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Saturday's 34-13 triumph in Singapore was Townsend's first match in charge.
"The fact he put his trust in players like myself, giving me my first start, shows what sort of coach he is and the confidence he has in players," said Toolis after his stand-out display.
"He had a game plan from the start based on attack and throwing the ball around. It was very enjoyable."
First-half tries from Ali Price and Tim Visser got Townsend's men off to a strong start, with Ross Ford crossing twice after the break before Damien Hoyland also grabbed a try.
Edinburgh lock Toolis was making his first start and earning just his second Scotland cap.
And while the 25-year-old was pleased with the performance and the result, he says there is plenty for Scotland to improve on.
"It was a good result for his first go as an international head coach," Toolis said.
"I loved going out for my first start. It was difficult in the heat, tough in the first half when the Italians came out and made it difficult for us. We had a lot of ball, a lot of attack, but there were a few errors, things we need to work on.
"There were a lot of good things, a lot of bad things, but overall I am happy with how it went and it was good to get a win.
"The maul defence was pretty good even though we did give away a few penalties at the end. Italy love their maul and set-piece but we stopped them pretty well. The scrum went well.
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"I'm happy with the lineout defence, all the boys were all in the right spots and we put pressure on them."
Scotland head to Australia now for the second Test of their summer tour, a match against the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday.
That will mark a homecoming of sorts for Australia-born Toolis, although he admits the temperature will be an issue for him after four years in Edinburgh.
"I have played in that sort of heat in Australia, but that was four years ago, I'm not used to it now," he said.
"I am clearly acclimatised to Scotland and Europe - I am definitely a Scot now."
Ben Toolis reckons the manner of Scotland's victory over Italy shows the future is bright under Gregor Townsend.