First let me say thank you to MGS and Callaway for giving us the readers of MGS a chance at reviewing these putters. It truly is an honor.
A little about my game and some self reflection as it's something that I should have done much earlier to become a better golfer. Not to late to start on that I hope. My first intro into golf I was in 4th grade at a 9 hole course in AZ that has long been tore up and houses built on the land. My first tee shot went about 30 yards of what I remember being 200 yard hole, I am not positive. My second shot over water just short of the green was a pretty good one for never having played golf before. From there I began the journey which is ongoing today.
Best putt I ever made I was at Bell Air GC in Phx. I believe it was the 17th hole, 3 tier green, cup on the bottom and of course my ball is on the top tier appox 40'. I tap the ball and it barley makes the first lip, then over it goes. My brother who is a much better player than I and on the correct level lines up his putt and about to putt when my ball passes him rolls another 10' and plop, in the the cup it goes. I knew I made it as soon as it went over the first lip, my brother didn't think it went over. Been waiting 30 years to make another putt of that length ever since.
I am at a 16.1 right now and trending down. Lowest I've been is 15 and at the time I thought I would it to single digits. life happens & changed that with injuries and a major shoulder surgery I am still recovering from and doing very well, I have my full swing back.
I've always been a longer hitter of the ball at least with the guys I play with, just not the most accurate, that's changing as I am learning the game instead of just playing the game. Longest drive I ever hit 364 yards. Just caught it on the screws and a good roll. 3 years ago in March on a drizzly day in Oregon, number 12 at Langdon Farms I hit my 315 with not much roll. My avg distance is probably 270.
My putting is avg. with a good day having 30 putts and a bad 40 plus. Usually 2 putting everything with 2-3 3 putts per round and 1 or 2 1 putts. I am hoping with this new putter challenge/review it will get better.
I have a trip next month to Bandon and looking forward to putting this White Hot OG #1 with a stroke lab shaft to the test. 16 guys in a Ryder cup style event with some pretty good players.
Here are a few pictures from the unboxing of the putter. I like the colors, and the head cover is awesome. Not one of those cheap things that tear in the first rounds of use. I've done some putting on the matt shown and so far it has a nice feel, sound and roll. We shall see what happens once we actually get outside.
I couldn't wait to put this thing to work. I rolled 30-40 putts with this club on the first day on 8' matt inside my house. Right away I was impressed with how it felt, sounded and reacted to my putting stroke. I then hit 15- 20 with my current gamer and my interest instantly went OH OH I have a big decision coming my way.
The White OG #1 was/is smooth the ball flowed off the face and I didn't notice it jumping, skipping or skidding on the ground. The club to me looks fantastic, the colors are great mix of placement very sleek looking and pleasing to my eye.
Now to be honest my current putter I won at a raffle and was happy to use it. My wife and I went back fourth between the Ping Zing and the odyssey White Ice. Now I love the White Ice putter. It was one I personally shopped for and it took me a long time to find one I liked and quite honestly one I wanted to pay for and take the heat from my boss for spending $200 on. After we/I won the Ping putter she decided she liked my White Ice better and took my precious. Here are all 3.
Now the weather here in Oregon in the fall is unpredictable. The first couple weeks i was relegated to putting indoors which is fine, but nothing beats getting outside on real grass in the elements.
The first opportunity I had was after work. So on a blustery day I went to the driving range for two things. Hit a bucket to keep my swing in check and get ready for a 4 day trip to Bandon and start really testing the difference between putters. I thought I had a picture of the practice green but it looks like I deleted a few I wanted for this review. So with that I will tell you the OH White Hot #1 performed as it did inside on the mat.
A little on how I tested. I am a feel putter I look at the line from behind the ball and if I have time I will walk to the other side & look there as well. I usually agree with my read with rare occasion I confuse the crap out of myself and end up going right at the hole.
I started the test from of course 3-5 feet to feel how the #1 reacted to my limited skills. From this range not much changed from the 3 putters other than I felt the OG #1 felt smoother off the face and gave me more of a sense of confidence.
8'-10' Putts
Now these are the ones we all need to drop to score and save a par or bogy or worse and not blow up the round and be focused on where the drink cart is and how soon it will show up. I don't know my stats but I would say somewhere in the range 25%-35% make rate. Not great but I am trying to be honest in my game in this review. With this I do have a 2 part winter project to start and work on.
In the 8'-10' range I did notice more makes with the OG #1. The goes where I think it should and it was a matter of picking the line and speed. The club seemed to be more forgiving. Meaning with the Ping and the White Ice I had bigger misses and the OG #1 was skirting edges. Again more confidence in my putting.
I found the same results from 10'-15' and 15' to 20' putts. More makes and closes misses with the OG #1. The percentage is lower of course but I see that number changing.
Now I consider lag putts from 25' and out of course trying to make putts but leave them within a tap in range out to knee knocking 3'.
This is where I saw the biggest difference from the 3 putters I was using for this test.
I felt I really had to hit the crap out of the ping and White Ice to get the ball to the hole. With the OG #1 it seemed like a more smooth stroke and less effort to to get and keep the ball on line. Needless to say I was feeling I knew what my decision was going to be at the end of this test.
Nerves of steel or paper are the keys to having good and bad days on the green. This test has opened my eyes that I may not be as good a putter as I thought.
I've got to say carrying 2 putters and playing those 2 in the same round isn't the best decision I've made. My plan was to warm up with both the OG #1 and the Ping Zing and switch ever other hole. Hind sight says I should have played 9 with one and the other 9 with the other. I left the White Ice in my wife's bag. I forgot to put a putter back in her bag, she had to barrow one from the course she played and that ended the 3 club challenge.
Here is what I found during round play. I was sinking more 1 putts and from further away with the OG #1. My lag putting was much better and I felt leaving more makeable putts and less 3 putts. I found myself using the OG #1 more and more.
I played in scramble and had a hot day on the green. Part of that is from watching the other 3 guys putt and the big factor is my confidence was at a point where in my mind I couldn't miss. I dropped a few long putts that day with the longest being 30'. Now every blind squirrel finds nut every once in while. that said during this test I have dropped more 25' putts than I have in the last 2 years combined.
The final big test for me was my trip to Bandon and 4 days of at what I consider Golfs Disneyland.
I was going to bring my 2 putters and go use the 1 acre practice green to my advantage. Not making excuses, I forgot the Ping Zing. So I was like ok, the OG #1 will be put through the paces and make my final decision.
The OG #1 had its work cut out for itself as these greens are large potato chips and change by the hour being on the ocean and weather that is un-predictable. Luckily the weather was awesome for mid November. Not to windy for the most part dry very playable.
I only hit about 30 warm up balls as I wanted to get on the green. My first impression was that these greens are quicker than where I live near Portland. It took some patience on my part and this would last all 4 rounds.
Day 1, Trails Number of putts on day one, 36. Four 1 putts along with four 3 putts, everything else was a 2 putt. 3 putted #'s 1 7,8, and 9. I'll call that just trying to figure out WTF I'm doing. The rest of the weekend was more of the same. shot 91
Day 2 we played Sheep ranch and my app wasn't picking up an it was a misting sprinkle day and the card was a mess. This is a bummer as I feel this was a good on the green for me but I don't know the total number of putts. Shot 88
Day 3 Bandon, total putts 40. part of this is due to a 4 putt on 17 where I missed clubbed and came up 120' short of the hole but still on the green. The was in the back and my you guessed it, on the front. two terrible lag putts followed by 2 decent putts for a DBL bogy 6. Shot 95. this did not feel like a big score. I do feel like I left a bunch of putts on the course, obviously, and couple of big mistakes and chunked chips makes for a big number.
Day 4 Pacific. 39 total putts. I was surprised I had that many putts. This is where the nerves kick in and instead of making a 15' putt for bird, I kick in for bog. Bad read and didn't see the brake going that much on hole 17.
I was hoping I would have done better in the putting department on this weekend. That being said, my lag putting was very consistent. I felt I left most of the 25' plus putts within 3'. This was the case on the Bandon course. All day in a match play format I would leave the ball at the 3'-4' distance. The guy I was playing apologized for not giving me more putts. I told him not to worry about it as I was putting everything out regardless.
Conclusion
To finalize this review.
I want to apologize for the lack of pictures and videos. I guess I deleted a bunch and didn't know it until wanting to load them up.
The Odyssey OG White Hot #1 with stroke lab shaft is a great looking putter, smooth stroke and the sound of the ball coming off the face is pleasant to my ear.
the feel is great and you really really need to miss either way out on the toe or off the heel not have a forgiving putt.
Lag putting to me is huge plus. As long as I am confident in my stroke the ball rolls pure online and goes where I want it to go.
Will this club make it into my bag and be my precious. An astounding YES Yes it will. I am looking forward having this club and getting better at the 15' and in putts and carry the confidence the club exhumes to my head.
Biggest question I have now is which cover do I use??
Looks (10 out of 10 points)
Sound & Feel (10 out of 10 points)
Basic Characteristics (20 out of 20 points)
On-Course Performance (28 out of 30 points)
Miscellaneous (10 out of 10 points)
Play it or Trade it? (19 out of 20 points)
Total points 97 out of 100
I took 2 points off for on-course performance for the fact I had or an having a hard time getting used to such a fantastic putter. There is no perfect marriage as most will have some sort of bump in the road.
I also took 1 point off for play or trade. i will not trade this for anything at this point. but there is a slight chance I could go back to the Odyssey White Ice, but that is a very slight chance.
I hope I did this putter, MGS, and everyone who reads this review justice. Its unorthodox in the writing and my mistake of pictures and video's being deleted.
Good luck to all, may you find your mis guided shot fluffy and playable.
Sub 70 949 D 9* HZRUDS 60G 6.5 smoke RDX shaft.
Sub 70 949X 4 wood ALDILA ABV 65-S shaft
Sub 70 699 Pro 4-AW
Sub 70 3 utility 19*
Callaway 56 and 58 wedge.
OG White Hot #1 putter
148 Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now