Odyssey released recently two new putters, that are part of the company’s Stroke Lab family: the Stroke Lab Black Ten and Odyssey Stroke Lab Black Bird of Prey. Speaking of inspired names, these two really hit the sweet spot, even if we’re talking about a couple of boring golf-putters, not race cars. Both putters are brand new conceptually speaking, and they’re crafted with a super high moment of inertia, which is excellent news for the brand’s fans; moreover, they feature Stroke Lab's innovative weight distribution plus a new Microhing Star Insert. Geek talk aside, these tech innovations translate into real-life in better performance dynamics, which means a more consistent putting stroke. The philosophy behind the Stroke Lab range is to deliver more consistency on the greens for golfers via what the company describes as a stroke enhancing design.

Yes indeed, that sounds like arrogance on Odyssey’s part, but according to hardcore data, the new putters are capable of delivering up to 25 percent more consistency in the head speed, the tempo of your stroke and face angle at ball impact. We don’t know about you, but in our book, 25 percent sounds like a lot of improvement. To achieve this phenomenal improvement, Odyssey played with the weight distribution, or, to put it another they, they’ve changed it a lot: the shafts in the Stroke Lab putters are 40 grams lighter than usual, and the saved weight was redistributed by Odyssey by adding 30 grams to the grip end and 10 grams to the head. The latter was achieved via 2 sole weights, while the former uses a 10 grams lighter grip as well as a 40 grams end weight.

Besides the lighter shaft, the new putters in Odyssey’s portfolio are built with a composite/multi-material head which promotes extremely high moment of inertia for improved stability. The aforementioned Microhinge Star Insert is designed to promote a pleasing sound at ball impact, as well as a firmer feel. Basically, this brand new insert plays the same role as the more familiar White Hot Microhinge.

The Black Ten putter was inspired (as per Odyssey’s own words) by their no. 7and Indianapolis, while the Bird of Prey boasts a striking head shape, which incidentally helps with framing the golf ball at address. Now, if you take a closer look at these babies and you find them strangely familiar, don’t worry, because they both look a lot like TaylorMade’s best selling Spider. And that’s not an accident, because Sean Toulon is now the big boss at Odyssey Golf, and yes, we’re talking about the same Sean Toulon who used to work for TaylorMade. However, the key difference between the Spider and Odyssey’s new putters is the composite-material Stroke Lab shaft.

Here’s a quote from the man behind the project, Odyssey General Manager Sean Toulon:

“Our new Stroke Lab Black Ten and Stroke Lab Black Bird of Prey Putters are truly remarkable with all of the premium technologies and performance that they offer,Stroke Lab has revolutionized the putter category by fundamentally improving the rhythm and consistency in a golfer’s stroke. And we’re combining it with all the forgiveness from these super high MOI head shapes with one goal in mind: to help every golfer make more putts.”