Odyssey Black Series #1 Semi-in-depth Review

[ArchangelGT]

From a Mallet Guy’s Perspective

I’ve pretty much always been a mallet putter guy, I used to use the original 2-ball and have been using the new SRT 2Ball (non XG insert) for the past 6 months. The only blade putter I ever really tried before was an old-skoo Slot-Line Inertial with a center neck shaft that was passed down to me from a friend. Being an Odyssey fan I really wanted to try their Black Series putter, and it has definitely won me over. Here is my review.

Initial in store fun:
When I first picked up the Black Series putter a few months back I was pretty shocked by the shear weight of it. My first couple putts with it on the good old Astroturf in the stores were horrible, the weight just felt awkward. I quickly put it back on the rack and figured I was done with it. Last week my friend was looking for a putter so I joined him, because the Ho in me couldn’t resist. I decided to pick up the Black Series again and give it a shot, maybe because I’ve been working on my putting so much in the past month but the heavier weight actually felt really good. The weight really seemed to help me keep the putter path straight, especially on the follow thru. No more pulled putts. I was pretty much sold at that point I was just now stuck on which one to get.

1 vs. 2 vs. 3.
For me the 2 just looked a little weird so it was instantly out of the equation, the mallet guy in me liked the 3 because the length from face to back was somewhat closer to what I’m used too, but the length from toe to heel is much shorter. The 1 which has basically the standard length from toe to heel just gave me a little more confidence looking over it. Both performed equally, but the 1 just seemed to be the ticket for me.

Long Distance Putts
Great distance Control I was hitting putts from about 20-25 ft out with 3 balls, I would almost always sink 1 ball or just leave it on the lip. The other 2 balls were in pretty good distance. Again the weight makes it very easy to control from a distance.

Short Distance Putts
From 5 feet an in this thing has surgical precision. It doesn’t seem to matter what stroke I put on it the ball always seems to find the bottom of the cup.

Alignment
I know some people have complained about the very short alignment line, I was also concerned with aligning since I was coming from using 2-ball putters. But I honestly didn’t have any problems using the short sight line and the line I draw on the ball.

Feel
My first milled putter I really didn’t know what to expect, but compared to the insert putters I’ve used I noticed a more consistent feel/sound no matter what ball I used. The balls I tried it with are the Bridgestone e6, Titleist NXT Tour and Callaway HX Tour. All of the balls gave the same sound and feel, with my SRT the e6 and HX there was a noticeable click sound while the NXT Tour barely had any sound and felt softer (For me sound and feel seem to impact each other a lot). The black series everything felt similar, in a good way.

Roll
Perfect, sometimes my SRT can product a little bouncey roll. But the with the Black Series the roll was incredibly smooth, I could watch the sight line I drew on my balls stay perfectly centered as it rolled down the carpet. I think that added tungsten weight really seemed to help it produce this nice roll. The roll along with the distance control are the biggest assets of this putter for me.

Grip
I’m not a fan of textured putter grips, just a personal preference. Also the grip is very busy. Nothing I really notice while actually holding it – it just seems a little gaudy to me. So a quick switch to an Iomic putter grip and I’m happy.

Headcover
The head cover is decent, It is a high quality piece with nice features to go along with the hefty price tag of the putter (personal annoyance of mine is when you get an expensive product but give you some S-h-i----y peripheral parts with it) The headcover has a magnet enclosure and a pull tab to help you open it. The magnets can get stuck to the face when you are putting it on and taking it off, not a big deal as when dealing with magnetic woods or hybrid covers. The pull tab tricked me and everyone who has tried to take my putter out of the cover. It looks like you want to pull it across the enclosure seam, but you’re supposed to pull it the other direction to assist with opening it, again not a big deal. The one thing I didn’t like about the cover is it has the Black Series stitched down the side in a decent size font, this just screams “steal me” in my head, and I can understand why my friends who play Cameron’s can get nervous about leaving their bags outside the course pro shops. Lucky for me last Xmas a friend gave me a ComoCome blade putter cover which I can finally use.

As I’m sure you can tell I’m a big fan of this putter, it is obviously a pricey piece but it actually has some technology behind it that works. I really wasn’t expecting to replace my trust SRT anytime soon, especially with a blade putter, but the Black Series with its great roll and distance control have converted me to the dark side.

[sbgolfer]

I feel the same way... I have been using a mallet putter for my whole golfing career and I tryied the Black series at Golfsmith a couple days ago. (I played a round of golf where every iron shot was within 10 feet and I missed every putt. OMG!!!) Anyway, I tried the #1 Black Series and I don't think I have putted that well for a while. Now I have to sell every golf club in my garage so I can buy this thing.

[jerbeck24]

I just purchased this and it is on its way! I'm very excited to drop a few strokes since my handicap is a 3. Putting is my only major downfall...so inconsistant. I've read a lot of reviews and they all sound really good. Hope it works this well for me!

[Jack Pearsall]

4 year anniversary for this thread, since I just added a black series #2, why not bump it.

nice putter to be had cheaply these days...

[Uberish]

I just got the no.2 as well.
Very thoughtful birthday gift from the in-laws.
Regripped with an iomic midsize as a semi-homage to my first putter, a 2ball blade with iomic grip hand-me-down from my father in law.
definitely like the heavier feel and clean look of a blade at address.
I never thought about the headcover being an encouragement to theft...
I think I'd quite possibly beat the ever living hell out of someone if they went after my clubs as they were all gifts in some way and carry sentimental values.

[Johnnythefox]

I just picked up a #1 for $89 at Golfsmith.
They are $99 and you can find a coupon for 10% off online.

Crazy price for a beautifully milled putter.

[Desert Golf]

Well, I went in the opposite direction. I had two anser style putters (Ping Karsten Anser 2 and Cleveland Classic 4) and fell in love with the Odyssey Black Tour #5 mallet.

Great deal at $149 and I really like the weight (350g), and feel. I'm much more confident standing over 5' to 6' putts with my Odyssey.

Big fan of the Black Tours...

[r8ted_vrp]

I picked up the # 3 mid mallet and love it. I was having a hard time with losing my hands on a blade putter so I started to mess around with it at golfsmith and fell in love. Now it's my gamer over my Ping Milled Anser 6, Nike Method 001 and Scotty Camron Laguna 2