LAS VEGAS — It was only a few weeks ago that Jon Rahm debuted a covert Odyssey prototype putter in the bag in England at the BMW PGA Championship. Details remain scant, but for the first time since Rahm started wielding the mallet, GOLF.com managed to capture in-hand images of Odyssey’s Ai-One and Ai-One Milled putters as they made their PGA Tour debut in Las Vegas at the Shriners Children’s Open.
What are they?
Thanks to a skill honed over many years of looking at golf gear, the first thing I did when I spotted these putters on the practice green was flip them over and read the sole. Like detective Sherlock Holmes, my power of deduction (and sarcasm) is strong.
The new Odyssey Ai-One putters are offered in two lines with the most distinctive difference being found on the face. The standard Ai-One has a metal face with an unconfirmed (white) material or coating on the metal, while the Ai-One Milled utilizes what looks to be a copper material with a more traditional milling pattern on the face.
Based on initial images from the BMW PGA, GOLF’s Fully Equipped podcast speculated that Odyssey was likely leaning into its Artificial Intelligence learnings on the putter side. We can officially confirm that is the case, even though we don’t know how big of a role it plays in the design process.
Both models also utilize adjustable sole weights for customization of head weight based on length, and to increase overall forgiveness.
What we (think we) know
Golf gear is often about evolution and bringing usable technologies over from other categories in a company’s stable of products, and in this case, it looks like Callaway is using the same A.I. face technology from its drivers and irons to stabilize ball speed on the putter face.
Thanks to a visible window in the cavity, we can see an asymmetrical thick and thin milled pattern on the back of the face of the Ai-One insert with a noticeable protrusion from the middle area towards the top of the heel.
The Odyssey team was willing to go as far as to confirm the new putter uses A.I. as part of the face design but would not comment on the benefits to golfers just yet. However, based on their Tour debut this week with full-line branding, you might not have to wait much longer.
We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.
Want to overhaul your bag? Find a fitting location near you at True Spec Golf. And for more gear news you can check out the latest episode of the Fully Equipped podcast below.