Joe Ferguson from Golf Monthly takes a look at the Odyssey Dual Force Rossie II putter, which Nick Faldo won the Masters with in 1996, and compares it to the modern day equivalent in the Odyssey Ai-One Rossie putter in this series of Retro Review.
Can it still compete with the modern day equivalent?
Filmed at: Frilford Heath golf club.
Can it still compete with the modern day equivalent?
Filmed at: Frilford Heath golf club.
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00:00Retro review time again and I've got a beauty for you today.
00:03Today I'm looking at the Odyssey Dual Force Rossi II Putter.
00:08Now those of you in the know will know this was made famous by Nick Fowler at the 1996
00:12Masters and as always on Retro Review we're putting it up against the modern day equivalent.
00:16So I'm looking at the Odyssey Rossi AI1 Double Bend Putter.
00:22Now we've teamed up with Golf Clubs For Cash, one of the leading retailers of pre-loved equipment.
00:26We're going to see how these stack up against each other.
00:28Let's go.
00:36So the Rossi II was really the putter that paved the way for Odyssey to become what they are today
00:40and paved the way for other models like the two ball, like the number seven, the fang,
00:45that you'll all be familiar and loads of familiar Odyssey models.
00:48Now essentially this was a face balance putter and it came with some really cool alignment aids.
00:52So on the top of the flange here we've got three alignment aids that sit on the leading edge
00:56and two that sit on the back. So it was really super easy to line up and another benefit of that
01:01is it kind of helped you with your eye line. I always found if you try and get those two lines
01:06to match up when you're looking down on them you could be pretty sure your eyes were in a really
01:10nice place over the ball. It was one of the first putters ever to use an insert which really affected
01:15the feel and enhanced that feel and again really paved the way for some later technologies which
01:21you'll see present on this AI-1. So we've got the white hot insert this has become really really familiar
01:26and we've got the AI-1 face that sits behind there which is all designed to increase the MOI
01:31and increase your performance off your miss hit putts. Loads of other technological advancements here.
01:37We've got interchangeable weights, we've got the stroke lab shaft, there's a lot more going on here.
01:42So I think it's time to see whether the technological advancements have made all the difference
01:46and see if this can still stack up against the competition. So before we get the first impressions
01:51here let's get the numbers out of the way. I picked this up for £48.99 less than £50 for a putter
01:57that's won multiple multiple majors. That's a really really good deal. When you consider the AI-1
02:02that I'm putting it up against retails at around £289.99 there's quite a significant difference there.
02:08I think you'll agree. So in terms of first impressions down by the ball I've used this
02:12putter a lot in the past. It was really a very familiar look for me. I love the abundance of
02:18alignment aids as I mentioned. They're really prevalent on the top and it makes it really really
02:22easy to point this putter where you want to point it. This is one of the first putters with an insert
02:28so it'll be really interesting. Yeah that's really nice. A little low on the blade but it still felt really
02:34really soft so it just ran out of pace because I hit it a little lower on the blade.
02:40But really with that very simple alignment aid and that super soft feel to just burn the lip there
02:47that's a really really nice feeling putter. It's given me vibes of Faldo 96 already. I'm really enjoying
02:53this one already. A little bit off the toe still maintained its speed and just slipped out on the left
03:01edge. So that's a really interesting one. Let's grab those balls back and we'll hit a couple of
03:05putts with the AI-01 and get some first impressions of that as well. Okay so the first thing I notice
03:09about the AI-01 when I put it in behind the ball is it's a little bit deeper. So there's more depth
03:15to this head. It's a bit rounder and it's a little bit larger which is likely to give us a little bit
03:19more MOI and a little bit more forgiveness. The alignment aids are still very very clear although
03:25they've gone away from the sort of wider corresponding lines on the top edge to be able to match to the
03:30back edge. So they've lost that kind of as I said accidental training aid if you like although it's
03:36still really really clear to line up. Secondly I would say it's definitely a much more premium
03:42looking head. The sort of dark navy finish is really really smart and the white alignment aids
03:49really contrast nicely against that sort of dark navy finish. We've got the very very popular white hot
03:55insert which is essentially made from the same material as a golf ball so matching those fields
04:00has always been a real winner and we've got more features everywhere. We've got a weight plate
04:04on the bottom, we've got interchangeable weights in the heel and toe to spread that weight and we've
04:07got that AI-01 face behind the ball which we know gives us some assistance on mishits. Not only that
04:13we've got more tech in the shaft, we've got the stroke lab technology in the shaft so in theory this putt
04:17is packed with an awful lot more features so it'll be really interesting to see how it performs.
04:22Let's say as with the other Rossi, really easy to line up.
04:28I would argue that's slightly firmer to the feel, it's done a great job, it's rolled straight in for me.
04:33I would argue that's slightly firmer in the feel.
04:38Coming off really really nicely, that probably would have gone in had it not glanced that ball as well.
04:43Yeah, rolling really nicely off that face. Arguably that was probably three out of three from this 20,
04:5422 foot range for the newer technology there so it's going to be really, really interesting to see
05:00how it gets on when we start putting it on some more official tests.
05:03Okay, if you're enjoying what you're seeing, don't forget to hit that like button and subscribe to
05:08the channel. Also, let us know in the comments what you'd like me to take a look at in my next retro
05:13review. Okay, so I'm down here at Frilford Heath Golf Club, which is beautiful by the way, and I've
05:17set up a 70 foot putt on this par three. So lag putting is crucial to your score, not only to your
05:23score but also to your short putting because obviously the closer you can lay these, the more chance you've
05:28got holding the next putt, so it's really, really important. In theory, the tech behind
05:32the new modern putter, the AI-1 face, the Stroke Lab shaft, everything that goes into this should
05:38make it a little bit more forgiving on these longer putts, and this is where people generally
05:42miss the center of the face when they're putting more swing and more oomph into the putt. So in
05:47theory, this is where it should come into its own. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to hit six putts
05:51with each. I've got my handy tape measure with me here, and I'm going to measure each single putt. I'm
05:57going to add them up each. So I'm going to hit six with each, add them up. The cumulative total
06:02in theory, obviously, the one that's got less distance will be the winner in this test. So
06:06let's go. I'm going to start with the AI-1 putter. And as I said, in theory,
06:13this should be significantly more advanced in this test with its technology. I've blocked that one
06:19a little bit to start with. It's just a little bit shy of pace. Actually, that did better than I
06:25thought. That's an interesting one. That's quite low on the face. So I'm wondering whether a bit of AI-1
06:29technology helped me there. Let's see if we can get a little bit closer this time.
06:36Really good for pace. Two pretty good there. One a bit iffy. I'll go and measure them. Then we'll go again.
06:41Right, so I'm not too displeased with those. One particularly poor strike to start with, but
06:58I think I was flattered a bit by the AI-1 there. I had 5.92 meters in total for those six putts.
07:05So let's see if the old ones still got the magic. It's a very different look to look down on. We've got a
07:10slightly different alignment aids. But it is comfy. It's a familiar feeling. I gamed this putter.
07:20That was a nicely struck putt. Really good for weight. That's a great start. A little kick in there.
07:31Okay, great. Another one stone dead. I'll go and measure those and I'll get back to you.
07:40Okay, there you go. So the old Rossi came in at 5.3 meters versus 5.92 from the AI-1. So really
07:57interesting there. In this test at least, a small victory for the old Rossi-2. Best part of 30 years
08:02old Rossi-2 there. Now, it's not necessarily a hugely fair test because when I went first with the AI-1,
08:08obviously I'm getting a feel for the pace and a feel for the line. So if I wanted to be 100%
08:14scientifically accurate, I'd probably do it a few more times and vary the sort of the order that I go
08:21in to make that fair. But for the purposes of this test, we're calling it a victory for the old Rossi.
08:26So that's a long range test, but we all know, and you've probably seen from some of my long range
08:31putts there, occasionally I leave myself a little more than a tap in. So I need to know these putters
08:36can do their business from short range. And this is a really crucial point. This is eight foot,
08:42which for those of you who don't know, is the 50-50 point for the PGA Tour averages. It may seem
08:47strange. You might think they hold everything from here, but on the PGA Tour, 50% of these putts go in
08:52and 50% miss. So this will be a really good barometer for how these putters are performing.
08:57So I'm going to go with the AI-1 first this time to give it a slightly better chance.
09:01I'm going to hit 10 putts with each of these and I want to see how they perform under pressure
09:06out of 10, how they do. So I'm going to go straight away with the AI-1 and get into it.
09:12So this putts a little bit off the right, so it's probably right edge. And that's a really nice solid
09:17start. I remember watching Mark Brooks, the American Mark Brooks, win the USPGA with the old
09:23Odyssey Rossi. So this has given me good feelings. He held out really well that time. Slight pull there.
09:33Okay, that's two out of three. I'm going to speed it up now,
09:35take you through the 10 and see how we get on.
09:55Okay, so that's six out of 10 there. So that's above PGA Tour average. I'm not displeased with that at
09:59all. So it's a reasonable start from the AI-1. Let's have a go with the Rossi 2.
10:04So I mentioned Mark Brooks there. He was another USPGA Tour player who had this original dual
10:08force Rossi 2 in. Another one of my favourite players of all time, Annika Sorenstam. She used
10:13this putter a lot and she was one of the best holer outers I've ever seen. So I'm going to try and
10:17channel my inner Annika here and see if I can beat six out of 10.
10:33That's it. So a tougher start there for the original Rossi 2, but when it needed to,
10:45like in 1996, when Nick fouled out the Masters, it came up clutch under pressure. Delivered me a
10:50really good finish there and it tied the AI-1 at six out of 10. Both just above PGA Tour average,
10:56which I'm quite pleased with. And for a putter that's cost me less than £50, when you couple
11:01that with the long range test we've just done, that really is quite interesting.
11:05So that was a lot of fun. It's always nice to pick up clubs that I've used before and see how
11:09they stack up against modern day competition. And I think you'll see from the tests we did there,
11:14this can still very much cut the mustard. For £48.99 versus a putter that's costing £289.99,
11:20in those tests at least it did a really, really good job. Now I can hear you in the comments below
11:26already saying, well maybe those aren't fair tests, you need to do more, there needs to be a longer
11:30test period to get a fair reflection. And I think you're probably right. From the technology behind
11:36this, and I've used this putter as well quite a lot, I think over the course of time the extra
11:40forgiveness, the extra MOI would probably come through and start to show itself over some longer
11:46periods of time. And undoubtedly from an aesthetics point of view and a premium feel point of view,
11:52the A01 is still very much probably the superior putter. But you should never count out the underdog.
11:58The Odyssey Dual Force Rossi II, it's worn majors, it started off a whole era of putting for Odyssey.
12:04And like I said, for under £50, I think that's exceptional value.