Equipment
HYPE, or REAL? The Odyssey Versa Jailbird putter craze, explained by a top PGA Tour putting coach
I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t want to write this story. Given the amount of times the Odyssey Versa Jailbird putter was brought up during the Sunday coverage of the 2023 U.S. Open at LACC, I figured that most golfers were sick of hearing about it and just wanted to move on.
Hand up, I was wrong. After covering the early-week equipment activity at the 2023 Travelers Championship, and seeing what’s going on in the putter market overall, it’s clear that the Odyssey Versa Jailbird counterbalanced putter setup has officially moved from “hype,” to “trend.”
“Success tends to leave clues behind,” – @KramerHickok @GolfWRX spotted at least 4 players testing an @odysseygolf Versa Jailbird today at the Travelers after Wyndham and Rickie put on a show with it @usopengolf
This is fun. pic.twitter.com/Vprhc59Id7
— Andrew Tursky (@AndrewTursky) June 20, 2023
On Tuesday and Wednesday at the 2023 Travelers Championship, I counted at least five* PGA Tour players testing one out for themselves. The list included Kramer Hickok, Carl Yuan, Jimmy Walker, Ryan Moore and Joel Dahmen. And that’s just who I saw with my own eyes. Obviously, Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark are using the putter, and Keegan Bradley (who’s currently atop the Travelers leaderboard after round 1) has also been using the putter since 2021.
When I asked Joe Toulon, Callaway’s Tour Manager, how many requests he’s had for a Jailbird in the last week, he simply answered, “A lot.”
Also, in the third-party used golf equipment world, the market prices have officially hit quadruple digits for listed prices.
So has the golf world simply lost its mind over this putter? Or is the hype actually real?
Before I get into my conversation this week with top PGA Tour putting coach Stephen Sweeney (who works with a TON of PGA Tour players on their putting strokes), I wanted to provide my own personal anecdote.
Don’t worry, I’ll be quick.
Back in 2018, I switched from playing golf right-handed to playing golf left-handed. It was partially because of a bet with my Two Guys Talking Golf podcast co-host Brian Knudson, and partially because of a back injury. Either way, during my first full 18 holes as a lefty, I used an Odyssey Versa Jailbird putter to help me break 100… and win the bet.
So I guess you could say I am slightly biased when it comes to the benefits of the Jailbird mallet head. I’ve seen them first hand.
But I’ve yet to try out the newer age setup that’s currently hot in the golf world – a counterbalanced Versa Jailbird version with a large, elongated SuperStroke 17-inch putter grip, and slabs of lead tape on the sole.
Before every amateur golfer in the world goes out and overspends on a used Odyssey Versa Jailbird putter, and reconfigures it into the Rickie/Wyndham specification, I wanted to get to the bottom of what’s going on here.
In my opinion, there was no one better to turn to than Sweeney. He’s one of the foremost authorities on the putting stroke in the world of golf, and he works with players like Shane Lowry, Aaron Wise, Collin Morikawa, and a slew of other top players in the world.
So, Stephen Sweeney, what’s actually going on with this Jailbird? What is counterbalancing? Why does it help? Should everyone in the world switch to this putter, or what?
Here’s what he had to say on the matter…
Andrew Tursky, GolfWRX.com: I know you’ve worked with at least one player who’s tried out the Jailbird for the first time this week. Does it have legitimate impact on improving the stroke? Like, should amateurs try out a counterbalanced putter? Should they try out the Jailbird, or is it hype?
Stephen Sweeney, PGA Tour putting coach: No, it’s not hype. I mean, I think the biggest thing that people don’t understand with that putter is the Versa element to it; the black-white-black colorway. So it helps with alignment at the very start.
And then with the counterbalanced part of the putter, and the Versa together, the way they work together, it almost swings itself once you get it started. It’s very easy to swing on the correct path. So, no, it’s not hype. It actually does have some technology in it that helps it perform better.
Can you explain “counterbalancing” to someone, you know, amateurs, who really don’t know what that means?
SS: Yeah, so the simplest way to think about it would be on a regular putter, the end of the putter, that’s where the last gram of weight is on the putter. So basically 90 percent of the weight is below the hands. It makes the putter quite heavy, activates the wrists, and makes the hands pretty active. Whereas, with a counterbalanced putter, there’s a proportion of the weight that sits higher than the hands. It basically quiets the hands down and stops so much wrist movement, and it makes the stroke more arm and body driven as opposed to wrists, hands driven.
If you were to put a percentage on how many amateurs you think should switch to a counterbalanced putter – of those who are currently using a standard putter…how would you describe that?
SS: Probably, for the everyday golfer, I would say somewhere close to 30-to-50 percent would benefit immensely from getting into something like that where, not just having the counterbalance, but also more of a mallet-style head with slightly more forgiveness on it.
But yeah, overall, I think it would help a lot of people get rid of those wristy, hand-manipulated strokes, and get them more into a pendulum, body-controlled stroke style.
Is there anything they can do, you know, some people might not want to go get their putter rebuilt, or buy a new grip, or buy a new putter. Is there a quick trick you can use to counterbalance a putter? Maybe lead tape on the end of the grip, or anything like that?
SS: I guess the simplest DIY trick would be to grip down the putter a little bit and put some lead tape around the top of the grip.
Not that I would really advocate that, but you could counterbalance any putter just simply by going to a local club pro, get them to extend the shaft, put a new grip on there and that will already do a lot of the work for you.
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Whats in the Bag
Michael Block WITB 2024 (May)
- Michael Block what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 “Dot” (9 degrees @7.5)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @14.25)
Shaft: 2024 Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 X
5-wood: TaylorMade M5 (19 degrees @17)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange 70 TX
Irons: TaylorMade Stealth UDI (4), TaylorMade Proto (5-9)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI Hybrid 85 X (4), Project X 6.5 (5-9)
Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind 4 (46-09SB, 60 [unconfirmed]), TaylorMade Milled Grind 2 (52-09S, 56)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
See the rest of Michael Block’s WITB in the forums.
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Whats in the Bag
Brooks Koepka WITB 2024 (May)
- Brooks Koepka what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 “Dot” (10.5 degrees @9.75)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D Limited 60 TX (44.5 inches, tipped 1 inch)
3-wood: TaylorMade M2 Tour HL (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
Irons: Nike Vapor Pro (3), Srixon ZX7 Mk II (4-9)
Shaft: Fujikura Pro Tour Spec 95 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore Tour Rack Raw (46-10 Mid), RTX6 ZipCore Tour Rack (52-10 Mid, 56-10 Mid, 60-6 Low)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (46), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (52-60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5.5
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord (Midsize)
Ball: Srixon Z-Star Diamond
Check out more in-hand photos of Brooks Koepka’s clubs here.
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/13/24): Full set of ‘Tiger Slam’ clubs
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a full set of ‘Tiger Slam’ clubs.
From the seller: (@CaymanS): “During the year of recovery from leg surgery that never quite healed, I was bored. One thing led to another, and I ended up gradually building/acquiring the individual pieces to complete a set of “Tiger Slam” clubs. They are what Tiger played to win 4 consecutive majors, which nobody has ever done. This is not an exact replica of course, but something close that fit me to play a few times per year and experience what Tiger did. But my bad leg, 4 shoulder tears, and age prevents me from the ball-striking needed to enjoy these to their fullest. They may not be everyone’s cup of tea, especially since the driver and fairway shafts are regular flex and most players good enough to play these will need to change them, but it’s not a perfect world. I am not a historian on this stuff, but my research indicates these are the same models Tiger used, with slightly different specs to fit me.
Full set $1,600, or…
…a donation for a Pro Kids fundraiser, or…
Driver: $70
Fairway: $250
Irons: $1,100
Wedges: $100
Putter: $350″
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Full set of ‘Tiger Slam’ clubs
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Kuch is the MAN
Jun 26, 2023 at 1:22 pm
Jimmy Walker didn’t stay very long with the overpriced and over-hyped Lamb Crafted by Tyson Lamb. What this boutique putter and ball markers are going for is HIGHWAY ROBBERY.
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Mike
Jun 23, 2023 at 4:16 pm
Also great for tapping down imaginary spike marks along the line and helping keep the ball going towards the hole. Old rules did not allow that.
Dat Dude
Jun 23, 2023 at 2:54 pm
Those are not large sheets of lead tape. If you put your “readers” on you can detect the two seams of lead tape. It might take 2-3, inch wide pieces of tape to achieve it. Once the tape is applied use something like a muddler or your fingers to press the seam and it will blend together.
DB
Jun 23, 2023 at 12:10 pm
Jailbird head has always been under-rated. They should have brought that head into the Tri-Hot 5k line, the Toulon line, etc.
However didn’t all the putter companies offer the counter-balanced thing like 10 years ago? As I recall they didn’t sell that well and they eventually stopped offering them.
Brandon
Jun 23, 2023 at 10:52 pm
Was definitely trendy about 10 years ago. I had a 38 inch TaylorMade ghost for a few years. Wish I had kept it around. Using a white hot og 7 bird now, which is the most similar current offering to the jailbird.
Jordan
Jun 23, 2023 at 11:28 am
I just want to know how i can get large sheets of lead tape like that.
D
Jun 23, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Ditto
chip75
Jun 23, 2023 at 5:05 pm
You can get 1 foot squares of lead sheet on Amazon, but as the other chap said it’s several pieces on Rickie’s putter.
Troy West
Jun 23, 2023 at 10:47 am
For those curious and Dont want to spend $1k you can buy the INAZONE CB 400 COUNTER BALANCE PUTTER head at Diamond Tour Golf for $20. It’s 400g (mine came in at 395g) so you won’t need a sheet of lead tape either.