Story & photos by Mike Besa
Odyssey is at the top of the food chain as far as putters are concerned. They lead the equipment statistics of the world’s professional golf tours with the greatest number of putters in play among the world’s touring professionals. They also lead the world’s putter sales statistics with a line that has a putter for golfers of every persuasion and budget.
Putters are unique clubs in the bag. If they are cared for well, they will last, well, forever or until it stops sinking putts. It isn’t a surprise then, that high-end putters are among the most collected of golf clubs. Manufacturers have been quick to mine this niche, producing putters of jewel like quality that would be just as home in a glass display case as in your golf bag. The high-end niche is dominated by the designers; Scotty Cameron, Bettinardi, Piretti and others are the biggest names in the business.
Odyssey has long produced “Tour specials,” limited edition putters produced specifically for the most discerning golfers in the world. The Protype and Black Series putters have their cult followers but no other putter line in Odyssey’s extensive model range elicits as much interest as the models produced specifically for the Japanese domestic market (JDM).
They are more expensive to own than most other Odysseys and made with more sophisticated manufacturing techniques and more expensive materials. Consider the Odyssey Milled putters. Either of the two examples in the opening image cost twice as much as most of the other putters in Odyssey’s line. Each is part of a small production lot and ownership guarantees exclusivity but not at the cost of performance.
We should consider ourselves lucky that these putters even make it to our shores.
The Milled Collection #1 SX is the focus of this review. Odyssey took a billet of soft carbon steel and CNC machined the putter head from it. Then they took a stainless-steel insert and laid it over a three-layer cavity that sits directly behind the insert and terminates in a sound slot in the sole. Said sole is adorned with tasteful graphics milled into it, then filled with paint adding to the putter’s desirability.
The resulting putter is a modern take on the sound slot first pioneered by Ping. Odyssey calls it the Sound Chamber and the resulting sound is unlike any other putter and might be best described as soft and crisp. The sound makes judging distance intuitive, which is invaluable. The sound changes with the quality of the strike; off-center hits sound distinctly different providing valuable feedback.
Odyssey’s milled putters have the most refined and most consistent shapes from sample to sample in the putter giant’s range. They sit so naturally behind the golf ball. Discerning where they are pointing is second nature and increases confidence over the ball.
The SX 1 is a slim rendering of the original Answer/Newport shape. It is substantial, but exquisitely balanced and feels light in hand. Some putters look and feel heavy and tool-like, but this feels like a wand to work magic on the greens.
The substantially sized pistol grip puts your hands a most natural position and does much to improve the sight picture when over the ball. I found myself less concerned with how my hands fell on the putter than with the intended line of the putt. Putting being the exact science that it is, anything that can shift your focus from mechanics to feel and precision is a great thing.
The Odyssey Milled Collection SX is available in a limited variety of head shapes, some unique to the milled series line. They are every bit the equal of the highly touted designer putters with perhaps a bit less finish work. The trade off is a significantly lower price tag than its competition for a putter that is in many ways superior in its functionality.
That makes it a clear winner in our book.