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The December issue of GOLF Magazine features an excellent look at the Odyssey White Ice putters. In a nutshell, the insert of the new White Ice putters has been designed especially for softer, high-performance golf balls preferred by professional players and skilled amateurs. The putters also feature a new, darker finish.
In the video below, Odyssey's Austie Rollinson goes into more detail about the new line.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- In 2004, Ernie Els contended at all four majors, but didn't win any. That season the Big Easy ranked ninth on the PGA Tour in putting average, needing only 1.74 putts per green hit in regulation. This year, he's tied for 153rd in that category, averaging 1.801.
So it was no surprise that I saw him spend an hour on the speed practice green at Liberty National Wednesday in preparation for Thursday's start of the Barclays. With the help of his caddie, Ricky Roberts, as well as an assist using a video camera, Els hit putt after putt with an Odyssey putter made especially to his specifications and preferences (below). The stainless steel design is shaped like a classic heel-toe weighted Anser.
However, halfway through his practice session, Els started putting with a custom finished Odyssey White Hot XG #5 (below). Els has used this putter on several occasions this season, including at the PGA Championship two weeks ago.
Els did not appear happy with his putting Wednesday afternoon, so it will be interesting to see which putter goes in the bag Thursday. The greens at Liberty National have plenty of contours and are running fast, so regardless of which putter he uses, Els will need to find his 2004 magic is he's going to contend.
Ben Crane held the first-round lead at TPC Sawgrass after shooting 65 Thursday afternoon. Here is a list of the clubs in his bag:
DRIVER: Titleist 909D2 (10.5°) with Mitsubishi Diamana Blue 73 shaft
FAIRWAY WOODS: TaylorMade V-Steel (15°, 19°)
IRONS: Titleist AP2 (3, 5-PW)
WEDGES: Titleist Vokey design prototype (52°), Spin Milled (56°, 60°)
PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot #5
BALL: Titleist Pro V1x (2009)
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(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
You don't see a lot of pros that have five head covers sticking out of their golf bag. But Y.E. Yang made the most of a very unique set to win his first PGA Tour event.
Earlier this season at the Buick Invitational, Yang was using TaylorMade's new R9 driver. In this win, he switched to the company's final r7 model, the Limited, which was released at the end of last summer. The r7 Limited features three ports that are designed to hold interchangeable weights, just like the new R9. According to TaylorMade, adjusting the weights can promote a side-to-side ball flight change of up to 35 yards.
But why would a professional player want to carry an 18° fairway wood, a 19° hybrid and a 21° hybrid? In a word: versatility.
An 18° fairway wood (a 5-wood) is designed to hit high shots either off the tee or from the fairway. Hybrids handle those shots well, but also shine in the rough and from awkward spots on the course. And it would not surprise me to learn that Yang's 5-iron (typically 25°-27°) had been strengthened to decrease the gap between it and the 21° hybrid.
Yang used a hybrid magnificently from the left rough Sunday on the 16th hole after his drive hit a tree. He was able to hit under a tree branch and still get his ball into the left fringe, where he went up-and-down to save par. Hitting a long iron out of the deep rough would have made the shot much more difficult.
Carrying two hybrids instead of a 3- and 4-iron helped Yang hit 72% of the greens in regulation, ranking him third in the category for the week. It also gave him more versatility — and would likely do the same for you.
According to TaylorMade, this is a complete list of the clubs Y.E. Yang used this week:
Driver: TaylorMade r7 Limited (9.5°)
Fairway woods: TaylorMade Burner (13°), TaylorMade V Steel (18°)
Hybrid: TaylorMade Rescue TP (19°, 21°)
Irons: TaylorMade r7 TP (5-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade rac (48°), Nike SV (58°)
Putter: Odyssey White Hot Two-Ball
Ball: TaylorMade TP Red
Take a look inside more PGA Tour winners' bags.
(Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)
After winning the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills on the fastest, trickiest greens in recent memory, Retief Goosen's reputation as a great putter seemed permanently cemented. His 24-putt performance in the final round, which included 11 one-putt greens, was nothing short of miraculous.
Goosen won at Shinnecock Hills using a Yes! Tracy putter, a cavity back, heel-toe-weighted blade made from 304 stainless steel that is face balanced and features Yes!'s unique grooves in the sweet spot.
But when it comes to the Dark Art of Putting, nothing is forever. In recent months, Goosen has been searching for a magic wand that will help him find the touch that earned him two majors and the No. 4 spot in the world rankings.
Last November he won the Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia using an Odyssey 2- Ball Blade putter, but by early January it was gone and Goosen had switched to what appeared in photos to be the new TaylorMade Lambeau. That marriage didn't last long either, and on Tuesday of the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, the Goose did what years before would have seemed unimaginable—he switched to a belly putter.
The belly putter Goosen is using is an extended-length Yes! Tracy with a healthy amount of lead tape running along the length of the sole. Click on the image to get a better look.
"The last couple of years, I've just putted bad," he said after shooting 64 at Pebble Beach last week. "I had a week off back in London, I was just fooling around in the garage there for putters and tried a few long putters. And then I thought I would sort of give it a try. It can't get any worse, I think, so I might as well try it."
Goosen said he struggled at Torrey Pines to find the right pace on long putts, but on short putts, he felt he made some good strokes. "If you can get some sort of confidence going again, just seeing yourself making some putts can help," he said.
(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
At the beginning of the week, Padraig Harrington was battling a wrist injury, and there were whispers that he might not be able to defend the title he won last year at Carnoustie.
However, after 54 holes he's found himself in the final pairing with Greg Norman. And at the end of the tournament, Peter Dawson, the R&A Chairman, called his name as the Champion Golf of the year.
Here are the clubs he that he had in his bag this week during his successful British Open title defense:
Driver: Wilson Dd6+ (9°)
Fairway woods: TaylorMade Burner (13°), Wilson Staff Fybrid (18°)
Irons: Wilson Staff Ci7 (3-4) Wilson Pi5 (5-PW)
Wedges: Wilson Tw9 (54°, 60°)
Putter: Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball Blade
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
(Photo by Bob Martin/SI)
SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND — Taking advantage of less severe conditions, K.J. Choi has put himself atop the leaderboard after two rounds of play at Royal Birkdale.
Choi, whose best performance in a British Open is a tie for eighth in 2007 at Carnoustie, shot rounds of 72-67.
While Choi has a bag full of Nike clubs, his Odyssey putter has an interesting modification. It's hard not to notice that his putter grip, a SuperStroke, is gigantic. The concept behind the grip is that it locks the wrists and takes them out of the stroke, making players more consistent, especially under pressure. It's working well for him this week — he's averaging 28.5 putts per round.
Choi, one of the straightest drivers of the ball, is also splitting the fairways this week, hitting 20 of 28 in brutal conditions.
Continued good putting and solid driving could just the combination that Choi needs to win his first major.
Here is a complete list of the clubs in K.J. Choi's British Open bag:
Driver: Nike SQ Sumo 5000 (8.5°)
Fairway wood: TaylorMade Burner TP (13°)
Hybrid: Nike T 100 (17°)
Irons: Nike CCi Forged (3-PW)
Wedges: Nike Pro Combo (54°) Nike SV (60°)
Putter: Odyssey White Hot #2
Ball: Nike ONE Platinum
(Photo by John Biever/SI)
Few players on the PGA Tour have been as willing to tinker with their set makeup as Phil Mickelson. The two-time Masters champ has played with two drivers in his bag at Augusta National and added a 64° wedge while playing in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot.
So it was interesting to see how Mickelson modified his arsenal last week en route to winning the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. In what was clearly an attempt to overpower the venerable 7,054-yard course, Mickelson elected to add a fifth wedge and take out a 6-iron during the first two rounds and his 3-wood on the weekend.
By hitting his driver off the tee on many of Colonial's short and mid-length par 4s, Mickelson took many hazards out of play. Even if he landed in the rough, having five wedges at his disposal meant he could attack tucked pin positions.
The tactic certainly was effective, because while Phil ranked 33rd in driving accuracy, hitting just 57% of the fairways, he was fifth in driving distance (317 yards) and tied for fifth in greens in regulation (72%).
But in the end, Mickelson's putting was the key to his win. And he credited two things for his improved performance.
1. In a Golf Channel interview Friday, Mickelson said, "The biggest thing was going to the Callaway Test Center and getting on the putting monitor and making sure the stroke was what I wanted and the face angle was what I wanted Because once I was reaffirmed that things were the way they should be mechanically, then all I had to do was start worrying about the speed."
2. In the same interview, he also said, "They have never been able to put a line on a blade putter. But with the way they can grind it now, they were able to put a line in it. I can align it so much better." Click on the photo for a better look.
Mickelson ranked 11th in putts per round last week, averaging a scant 27.8, and ranked third in putts per green in regulation with 1.673.
Phil Mickelson's Weekend Clubs
Driver: Callaway FT-5, 8.5° (I-MIX)
Irons: Callaway X-Forged (3-4) and Callaway prototype (5-PW)
Wedges: Callaway X Forged Chrome Mac Daddy (52°, 56°, 60°, 64°)
Putter: Odyssey Phil Mickelson blade prototype
Ball: Callaway Tour ix
(Photos by Mark Feldman/Getty Images)
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Tiger Woods is synonymous with Nike's swoosh. Thirteen of his 14 clubs are made by Nike, and he's outfitted by the company from head to toe. The lone exception is his Scotty Cameron putter. But the grip on King Arthur's Excalibur isn't made by either company, it's made by Ping. (Woods used a Ping Anser for years as a junior golfer.)
While going through images of Ernie Els recently, I noticed the Big Easy, who uses an Odyssey putter, is also using a Ping grip. (Click on either image for a closer look.).
If you want to get the same look on your flat stick, consider buying a Ping Blackout. As the name implies, the logo on this replacement grip matches the black color of the grip itself, so it's barely visible.
At $4.99 on golfsmith.com, the price of this grip is well within your reach.
(Photos: Travis Lindquist/Getty Images (Woods), Jerome Delay/AP (Els))
