- yesterday
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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SportsTranscript
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
00:10by Nick Fowler at the 1996 Masters.
00:13And as always on Retro Review,
00:14we'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,
00:24one of the leading retailers of pre-loved equipment.
00:26We're gonna see how these stack up against each other.
00:28Let's go.
00:30Let's go.
00:36So the Rossi II was really the putter that paved the way
00:38for Odyssey to become what they are today.
00:41And paved the way for other models like the two ball,
00:43like the number seven, the fang,
00:45that you'll all be familiar,
00:46and loads of familiar Odyssey models.
00:48Now essentially this was a face balance putter
00:51and it came with some really cool alignment aids.
00:53So on the top of the flange here,
00:54we've got three alignment aids that sit on the leading edge
00:56and two that sit on the back.
00:58So it was really super easy to line up.
01:00And another benefit of that is it kind of helped you
01:02with your eye line.
01:03I always found if you try and get those two lines to match up
01:06when you're looking down on them,
01:08you could be pretty sure your eyes were in a really nice place
01:11over the ball.
01:12It was one of the first putters ever to use an insert,
01:15which really affected the feel and enhanced that feel.
01:17And again, really paved the way for some later technologies,
01:21which you'll see present on this AI-1.
01:23So we've got the white hot insert.
01:24This has become really, really familiar.
01:26And we've got the AI-1 face that sits behind there,
01:29which is all designed to increase the MOI
01:31and increase your performance off your miss hit putts.
01:35Loads of other technological advancements here.
01:37We've got interchangeable weights.
01:39We've got the stroke lab shaft.
01:40There's a lot more going on here.
01:42So I think it's time to see
01:44whether the technological advancements
01:45have made all the difference
01:46and see if this can still stack up against the competition.
01:50So before we get the first impressions here,
01:51let's get the numbers out of the way.
01:53I picked this up for 48.99, less than 50 pounds
01:57for a putter that's won multiple, multiple majors.
02:00That's a really, really good deal.
02:01When you consider the AI-1 that I'm putting it up against
02:04retails at around 289.99.
02:06There's quite a significant difference there.
02:08I think you'll agree.
02:09So in terms of first impressions, down by the ball,
02:12I've used this putter a lot in the past.
02:13It was really a very familiar look for me.
02:16I love the abundance of alignment aids, as I mentioned.
02:20They're really prevalent on the top
02:21and it makes it really, really easy to point this putter
02:24where you want to point it.
02:25This is one of the first putters with an insert.
02:28So it'll be really interesting.
02:29Yeah, that's really nice.
02:32Little low on the blade,
02:33but it still felt really, really soft.
02:35So it just ran out of pace
02:36because I hit it a little lower on the blade.
02:38But really, with that very simple alignment aid,
02:43and that super soft feel to just burn the lip there,
02:46that's a really, really nice feeling putter.
02:50It's given me vibes of Faldo 96 already.
02:53I'm really enjoying this one already.
02:56Little bit off the toe.
02:58Still maintained its speed
02:59and just slipped out on the left edge.
03:01So that's a really interesting one.
03:03Let's grab those balls back.
03:04We'll hit a couple of putts with the AI-1
03:06and get some first impressions of that as well.
03:08Okay, so the first thing I notice about the AI-1
03:10when I put it in behind the ball
03:13is it's a little bit deeper.
03:14So there's more depth to this head.
03:16It's a bit rounder and it's a little bit larger,
03:18which is likely to give us a little bit more MOI
03:20and a little bit more forgiveness.
03:22The alignment aids are still very, very clear,
03:24although they've gone away from
03:26the sort of wider corresponding lines on the top edge
03:30to be able to match to the back edge.
03:31So they've lost that kind of, as I said,
03:34accidental training aid if you like,
03:36although it is still really, really clear to line up.
03:39Secondly, I would say it's definitely
03:42a much more premium looking head.
03:43This sort of dark navy finish is really, really smart.
03:47And the white alignment aids really contrast nicely
03:50against that sort of dark navy finish.
03:53We've got the very, very popular white hot insert,
03:56which is essentially made from the same material
03:58as a golf ball.
03:59So matching those feels has always been a real winner.
04:02And we've got more features everywhere.
04:03We've got a weight plate on the bottom.
04:04We've got interchangeable weights in the heel and toe
04:06to spread that weight.
04:07And we've got that AI-1 face behind the ball,
04:09which we know gives us some assistance on mishits.
04:12Not only that, we've got more tech in the shaft.
04:14We've got the Stroke Lab technology in the shaft.
04:16So in theory, this putt is packed
04:18with an awful lot more features.
04:20So it'll be really interesting to see how it performs.
04:23Let's say, as with the other Rossi,
04:24really easy to line up.
04:26I would argue that's slightly firmer to the feel.
04:30It's done a great job.
04:31It's rolled straight in for me.
04:33I would argue that's slightly firmer in the feel.
04:39Coming off really, really nicely.
04:40That probably would have gone in,
04:42had it not glanced that ball as well.
04:43Yeah, rolling really nicely off that face.
04:52Arguably, that was probably three out of three
04:54from this 20, 22 foot range
04:56for the newer technology there.
04:58So it's going to be really, really interesting
05:00to see how it gets on
05:01when we start putting it on some more official tests.
05:04Okay, if you're enjoying what you're seeing,
05:05don't forget to hit that like button
05:07and subscribe to the channel.
05:09Also, let us know in the comments
05:10what you'd like me to take a look at
05:12in my next retro review.
05:14Okay, so I'm down here at Frilford Heath Golf Club,
05:16which is beautiful, by the way.
05:17I've set up a 70 foot putt on this par three.
05:21So lag putting is crucial to your score.
05:23Not only to your score,
05:24but also to your short putting.
05:25Because obviously the closer you can lay these,
05:27the more chance you've got holding the next putt.
05:29So it's really, really important.
05:31In theory, the tech behind the new modern putter,
05:34the AI1 face, the Stroke Lab shaft,
05:36everything that goes into this,
05:38should make it a little bit more forgiving
05:40on these longer putts.
05:41And this is where people generally miss the center
05:43of the face when they're putting more swing
05:45and more oomph into the putt.
05:47So in theory, this is where it should come into its own.
05:49So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna hit six putts with each.
05:52I've got my handy tape measure with me here.
05:56And I'm gonna measure each single putt.
05:57I'm gonna add them up each.
05:59So I'm gonna hit six with each, add them up.
06:01The cumulative total, in theory,
06:03obviously the one that's got less distance,
06:05will be the winner in this test.
06:06So let's go.
06:07I'm gonna start with the AI1 putter.
06:10And as I said, in theory,
06:13this should be significantly more advanced
06:17in this test with its technology.
06:19I've blocked that one a little bit to start with.
06:22Just a little bit shy of pace.
06:24Actually, that did better than I thought.
06:25That's an interesting one.
06:26That was quite low on the face.
06:27So I'm wondering whether a bit of AI1 technology
06:30helped me there.
06:30If we can get a little bit closer this time.
06:36Really good for pace.
06:37Two pretty good there.
06:38One a bit iffy.
06:39I'll go and measure them.
06:40Then we'll go again.
06:54Right, so I'm not too displeased with those.
06:56One particularly poor strike to start with,
06:58but I think I was flattered a bit by the AI1 there.
07:00I had 5.92 meters in total for those six putts.
07:05So let's see if the old one's still got the magic.
07:09It's a very different look to look down on.
07:10We've got slightly different alignment aids.
07:14But it is comfy.
07:17It's like a familiar feeling.
07:18I gamed this putter.
07:20That was a nicely struck putt.
07:21Really good for weight.
07:24That's a great start.
07:24Little kick in there.
07:28Okay, great.
07:29Another one's stone dead.
07:30I'll go and measure those and I'll get back to you.
07:33Okay, there you go.
07:35So the old Rossi came in at 5.3 meters versus 5.92 from the AI1.
07:40So really interesting there.
07:41In this test at least, a small victory for the old Rossi 2.
07:46Best part of 30 years old Rossi 2 there.
07:48Now it's not necessarily a hugely fair test because when I went first with the AI1,
07:53obviously I'm getting a feel for the pace and a feel for the line.
07:59So if I wanted to be 100% scientifically accurate, I'd probably do it a few more times and vary
08:06the sort of the order that I go into to make that fair.
08:10But 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 putts there,
08:32occasionally I leave myself a little more than a tap-in.
08:35So I need to know these putters can do their business from short range.
08:39And this is a really crucial point.
08:41This is eight foot, which for those of you who don't know is the 50-50 point for the PGA Tour averages.
08:46It may seem strange.
08:48You might think they hold everything from here, but on the PGA Tour, 50% of these putts go in and 50% miss.
08:53So 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.
09:08So 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.
09:16And that's a really nice, solid start.
09:18I remember watching Mark Brooks, the American Mark Brooks, win the US PGA.
09:23With the old Odyssey Rossi, so this is giving me good feelings.
09:25He held out really well that time.
09:27Slight pull there.
09:33Okay, that's two out of three.
09:34I'm going to speed it up now, take you through the 10 and see how we get on.
09:53Okay, so that's six out of 10 there, so that's above PGA Tour average.
09:58I'm not displeased with that at all, so that's a reasonable start from the AI-1.
10:02Let's have a go with the Rossi-2.
10:03So I mentioned Mark Brooks there, he was another US PGA Tour player who had this original dual
10:08force Rossi-2 in.
10:09Another one of my favourite players of all time, Annika Sorenstam.
10:13She used this putter a lot and she was one of the best holer outers I've ever seen.
10:16So I'm going to try and channel my inner Annika here and see if I can beat six out of ten.
10:21That'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.
10:49It delivered me a really good finish there and it tied the AI-1 at six out of ten, both
10:54just above PGA Tour average, which I'm quite pleased with.
10:57And for a putter that's cost me less than 50 pounds, when you couple that with the long
11:01range test we've just done, that really is quite interesting.
11:04So that was a lot of fun.
11:06It's always nice to pick up clubs that I've used before and see how they stack up against
11:10modern day competition.
11:11And I think you'll see from the tests we did there, this can still very much cut the mustard.
11:16For $48.99 versus a putter that's costing $289.99, in those tests at least it did a really,
11:23really good job.
11:24Now I can hear you in the comments below already saying, well maybe those aren't fair tests,
11:29you need to do more, there needs to be a longer test period to get a fair reflection.
11:32And I think you're probably right.
11:34From the technology behind this, and I've used this putter as well quite a lot, I think over
11:39the course of time the extra forgiveness, the extra MOI would probably come through and
11:44start to show itself over some longer periods of time.
11:47And undoubtedly from an aesthetics point of view and a premium feel point of view, the
11:52AI-1 is still very much probably the superior putter.
11:56But you should never count out the underdog.
11:59The Odyssey Dual Force Rossi II, it's won majors, it started off a whole era of putting
12:04for Odyssey.
12:05And like I said, for under £50, I think that's exceptional value.
12:10You're welcome.
12:11Take care.
12:12Thanks, for now.
12:13I'm just here.
12:14See you next time.
12:15Bye.
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