Odyssey has done something I never thought that they would or even could do: releasing a line of Damascus Steel milled putters.
Putter aficionados usually fall into one of two groups when it comes down to steel preference. I’ve witnessed multiple 19th-hole debates between Camp Carbon Steel and the Stainless Steel Squad. Each side believes their preferred steel is better than the other, never wavering from their metallic dogma.
The only time these groups agree on something is when someone brings up Damascus Steel.
“Damascus Steel is badass” echoes in unison from both sides of the table.
Damascus Steel putters are the stuff of legend. Typically, you are looking at a 1-of-1 putter where the blending of soft and firm steel ultimately yields a unique putter.
Damascus Steel putters are the antithesis of mass production. Every Damascus forging produces a different-looking steel billet. Uniform manufacturing and tight tolerances, both of which are Odyssey production strengths, become exceedingly difficult to maintain due to the inherent variability of the material.
Yet here we are today, taking our first look at the new Odyssey Damascus Milled putters. Somehow, the Odyssey putter powerhouse has succeeded in constraining Damascus Steel’s inherent chaos.
Odyssey’s new Damascus Steel insert
The new Odyssey Damascus Milled putters are not completely milled from Damascus steel. Odyssey milled the main body of the putter from more conventional stainless steel. Only the insert is built from Damascus Steel.
This is probably a good thing. If Odyssey milled the whole putter from Damascus Steel, the price would be well into four digits.
Hey, let’s play a quick game. Without jumping to the end, guess the price of a Damascus Milled putter. We will see how close to the actual retail price you got in just a bit.
In terms of design, the Damascus insert is similar to that found in Odyssey’s AI-ONE Milled putters. Though you’ll never see it, the back side of the Damascus Steel insert was shaped using artificial intelligence. The distribution of material on the underside of the insert normalizes distances on off-center strikes.
While most of the story of the Damascus Milled putters is one of cosmetics and finery, Odyssey was still able to slip some assistive technologies into the mix.
A Damascus Reader’s Digest
Let’s take a quick moment to talk about Damascus Steel. If you are not familiar with the metal, watch Forged in Fire on The History Channel.
Although Damascus Steel gets its name from Syrian sword forgers around the year 100 AD, the steel itself originated hundred of years earlier in India.
Damascus Steel is characterized by having layers upon layers of different varieties of steel. Prior to final shaping, it is not uncommon for a billet of Damascus Steel to consist of hundreds or even thousands of layers.
For reference, Odyssey estimates the Damascus Steel insert has about 800 alternating layers of strong and soft steel.
Damascus Steel objects typically receive a final chemical treatment to reveal the unique wave-like pattern generated by the layers created during the forging. This signature look is iconic, and impossible to replicate since the folding and forging process introduces variation each time it is completed.
Ultimately, the pattern variation is viewed as an asset, validating the Damascus Steel item’s one-of-a-kind status.
Getting back to the Damascus insert
The result of the Damascus forging process is two-fold. First, each insert will have a unique appearance due to the variables in the forging process. The overall scheme of light and dark waves will always be present but the exact wave pattern will differ from putter to putter.
Basically, each Damascus Milled putter has its own fingerprint insert.
The second part of the story is that the blending of steels produces an insert with its own hardness profile. Impact produces a satisfying “thok” sound and the ball hustles with pace toward the target.
I feel it delivers a better roll than the new Ai-DUAL insert but I also have a well-documented steel-face bias.
Maybe I’m just blinded by beauty but I think that the Damascus Milled Seven is the best-feeling Odyssey I have rolled in a long time.
Bottom line: the Damascus Steel insert deftly combines a premium look with legitimate performance.
The Damascus Milled Seven CH
For the first of hopefully many Damascus Milled releases, Odyssey went with their iconic #7 head shape. How do you know this is a premium Odyssey release?
They spelled out the name “Seven” rather than just using the number.
Players have two hosel options for the Damascus Milled Seven. You can select the truly classic spud hosel with a double-bend shaft or go with the more modern crank-neck hosel.
(Notice that I’m not even giving Odyssey grief for the crank hosel versus plumber’s neck thing. That’s how nice this putter is.)
Since it is a better fit for my stroke, I went with the Damascus Milled Seven CH.
Ignoring the insert, this is a great version of the Seven. If all they did was deep mill the stainless steel face, I’d be a fan. At address, the dots and lines mesh perfectly with the putter geometries. I’d game a non-Damascus version without protest.
But it is a Damascus Milled Seven
The face is a show stopper. Even if you don’t know anything about the time and effort that it took to make those wavy lines in the insert, you can still find them interesting, if not beautiful.
I wish I had five of these putters in front of me so I could see how the pattern varies from putter to putter.
Even the weights on the bottom are fancy. The edges of the weights look like they should be found on the crown of a fancy watch. They remind me of the trim found around the balls of the uber-fancy Odyssey EXO 2-Ball.
The Damascus aesthetic extends to the sole plate. That plate is Damascus Aluminum. I didn’t even know you could make Damascus Aluminum. I would have thought it too soft to survive the folding process.
Not only does the sole plate look amazing but the use of aluminum also boosts MOI by repositioning the weight to the perimeter. Once again, Odyssey has paired fancy and functional.
The Damascus Milled price surprised me
For the putter lover, there is fancy, and then there is Damascus fancy. Damascus putters are the centerpiece of putter collections and they are normally very expensive. If you buy one, you’ll probably need to add a rider for it on your homeowner’s policy.
That is why I was so surprised when I learned that the MSRP for these limited-edition putters was only $699.99. Yes, I did say “only.”
What did you guess that they would cost?
If Odyssey had priced these at $999, I would have viewed that price as expensive, but acceptable. “Damascus Limited-Edition” is not a budget item label.
$700 is astounding to me. How is this putter only $100 more than the $599 stock Odyssey Square 2 Square Ai-DUAL HS?
In addition to the fully milled stainless steel putter with the Damascus insert, you also get a new tour-inspired grip, Stroke Lab shaft and velour-lined headcover.
This may go down as one of the most reasonably priced limited-edition putters ever. By the way, I don’t have any information about production runs. My guess is that the use of Damascus Steel makes these truly limited in number.
No, I didn’t forget about White Damascus
By the way, some of you may be wondering why I failed to mention Odyssey’s previous 2016 White Damascus putter line. It’s true that Odyssey has dabbled in Damascus Steel in the past but this line feels like the first time that they really got it right.
The use of Damascus Steel in the White Damascus line seemed more gimmicky to me. The insert did look very cool but the sole of the White Damascus line had a “Damascus Finish” as opposed to the Damascus Aluminum sole plate of the Damascus Milled Seven.
The Damascus Milled putters are designed to showcase the Damascus Steel. The incorporation of Damascus Steel not just a talking point; it’s the central story.
If you are interested in one, don’t think for days about the purchase. I don’t expect these to be in stock for long after they hit shops on May 5.
Rumor has it that even PGA Tour players are struggling to get one.
Find out more about the new Damascus Milled Seven at Odyssey.CallawayGolf.com.