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Odyssey’s new O-Works putters: The technology Phil Mickelson had to have

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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.

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Each Microhinge insert is full of “microhinges.”

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

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#1 (also available in Tank)

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#1 Wide

c06304ba8dceadc2b0a650081fd4fda2 283f2c39cec402168b7afac6b94f1b22 5a1812d642d18f0d2c960f660a0ffbae ca7598e80a7e40878f2233353045bff6 d8dd842a6c6e63714873d225bc86c58f#2

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2-Ball

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33e2654f20c45ef9e009923c40090c0a 935623950500f6b5a380bb3767cda36f06ad07a14f2fde4f850fcf78f591a3e0 d43b80cc7ef07f2eb985edb1a63e3268 bf7391c0d355514d1c664d626f3509ea#7 (also available in Tank)

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More Photos: See what GolfWRX Members are saying about O-Works putters. 

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30 Comments

30 Comments

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Forsbrand

    Jan 10, 2017 at 5:06 pm

    Taylormade Nubbins?

  4. 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.

  5. Tim

    Jan 10, 2017 at 10:01 am

    How cute! A nubbins putter!!!

  6. Heffe

    Jan 9, 2017 at 1:04 pm

    Insert Tech sounds legit. Can’t wait to roll a few.

  7. DJ

    Jan 9, 2017 at 12:12 pm

    best odyssey putter is the white hot pro. Feels like the old tri hot.

  8. 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.

  9. 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…

  10. 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……

  11. 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.

  12. 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!

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

  15. 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

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Equipment

Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

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Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.

However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was amiss. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.

“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”

Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.

Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.

Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.

One final note: Per Ping’s PGA Tour rep Kenton Oates, Finau’s driver is also adjusted to play with an additional degree of loft to help dial in his desired launch.

We’ll see how he fares with the new setup this week in Houston!

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Whats in the Bag

Zac Blair WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Titleist TSR2 (10 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Red 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade M5 Rocket 3 (14 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 757 Evolution V1 X

Utility: Titleist U510 (3)
Shaft: Aldila Tour Blue 85 X

Irons: Ping i210 (4-6), Miura MB-001 (7-9)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 58-08M @57, 60 @61), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (52-M)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 105 X

Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

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Whats in the Bag

Martin Trainer WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Wilson Staff Staff Model (6.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kai’li Blue 70 TX

3-wood: Wilson Staff WLabs Prototype (13 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange 80 TX

Irons: Wilson Staff Staff Model (2, 4-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Wilson Staff Staff Model (52, 56, 60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Putter: Bobby Grace Greg Chalmers Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

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