Odyssey introduces Damascus milled putters with unique steel insert

admin — Tue, 05 May 2026 12:16:43 +0000

Odyssey’s Damascus milled putters blend layered steel inserts with AI design for firmer feel and more consistent speed.

Gear: Odyssey Damascus Milled #7 CH, #7 DB putters

Price: $699 eachSpecs: Milled stainless steel head with Damascus steel insert; blasted silver finish and counterbalanced SL90 steel shaftAvailable: April 28 (pre-sale), May 5 (in-stores)

Who it’s for: Golfers who prefer the sound and feedback of a milled putter and want a more premium, firmer feel with consistent ball speeds.

What you should know: Odyssey is introducing a limited-edition line built around a Damascus steel insert, combining layered metal construction with AI-designed face geometry to blend traditional feel with modern consistency.

The Deep Dive: There’s a certain expectation that comes with a milled putter. Players who gravitate toward them tend to want a firmer, more responsive strike and a sound that gives immediate feedback. Good or bad, these golfers want to feel and hear ever subtle difference from putt to putt.

With the Damascus Milled line, Odyssey is trying to give these discerning players what they want, but with a twist that’s equal parts old-world craftsmanship and modern engineering.

At the center of the design is a Damascus steel insert, which isn’t just there for visual appeal. The material is created by stacking 61 layers of two different steels that are pressed and rolled under high heat. As it is pulled and twisted a flowing, wave-like pattern in the metal, so no two inserts look exactly the same. The process of making Damascus steel dates back over 1,000 years and was first used to create knives and swords.

That visual uniqueness is part of the story, but it’s not the primary goal. The layered construction blends softer and firmer steels, which Odyssey uses to fine-tune the sound and feel. The result is a firmer, slightly louder sound at impact than many players expect from a fully milled design.

To help with consistency, Odyssey has applied its AI-designed face topology to the inner-facing side of the insert. Subtle contours are engineered to maintain ball speed on off-center strikes, which has been a focus across the company’s recent putter releases. The idea is to preserve the traditional feedback of a milled putter without giving up too much forgiveness.

Both models in the lineup, the #7 CH and #7 DB, feature the same head, but they are made for different stroke types. The #7 CH features a crank hosel with a full shaft of offset and moderate toe hang, making it a better fit for players who swing the putter on a slight arc. The #7 DB, with its double-bend shaft and face-balanced design, is aimed at golfers who have a straighter stroke.Beyond the insert, the rest of the look is designed to showcase precision. Each head is fully milled from stainless steel, and the blasted silver finish keeps the look understated, letting the face pattern do most of the visual work without becoming distracting at address.

The SL90 shaft includes 20 grams of counterbalance weight in the butt section to help stabilize your stroke and smooth out tempo.

Taken together, the Damascus Milled putters sit in a space that’s a little different from Odyssey’s mainstream offerings. They’re not trying to be the softest or the most forgiving option in the lineup. They are a far cry from the brand’s recent zero-torque offerings, too. Instead, they’re built for players who want a firmer, more traditional response but with a modern layer of consistency built in.

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LAB Golf DF3i adds stainless steel insert to change feel and sound

admin — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 05:09:50 +0000

LAB Golf’s DF3i keeps lie angle balance intact while adding a stainless steel insert to deliver firmer feel and more traditional sound.

Gear: L.A.B. DF3i putter

Price: $499 (stock), $599 and up (custom)

Specs: 6061 aluminum body with milled stainless steel face insert, steel sole weights, 69-degree lie angle.

Available: Feb. 27

Who it’s for: Golfers who struggle to return the putter face square at impact or consistently start putts on their intended line.

What you should know: The DF3i retains the lie angle balance design that defined the original DF3, but adds a milled stainless-steel insert like the one used in the OZ.1i and OZ.1i HS, delivering a firmer feel and more traditional sound at impact.

The Deep Dive: First impressions have never mattered much to L.A.B. Golf. From the moment the company introduced the first lie-angle balanced Directed Force to the broader putting conversation, its designs have pushed golfers to focus less on shape and more on functionality. The DF3i continues that philosophy, pairing the same stability-driven geometry and lie-angle balanced design of the original DF3 with a milled stainless-steel insert that brings a firmer feel and more familiar sound to a putter built around one central goal: keeping the face square to the arc a golfer naturally creates.

The DF3i is an evolution of the DF3 platform introduced in 2024. The compact mallet shape remains intact, as does the center-shafted construction and the precise weighting that defines lie angle balance. Once the putter is soled behind the ball, its mass properties are designed to keep the face from opening or closing relative to the stroke path. The putter is balanced relative to its lie angle, which is why length, lie, and build specs are so critical to how the design functions.

The noticeable change is in the face. The body and hitting area of the original DF3 are made entirely from 6061 aluminum, but the DF3i has been a milled stainless-steel insert that is secured in place with screws in the sole. That construction mirrors what L.A.B. introduced with the OZ.1i and OZ.1i HS and allows engineers to maintain precise mass placement while altering sound and feel. The result is a firmer impact sensation and a sharper, more metallic auditory feedback that some golfers felt was missing from the original DF3.

Yes, the body remains milled from 6061 aluminum, with steel weights positioned in the forward portion of the sole. Those weights vary by putter length and are measured and installed by hand to ensure the proper lie angle balance is achieved. The DF3i also continues to use L.A.B.’s Press Pistol 2 Degree grip, which introduces built-in forward press through an asymmetrical shaft entry. At address, that setup keeps the shaft, hands, and primary hitting area more in line, while the rear hoop portion of the head sits back from the ball.

Visually, the DF3i still won’t be mistaken for a classic blade or a modern Tour-style mallet, and L.A.B. has never pretended otherwise. The brand’s growth has been driven by performance-first golfers and reinforced by Tour validation, with multiple PGA Tour wins in recent seasons from players using L.A.B. designs. The biggest win, of course, came last year at Oakmont, when J.J. Spaun won the 2025 U.S. Open using a DF3.

Those results have helped shift the conversation from how these putters look to how they behave during the stroke.

As with any lie-angle balanced putter, the DF3i is at its best when it’s built specifically for the golfer using it, rather than treated as a one-size-fits-all solution. However, L.A.B. will continue to sell the DF3i directly to consumers. Personalization options include a rainbow of colors, alignment features, shafts and some grip options.

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steel – Ultra Golfing

Odyssey introduces Damascus milled putters with unique steel insert

Odyssey’s Damascus milled putters blend layered steel inserts with AI design for firmer feel and more consistent speed.

LAB Golf DF3i adds stainless steel insert to change feel and sound

LAB Golf’s DF3i keeps lie angle balance intact while adding a stainless steel insert to deliver firmer feel and more traditional sound.