Following significant interest on the PGA Tour, Odyssey is introducing to retail in the U.S. what was once a rare, Japanese-market exclusive product, adding five models to its Ai-ONE putter line with the Ai-ONE Giraffe-Beam putters.
The putters earn their name thanks to a long, Giraffe-like neck, a unique copper PVD finish and the Giraffe logo on the soles.
Here are three things to know about the new line.
1. Wild tour interest
When the Giraffe-Beam putters first appeared on the Callaway Tour truck last month, the few putters available were gone as quickly as they arrived. Odyssey rep Cody Hale had to fend off requests left and right.
“We just brought it out here just to keep it fresh and interesting and give the guys a different look,” Callaway Tour rep Joe Toulon told GOLF this week at the U.S. Open. “The first guy that came on and saw it was Thomas Detry and he took the Jailbird with him that first week. He’s a guy who has been in a putter for a long time, so anytime he grabs a putter it’s because he really likes it.”
Detry has been using an O-Works No. 7 mallet, which is face-balanced like the Giraffe-Beam putters, but with a single-bend shaft. With the Giraffe Beam Jailbird, Detry is able to get the face-balanced performance, but with the look of Odyssey’s popular crank hosel (also known as a plumber’s neck).
2. Earning the Giraffe name
The “Giraffe” name comes from the putter’s long neck, allows the putter to move the axis of the shaft closer to the center of the putter and gives the putter very minimal toe hang without having to use a single-bend shaft.
“It gives you the look of the standard kind of crank hosel or plumber’s neck from address, but it makes it play more face balance,” Toulon said. “You know, a lot of times players will feel that it has less rotation during the stroke. It’s just another way to try to match up that face rotation in the arc of the stroke. It’s about finding that right balance. And this is a good option for a lot of those players.”
As a player who grew up using a blade putter with a plumber’s neck with a lot of toe hang but has recently switched to a face-balanced putter, being able to preserve a look I’m used to but still have the type of toe hang that my stroke requires could be huge.
Many players today grew up using a putter with toe flow, but with advances in putter fitting, more and more are finding that face-balanced putters are better for their strokes with less arc or rotation. Typically, that meant using a single or double-bend shaft that goes straight into the putter, or a center shaft design. Long necks have been used before, but hadn’t really been on many retail releases from OEMs and usually require you to have a putter customized aftermarket.
Long necks have also typically only been used in blades due to weight issues. But Toulon said Odyssey engineers were able to figure out solutions for the Jailbird Cruiser, No. 7 and Jailbird Mini shapes.
“There is some weight saving that you need to do,” he said. “You can see on the mallet hosels where we’ve tried to hollow that out and thin that out a little bit to save weight. We’re able to do things internally to the putters and use different materials to get that way back in the right spot.”
3. Five models
For the Ai-ONE Giraffe-Beam putters, Odssey is taking five of its most popular shapes to add the new neck option.
For blade users, the Giraffe-Beam No. 2 will be an option for players who prefer a traditional Anser-style blade, while the Giraffe-Beam Double Wide caters to players who want a blade shape, but larger for more forgiveness.
Three mallets will be available in the Giraffe-Beam No. 7, Jailbird Mini and Jailbird Cruiser, which is a 38-inch counterbalance model. Both the Jailbird options will feature Odyssey’s Versa alignment technology, but with the copper finish replacing the black or blue contrast color of other releases.
Price, specs and availability
Odyssey Ai-ONE Giraffe-Beam putters are on sale starting Wednesday, June 11, exclusively on the Callaway and Odyssey websites.
The standard configuration models will be available for $399.99, and come stock in 33″, 34″, and 35″ lengths with Odyssey’s SL 90 shafts. The Jailbird Cruiser will be $449.99 and feature the SL 140 shaft at 38″.
All of the models will come standard at 3 degrees of loft and 70-degree lie angles and sport custom giraffe-print grips.
Want to find the best putter for your game? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.
