‘Different faces for different shapes’

Luke Williams, Odyssey’s General Manager, explains more about the tech wrapped up in the Ai-one putters

Q Why is the pattern on the back of the titanium face different from the White Hot urethane insert?

It’s partly down to the different materials. The titanium has some spots in the heel that have extra humps and bumps, which is to maintain durability on off-centre hits. So, it balances off-centre speed with durability. The advantage with the White Hot is how the backer deadens the strike behind the hitting surface, so we can go thinner in the heel and toe more consistently, without encountering durability issues. So, it’s the materials and combination of them being different in each family that dictates the different patterns.

Q Are the lumps and bumps the same on each insert within each of the families?

We have one insert for the blades and one for mallets. The shapes are a little different, but we don’t have a different insert for each model. There’s a blade and a mallet insert for both the Ai-one and Ai-one Milled families.

Q Why do you need a different insert for blades and mallets?

Because of the difference in geometry of the faces. The blades have a little deeper face where the mallets are a little shallower, so the shape of the insert changes, which dictates the different patterns on the back.

Q Are the inserts in Jon Rahm and Sam Burns’ putters the same as the models consumers buy?

Yes, the AI pattern on the back is the same from tour to retail. You may see different colour inserts out on tour, but structurally the inserts are exactly the same.

Q AI driver faces have taken Callaway 15,000 iterations to optimise – was a similar number needed for the putter faces?

The final tally was around the 10k mark. It’s a little different to a driver, as there’s a smaller range of head speeds and different characteristics. Putters are swung so much slower, so the ball is in contact with the face for twice as long as with a driver. You have more time to influence the ball with a putter.

Q Why offer two head constructions?

They have different objectives. The milled line has performance you wouldn’t get from a typical milled putter. And we knew that we wanted a White Hot version or a urethane, softer-feeling insert because that’s what has really had the most decided advantage in the marketplace when you look back down the years.

‘FOR ME, CHANGING IS A BIG DEAL, BUT I WAS GIVEN THE SAME HEAD DESIGN IN THE ROSSIE AND I JUST LOVED HOW IT LOOKED. I REALLY FOUND THAT THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE HEAD AND THE FACE HELPED ME SQUARE THE FACE UP A LITTLE QUICKER THROUGH IMPACT’

Jon Rahm used the Ai-one Rossie S at the Ryder Cup