Equipment
Odyssey Arm Lock putters: In-hand photos and story
The USGA and R&A’s proposal to ban the practice of “anchoring” during the golf swing has left many golfers with doubts about their continued use of anchored putting styles, which will likely be outlawed by golf’s ruling bodies in 2016.
Odyssey latest line of putters, called “Arm Lock,” could be a lifeline for those golfers. Released just two days the proposed anchor ban, Arm Lock putters are the latest legal option on the shelves for golfers who struggle with conventional-length putters.
At first glance, the Arm Locks look much like Odyssey’s Metal-X belly putters. The two available models, the Metal-X #7 and Metal-X DART, use belly putter heads, belly putter-length shafts and Odyssey’s standard belly putter lie angle of 71 degrees. But their shafts are bent 4 degrees forward toward a golfer’s lead arm, which allows them to be anchored against the inside of a golfer’s forearm throughout the stroke. To negate the effects of the forward shaft bend, Arm Lock putter heads are made with 7 degrees of loft, which gives the putters Odyssey’s desired loft of 3 degrees when placed in the playing position.
Like belly and chest-anchored putting styles, forearm-anchored putters will help golfers make more consistent putting strokes, minimizing wrist breakdown and forearm rotation. But because the end of the putter grip will move freely with the movement of the putter head and not be anchored in the belly or chest, golf’s ruling bodies decided not to propose a ban the style.
Rollison said that when using a forearm-anchored putter, golfers should make a stroke as if they are using a conventional length putter. Because the end of the putter grip is stabilized against a golfer’s lead forearm, their stroke will be dominated by the rocking of the shoulders, not the movement of the hands and forearms.
“The stroke really accentuates the use of the left arm doing the work and the right arm helping guide it along,” Rollinson said. “It’s a lot like a free throw in basketball, one hand shoots and the other is there to help guide the ball.”
The Arm Lock putters won’t negate forearm rotation as effectively as belly and long putters, but one area where the Arm Lock putters have an edge is fitting. With belly and long putters, getting the right length and lie is essential. But with Arm Lock putters, length is less of a concern, which is why the two models are only being offered in one length – 43 inches.
Ideally, Arm Lock putters should be used with the grip resting a few inches short of the crook of the lead arm. If the putter is too long, the butt end will rest off a golfer’s lead arm, decreasing stability. But the fix is simple – cut the putter to a length that places the grip in the proper position.
“We love belly and long putters because we think they help golfers,” Rollison said. But we see the proposed rule change as an opportunity to innovate within the rules set by the USGA and R&A.”
Check out more photos below, or click here to see what members are saying in the putter forum.
Check out more photos below, or click here to see what members are saying in the putter forum.
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- Patrick Reed what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G400 (8.5 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 125 MSI 70 Tour X
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 125MSI 80 Tour X
Hybrid: Callaway Apex Pro (18 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila RIP Phenom Hybrid 100 TX
Irons: Titleist 716 TMB (2), Grindworks PR-202 (4), Grindworks PR-101A (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore (50-10 Mid), Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (56-08M @55), SM10 (60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey White Hot RX Pt Customs No. 2
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
More photos of Patrick Reed’s WITB in the forums.
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Welcome to the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
In the last two PGA Championships held at Valhalla, Tiger Woods won in 2000 – when he famously pointed his golf ball into the hole during the historic duel with Bob May – and Rory McIlroy won the 2014 event, basically in the dark on the final hole.
The point is, history shows that Valhalla tends to produce top-tier champions and plenty of drama.
This week at the 2024 PGA Championship, GolfWRX got its first up-close look at what some of the LIV Tour players have in their bags in 2024. We also caught back up with a few PGA Championship legends, such as Rich Beem and John Daly, and we dove into the bags of PGA Sectional qualifiers, too.
In total, we captured 47 different photo galleries this week, including 32 individual What’s In The Bag (WITB) forum threads. Click here to see all of our photos from the event, or continue reading to see my 10 equipment highlights from Valhalla.
1) Brooks Koepka’s new putter
Koepka was previously using a Scotty Cameron T5.5 putter with a slant neck, which he used to win at the beginning of the month in Singapore on the LIV tour. This week, however, he tried a T5.5 with a plumbers neck instead of the slant neck, and it’s immediately going in the bag. According to Scotty Cameron Tour rep Drew Page, Koepka already loved the head, and now finds the plumbers neck a bit more familiar to the blade-style putters he’s used throughout most of his career.
2) The lead tape king returns, with putting goggles
Phil Mickelson has always been one of the GOATs when it comes to lead tape usage, so it was no surprise to see his 64-degree custom Callaway wedge slathered with slabs of lead tape on the back.
The big surprise was that lefty was spotted using ProAim putting training goggles on Wednesday during his warm-up session.
The ProAim goggles are helpful to find center lines and ensure proper alignment to the target.
See Phil Mickelson’s full WITB from the 2024 PGA Championship
3) Dobyns’ old-school gamer setup
Speaking of lead tape, check out Matt Dobyn’s old Titleist 718 T-MB irons, which are so loaded with lead tape that the club is nearly unrecognizable.
Respect.
The head professional at Meadow Brook Club is making his sixth start in a PGA Championship, and he’s using a throwback Callaway GBB Epic driver with MOI-boosting lead tape and adjustable weight placements.
As GolfWRX Forum user “InTheBag” pointed out in our Matt Dobyns’ WITB thread, he has the type of setup that makes you want to hide your wallet: “I don’t know Mr. Dobyns, but one look at that bag tells me he can take your money,” writes InTheBag.
Spot on.
4) John Daly’s custom Sub70 irons and wedges
We first saw John Daly using $750 direct-to-consumer Sub70 659-CB irons and TAIII wedges at the 2023 PNC Championship, and he still has them in the bag, but he’s since stepped up the customization on the Sub70 clubs.
Does Daly ever NOT keep things entertaining?
View this post on Instagram
A true showman.
5) DJ’s custom putter
Dustin Johnson has always been one to test multiple putters week-to-week, and he has a keen eye for different alignment lines and crowns. This week, he’s opting for a completely gray TaylorMade Spider Tour “T3.0” prototype with a short slant neck.
See the rest of DJ’s WITB from the week here
6) Patrick Reed still rocking GrindWorks irons
Patrick Reed knows his stuff when it comes to equipment, and he’s a prolific tester. Still, however, the GrindWorks PR-101A irons are squarely in the bag after his departure to the LIV tour.
The most notable new addition to Reed’s bag is this Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond 3-wood.
Click here to see Reed’s full WITB from this week
7) Beem’s Scratch set
Rich Beem, who won the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine National, came to the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla with a bag full of Scratch Golf irons, which are loaded with lead tape and equipped with some of the coolest custom ferrules in professional golf.
See Rich Beem’s full WITB here
8) Jon Rahm’s 10-iron
Before going to LIV, Rahm was using a Callaway Apex TCB pitching wedge.
Now, he’s using a Callaway Apex TCB “10 iron.”
He’s also since upgraded to three Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke metalwoods, and fresh stampings on his Jaws Raw wedges. Click here to see Rahm’s full WITB from the 2024 PGA Championship.
9) “Why so serious?”
Tyrrell Hatton, another LIV player in the 2024 PGA Championship field, channels his inner Joker to ask everyone, “Why so serious?”
10) Block’s “Proto” iron, from address
As you probably know by now, Block switched out of his old TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2014 irons, and into a full set of TaylorMade’s new “Proto” irons. We’ve already seen the Proto 4-iron in the bags of Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa, but this is our first look at the higher-lofted irons in the set.
Here’s a look at the 7-iron from address:
See what GolfWRX members are saying about the Proto irons in our Forums
And, with that, we say goodbye to Louisville, and the second major championship of the 2024 season. We’ll see you next week at the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas after a champion has been crowned.
Until then, don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week at the 2024 PGA Championship!
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We will be one quarter of the way through Thursday night men’s league season after this week. BK played much better last week, so he is hoping to continue that success and post another good score.
Here are the 14 clubs that will hopefully win him some skins!
Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops (9 degrees, neutral setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X (2024)
3-wood: Cobra Dark Speed LS Titanium (14.5 degrees, set +1)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-7x
Fairway: Callaway Apex UW (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura ATMOS Tour Spec Blue 8 X
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops 4h (22 degrees, Flat Setting)
Shaft: KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype 85 S
Irons: TaylorMade P770 Phantom Black (5-PW)
Shaft: KBS Tour 120 Stiff
Wedge: PXG Sugar Daddy II (50-13 BP)
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 Stiff
Wedge: PXG Sugar Daddy II (56-13 BP)
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 Stiff
Wedge: PXG Sugar Daddy II (60-13 BP)
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 Stiff
Putter: L.A.B. Mezz.1 Max
Shaft: Accra x L.A.B. White
Ball: Titleist ProV1 Enhanced Alignment
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STEVE
Sep 21, 2015 at 6:02 pm
WHO CARES I AM USING MY LONG PUTTER TILL DEATH DUE PART I AM 69 HAVE ANXIETY AND I AM THROUGH PLAYING IN ANY TOURNAMENTS ESPECIALLY USGA STUFF AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED THEY DONT EXIST ANYMORE. THEY ARENT THINKING ABOUT AMATEUR WEEKEND GOLFERS LIKE THE GUY BEFORE OLD WEALTHY MEN WHO WANT TO MAKE A NAME FOR THEMSELVES.
Al
May 30, 2013 at 3:41 pm
There are many people with ailments like Parkinsons, various tremors, and amputations that require anchored putters. They are older though and probably shouldn’t be allowed to compete with younger folks.
Gary Lewis
Dec 16, 2012 at 2:01 am
I have experimented with this kind of a setup a little and it seems very awkward to me, perhaps because I am not doing it correctly. I have had better success with using the long putter but not anchoring it. Seems like that can work pretty good, as long as the left arm hugs the body and doesn’t point out towards the target. A change in lie angle might be required for it but it might be a pretty good alternative for people who have the yips so bad they can’t use a short putter.
Tom tucker
Dec 15, 2012 at 9:10 am
I have been teaching this method for years – no need to bend the putter or adjust loft, just play it forward enough in your stance. It works very well for short putts, lag putts takes some work.
Barry
Dec 13, 2012 at 5:32 am
Clones of Taylor Made rubbish. What a joke!
Shark
Dec 12, 2012 at 12:22 pm
I have been anchoring the putter against my left forearm ever since I was a kid, even with a conventional length putter to keep my left wrist from breaking down on the follow-through. I got a Cleveland (short) belly putter and use that on my left forearm now since they make one and now I don’t have to hunch over. I also use my own version of the claw or saw grip and that really feels nice.
jim
Dec 12, 2012 at 11:50 am
I’m with Dorf – playing thru 11:59pm on 12/31/2015 with my legal belly putter and I will not feel guilty. The USGA has no interest in me or my game – just a bunch of very wealthy old men who have the ability to impart their wishes on us. There will be many of options for us 3 years from now.
Davide
Dec 11, 2012 at 7:29 am
Danny play guttaperka balls!
Dorf
Dec 10, 2012 at 10:59 pm
I’m using my anchored belly putter until Dec. 31, 2015. Should be plenty of these Kuchar style putters (by many manufacturers) to choose from by then.
Kyle
Dec 10, 2012 at 10:28 pm
Iv been playing with a putter like this for years. You can make one your self. Just get a long shaft and bend it with you machine than bend it just right with your foot. Its that easy.
Chad
Dec 10, 2012 at 6:23 pm
I agree 100% with Aaron. We should be trying to make this game EASIER for people to play. We are involved in a sport that is dependent on keeping people interested and creating new interest to start playing year after year. The putter ban is just hurting that, however small the anchored putting community is… If something really has to be done on the Pro level (it doesn’t) it should be a condition of competition not a rule change
aaron
Dec 10, 2012 at 12:36 am
Danny, play wood headed woods. Long putters are just a way to play better, just like HUGE headed metal woods. Take advantage of what works for you, its a hard game. Idont use a long putter, but disagree with the ban.
Peter
Dec 9, 2012 at 9:14 pm
There is no ‘genius’ in this. Hasn’t Matt Kuchar already used this (and added loft to his putter)? This just seems like a reaction after probably being annoyed by the banning decision.
Danny
Dec 9, 2012 at 11:24 am
I have an idea, learn to putt like men.
Austin
Dec 8, 2012 at 3:28 pm
Would love it if Ping would follow suit with this idea and possibly replace existing adjustable belly putters with a forward “arm lock” shaft. Might save me a little $$$$.