Equipment
Poulter chooses Odyssey White Damascus putter for The Open
Last week, Ian Poulter took to twitter to ask for help choosing a new putter for The Open Championship. (Click here to read our full story).
I am sacking my putter, I will use a new putter at the Open. Putter manufacturers please send me some to try to my IJP office please.
— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) July 7, 2013
As expected, putter makers jumped on the opportunity to get their putters in the hands of the European Ryder Cup star, sending retail store-sized shipments to Poulter’s IJP offices.
Eight days after Poulter’s proclamation (10:08 p.m. local time at Muirfield), he was true to his word and confirmed on Twitter that he would switch to a new putter.
My putter is selected for the week. It is an Odyssey White Damascus. Rolling it very nice. Testing over for now. http://t.co/tU4ICJPr72
— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) July 16, 2013
Poulter’s new putter is the same brand as his old putter, an Odyssey White Hot XG #7, but it’s a new model from the company.
The putter’s official name is “Odyssey White Damascus iX #1,” and while it has yet to be announced in the United States, but it has been publicized in Japan, where it is expected to be released in September.
Click here to see photos of the rest of the clubs in Poulter’s bag.
Odyssey’s Damascus insert on a White Damascus #9 iX9 HT putter.
According to a Callaway representative, the putter has an insert made of Damascus Steel, which is known for its almost mythical strength and has been used to make samurai swords for hundreds of years. The Damascus insert has Odyssey’s Metal X face pattern chemically milled into it, and another insert made of soft urethane insert behind it.
The back flanges of the Anser-style putter are made of tungsten, which Odyssey says moves the CG low and deep in increase the putters moment of inertia (MOI).
So what did Poulter do with the rest of the putters he was sent? According to his Twitter account, his staff will be in touch with putter makers and ship the putters back to them.
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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Blaise
Jul 22, 2013 at 5:03 pm
“high end” putters sell better in japan.. well that’s because the product is made for $50 in China an then sold for $540 in japan. so if that is how this club manufacturer is run it is a perfect example of why our economy is where it is today. you take these billion dollar corporations to China, take away the jobs from us, so no one has the money to buy these “high end” putters that realistically should sell for $150-$200.
J
Jul 19, 2013 at 9:06 am
Odyssey…
If its available there…it should be here. Plain and simple.
Shouldn’t have to pay duties to get a product from an American company.
Boooo…
Josh
Jul 18, 2013 at 11:46 am
Wow… according to some of you, I hope Poulter never tries to take the INSERT out and use it as a dagger or fashion it into a cannon. I certainly hope that he considered that much more than he did how the ball might actually feel to him coming off the face of the club.
BallzDeep
Jul 18, 2013 at 10:50 am
You guys are absurd. People all over the world drool over golf clubs made with BeCu, Terillium(sp?), urethane, aluminum, speed slots, circle T stamps, buzzing bee’s, white paint, etc. You wouldn’t do that on a cannon either. The fact that they have a tour player with 1.5 million Twitter followers who had an open tryout for the putter he chose for his most important tournament of the year probably means they’re going to sell.
I also think this is a way cooler way to intro a putter to the world than quite possibly the douchiest video of all time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jPxtHqj5hY
I’m not a Scotty hater at all, but this video makes me laugh so hard at the other tools in the room that buy into his magic.
golfa8
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:06 am
He should have tried the “Tank”. It fits his Ryder Cup profile.
Blanco
Jul 17, 2013 at 5:57 pm
Perfect putter for Poulter. Shiny ancient steel with cloak and dagger graphics– will go well with gold pants and a leather cape.
Ah thnxBlancO
Jul 18, 2013 at 3:55 am
Thanks Blanco for making my night. Poulter, couldn’t you have just walked out onto the practice green and found one? Drama dawgs and Englishmen
Hamkenstein
Jul 17, 2013 at 5:45 pm
I think it’s the decorative part that’s important here. That’s why the money is spent on bespoke/ custom finish putters. Not to much worry about a putter blowing apart.
MarkInChiTown
Jul 17, 2013 at 4:24 pm
Sorry to burst your balloon Odyssey, but Damascus Steel has for hundreds of years been known as very cheap and very unreliable steel. Its poor quality made it affordable, but very dangerous to use. Cannons made from
Damascus Steel were known to blow apart! You won’t be selling any of these in Europe, or the far east. I’m surprised you have no metallurgists on your staff. They could have saved you from making fools of yourselves…
BIG
Jul 17, 2013 at 4:28 pm
That’s what I’m saying. Lots of better steels out there.
Drew
Jul 17, 2013 at 1:28 pm
Hey Odyssey brand team…You talk about this steel being used to make samurai swords and then you go and put an English excalibur sword on the sole?
Odyssey_PM
Jul 17, 2013 at 2:25 pm
A couple points of clarity since there seems to be some confusion here:
– We never said this wasn’t being released in the United States. Stay tuned. Why Japan first? There is a much larger high end market for putters there. We have roughly 50% market share there and sell $500+ putters in droves. Retailers in the U.S. will not stock them because US consumers won’t spend that much except in limited numbers.
– Damascus has been used by expert metallurgists for thousands of years in daggers, swords and all sorts of other executions. Samurais were not the only ones that used this type of metal.
– Things are changing…the fact that we even allow tour players in the U.S. or Europe to use a putter that we’d sell predominantly in Japan is a big change. We saw a guy shoot 59 on the Web.com with one this past week and we another player choose one here.
Seriously…stay tuned. We might surprise you with how we operate now. To pass on us because of actions in Callaway or Odyssey’s past is big mistake. All we can do it is prove it to you.
BIG
Jul 17, 2013 at 4:03 pm
I work for a knife company and I can tell you there are a lot of better steels than Damascus. Damascus, while quite a bit more expensive, is more decorative than anything.
Matt
Jul 18, 2013 at 12:16 am
Yeah America’s economy has been sucking for the last five years and I’m sure that’s put a hurting on the high end putter market. Can’t say I blame you guys for taking new products to the Japanese market first. Hey but for the record I love my new low end white hot pro #9.
Tony Lynam
Jul 22, 2013 at 9:28 pm
And to add, Damascus refers to the legendary sword makers in the middle east (whose stamp looks like a Star of David). We have those stamps on our Marine NCO and Officer swords (the Mamaluke).
Matt
Oct 2, 2015 at 2:03 pm
+1 to Tony. Know this is an old article, but author needs to get this kind of thing right. Damascus steel is 100% a medieval steel from the middle east, hence the name… Damascus is the capital of Syria… Damascus steel was NOT used to make samurai swords. Tamahagane or other specialized steels were used in Japan.
Also, BIG, while you may have worked for a knife company, they probably did not use true Damascus steel. Modern Damascus is generally made simply by folding the metal during the forging process so a “water” pattern forms. Also see “Wootz steel” and “Crucible steel” for other similar metals found in different areas of the world. The forging process of ancient Damascus has been lost to time, though certain metallurgists have set out to try and recreate the composition. It is NOT a brittle metal, but in fact was known for being extremely strong while having great flex to it. There were actually carbon nanotubes present in the original composition, well before nanotechnology was in place.
Basically, everyone above Tony is COMPLETELY WRONG in what they are stating…
Nice try haters, but you are simply misinformed.
-Matt
Displayname
Jul 17, 2013 at 11:55 am
That insert/face combo looks AWESOME! Could finally be a replacement for my old White Steel insert. Bring it to the US and bring back the SRT 2 ball and I’m sold!
Ben Hudson
Jul 17, 2013 at 7:49 am
Viral marketing – 1
the rest of us – 0
shanked
Jul 17, 2013 at 12:08 am
I understand that Japan has a large market, but seriously?!? We get stuck with Versa while they get these? I’d game that any day of the week. Maybe I need to tweet out that I’m looking for a new flat stick…
gunmetal
Jul 18, 2013 at 12:39 pm
You can game this when it gets released to Japan. It will cost you $549 but that’s what they pay for it in Japan.
NB
Jul 16, 2013 at 11:13 pm
Pretty cool putter picked by poulter, he should ebay the other ones he didnt select and donate it to charity though. Then he could choose new clubs constantly and make lots of donations.
J
Jul 16, 2013 at 10:16 pm
Sick!
It’s still frustrating that an American Company release product in Japan WAY before if ever at all in the United States.
Pretty serious turn-off when it comes to buying Callaway.
Blaise
Jul 16, 2013 at 11:26 pm
agreed. maybe that’s why i dumped my odyssey for the american made bettinardi
john
Jul 16, 2013 at 11:27 pm
the market for golf clubs in japan is so much larger that it would be silly not to release things there first…they sell to a year round market of a much greater percentage of golfers/population, they can sell it for more AND they get to see what sells and what doesn’t over there before bringing it here. on a side note, most of the stuff is made in asia so its already over there anyway…its been happening for years and EVERY company does it…callaway, taylormade, and even TITLEIST…you can find all the stuff online if you’re willing to pay
optumus
Jul 17, 2013 at 12:05 am
actually, scotty putters are milled in socal, not china
AndyJ
Jul 18, 2013 at 9:55 am
Actually Scotty’s putters are made in Mexico
J
Jul 17, 2013 at 12:14 am
At least release it here.
Philip Nielsen
Jul 18, 2013 at 10:55 am
Good point, I think people on here forget that these club manufacturers are companies lol.
Philip Nielsen
Jul 18, 2013 at 10:55 am
Good point, I think people on here forget that these club manufacturers are companies seeking profit lol.