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Odyssey #7 recent editions

TrickyPutt

Banned
Banned
Jan 11, 2012
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1,198
Alabama
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I have kinda focused in on the 7 series as a putter for the usual personal reasons like feel. As I have dinked around I have found some distinct differences in the 4 different editions of the 7 that I have played that may interest the curious.

The design is useful to me as the two outboard fangs max the resistance to twisting the face out of alignment. I can hold my own but after 5 years I'm not the most experienced putter and usually card a high 70s low 80s with 2 or 3 birds max. I find the mass likeable also. It's a weight useful across a lot of different grasses around here because its heavy enough to feel good putting hard on slower burmudas and light enough to be sensitive to faster greens like dwarf tifeagle that is found in my area. My putter length is 34" and I typically retrofit the club with scotty cameron pistelero grips because that grip has an unusually large deep butt and provides a particularly nice parallel grip surface to putter face connection. I know I'm gonna regret saying that around here but its true that I wear an xlarge cadet glove and need a grip that is expanded down into my fingers or it gets lost and I lose connection .

Now to the important part. There are two designs of heads, the heel shafted and center shafted style. I started with the heel shafted white ice 7 after a bout of two-ball center mass putters that I fought face wobble with. The heel shafted model is currently the one they call a "tank". Essentially a counter weighted belly putter head, I find the thing too heavy. Acceleration through the stroke without deflecting the shaft forward which opens the face is the problem for me. With the force needed to make the stroke shorter, or swinging back so far as to be offline in returning smoothly is challenging and problematic. It makes me inconsistent. However the tank has what the others lack. A very nice flat bottom that sets up beautifully and really aids my alignment. All the models I know of have rounded bottoms and I have even run into other golfers that mention the same problem of not being particularly comfortable with the setup on the heel shaft models.

The heel shafts have a heavy toe when in use, though they are face balanced putters. Its the physics of motion with that weight and mass out there away from the shaft and the lighter heads suffer less slice angle as a result. The trick is finding the lightest head you feel stable with as usual. I tend to like the 345g in white ice heads. There is a 360 for the 33-34" oem and heavier for the tank. The metal x 7 center shaft head I game now may be a touch heavier than the white ice version. My white ice 7cs came with a fat grip and I have not tried my usual grip yet. The face insert is polymer on the white so the feel is different than the metal face of the x as well.

Setup and heavy toe issues are mitigated by the center shaft connection. The design, when the weight suits your stroke, brings out a very torque stable strike. The setup can be looked at as closer in, which isnt bad for the eyeline and the rounded sole setting up. It seems easier to find the center of the rounded sole when you are more above it. My fav is the metalx because I like the weight and it feels a tad heavier but the white ice version being a bit lighter may be preferred by the faster green player.

The center shaft metalx 7s arent available in america. Here they are selling tanks into the counter balance craze. But if you want one, maybe find it on ebayUK. They are being sold in europe and asia. The price on ebayUK is way lower than some being offered on ebayUSA or the asian market ebay from what I can tell.

In a nutshell, I like the 7 head being smaller than my taylormade ghost daddy long legs, but larger and more stable by far than any traditional putter I own. Like a lot of golf clubs, its a set of characteristics that support the best part of my game while moderating the weaker parts.
 
Last edited:
Feb 9, 2013
75
5
Country
United States United States
I have kinda focused in on the 7 series as a putter for the usual personal reasons like feel. As I have dinked around I have found some distinct differences in the 4 different editions of the 7 that I have played that may interest the curious.

The design is useful to me as the two outboard fangs max the resistance to twisting the face out of alignment. I can hold my own but after 5 years I'm not the most experienced putter and usually card a high 70s low 80s with 2 or 3 birds max. I find the mass likeable also. It's a weight useful across a lot of different grasses around here because its heavy enough to feel good putting hard on slower burmudas and light enough to be sensitive to faster greens like dwarf tifeagle that is found in my area. My putter length is 34" and I typically retrofit the club with scotty cameron pistelero grips because that grip has an unusually large deep butt and provides a particularly nice parallel grip surface to putter face connection. I know I'm gonna regret saying that around here but its true that I wear an xlarge cadet glove and need a grip that is expanded down into my fingers or it gets lost and I lose connection .

Now to the important part. There are two designs of heads, the heel shafted and center shafted style. I started with the heel shafted white ice 7 after a bout of two-ball center mass putters that I fought face wobble with. The heel shafted model is currently the one they call a "tank". Essentially a counter weighted belly putter head, I find the thing too heavy. Acceleration through the stroke without deflecting the shaft forward which opens the face is the problem for me. With the force needed to make the stroke shorter, or swinging back so far as to be offline in returning smoothly is challenging and problematic. It makes me inconsistent. However the tank has what the others lack. A very nice flat bottom that sets up beautifully and really aids my alignment. All the models I know of have rounded bottoms and I have even run into other golfers that mention the same problem of not being particularly comfortable with the setup on the heel shaft models.

The heel shafts have a heavy toe when in use, though they are face balanced putters. Its the physics of motion with that weight and mass out there away from the shaft and the lighter heads suffer less slice angle as a result. The trick is finding the lightest head you feel stable with as usual. I tend to like the 345g in white ice heads. There is a 360 for the 33-34" oem and heavier for the tank. The metal x 7 center shaft head I game now may be a touch heavier than the white ice version. My white ice 7cs came with a fat grip and I have not tried my usual grip yet. The face insert is polymer on the white so the feel is different than the metal face of the x as well.

Setup and heavy toe issues are mitigated by the center shaft connection. The design, when the weight suits your stroke, brings out a very torque stable strike. The setup can be looked at as closer in, which isnt bad for the eyeline and the rounded sole setting up. It seems easier to find the center of the rounded sole when you are more above it. My fav is the metalx because I like the weight and it feels a tad heavier but the white ice version being a bit lighter may be preferred by the faster green player.

The center shaft metalx 7s arent available in america. Here they are selling tanks into the counter balance craze. But if you want one, maybe find it on ebayUK. They are being sold in europe and asia. The price on ebayUK is way lower than some being offered on ebayUSA or the asian market ebay from what I can tell.

In a nutshell, I like the 7 head being smaller than my taylormade ghost daddy long legs, but larger and more stable by far than any traditional putter I own. Like a lot of golf clubs, its a set of characteristics that support the best part of my game while moderating the weaker parts.

FYI:
I play the Metal X heel shafted #7 and love it!!
 
OP
TrickyPutt

TrickyPutt

Banned
Banned
Jan 11, 2012
3,992
1,198
Alabama
Country
United States United States
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #4
My two highest strokes gained putting days were with #7s. The first one was heel shafted and the latest go was center shafted.
 
Feb 9, 2013
75
5
Country
United States United States
Trickyputt said:"My two highest strokes gained putting days were with #7s. The first one was heel shafted and the latest go was center shafted."

Putting is THE most subjective aspect of the game......different strokes (and putters) for different folks.....
personally , of late my #7 Metal X has kicked my beloved sabertooth out of the bag......experience tells me that this too shall likely change with time but I try to play the putter that's hot and listening to me! LOL
 
OP
TrickyPutt

TrickyPutt

Banned
Banned
Jan 11, 2012
3,992
1,198
Alabama
Country
United States United States
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #6
Trickyputt said:"My two highest strokes gained putting days were with #7s. The first one was heel shafted and the latest go was center shafted."

Putting is THE most subjective aspect of the game......different strokes (and putters) for different folks.....
personally , of late my #7 Metal X has kicked my beloved sabertooth out of the bag......experience tells me that this too shall likely change with time but I try to play the putter that's hot and listening to me! LOL
I am mostly a Christian man, except for a tendency to harem putters. And 3w. And Drivers.
 

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