it as we normally do, then built special fixtures to machine off the PVD on the face with an ultra-fine triple fly cut.
The result is beautiful and checked the final box. And our dear friend Clay’s name sits proudly on the toe.
IT ALL COMES TOGETHER
For the finishing touches, we captured the magic of that Sunday in 1986. The sole features azalea-inspired colors with the classic green and yellow of golf’s opening season, while the headcover nods to the champion’s iconic yellow shirt and plaid pants.
Columbus blends nostalgia with modern performance. Refined in size, sound, and feel, it’s among our most forgiving putters ever, with MOI near 6,000 to match the original in a more playable form. A strategically placed 904L hosel delivers 23 degrees of toe hang for optimal performance.
Paired with a KBS Stepless CT Tour shaft and custom Toulon Pistol Midsize grip, each putter is built to your exact specifications.
FINAL SPECIFICATIONS:
Material: 904L Stainless Steel and 6061 Aircraft Aluminum
