Odyssey Metal-X #7 Review

Odyssey built its reputation on soft inserts and then spent a decade being told they felt dead. Metal-X is the fix. A thin metal skin is pressed into a grid of diamond shaped points over an elastomer core, so the ball meets metal at the contact points while the soft layer underneath still absorbs the hit. The cover grips, skid is short, forward roll starts early, and impact sounds like a putter rather than a beanbag. The number seven head is the one to have, a twin wing mallet with mass out at the extremes and two parallel alignment lines that frame the ball and make a square face obvious at address.

It sits close to face balanced, so it suits a straight back stroke and resists an arc rather than following it. Feel lands firmer than the old White Hot and softer than milled steel, which is a narrow and very popular place to sit. The stock shaft and grip are ordinary and the paint chips sooner than it should. At a hundred and fifty dollars, though, that is a lot of stability for the money.