When Danny Willett won The Masters back in 2016 thanks to Jordan Spieth’s collapse, he did so with an Odyssey wide blade putter in the bag.
I remember thinking at the time that this was a great idea. You get the general look and feel of a blade putter, with a bit more stability in the face and more forgiveness like you’d get with a mallet.
Odyssey have stuck with a wide blade option in pretty much every putter range they have released since, and their latest White Hot OG family is no different.
The Tech
The new Odyssey White Hot OG Double Wide Stroke Lab Putter is, first things first, not the catchiest of names, although it does at least give an indication of some of the technology you can expect to see.
It’s a double bend face-balanced putter which Odyssey says is best suited to golfers who have strokes without much arc or face rotation.
As the name suggests, the main talking point for this putter range is the return of the White Hot insert, which Odyssey say is the most iconic, most played and most decorated putter insert of all time, with over 20 years of success for both amateurs and professionals alike.
In the last few years the brand had tried a number of new inserts including the Microhinge and Microhinge Star but this is the one that golfers asked for.
The putters feature a rich silver PVD finish with fine milling on the surface to give them a premium look, and they are available in either a stepless steel shaft or the newly updated Stroke Lab shaft.
This latest iteration is said to have added even more stability than in previous years, as the steel section has been shortened and 7 grams of weight have been saved.
The putter is also fitted with a new pistol shaped grip in a slight update compared to the original White Hot OG range, where the options were for an oversized grip or a standard thin grip.
Odyssey White Hot OG Double Wide Putter Review
Looks
The White Hot OG Double Wide pretty much gives you exactly what you’d want and expect from an Odyssey putter. It’s a clean design with a brushed chrome-look head and white face insert, exactly as you’d picture it in your mind if someone asked you to describe an Odyssey.
The Double Wide still looks like a blade putter with a nice squat shape and it isn’t too big of a footprint either, so if you’ve been used to an Anser-style for years but are contemplating a little more stability then it shouldn’t be too big of a transition.
With a price tag of £239 you’d expect it to feel premium and it doesn’t disappoint in that respect, with the eye-catching red colourway of the Stroke Lab shaft matching well with the writing on the sole and the putter’s headcover.
There’s a clear black line on the back of the putter head which is there to aid alignment and, although this didn’t continue right onto the topline (which is my preference) it was still pretty easy to line it up.
Feel
The White Hot insert makes a familiarly 'clicky' sound at impact which isn’t exactly to my preference to be honest, although it is technology which has stood the test of time and is very popular with lots and lots of golfers. It also gives you a clear level of feedback right off the face so that you’ll know if you haven’t hit it out of the screws.
After a few hours of testing I’d be lying if I said that I could feel or see a real difference in performance from the Stroke Lab shaft.
Having said that, the fact that Odyssey are still adding this to their putters after three or four years shows that they must have some faith in its performance.
The putter did feel nicely balanced between the head and the grip though, something which I think was also helped by the addition of a thinner grip than in previous Odyssey putters I have tested.
Performance
Throughout my testing both on the course and on the putting green my pace control was pretty good, particularly considering the fact that I was playing on wet winter greens where you’re bound to see a bit of inconsistency.
This is where the extra stability of the bigger head comes into play – it’s adding forgiveness and this should make things a little easier on longer putts where you’re less likely to strike it well every time.
On shorter putts, it feels like the head is less likely to twist at impact which should mean you hit the hole more often, and takes your hands out of things a little more than a traditional blade shape.
The more I used this putter the more I started to like it, and I finished my test with 3 consecutive one-putts out on the course which left me feeling pretty confident about its performance.
The roll felt consistent and true, and it was pretty easy to get the weight of the putts right without too much adjustment compared to my normal putter. The double bend shaft also flows really nicely into the putter head which gives it a clean look at address that’s easy to line up, which probably improved my accuracy too.
Odyssey White Hot OG Double Wide Putter Verdict
If you’re somebody who has been using a blade putter for quite some time, but find yourself looking for a little bit more forgiveness and stability in the strike, then this putter could be just the right thing for you.
The White Hot OG range sees a welcome return to one of the most popular inserts in golf, and after testing this putter I find it hard to understand why Odyssey ever went away from it. Golfers know it, trust it, and it performs well.
The Double Wide is another excellent option in the range and with the addition of a new thinner grip and improved Stroke Lab shaft, you should find this putter gives you consistent results in a smart and simple profile.
Would I Use It?
Definitely. I love my Odyssey blade but the added stability provided by the Double Wide putter has got me thinking that perhaps you can have the best of both worlds – blade-like looks with mallet-like consistency.
Who Is It Aimed At?
I can see this putter benefitting all but the least confident putters, who really struggle with strike and consistency and would probably be better served going for a mallet putter with high MOI and more stability.
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