Sophisticated and Brilliant

Odyssey’s new S2S Tri-Hot SB putters are artistic and engineering marvels

By Tony Dear

You’ve read a few stories about Zero-Torque putters, so you know they are designed to help keep the putterface square to the path of the putterhead, taking out the guesswork over how to manipulate the head during the stroke. You also know they’ve been around a few years now, and were developed by Directed Force, which later became L.A.B. Golf. The company’s tech took some explaining, but it was always sound. The earliest models, however,  looked very unconventional, even ugly – something that definitely kept a number of golfers from going anywhere near them.

As the tech gained acceptance, however, numerous manufacturers began making their own ZT putters, trying desperately to combine the technology with a more traditional look. Callaway-owned Odyssey produced its first ZT putter – the Ai-ONE Square 2 Square (S2S) – in late 2024. It was center-shafted, but the shaft was also positioned well back from the face to align with the head’s CG and eliminate or minimize torque.

Odyssey reasoned that if they could move the CG, they could also shift the point where the shaft entered the head. At the end of last year, it introduced the S2S Tri-Hot series, in which the shaft was not only equidistant between heel and toe, but also well forward, just behind the face. The line featured some familiar head shapes and a red back section (Odyssey first used red accents in its putters in 2000).

Placing 140 grams of tungsten under the topline and using stainless steel in the middle section with the red aluminum in the back, moved the CG forward and so enabled Odyssey to move the shaft forward, doing away with the need to press the shaft forward before beginning the stroke, which many golfers would rather not do.

It felt more natural, but though the shaft had moved forward, it was still in a central position which many disliked. So Odyssey needed to create a ZT putter in which the shaft was not only close to the face but also closer to the heel.

Last week, the brand announced the addition of four SB models – S2S Tri-Hot Jailbird SB, S2S Tri-Hot Seven SB, S2S Tri-Hot Cruiser Seven SB (counter-balanced, extended grip, 38” long), and S2S Tri-Hot Rossie SB – to the S2S Tri-Hot range. The SB has a precisely-engineered Single-Bend in the shaft which enters the head between the center and the heel, achieving the more traditional look so many golfers prefer. Thanks to the bend and the forward CG, the shaft can enter the head closer to the heel while the shaft’s axis still runs through the CG, thus maintaining the putter’s Zero-Torque characteristics. It’s visually different, but the physics still make it a center-shafted putter – that’s clever, very clever. LAB Golf and PXG have heel-shafted ZT putters, but they may not quite have the S2S Tri-Hot SB’s eye-catching good looks.

The new Ai-DUAL insert has two urethane layers (one firm, one soft), promoting consistent ballspeed and great feel, and Forward Roll Design grooves angled down at 19 degrees to promote roll rather than skid.

Zero-Torque, traditional heel-shafted look, cool red parts, new insert with grooves that promote forward roll – now we really are getting somewhere.

$600 (Cruiser Seven SB – $650)
Right-hand only (Jailbird SB right and left-hand)
Available – Friday, April 24^th
odyssey.callawaygolf.com