The higher the number on an Odyssey putter, the more forgiving and easy-to-use it seems to be. The Odyssey Ten putters from last year were big, so when I heard that they'd come up with an Eleven, I thought it was going to be some sort of spaceship that holed the putts for you.
The Tech
The Odyssey Eleven has given Odyssey's mallet technology a restyle.
Gone are the microhinges on the face insert which we saw in the 2-Ball Ten Putter, as they have been replaced by the legendary and ever reliable White Hot Insert.
The shape of the Eleven is square, taking inspiration from a TaylorMade Spider, but it is still as flat as the Ten. There are three different models available, all designed around alignment and aim:
- Tour Lined Features a single white horizontal line with three different hosel options to choose from.
- Triple Track Callaway's blue, white and red striped alignment aid design with two different hosel options.
- Standard A clean head with a slant hosel.
The most popular putter face of all time, the 21 year old urethane White Hot Insert contains all of the original feels and sounds that we have come to know and love from Odyssey.
An updated red Stroke Lab shaft features a shortened steel section which enables Odyssey to save 7 grams of weight, whilst the shaft has also been made stiffer for more stability in the swing and strike location.
The CG has been pushed forward by nearly 1/4 of an inch over other leading mallets, while increasing the inertia substantially and likening the dispersion to a blade in performance.
Weight isn't needed in the sole, so the super lightweight TPU Insert allows the CG to be place in the optimal location whilst also damping the sounds, which can be high-pitched on a mallet head.
The crowned design is wider at the front and tails off to the back of the head, with square lines instead of the more rounded head of the likes of a 2-Ball. This black, blank crown then provides space to add a range of alignment aids like the Tour Lined or Triple Track.
I took the both the Standard and Triple Track heads to Stockport GC for a test on their beautiful practice putting green and out for a few holes on the golf course.
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Odyssey Eleven Putter Review
Looks and Feel
The first time I took the standard Eleven out of its headcover and put it down on the putting surface, I said straight away, "this needs a line on it".
This is obviously personal preference. I much prefer a line on my putter but there are plenty of others who do not, for example Dustin Johnson and Jason Day both have TaylorMade Spider putters which are completely clean on top.
Which leads me on to saying... These putters look just like a TaylorMade Spider which has been flattened and threfore seems lower to the ground. The colour is a matte black, and when you turn the head over you can see the TPU sole insert which is white with Odyssey's circular logo and 'Eleven' stamped on it.
This shape allows for mass to be taken out in certain places, and you can see the weight screws at the front of the head in the heel and toe, as well as in the middle at the rear.
The Triple Track is exactly the same head as the Eleven but with the white, blue and red lines on the crown and an oversized pistol grip. This suggests that it is all about help, both with alignment and in forgiveness to get your ball starting on line and improve dispersion.
Both heads have the same White Hot insert and weigh 365 grams - which is the same as a the new Toulon Design mallets and last years OG 2-Ball. The microhinges on the face of the Ten putter have gone, and thankfully have been replaced by the legendary urethane insert. It's reliable meaning the strike sounds and feels the same over and over again.
The shape of the head is wide and square. Visually this looks a lot to swing back, but performance-wise the stability is fantastic so it would be quite difficult to make this head rotate and sway off it's intended swing arc.
As someone who typically uses a mallet, swinging something with such a large surface area does take some getting used to and is distracting at times, but with practice I started to get the hang of it. Just whilst getting first impressions alone I noticed that my speed was excellent and dispersion was tight.
Performance
I really wanted to test how good my start line was with these putters. According to Callaway's research, more than 70% of golfers have a tendency to aim their feet and face right of the target when putting.
This is usually down to their right eye being the dominant one (or left eye if left handed). Alignment designs such as the Triple Track or 2-Ball have come around because of these findings, and subsequent research suggests that they really do help.
The test was as follows:
I hit five 30 foot putts with each putter head. The balls must travel through a gate which is just wider than a golf ball, placed 4 feet away from me - how many putts could I get through the gate cleanly, and could I hole the 30 foot putt in the process?
The standard Eleven putter made it through the gate four times, with the Triple Track model getting through all five times, although unfortunately I wasn't able to hole any of them.
The test results were very impressive. I even made the gate a touch smaller after the first three putts as I thought it was going to be a little too easy (a good sign of course).
I do have a tendency to aim right as Callaway suggested, which made these test results so important to me. The head shape and alignment tool was doing its job.
I do feel that lining up to a target is a skill, which is why I am pleased that caddies standing behind the players is banned. But equally, a line on the head of a putter is a huge advantage and so I would encourage that people try it out.
Yes you have to have the ability to return the head to that position during impact, but visual aids do work and a big sturdy head which is harder to turn than a cruise liner which also help matters.
There are three keys components to holing a putt: reading the green, starting the ball on line, speed
Odyssey are helping you massively with points 2 and 3 thanks to their alignment aids, high MOI, lower CG location and reliable face insert. All you need to do now is read the green properly, and you are going to start making more putts.
It could take some time to get used to looking down on that big, flat head, particularly if you've spent years with a blade putter like me. There is no doubt, however, that it helps with performance if you can get over this hurdle.
Odyssey Eleven Putter Verdict
Overall I preferred the Eleven Putter to the Ten, although probably not as much as the 2-Ball that I tested last year. If I had to pick one of the three head options to use I would probably go with the Tour Lined.
These putters aren't my ideal shape but I do understand that they are useful and you'll see plenty of major winners using putters that are similar to this one.
For me though, the biggest head shape that I'd want to use is the 2-Ball, and even that took some persuading. I was always a blade user but the performance of the 2-Ball made me forget about the looks, and go with the results.
At £329 it is £30 more expensive than the Ten Putter, but slightly cheaper than a Toulon or Scotty Cameron which suggests that there's plenty of technology packed into the head.
Personally I think that makes it pricey for what it is. I know alignment aids really work, but how hard is it to put a few more lines on the putter head?
The White Hot insert is the same one that Odyssey have used for the past 20 years and the Microhinge technology has also been taken away for 2022. I'm just struggling to see how this club justifies being over £300.
Who Is It Aimed At?
Jon Rahm won his US Open title with an Odyssey Ten, so these shapes are not aimed at one particular type of golfers.
When picking which head you want, the more you struggle with lining up your putting head with your starting line, the more alignment aids you're likely to need.
Unfortunately the standard Eleven putter is not available in left handed, so you'll have to settle for Tour Lined or Triple Track.
Would I Use It?
The putter sits a little too flat for me, however I do like it more than the Ten so that's an improvement on last year. The head covers such a large surface area on the ground that it looks like I'm putting with a square frying pan. I'd much rather use these for frying my egg than rolling my egg!
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Odyssey Toulon 2022 Putters Review
TaylorMade Truss Putters Review