After the successful return to the market for the Odyssey OG White Hot Putter range last year, the putter giants have built on their comprehensive range by adding four new models for 2022.
In this review I will take a closer look at the interesting-looking Odyssey OG White Hot #7 Nano putter with a Stroke Lab Design shaft.
Is the White Hot insert still as impressive in 2022 as it was twenty years ago? Will this shrunken mallet shape still offer forgiveness? Time to find out.
The Tech
Obviously, the most famous putter insert in golf history, the White Hot insert features in all of the new White Hot OG Odyssey putters for 2022. It features the original White Hot formulation, feel, sound and performance in one two-part urethane insert.
As you will see from a closer look at the top of the putter, it features a Milled Surface Finish combining a rich silver PVD finish with fine milling on key surfaces. These are said to be the most premium offerings that golfers will see on White Hot putters. If you're into the look of a milled putter with a modern twist, this may just catch your eye.
The White Hot OG #7 Nano is also available in a premium stepped steel shaft or the multi-material Stroke Lab shaft in red colourway. Both shaft options are precisely fitted with a standard pistol grip for a classic look and feel.
The #7 shape has become a pretty traditional one in recent years with the likes of Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter and Luke Donald all enjoying global success with this 'fang-like' head. However, the #7 Nano is a slight progression from the #7 for players who like a sleeker less game-improvement-looking design.
It features 3 degrees of loft, comes available in 33, 34, and 35 inch lengths and the head weighs 355 grams.
Odyssey White Hot OG #7 Nano Putter Review
Looks & Feel
I think this putter looks great, it's small yet perfectly formed. It's a familiar and forgiving looking shape in a miniature, more compact, tidied-up package. Once down by the ball however the small size is much more noticeable and may scare some golfers that are used to looking down on a larger mallet head. When Odyssey say Nano - they mean it!
It's still the classic fang shape that has become very familiar among mallet users over the years and puts the focus on strong alignment, with three thick black lines across the crown of the putter as you look down at the ball. This putter frames the ball brilliantly and really helps to add confidence to the player in terms of correct line-up.
I like the slight change from a dotted alignment line to the straight line in the standard White Hot OG #7 model - it keeps things that little bit cleaner and there are less distractions for the eye.
I tested this putter in the long flow neck putter hosel which again looked great from address, allowing a clear and unfussy view of the ball with a hint of offset.
The White Hot insert is clearly a strong favourite among all types of golfer, and with good reason. It feels as familiar and friendly through the strike as ever.
Sound-wise you get the usual, fairly high-pitched click off the face which personally I'm not a big fan of but it certainly gives you immediate feedback on the strike of your putt. I think with the smaller size of this head though means that the sound is also a little hollow and not quite as solid as you'd be used to from the likes of a White Hot OG 2-Ball putter.
In the feel department still, I think the new Odyssey pistol grip deserves a mention too - it feels brilliant. Not only does it feel premium but the new updated shaping just seems to fit nicely in the hands. On first impressions alone, it will win a lot of golfers over.
Performance
This is the area where my opinion started to change a little of the Nano #7 unfortunately. Although as I've mentioned the feel was more or less as you'd expect from a White Hot mallet, I struggled to get used to the consistency of this putter throughout my testing.
I think with a fang-shaped mallet putter, you expect forgiveness and stability in the strike - that little bit of extra help that we all need from time to time, especially in the height of summer when the greens are quick!
I struggled to find that with the #7 Nano, although I loved the clean shrunken looks over the ball and in-hand, they weren't doing me many favours on the greens.
On straight putts of both short and long length, I think it performed well, it was on breaking putts where I began to lose confidence and my performance dropped off, as did the performance of the putter.
I struggled with the weighting in the head and regardless of the two weights to offer high-MOI I found myself manipulating the head, and therefore the face, on putts with break in them causing me to lose confidence as the test went on.
I can't help but think that golfers who like this shape, like this shape because of the forgiveness, which I didn't find to be there with the #7 Nano.
Odyssey White Hot OG #7 Nano Putter Verdict
This is a strange putter that I think will be a little marmite amongst golfers.
For me it looked great and based on first impressions I was excited to test it out, but once I did I struggled to see the value in a putter like this. Why wouldn't you just get the standard #7 model with the extra size, weight and forgiveness in the head to give you more help?
In conclusion, I like the idea of what Odyssey have tried to achieve here but I'm not quite sure it works - if you're purchasing a mallet, surely you're doing it because you're not that confident with your putting and need all the help you can get. If it's a small head you're looking for with some forgiveness but not a huge footprint I think you'd be better off with something like the Odyssey White Hot OG Double Wide model.
Having said that, it's worth mentioning, in a highly-inflated market where prices only seem to be going up and up, it is quite refreshing to see this putter priced at an RRP of £199. This given the high-quality milled finish and Stroke Lab shaft will turn a lot of golfers heads.
The #7 Nano has some great assets but I can't help but think it only has a very niche target audience of golfers.
Who Is It Aimed At?
Players who like the looks of a mallet but don't want the extra weight and still like to feel as if they can rotate the head during the putting stroke.
Would I Use It?
If I could spend more time with this putter to hopefully improve my confidence with it then yes, but after my initial test I would say no - the weighting in the miniature package just didn't do it for me.
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