Ok, since we’ve been here for the last two Putter Vault posts, we’ll stay with the theme. Another loosely attached to Ian Poulter putter! I can’t even remember when this was, but it was some time ago when Poulter was not putting well and wanted to roll something different than the trusty Rife Antigua he was playing. I THINK this was before he inevitably ended up in the Tour Issue Odyssey 7 we previously discussed here. So he put out a tweet saying “hey, I’m open for anything, send your putters!” At the end of it, a new wand emerged – the Odyssey White Damascus iX #1. I had NEVER seen one of these in my life. There was an all-Damascus Odyssey at some point I knew of, but not this thing…
Turns out, the White Damascus iX lineup was a Japan-only release putter for Odyssey at the time. I can’t remember how many models there were, but I want to say there were five different head shapes. Given the spotlight on this model, Odyssey brought the White Damascus iX to America in limited numbers. They released roughly 250-500 putters in the #1 shape and the #9 shape nationwide. They might have released a third shape too, I can’t remember. This wasn’t the first time Odyssey had utilized this limited release approach with a Japan-only model. They also had success doing so with the highly-acclaimed Protype iX putters.
My Odyssey White Damascus iX #1s
I genuinely think the Odyssey White Damascus iX #1 is one of the best putters I’ve ever used. It has a nice blend of soft feel and a little pep to its roll from the insert. The top layer of the insert is acid-etched Damascus, a notably strong and hard steel. Beneath that is a urethane of some sort to soften and dampen the feel a bit. It just feels so good and so smooth. I actually have two of these putters thanks to a good trade, and “#2” has the now-rare Odyssey DFX putter grip on it, not a big deal… These putters will pop into the bag every now and then and will regularly be used for various testing related to putters on this site.
You can still find used models of the White Damascus iX lineup on eBay for a decent price. OR the White Damascus which came before the iX line. I had one of those for a bit too and I just didn’t like it. I thought the iX was a lot a better. Anyway, White Damascus iX #1 a killer putter, pretty rare, and a head turner with its unique looks.
