50 Words or Less
The Odyssey Toe Up putter utilizes “Stroke Balanced technology” to help players gain more consistency with their stroke.
Introduction
Is the Odyssey Toe Up one of the craziest looking putters on the market? Absolutely, but it’s pretty tough to argue with what works. The idea behind the Toe Up putter is that Odyssey’s Stroke Balanced technology greatly reduces the torque during the putting stroke which means less twisting of the putter head. The end result is supposed to be more accurate putting. This review will dive into how well Odyssey achieved this goal with the Toe Up and how good the putter is overall.
Looks
Yes, the Odyssey Toe Up certainly looks a little wacky, but you can’t tell me it isn’t intriguing as hell. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve picked up and set down one of these putters, still totally undecided about how I think it looks. My final answer is that I think these putters look pretty cool and totally different from anything else out there. At initial glance, sure the curved neck with the hosel in front of it as opposed to on the side is a little different, but the black #1 head is pretty normal from there. Then you flip it over to look at the sole and you see this hollowed out cavity and a bunch of translucent dots. These dots cover the strategically weighted areas that determine the putter’s center of gravity.
From address, the shaft is actually over the topline, creating negative offset. The point of this shaft alignment is to line the shaft up over the center of gravity of the putter. This took a little adjusting for me. Also, there are three white sight lines on the flange that frame the ball nicely and make squaring to your target easier.
Sound & Feel
Milled and chemically etched Metal-X pattern faces are nothing new to Odyssey putters and make for a great roll of the golf ball. With the Odyssey Toe Up putters, the feel is little on the clicky side and the sound is definitely a pronounced click. If you’re a soft urethane insert type of person, this sound and feel is going to be an adjustment for you. The putter head is definitely responsive to your shots and lets you know exactly where you struck the ball.
Performance
As I mentioned before, it’s hard to argue with an odd looking putter when it works as billed. The Stroke Balanced technology in the Odyssey Toe Up does make it easier to keep the putter square through the stroke, and even if you do get a little twist, it’s easier to square at impact to avoid offline putts. This is done by making the putter’s “toe hang” actually point straight up thus the name “Toe Up.” The toe will typically hang down some degree or the face will be parallel with the ground on most putters.
I’m not exactly a straight back straight through putter so I saw the Stroke Balanced design hard at work with my twisty hands. Between the SuperStroke grip and the putter design, I managed to keep the putter head pretty still and smooth throughout the stroke. Bad lines were typically a result of setting up poorly. By looking at the sole of the putter you can clearly see more weight is place toward the face and in the center with some additional weighting at the heel and toe of the face. This, along with the shaft position on the head, is what promotes the putter’s square path and balance.
Conclusion
Odyssey certainly succeeded in creating a putter that’s very different from the rest of the mainstream market in the Odyssey Toe Up. Consistency in putting is key and the Toe Up does a great job in accomplishing that goal with its Stroke Balanced design. Getting back to a square putter face is almost effortless. I don’t know if a lot of players will be able to immediately adjust to the Toe Up, but players that are able to get dialed in are going to find these putters to be pretty special.
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Bill plays Scott Readman Concepts putters and accessories.
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Any plans to compare to Edel Torque Balanced putters?
Ryan,
We have a review of an Edel Torque Balanced putter coming up some time in July, and a Golf Myths Unplugged story about toe hang. This definitely won’t be the last you hear of the idea.
Best,
Matt