Dave's Putter Profile: The Odyssey O-Works Red Marxman S

[GolfSpy Dave]

Well hello there MGS readers. Today, you are reading the first installment of a new putter series that I will be putting together for your reading pleasure. Welcome to

Dave's Putter Profiles

Rather than look at all putters head to head, like MGS does with the Most Wanted Putter testing, Dave's Putter Profiles will focus on single models, exploring the features of that individual model, and taking some time to show what separates it from the others in the corral.

While the mission of mygolfspy is to be unfalteringly #datacratic, these articles will be much more editorial, and ideally conversational. I'm going to let you know my thoughts on a variety of putters, both new and vintage models, and then you tell me your thoughts, and then we see where it goes from there. I've run quite a number of putters though my garage over the years, and I want to share some of the flatstick goodness with you.

 

Imagine that we are having a conversation on the practice green, perhaps with a nice adult beverage in hand. That's the spirit of Dave's Putter Profiles. We just look at a putter and have a nice chat.

For the first installment, we are going to go with a newer model from Odyssey, admittedly one that I was shocked that I actually wanted to even look at let alone game.

I Hate(ed) The Odyssey Marxman

 

How's that for a segue into talking about a putter that I actually like? Perhaps it is not the best way to set the mood, I know, but that was pretty close to my actual thought when I visited Odyssey HQ last January and learned that a Marxman would be part of the 2018 O-Works line.

For some reason, my love of all putters has never extended to the Marxman.

I think that the disdain actually dates back to the Backstryke Marxman, with the two creative spellings not compensating for the fact that the shaft attached at the rear of the putter. Sure, one of you right now is thinking of telling me how awesome backstryke putters are, and feel free to do so. I'm just not down. We all have our turn-ons and turn-offs.

Think about porn for a moment. Let's face it, we all have tags on Pornhub that we prefer, and others that we will never, ever, click on. If backstryke is your kink, good for you. I'll spend my three minutes elsewhere.

Anyway, sorry for the detour into porn to make a point, but in that January meeting, I'd have sworn that I'd not be clicking any two girls one Marxman links any time soon.

But then I got a look at the red Marxman S.

Well Hello There

 

This time, I found the Marxman aesthetics quite pleasing. The massive double sight line had been reduced to a single, and the addition of the slant neck fits right into my current more-toe-hang-is-better putting philosophy. Plus, the new body architecture reminded me of one of my old Odyssey favorites, the Sabertooth. I've got a super cool one of those to share in the coming weeks…

Standing over this Marxman evoked feelings of reverence, rather than revulsion. Right away this putter went from never touch to must have. Considering that there was also a trouser-tightening #1 wide with a slant neck in the release, placing the Marxman at the top of my need to have list was surprising for sure.

 

SAM Says

One of the cool things that happened during the Odyssey visit was that I got to go through a SAM lab fitting with Odyssey's putter pro. I was pleasantly surprised to see consistent numbers from stroke to stroke, with lots of center face contact, and just a bit of that drifting-outside backstroke that I have long fought to avoid.

Turned out that I add loft at impact, resulting in a launch angle that was a bit high. Glad to know that I do this with my putter as well as my irons…

 

This though could be the reason why my typical miss is short. I hit the right line, but I just don't get the ball to the hole. The fitter recommended that I get a Marxman built with 1° loft, so that when I add loft with the swing, the dynamic loft produces better launch conditions. Cool, huh?

Gaming the Odyssey O-Works Red S Marxman

I've had the Marxman in the bag for about a five rounds now. Some of the play experiences have been as expected, and some surprising.

The S Neck

 

Slant neck mallets are a big thing this year at Odyssey. In addition to choosing between black and red, you can also decide if you want your mallet with a traditional neck, or a slant.

The beauty of choosing a slant neck is that it will allow blade players to transition to playing a more forgiving, at least in terms of MOI, larger mallet. The slant neck makes the putter arc a little more during the stroke, conforming more to the blade path than normal mallet.

I loved the feel of putting with this back in Carlsbad, and that feeling has continued as I putt back at home. I've swapped back and forth with traditional necked mallets in my collection, and the slant neck does make a huge comfort difference for me.

1° of Loft

 

So am I still missing short? Yep, but not as often. My distance control has actually been pretty astounding with the Marxian S considering how few hours on the grass with it I've logged so far. Rarely am I super duper maybe I need steroids short anymore.

 

The data set is totally subjective, but the number of holes threatened score has definitely gone up. More up should translate to more in if the opposite of the never up, never in adage is true.

The low-lofted face does not look strange to me at address either. That, or I've just adjusted to it quickly. The putter seems to sit naturally behind the ball, and I don't think that I'm adding loft during the putting process to compensate. At least no more than I add naturally. I think that the strong loft theme will be one that I will continue to explore as other putters hit the bag this season.

 

Interesting side note about the insert. As one who plays almost exclusively milled putters, I expected there to be some transition to the microhinge insert, both in sound and feel. Simply put, there was no transition required. At least on the Marxman, Odyssey has nailed the feel and tone, making the milled to insert transition a non-factor.

Aiming the Marxman

 

As I said, I've only been gaming the Marxman for a short time now, but one area of concern is alignment. I'm getting most putts near the hole, but I'm just not quite confident that I am aiming the big white line correctly.

This I think will improve with practice, but I have a bit of a concern that this will prove Ketsch-like for me. That's right, I think that I am the one person who struggles to aim the Ketsch. Back when I ran the Most Wanted Mallet test where the Ketsch smashed face on the competition, I tried over and over to make peace with the Most Wanted monster. I came to the conclusion that the line and my eye were incompatible.

Perhaps the big line on the Marxman will twist my perception the same way, or as I said, maybe it's just a matter of practice. I do know that I've already made some big putts with the Marxman, both at home, and in Carlsbad.

During my visit, the Odyssey guys took me out for a round of golf at their home course. My game tends to go into hiding a bit when I play a course for the first time, and you can imagine the pressure of playing with Sean and Tony Toulon, Luke Williams, and Austie Rollinson. They were wonderful hosts, and not high pressure guys on the course, but as “a putter guy”, I wanted to sink some putts.

Thankfully, I was able to drop some decently long putts with the Marxman that day. Austie dropped some bombs with the EXO #7, but I felt that my performance with the Marxman S was respectable. If that's not putting under pressure, then I've never experienced pressure.

In a sentence: Odyssey O-Works Red Marxman S

 

Combining the feel of a blade and the forgiveness of a mallet, the Marxman S should definitely be on your roll at the shop list.

 

What do you think?

So first of all, thank you for reading the first instalment of Dave's Putter Profile. I've got a number of putters lined up in the queue for the coming weeks, as I said, both putters you can find in the shops, and unique whips found only in my garage.

If you would like me to clarify or expand on anything, just ask. I'm just here to start the conversation, where it goes from here is up to all of you.

 

[Golfspy_CG2]

Nice read Dave. I'm looking forward to this series. Especially anything coming from the EXO line, like the 7--which by the way Luke had to pry out of my hands at the PGA Show, as it was only one of a couple they had produced yet--or the Indianapolis.

 

 

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[Miboy62]

Great read Dave,

Looking forward to more insight into your putter thoughts in the future.

[JTexGolfer]

I am looking forward to this series a bunch! Great pictures and excited to see what you test next. Putters more than any other club seem to hold the promise of being the next "great" club in the bag.

[ED13]

What are the chances the Marxian S will become your gamer?  Curios since you made some good pressure putts.  Is your confidence in this putter high enough yet?

 

Looking forward to see the next putter.

[tommc23]

Nice read

 

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[PMookie]

Nice article! I've liked the feel of these off the face, but they are way too light for my liking. Not sure about the red color too.

 

 

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[null]

Putter review with pornhub references

 

10/10

[cnosil]

Glad to see some putter specific content on the site as I am a putter guy myself.   Your loft discovery is probably one of the biggest thing people need to look at when fitting a putter.  I also hit the ball on the upstroke and need lower loft to get ball rolling better.  

 

Really like the fact that manufacturers are coming out with mallets that aren't face balanced.  Provides the benefits of the longer sight line for an arcing stroke. 

 

As for the O-works insert, I have to say I hate it.  My biggest issues are that it feels mushy and for me I can't tell where on the face I am making contact.   

[GolfSpy Dave]

What are the chances the Marxian S will become your gamer?  Curios since you made some good pressure putts.  Is your confidence in this putter high enough yet?

 

Looking forward to see the next putter.

So far so good. Honestly, my putter slot in the bag has a revolving door. Partially because of my job here at mygolfspy, but also because of my putter addiction. To be fair, many of my rotating gamers pre-date my time as a MGS staffer.

 

This marxman S has a better than average chance at longevity at this point, though there is an EXO in construction right now, and the Toulon Rochester and Bettinardi ZomBB0 would both like back in the bag as well...

[GolfSpy Dave]

Putter review with pornhub references

 

10/10

[GolfSpy Dave]

Glad to see some putter specific content on the site as I am a putter guy myself.   Your loft discovery is probably one of the biggest thing people need to look at when fitting a putter.  I also hit the ball on the upstroke and need lower loft to get ball rolling better.  

 

Really like the fact that manufacturers are coming out with mallets that aren't face balanced.  Provides the benefits of the longer sight line for an arcing stroke. 

 

As for the O-works insert, I have to say I hate it.  My biggest issues are that it feels mushy and for me I can't tell where on the face I am making contact.   

I think that the insert has played out better for me than expected. So far so good, but the feedback is definitely different from a milled head.

[cnosil]

I think that the insert has played out better for me than expected. So far so good, but the feedback is definitely different from a milled head.

 

It isn't just a milled head.  There are inserts that provide enough feedback to indicated if the ball is struck toward the toe or heel.  Some people seem to love the o-works insert,  just isn't for me. 

[hckymeyer]

You had me at slant neck.  Much like when I found BOA for shoes, once I went slant I'll never go back

 

The Marxman is definitely on my 'must try' list for this season.  I've also got the 7s and the newly made ER5 (custom S) fighting for a spot in the bag right now.

[Peaksy68]

Great read, thanks for sharing. I know what you mean about Backstryke, hideous, and the name is on a par with Rocketballz.

 

If aiming is an issue, have you tried any of the MLA putters? The alignment system is so different to everything else I've seen, it may work well for you. Not sure if slant neck is an option, but they are low loft as well.

[GolfSpy Dave]

Great read, thanks for sharing. I know what you mean about Backstryke, hideous, and the name is on a par with Rocketballz.

 

If aiming is an issue, have you tried any of the MLA putters? The alignment system is so different to everything else I've seen, it may work well for you. Not sure if slant neck is an option, but they are low loft as well.

I have used the MLA system. Like the idea but it wasn't the killer app for me. At least with the head I had. Maybe I need to buy another MLA putter with a different head.

 

 

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