Odyssey has always been a leader in alignment technology, going back more than 20 years with their first 2-ball putter.
Now the company is adding another option to their lineup with the new 1/2 Ball alignment aid in the Ai-Dual putter line.
“When you look down at address, you want something that is just so smooth to where you don’t see any break,” Callaway VP of Product Strategy Jacob Davidson told GOLF. “The half ball on the putter, and the actual ball — they just all blend together. That unlocks this tension and freedom where everything just aligns so perfectly, and subconsciously, your brain just lets go.”
The new Ai-Dual line sports the company’s Ai-Dual insert, first used in the S2S Tri-Hot line, and has six traditional models and four Square 2 Square models. Six of the new putters are available with the new 1/2 Ball alignment aid
Keep reading below for more on the Odyssey Ai-Dual putters, including my take on the release.
Browse the entire collection here.
The 2-ball alignment aid has been a part of the Odyssey line for years, and it’s shown how much better people aim with the ball framed and centered in the middle of the putter face. The one drawback, Davidson admitted, is that it can get a little busy for some.
For the new Ai-Dual lineup, Odyssey engineers set out to create a new system that was simple and accomplished the same thing as 2-ball. That’s where the new 1/2 Ball comes in.
“Once you see it, you can’t unsee it,” Davidson said. “You don’t have to explain it to the consumer. The light bulb moment comes on.”
That happened when Akshay Bhatia became the first player to use the new alignment aid on the PGA Tour when he switched to an Ai-Dual Jailbird 1/2 Ball Cruiser Broomstick at the Procore Championship last fall.
“They went out and played a practice round on Wednesday and he had his coach and his caddie watch him line up every putt, and just the alignment based on start line of where he was looking was just drastically different,” Davidson said. “He loved the forward roll, the insert, the feel of the insert, but the alignment technology was the big thing.”
And while the tech doesn’t need explaining, Callaway worked with two college professors at Baylor and Clemson to prove how well the alignment aid worked. With over 1,000 putts struck by 52 testers, players made more than 10 percent more putts from six feet with the 1/2 Ball alignment aid.
The namesake Ai-Dual insert is actually making its second appearance in an Odyssey putter. It was first released in the S2S Tri-Hot line, but will now be more widely available in Odyssey’s flagship line.
The insert is comprised of two layers of urethane with a softer outer layer and firmer inner layer shaped by artificial intelligence to control ball speeds. While there is no window to view the back of the insert like the Ai-ONE line, you can see the contours on the underside of the insert on the bottom of the putter.
Like in Tri-Hot, the insert is paired with deeper and more aggressively pitched Forward Roll Design grooves to provide consistent forward roll across the face.
There are three Square 2 Square options with the No. 7, Jailbird and S2S Max shapes. While Tri-Hot introduced low-torque putters without shaft lean, the new Ai-Dual options still have shaft lean, although reduced from 3.3˚ to 2˚ from the Ai-ONE Square 2 Square models.
“In the last 18 months, 40 percent of the market has said, ‘We don’t mind shaft lean. We bought it. We like it,’” Davidson said.
On the standard-length models, Odyssey has created a new reverse taper grip, which offsets that shaft lean. While other manufacturers use straight taper offset grips on their low torque putters with shaft lean, Odyssey’s version has a more standard-sized upper hand, making the grip feel more natural.
S2S models will also come with a heavier black SL120 shaft rather than the silver SL90 shaft in the rest of the Ai-Dual lineup. That came directly from Tour feedback as players were asking for low-torque models with heavier shafts to stabilize the stroke. The black shaft is also less distracting with the center-shaft placement.
The 15 different models in the Ai-Dual lineup from six of Odyssey’s most popular shapes.
What is it: A traditional Anser-style blade with rounded contours
Hosel configurations: Crank Hosel
Who it’s for: Players who want a traditional shape.
What is it: A face-balanced wide-body blade. Available with or without the new 1/2 Ball alignment aid.
Hosel configurations: Double Bend
Who it’s for: Golfers who want a traditional look, but a little more forgiveness.
What is it: A fanged-style mallet. Available in a Cruiser configuration with a Double Bend hosel and 1/2 Alignment. Standard builds are only available with the 1/2 Ball in the slant neck.
Hosel configurations: Slant, Double Bend, S2S
Who it’s for: Players of varying stroke types who want a more traditional-looking high MOI mallet.
What is it: A smaller version of the popular Jailbird mallet shape with the horizontal Versa alignment aid. Available with or without the new 1/2 Ball alignment aid.
Hosel configurations: Double Bend
Who it’s for: Players who want a more compact mallet shape.
What is it: Odyssey’s most popular rounded mallet shape with a window for higher MOI. Available either as a Cruiser with the 1/2 Ball alignment aid or in S2S.
Hosel configurations: Double Bend, S2S
Who it’s for: Players who want a high-MOI mallet and a counterbalance configuration to stabilize the hands.
What is it: Odyssey’s most forgiving headshape. Only available for S2S in either standard, counterbalance or broomstick configuration.
Hosel configurations: S2S
Who it’s for: Players who want maximum forgiveness.
Your putter is only as good as you can aim it and Odyssey has always taken that message to heart.
The big message with the new Ai-Dual lineup is the 1/2 Ball alignment aid, which is something that looks far better than the 2-Ball in my mind and acomplishes the same thing.
When it comes to the Odyssey lineup, the Double Wide is my favorite shape and going back and forth between the traditional version and the new 1/2 Ball version has been fun to see how much better I get centered over the ball. We’ve seen more subtle examples of this concept, but the Odyssey version is the simplest and easiest to use.
That’s the whole point of alignment tech, too. What good is it if you have to explain to someone what it is and what it does?
The new line is also another example to praise the Ai-Dual insert for the vastly improved feel over Ai-ONE. Ai-Dual feels soft, but there’s still enough sound to get some feedback that most players want. I think this could be an insert Odyssey that starts to rival Microhinge for dominance on the PGA Tour.
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Odyssey’s new Ai-Dual putters are available for pre-order starting Jan. 21 and will arrive at retail locations on Jan. 23.
Standard Ai-Dual models will cost $349.99, while Cruiser builds and S2S models will cost $399.99. S2S Cruiser models will cost $449.99.
Stock specs for standard Ai-Dual models are: 3˚ loft, 70˚ lie, and lengths available from 33″ to 35″ with Cruiser models available at 38″. Stock specs for S2S Ai-Dual models are: 3˚ loft, 72˚ lie, and lengths available from 33″ to 35″ with Cruiser models available at 38″. The S2S Max Broomstick is 48″ long with a lie angle of 78˚.
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