Equipment
Odyssey’s new O-Works putters: The technology Phil Mickelson had to have
At the 2016 Ryder Cup, Phil Mickelson earned 2.5 points for the U.S. team. His inspired putting performance was one of many key factors that led to the U.S. Team’s first victory in eight years, and he was using a prototype Odyssey putter insert to roll in some very long (and very clutch putts) on Hazeltine National’s greens.
The prototype insert is prototype no more. Odyssey’s new O-Works putter line offers nine new models, each of which uses the company’s new “Microhinge” insert.
The formulation of the insert is complex — it’s made from thermoplastic elastomer and a 304 stainless steel “hinge” plate, which are co-molded together — but its function is simple. At impact the insert “hinges,” gently flexing and rebounding to add topspin that reduces the skidding that can cause putts to veer offline. Rory McIlroy is said to be using the new insert in an Odyssey putter that he is expected debut at the European Tour’s BMW South Africa Open next week.
Odyssey Principal Designer Austie Rollinson calls the action of the insert “kind of like a topspin lob shot in tennis.” In development at the company’s new putting lab at its headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif., initial testing showed that the Microhinge insert was creating twice as much topspin as previous inserts.
In recent years, Odyssey has been focused on creating putter inserts that use friction to create a better roll on the greens. The friction technology works, Rollinson says, particularly well for better golfers who deliver the putter head to the ball with forward shaft lean and an upward attack angle. The benefit of the Microhinge insert, however, is that it can add topspin to putts even when a golfer’s putting stroke is poor.
The Microhinge insert is designed to feel like Odyssey’s original White Hot Insert. Stock grips for the putters are SuperStroke’s Slim 2.0 and Pistol GT. See photos of each new putter below.
Note: Tank versions of the #1 and #7 putters are also available, which are counter-balanced designs (heaver putter heads, heavier putter shafts, longer grips, longer lengths) that Odyssey testing showed can improve the consistency of a golfer’s path by 60 percent. A V-Line Face CH model (not pictured) is also available.
R-Line
#1 (also available in Tank)
#1 Wide
#2
2-Ball
#9
#7 (also available in Tank)
More Photos: See what GolfWRX Members are saying about O-Works putters.
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Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.
It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”
“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”
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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.
Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:
“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.
“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.
“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.
“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.
“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”
So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.
His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.
See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here
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Equipment
Spotted: TaylorMade P-UDI driving iron
It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.
We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.
From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.
“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.
TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°
TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
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Whats in the Bag
Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)
- Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60-TW11)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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golfraven
Mar 24, 2017 at 5:26 pm
I pulled the trigger and got the Tank. The white is more silver ish so is not so much in your face – matt black is nice. Sound and roll of the insert is great so not to bothered with the aesthetics. As long balls find the bottom of the cup I will stick with it. Played Scotty for years and this line did it for me eventually. Price is reasonable compared to any Scotty.
rex235
Jan 11, 2017 at 4:03 pm
It appears Phil Mickelson is the only LH player to get “the technology he had to have.”
From all your photos and written info, it is implied these are RH Only- No LH models shown.
Forsbrand
Jan 10, 2017 at 5:06 pm
Taylormade Nubbins?
Joey
Jan 10, 2017 at 3:31 pm
I’ve rolled a few putts with one of these indoors at my local golf store when the rep was in. I can say the tech has a cool factor to it. But, the finish looks terrible. It looks more like a putter that would sell better at the 149.99-169.99 dollar range. The insert is a bit “clicky” also. I don’t see people dropping around 250.00 after tax on a putter with a cheap finish and clicky insert. With almost every putter these days having some sort of “tech” promising more forward roll more quickly, there are much better options out there for the same price if not cheaper. If this insert were to be put in a black series putter with a black shaft and grip then I’d be intrigued. But I’ll stick with my current putter. I was honestly let down by this years offering from odyssey.
Tim
Jan 10, 2017 at 10:01 am
How cute! A nubbins putter!!!
b
May 24, 2019 at 7:14 pm
haha no one under 50 gets that joke….
S Hitty
Jan 9, 2017 at 1:39 pm
O yes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk170vq2Fws
Heffe
Jan 9, 2017 at 1:04 pm
Insert Tech sounds legit. Can’t wait to roll a few.
DJ
Jan 9, 2017 at 12:12 pm
best odyssey putter is the white hot pro. Feels like the old tri hot.
Tim
Jan 9, 2017 at 11:46 am
Where is the center shafted model? My wife is a very good putter and has used nothing but a center shafted Odyssey…no center shafted model, saves me $229.
Golfgirlrobin
Feb 4, 2017 at 6:38 pm
Not safe yet, there’s a center shafted R Line available.
Ray Kearney
Jan 9, 2017 at 11:42 am
Ive had a love hate relationship with Odyssey putters, This is definitely a hate cycle. Face Insert is interesting, but the rest looks like it was done by a 5 yo.
Terrible Aesthetics…
Smitty
Jan 9, 2017 at 11:23 am
I’m interested to try the insert and see how it feels but the looks are horrendous. Way too much going on. Lose the White/Black garbage and make the head all black with a simple alignment line.
S Hitty
Jan 9, 2017 at 12:10 pm
But the black/white is what helped them sell so many of the previous Versas……
Prut
Jan 9, 2017 at 11:03 am
Is black and white still a thing? Looks kind of dated.
Geetime
Jan 9, 2017 at 11:51 am
Same models as the last few face changes…take a $25 putter sell if for $125, 4 years later add a a few $2 weights and add new paint and a $4 insert sell it fro $229. Even the old trick of putting a new grip on an old putter is gone up, new grip $25. That really cuts into my saving for my $2,500 PXG irons.
Rich Douglas
Jan 9, 2017 at 10:56 am
Putting is so influenced by the full swing in golf. If the game involved putting alone, two things would be true. First, everyone would use a center-shafted putter. The heel shafted putter only makes sense in the context of the overall game: all other shots are played with heel-shafted clubs. But it doesn’t make sense that we strike the ball in a place away from where our hands are swinging. (The full swing needs this for leverage, but I wonder what a center-shafted iron would look like and how it would perform.)
Second, we’d all be putting facing the hole. There’s no physical reason for standing to the side. Again, this behavior is affected by the rest of the game, which is side-stanced. (There probably wouldn’t be in place the arbitrary rule about maximum lie; we would putt facing the hole with a putter whose shaft is perpendicular to the clubhead.)
I’ve noticed–and this is strictly anecdotal–that center-shafted putters are disappearing, except for those from niche manufacturers (SeeMore, Happy, etc.). The two best putters I’ve ever hit from mainstream companies are the Craz-E from Ping and the Spider from TM, neither of which, IIRC, are made center-shafted.
I use the Happy putter because it is immensely adjustable, is center-shafted, and comes in a high-MOI design.
Dill Pickleson
Jan 9, 2017 at 6:13 pm
A voice a reason amidst a crowd of dunces.
Did anyone else notice they are taking about topspin? They can’t be serious.
Dj
Jan 10, 2017 at 12:08 am
Center shaft is awful.
Scott
Jan 10, 2017 at 10:46 am
Wrong dj. You obliviously have zero knowledge of eye dominance and different types of stokes.
JR
Jan 25, 2017 at 2:07 pm
Embarrassing if he turns out to be a better putter than you!
D.J.T.
Jan 9, 2017 at 10:21 am
Tech looks solid. Again, agree with Chip, color is down right terrible. Will wait on new color schemes.
Chip
Jan 9, 2017 at 9:41 am
Sound great, look terrible. That color scheme is bad.
chinchbugs
Jan 9, 2017 at 10:06 am
+1
michael
Jan 9, 2017 at 10:51 am
I’d want to murder out the flange. Too much white.
Boobsy McKiss
Jan 9, 2017 at 10:59 am
when did the term ‘murder’ represent the color black? Surprised all the pc people in the world let this come to be. lol.
Phil
Jan 9, 2017 at 11:08 am
The TV show – Pimp my ride. haha
Ray Kearney
Jan 9, 2017 at 11:41 am
Ive had a love hate relationship with Odyssey putters, This is definitely a hate cycle. Face Insert is interesting, but the rest looks like it was done by a 5 yo.
Terrible Aesthetics…
JR
Jan 25, 2017 at 2:10 pm
In Scotland where I play my golf ‘murder’ is also a colloquialism for ‘terrible’. Pretty much describes these putters.
Dj
Jan 9, 2017 at 8:30 am
Hard pass. Some of these look like the Wilson triton alignment. That number 7 has way too much going on