ORLANDO, Fla. — On Tuesday afternoon, Xander Schauffele casually rolled putts on Bay Hill’s practice green with a familiar putter that’s played a part in 5 PGA Tour victories. Or at least that’s how it looked at first glance.
“The red one is actually incognito,” Schauffele said with a smile.
During the Hero World Challenge, Schauffele swapped his familiar Odyssey O-Works Red 7CH mallet for an X Proto in an identical head shape. The goal behind the change was simple: Get Schauffele into something with a firmer feel, without making adjustments to the head weight or shaping.
The X Proto has checked every box since it first saw live action — with one exception. At the time of its creation, Odyssey only had a silver version for Schauffele to try out. It wasn’t long after the 29-year-old started using the putter that he made a request to have a red Odyssey Toulon Design Las Vegas version built that was delivered this week.
“Once we have the shape, it doesn’t take long to make another one,” said Callaway Tour rep Joe Toulon. “It’s the CAD and CAM work that goes into the first fully machined head — not to mention getting the weight right — that’s the long process. It only took us two weeks to get [the red] one made after all the initial leg work.”
Toulon confirmed the red paint is made in-house and matches up with what’s currently found on the O-Works Red. In addition to adding red to the head, Schauffele also wanted to see a dark finish on the face that mimicked the black White Hot insert on his old wand — so Odyssey added black paint to a large section of the face.
The only part that didn’t receive black paint was a small section at the top where it transitions from the crown to the face.
“Transitioning from the topline and figuring out where we wanted the red paint to stop was tricky,” Toulon said. “If you stop it at the edge of the topline, it can get chipped or look that way easier. So we took it over slightly to make sure it didn’t look choppy.”
Schauffele received the putter on Tuesday at Bay Hill and was immediately taken by the look.
“When he got the putter, he looked down at it and said, ‘Hello, old friend,'” Toulon said. “It’s what he’s seen a lot of putts go in with over the years. It’s a comfort thing for him.”
Assuming the putter receives the green light on Thursday, the hope is a familiar color provides Schauffele with a boost on the greens at Bay Hill as he begins an important stretch in the season, culminating with a trip to Augusta in a little over a month.
