Cashmere sweaters, black leather shoes, blue blazers—some things never go out of style. And if you’re a golf fan, you know Odyssey putters don’t either.
The number one putter on professional tours from around the world, Odyssey’s timeless look and feel has made it a mainstay atop leaderboards from Augusta to Aberdeen. In 2021, the company is celebrating its 20th anniversary of White Hot, the insert and line that elevated the company to its current perch. To mark the milestone, Odyssey’s released an all new lineup, White Hot OG that are available for preorder starting Thursday, January 14 both online and in store.
It’s All in The Insert
The original insert used in the inaugural White Hot series was the stuff of legend, providing golfers with a feel and roll that has yet to be duplicated. So, instead of recreating the most perfectly circular wheel to ever exist, Odyssey is bringing the original White Hot insert back into their 2021 lineup.
As it turns out, the desire to play the White Hot insert didn’t diminish over time. In fact, the demand to play the original insert from 20 years ago is as high as it’s ever been, which is the main reason Odyssey is reintroducing it in 2021.
“Many tour players still use a White Hot insert, some on more modern designs that are retrofitted. Over half of the inserts we have in play are the original,” explains Luke Williams, Odyssey’s senior director of product and brand management. “We decided that since people really want that insert, we ought to give it to them.”
The insert itself is a two-part urethane made from the same material as Callaway’s Rule 35 golf ball, which makes it unlike any insert on the market. Despite repeated attempts to develop something similar in weight and firmness, Odyssey admits they were never able to create the same sound and feel as the original. “We’ve been trying to replicate White Hot and its properties for years,” says Williams, “but at the end of the day there’s nothing quite like White Hot, so we’ve come back to it.”
But as we all know, a pretty face only goes so far, and beauty is only skin deep. Odyssey knows this too, and has gently refined their most notable head designs in the process. White Hot OG is available in what Williams calls “Odyssey’s greatest hits” of putter designs, ranging from the traditional 1 blade all the way to the classic 2-Ball. But they’re not identical. Each head has received subtle yet important adaptations to make these classic models all the more appealing.
Aesthetics That Awe
Odyssey’s renowned putting guru Sean Toulon said he wanted to deliver an aesthetic that golfers felt they “had to have.” Although you can’t quantify such attributes, when you look at White Hot OG you’re almost mesmerized by its soft finishes and rounded lines. The putters are beautifully milled with a PVD finish, making them particularly soft on the eyes. But it’s not all hot faces and sexy putter heads, Odyssey has also updated their shafts for enhanced performance.
Don’t Shaft the Shafts
When you think of club shafts, your driver is probably the first club that comes to mind, but Odyssey’s been on a crusade to change people’s thinking. The company has long highlighted how putter shafts can be leveraged to improve stroke consistency, most notably with their Stroke Lab technology. With an abbreviated steel portion, Odyssey’s saved 7 grams of weight in the latest Stroke Lab shaft iteration, which contributes to greater stability and 9% more consistency at impact location—aka you’re going to hit it out of the middle more often. Not only is it more consistent than past gens, but Stroke Lab now comes in an eye-catching candy apple red finish. If candy apples aren’t your thing, you can always get White Hot OG putters in a stepless steel shaft.
Is it for me?
Do you long for the feel of the classic Callaway insert? If so, then yes, Odyssey’s White Hot OG lineup is definitely for you.