Odyssey ProType PT 82 Putter
We have gotten tons of emails from readers asking whether or not the putter Phil Mickelson used in the Master’s would be released to the public. Well you guys will be happy to hear that today it was announced that it WILL be released. Odyssey has come out with what they are calling the Odyssey ProType PT 82 putter. Which is based after the design Phil used to win. It will be a Limited Edition model with only 164 being produced…82 in Right-hand and 82 in Left-Hand. It will have the White Ice Insert with a tungsten behind the face and a single white alignment line similar to the model Phil putted with. They will be available on the OdysseyGolf.com website May 10 at 11 a.m. ET.
COST $500
The Good Part
I applaud Callaway/Odyssey for taking advantage of the success and coverage this putter has received both online and offline. Hell…we’ve even covered the putter a couple times in the last couple years once back in August 2008 and again earlier in April 2010. The putter always had a cult like following on the web even before the 2010 Masters but after this last win it was almost a no brainer to release it. Or you would think.
The Bad Part
Unlike other manufacturers Callaway/Odyssey has never quite been able to most effectively take advantage of these situations in regards to marketing and implementation. Almost all their prototype limited edition putters fail to hold there value.
So why is that?
Odyssey has had quite a few limited edition putters in their time including the Happy Gilmore Hockey Stick 1 of 500 Putter and also many tour only models similar to other manufacturers. Although they don’t seem to get the recognition that many of these others do when it comes to the collector’s models. When you think about limited edition putters…is Odyssey a name that comes to mind? Most likely not. More then likely you are thinking Scotty, Bettinardi, etc. So why is it that the #1 Selling Putter maker doesn’t get this same recognition when it comes to valuable putters on the collector’s market? We have discussed this in detail here over the last week or so and this is the conclusion we came up with.
- Design – In the case of this new release they made the mistake of not making the putter like the actual putter Phil putted with. Big mistake in our opinion…if people are going to pay big money for a special collector’s item like this they want the real deal. Now will they sell all of them…more then likely…but will they hold there value…doubtful.
- Communication – there is a method for the madness of how to release limited edition putters and you can use Scotty as a great example of this…and another example was the release of the Limited Edition Nike Method putters. Both do a great job. They leak info out over a period of time to sites like MGS and others slowly to grow the anticipation which creates a great demand for the product when it finally does get released to the public. And I can’t tell you how many times they have had problems doing this just with our site much less other publications I am sure.
- Built For The Masses – Odyssey putters are everywhere…so are Scotty’s but when you think of the 2 brands you think of one being more high-end and one being like we said for the masses. But you can be a little of both. I will use the analogy of the brand Harley-Davidson. Most bike riders think that if you are a true “Biker” you have to own a Harley. They have the same feel in golf…if you are a true putter collector most think you have to have a Scotty putter. But in Harley-Davidson’s case they are also now built for the masses. So they take advantage of both markets at the same time. But with Odyssey the term Limited Edition just does not carry the same meaning as a Limited Edition Scotty because they have not been able to bridge the gap between the two. So in the end when someone goes to sell a Limited Edition Odyssey putter the buyer on the other end immediately gets a feeling of the putter still being “mass produced” and not a true “collector’s item”, and therefore I feel this is one of the reasons the Odyssey Collector’s Edition type models slip in value almost immediately after being released.
So what do you think of the new Odyssey model and will you be buying?
acc
9 years ago
I guess you can be a collector and a golfer but the real goal for a real golfer has 0 to do with collectibility. I bought mine because when I tried it on the practice green I couldn’t miss anything under 8 feet. THEN I read all this foo-foo nonsense. Guess I’ll just never understand the mentality of someone who collects this kind of stuff. I can understand collecting cars, but potters? Give me a break.