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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Whats in the Bag
Daniel Berger WITB 2024 (April)
- Daniel Berger what’s in the bag accurate as of the Farmers Insurance Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
6-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2011 (4-PW)
Shafts: Project X Denali Blue 105 TX (3), Project X 6.5 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (50-12F), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-14F), Callaway Jaws Raw (60-08C)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (56, 60)
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Mini DB
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy PistolLock 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Check out more in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s clubs in the forums.
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Equipment
Heavy Artillery: A look at drivers in play at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans
What are the driver and shaft combinations of the best golfers in the world? For gearheads, it’s an endlessly interesting question — even if we can only ever aspire to play LS heads and 7 TX shafts.
At this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, GolfWRX got in-hand looks at the driver setups of a wealth of players.
Check out some of the most interesting combos below, then head to the GolfWRX forums for the rest, as well as the rest of our galleries from New Orleans.
Rory McIlroy
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alex Fitzpatrick
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Daniel Berger
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees @9)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Rasmus Hojgaard
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alejandro Tosti
Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II LS (9.5 degrees @10.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5
Grip: Golf Pride MCC Plus4
James Nicholas
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (8 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Kevin Streelman
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Sang-moon Bae
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (9+ @8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Russ Cochran
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke (9 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD TP 6 X
Grip: Golf pride MCC Align
MJ Daffue
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (10.5 degrees @9.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green RDX 65 TX
Grip: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord Align
Check our more photos from the Zurich Classic here.
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Whats in the Bag
Rasmus Højgaard WITB 2024 (April)
- Rasmus Højgaard what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Prototype (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Utility: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 85 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex Pro (3), Callaway X Forged (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 130
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S, 56-10S, 60-06C)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X
Putter: Odyssey Ai One Milled Eight T DB
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Hojgaard in the forums.
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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