Ahead of next week’s DP World Tour Playoffs, SMS on Tour, the DP World Tour’s equipment surveying service, posted the address photos of each putter used by the top 70 qualifers.
Just seven of them, 10 percent, were considered blade putters by modern standards. Go back 15 years and blades would likely make up the vast majority.
On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, Odyssey Tour rep Cody Hale joined the show and told co-host Johnny Wunder that Odyssey’s usage on the PGA Tour trends toward mallets at an 80 percent clip.
But Wunder raised the question, could players ever go back to blades? The other guest this week was PGA Tour pro Justin Lower who still uses a PXG protoype Anser-style blade.
Wunder suggested the trend would only reverse when gear heads decide they want to go back to what worked for them before.
Odyssey Tri-Hot Square 2 Square Jailbird Custom Putter
We’ve moved Zero Torque Forward.
Odyssey’s new line of S2S TRI-HOT putters is a revolution in the “Zero Torque” category. Using multi-material construction, we have been able to move the CG of these putters far enough forward to get the shaft entering the head on the topline eliminating the need for shaft lean and thus eliminating one of the biggest barriers to entry for this style of putter.
Forward CG and Hosel Position
By moving the CG forward we were able to position the hosel spud on the topline, much closer to the face than typical “Zero Torque” putters for a more natural, intuitive and comfortable set up position.
Multi-Material Construction
By strategically using Aluminum, Steel, and over 140 grams of tungsten we have been able to design a “Zero Torque” putter with more than 80% of its weight under the topline and allowing for our forward CG and hosel position.
New FRD Groove
This new Forward Roll Design Groove is deeper and more aggressive. With a 19° slope it works in conjunction with the dual layer design to improve forward roll up and down the face.
ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Odyssey
Hale didn’t shrug him off. He also pointed out that while “zero torque” putters are skyrocketing in the retail market, usage has stayed relatively flat at the professional level over the last year. But he also explained why so many players have gravitated toward mallets.
“We can build mallets that play like blades,” Hale said. “And obviously, mallets with more stability, but you get all the alignment of benefits out of different mallets.”
But with the rise of “zero torque” putters, could OEMs eventually build blade putters that play like mallets? Only time will tell but Hale said there’s still a lot of intrigue around that category.
“So it’s going to be interesting to see where it goes because it’s, you know, some of the zero torque models have, you know, there’s still a lot of testing going on and we’re still introducing a lot and we still feel like there’s a lot of players that could benefit from it,” Hale said. “But as far as the usage on Tour, I mean, it’s sort of it’s pretty level right now.”
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