Is there a rivalry brewing between Odyssey and L.A.B. Golf? | Fully Equipped

Zero torque putters have been all the rage the last few years both on the PGA Tour and in the recreational game, but it seems the craze is just getting started.

Earlier this week at the Valspar Championship, pictures of Odyssey Golf’s new Square2Square Max putters surfaced, which led to lots of chatter about whether Odyssey was going to war with L.A.B. Golf over the similarities to the L.A.B. DF3 putter.

On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, GOLF’s Johnny Wunder, a former Callaway employee, recalled to co-hosts Wadeh Maroun and Kris McCormack that he saw prototypes of the Square2Square Max, but was never sure it would actually see the light of day.

In fact, he initially thought the pictures of the putter were fake.

Putters

“Then I found out that it was a real thing and, like, do I understand how it happened and why it happened? Sure, yeah,” Wunder said. “Knowing [Callaway CEO] Chip [Brewer], who’s not afraid to take a winger on something, like, if he thinks something’s gonna sell and he thinks that Odyssey can do it better as well, then he’s gonna put it out there.”

Since L.A.B. hit the market back in 2018, several other brands, especially in the last year, have introduced new putters with some sort of spin on L.A.B.’s “Lie Angle Balance” technology, which has become known as zero torque. Odyssey introduced its first Square2Square zero torque putters last fall.

Odyssey Ai-ONE Square to Square Jailbird Custom Putter

$299.99

Odyssey’s new line of Ai-ONE Square 2 Square putters feature a modern center shafted design that makes them Stroke Balanced so they want to stay square throughout a golfer’s stroke. These putters are ideally suited for golfer’s looking to minimize their face rotation when they putt. Ai-One Insert Designed using Artificial Intelligence, we’ve created contours on the Aluminum backer of the insert which we co-mold to a White Hot Urethane striking surface to promote consistent ball speed across the face with the classic White Hot feel that Tour players and amateurs love. Modern Center Shafted Design This design centers the shaft on the cg plane of the putter. This results in putters that rest with the toe up in a reverse torque position, opposite of a traditional putter with toe hang. This design promotes a square face throughout the stroke. Built in Forward Press 3.3° of forward shaft lean presets the hands in a forward press position eliminating the opening of the face that often happens when golfer forward press on their own. Unique Navy Blue PVD Finish This line features a beautiful navy blue PVD finish that really sets the apart and gives a premium look and of course the Jailbird models come with our classic Versa alignment.

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Odyssey

Ultimately, if Odyssey ends up introducing the new Square2Square Max to the retail market — which it seems poised to do — Wunder sees that as a positive for both Odyssey and L.A.B.

“If I’m Sam Hahn at L.A.B, I probably wouldn’t be pushing back on it all that much,” Wunder said. “I would look at it from the point of, flattery is— you know, it’s great. It’s good to know that you guys are identified that we’re making good putters too, and we’re going to continue to just make our putters. Like, I don’t think that they’re, I don’t think it’s going to chew into L.A.B.’s business.”

Wunder argues that L.A.B. has built such a brand identity — much like other putter brands — that L.A.B. putter users are going to keep buying L.A.B. putters, as will Odyssey, Scotty Cameron, Bettinardi, etc. users.

Maroun even said this should be a huge milestone for L.A.B.

L.A.B. Golf DF3 Putter

$449

We took a chisel to the original Lie Angle Balanced putter to make DF3 smaller and sleeker while honoring the shape that started it all.DF3 offers our popular build options and specifications. These options are a great fit for golfers that use fairly standard specs.

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, L.A.B. Golf

“Before L.A.B. became L.A.B., and they were kind of on the verge, I’ve heard a couple of people turn around and say, until people start kind of imitating, it’s not a thing,” Maroun recalled. “It’s been a couple of years, we’re seeing more and more of it on the Tour. Now, we’re seeing people imitate them. And now it’s a thing.

“I think what’s exciting for L.A.B. in this regard is that, I think a lot of people called Sam a mad scientist for a really long time. I think people turned around and said, L.A.B., it’s gonna be a niche brand, it’s gonna come and it’s gonna go, etc. And I think this is a little bit more solidification for him that what he’s doing is right, the path he’s on is right. And he should keep going down that way.”

For more from Wunder, McCormack and Maroun, listen to the full episode of Fully Equipped here or watch it below.

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