Odyssey’s imaginative designs and innovative features have always enjoyed broad appeal, with both Tour pros and the golfing masses using them effectively to drain their share of putts out on the greens.
The new Odyssey EXO range of putters once again pushes the boundaries of innovation, with three high-MOI models exhibiting the feel and performance that Odyssey putters are renowned for while providing an unprecedented level of forgiveness.
FORGIVENESS IN A PUTTER?
MOI (moment of inertia) is talked about endlessly in driver technology but the putter, arguably the most important club in the bag, also benefits markedly from a high MOI value.
To explain, MOI is the resistance to turning which, in golfing terms, means the club face is harder to twist open and closed. And in a game where everyone is trying to square the clubface at impact, that is a rather valuable quality to possess in a golf club.
Odyssey have managed to make EXO putters high MOI without reverting to unwieldy, unsightly designs that need a head cover the size of a beer carton.
In fact, the Odyssey EXO putters are re-imagined, slightly bigger versions of existing Odyssey putter designs: the Seven, Rossie and Indianapolis (the Brickyard-inspired putter from the Toulon Designs range).
Each of the Odyssey EXO putters are engineered for high MOI performance by using a blend of aluminium and stainless steel componentry.
The lightweight aluminium (the red part of the EXO putters) is deployed in the centre section of the putters while the heavier stainless steel (black) is spread around the perimeter, thereby increasing the MOI.
The greater stability of Odyssey EXO putters will dish out the forgiveness when your putting stroke is less than perfect.
There’s less twisting of the putterface, resulting in straighter putts, and speed and distance control are more consistent: off-centre strikes will still travel about the same length as a putt out of the sweet spot.
The translation: more putts drained with an Odyssey EXO putter when your stroke is dodgy.
NEW ODYSSEY EXO FACE INSERT
Odyssey EXO putters feature a new insert that on face value, appears primed to join the Odyssey roll of honour (puns intended).
The famous Odyssey White Hot insert, which set a new standard for feel and roll on many of Odyssey’s putters, has been merged with Odyssey’s revolutionary microhinge technology, which debuted on the recent O-works putters.
The White Hot insert has been made slightly firmer, to accommodate the softer balls that are now commonly in use, while the microhinges, which encourage a pure, top-spin roll straight off the putter face, have been made three times bigger than those employed on the O-works putters.
The new Odyssey EXO insert perfectly blends the two technologies and it produces a crisp, satisfying sound at impact that is in keeping with the performance of the Odyssey EXO range.
READ BETWEEN THE LINES
Alignment lines are prominent on each Odyssey EXO putter, with the Seven and Rossie featuring a white centre stripe and parallel lines (a ball-width apart) that run the entire span of the mallet. The Odyssey EXO Indianapolis has a single white line that extends the length of the putter.
Each Odyssey EXO putter is available in a face balanced version (suited to a straight back-straight through stroke) or toe hang preference (suited to a stroke that rotates the putter face open to closed). The latter adopts an ‘S’ slant neck.
