Putting is one of the most personal aspects when it comes to golf, with players looking for ways to save shots when on the green. Certainly, over the past 12 months, one model has stood out, as many on the professional circuit have opted for this particular putter.
The model in question is the Odyssey Jailbird, which first came to light at the US Open in 2023 when Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark tackled Los Angeles Country Club with it. Now, at the 2024 Masters, it's the most popular putter in the field, with 10% of players using it at Augusta National.
The players in question are Clark, Fowler, Akshay Bhatia, Nicolai Hojgaard, Keegan Bradley, former Master champion Mike Weir, Gary Woodland and amateur star Santiago De La Fuente, who were all spotted using the putter during the first two days of the Masters.
As mentioned, the putter came onto the scene after Clark's US Open victory, with the American copying Fowler's putter after striking some putts with it at Medalist Golf Club. Following Clark's win at the Major, Bradley claimed the Travelers Championship a week later, with Fowler himself picking up the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
During an interview on GOLF’s Subpar Podcast, Ricky Romano, Fowler's caddie, spoke about the story of the putter, with Romano stating: "We played 9 holes that day and on every green he grabbed my putter and asked if he could use it. On the fourth green, he made a comment to me, ‘This putter is like cheating.’ At that moment, a lightbulb went off in my head.
"For the last year, I’ve seen Rick with four, five, six different putters. He’s searching. I wondered if he was going to have another putter made. I didn’t suggest any of that, but when we got done, he asked if he could borrow the putter for a couple of days to have the guys at Odyssey make a replica. I told him of course he could, and if they couldn’t make a replica, he could just have mine. As long as he’s making putts, I’m good with it.”
Ranked as one of the best Odyssey putters on the market, the Jailbird comes in various styles and is designed with Artificial Intelligence. Like other Odyssey models, it has a White Hot urethane layer and interchangeable front weights.
As of writing, Hojgaard is the highest player on the leaderboard who uses the putter, with the Dane carding rounds of 67 and 73 to sit at four-under for the tournament and comfortably inside the top 10 going into the weekend.
