HIGHLIGHTS
Instead of conducting a myriad of internal conversations to come up with the “next big thing,” Odyssey decided to try something different and place one of its brightest engineers, Eric Stubben, on the PGA Tour.
The goal? To shadow Odyssey’s PGA Tour reps and glean insights from the top players in the world. During his time on Tour, Stubben learned where Odyssey was strong and weak in the putter space. He also picked up on several key putter tendencies with the help of a state-of-the-art putting green on the Callaway Tour truck.
With a problem to solve, Odyssey leveraged Callaway’s Artificial Intelligence design and super-computing capabilities to come up with a speed solution: the Ai-One insert.
Stubben quickly found out pros possessed phenomenal speed control, but like their amateur counterparts, they continually struggled with mishits, which in turn plagued their speed control.
Odyssey Ai-One Putters
In 2019, Odyssey started taking a closer at ways to shore up distance control with the help of Artificial Intelligence. Similar to how AI’s learnings have helped retain ball speeds on Callaway’s metalwoods and irons, Odyssey started to notice how machine learning could improve ball speeds off the putter face as well.
The end result is two different inserts — Ai-One and Ai-One Milled. The former is a co-molded insert featuring a grooved urethane layer and aluminum backer that’s designed to produce a traditional White Hot feel. The milled offering, on the other hand, is made from titanium — and paired with a milled stainless steel head — to deliver a premium feel at impact.
The contours found on the back side of both inserts were added with the help of AI, and make it possible to see, in the case of Ai-One, putts wind up 21 percent closer to the hole on off-center strikes. (The claim is based on recent robotic testing Odyssey conducted.)
Due to the urethane layer and aluminum backer found on Ai-One, golfers will notice a larger, more consistent sweet spot across the entire face. The sweet spot has also been increased on Ai-One Milled, with the only dip in speed coming on strikes out towards the toe.
Instead of showing tech images of the AI-inspired contours on the back of the insert, Odyssey decided to make its latest creation visible to pros and amateurs alike.
This back view isn’t a rendering with a cutaway to show the back of the insert. We talk at Callaway about products that are demonstrably superior and pleasingly different. We think the window delivers on the pleasingly different part. Sometimes the best technologies are hard to show, so we’re excited to be able to make it visible.”
The window is made from an automotive-grade polymer called “Panlite” that makes it possible to showcase the contours, while still maintaining a premium look. It’s important to note the window will only be available on the Ai-One; the Ai-One Milled has a more traditional cavity with the Odyssey logo affixed in the middle.
