In Review: Odyssey Marxman Putter

Odyssey Golf bills its new Marxman putter as the successor to the company’s groundbreaking 2-Ball putter. The 2-Ball is sort of like Star Wars. It blew people’s minds and set sales records, and it’s a really tough act to follow. If you make a sequel, it had better be good. So did Odyssey deliver?

Following is PutterZone.com’s Odyssey Marxman review, specifically the blade version ($169) pictured here.

The Storyline
In an earlier interview on PutterZone.com, Odyssey Director of Brand Management Rob Arluna stated: “The Marxman is our flagship model this year, it’s our newest technology. Our feeling on that was, we really launched the alignment craze back in 2002 when we offered the 2-Ball, and we hadn’t really had another innovative alignment device since then.”

The Marxman’s calling card is its “High Def” alignment system, which “features alignment stripes that run the length of the putter head to make lining up putts easier and more accurate.”

In fact, Odyssey says that in a side-by-side lab comparison of golfers with varying ability, the Maxman improved aiming accuracy by 23 percent compared to other putters (the testing was done on the mallet model in comparison to other mallet putters).

As for the White Hot XG insert technology, it is billed as the “next generation” of the company’s original White Hot technology. The original White Hot inserts featured a one-piece construction, while the White Hot XG inserts boast a two-piece construction, inclusive of an elastomer core material and a thin outer striking surface. The core material is “soft for great feel, and highly resilient to get the ball rolling quickly,” and the outer surface is “firm for fine-tuned responsiveness.”

According to Odyssey: “All together, it allows weight to be shifted to the perimeter of the putter head for a high MOI, creating even better forgiveness and truer roll than previous models. It‘s the softest, most responsive insert we have ever created.”

The View from PutterZone.com
It took some time to get used to the Odyssey Marxman—and for all the right reasons.

First off, the visual effect of the putter at setup is rather unusual, and I initially found it a bit alien. That’s not a knock. A lot of groundbreaking putters were a bit alien when they first came out, too.

Second, I had to reconcile the supple touch of the insert with the sound of impact and distance of roll. Odyssey’s talk about de-coupling sound and feel is no joke. The feel is buttery yet the sound is crisp, almost metallic, and the ball rolls firmly off the putter face.

Once I got comfortable with the visuals and re-calibrated my expectations regarding sound, feel and distance, the Odyssey Marxman fit like a favorite shoe. I found it to really excel at a radius of four to 10 feet around the hole. The alignment properties of the putter are brilliant, inspiring maximum confidence anywhere near the hole. It’s hard to explain the sensation, but you’ll see what I mean when you take one out to the practice green.

The black striping, the way the High Def sightline curves slightly downward from front to back, the absence of any harsh angles at the corners…It’s clear that a tremendous amount of visual science, as well as technology, went into making this putter.

On level putts of 20 feet or more, I noticed more skidding than with other putters here at PutterZone.com HQ, but that still may have more to do with my stroke and how it interacts with this particular putter.

The Marxman (and other White Hot XG putters, I would assume) also comes with a stylishly sleek headcover. Echoing the brand’s red, black and white color scheme, it features a magnetic closure with a top Velcro pocket, inside of which is an Odyssey brand “poker chip” ball marker. Well played, Odyssey.

The Bottom Line
The Odyssey Marxman is going to be birdie machine for a lot of golfers, especially those who wield a good wedge game, only to find themselves failing to get the ball in the hole after knocking it up close. Odyssey could have chosen to call this putter the Assassin instead of the Marxman, as it’s positively lethal anywhere near the hole. Comparing the Marxman to the 2-Ball is probably unfair. The 2-Ball was, and remains, a cultural phenomenon, the rarest blend of innovation and timing. But as a successor to the 2-Ball legacy, the Marxman definitely hits the mark.