Odyssey Ai-One Milled Eight T Review
Better than expected, but not enough to threaten the gamer
Introduction
This Odyssey Ai-One Milled Eight T came from Auchterlonies’ second-hand shop.
It was an ex-demo putter, which felt appropriate somehow. Not quite new. Not quite unknown. Still interesting enough to borrow and test properly. At £219, compared with a launch price of around £449, it’s another good example of why the second-hand market is worth watching.
I was also testing the Odyssey Ai-One Milled Two at the same time, and the Eight T had some appealing contrasts. The more compact blade length suited my eye better. It looked tidier behind the ball and less stretched from heel to toe.
Given all I’ve learned from reviews over the last year, that doesn’t mean I went into the test expecting much.
My previous experience with Odyssey’s Ai-One insert has been mixed. I didn’t particularly enjoy it in the Ai-One Milled One, and in general, I still prefer the feel of a fully milled face. But compact mallets have worked for me before, with the Toulon Atlanta being my gamer for most of two years. The shape of this putter also reminded me slightly of the Toulon Formula 90 that I tested last year.
There was enough shop appeal to make this worth a proper look.
First Impressions
The first thing I liked was the compactness.
Compared with the Ai-One Milled Two, this looked neater, and I preferred the shorter blade length. That immediately made it more appealing to me.
The dark blue finish is reasonably restrained. I didn’t find it offensive at all, but I can see why it won’t be to all tastes. Personally, I’d still prefer a more traditional black finish, and Odyssey has also produced silver versions of some Ai-One Milled heads, which may appeal to more traditional eyes.
In hand, though, it felt like a quality product. The shape is smart, the proportions are good, and there is enough toe hang to suggest it should work reasonably well with my stroke.
Specs (as tested)
Total weight: 568g (SL90 shaft)
Head weight: 360g
Swing weight: D3
Length: 34”
Loft: 3°
Lie: standard 70°
Toe Hang: 36°
Grip: Ai-One Pistol
A standard Odyssey specification putter. Note the lighter shaft compared to the Ai-One Milled Two that I tried previously. The online specification from Odyssey suggests there will be 20-30g of counterweight.
Protocol Snapshot (How I Tested It)
Surface: The old Eden green at the St Andrews Links Academy. An excellent, mature putting surface, with lots of variety on offer.
Conditions: A lovely, but slightly chilly, March afternoon. The green had recently had some maintenance work (you can see the marks in the photo), but was rolling nicely.
Make Test: 6 putts x 3 reps from 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 ft
Lag Test: 40 ft to 3 ft - uphill and downhill - run once
Start Line: Gate drill (two tees at 18 inches ahead, gate only just wider than a ball)
Benchmark: SeeMore Nashville mFGP
Full testing framework: HERE
How did it perform?
Notes
The biggest surprise was the feel.
That was not what I expected after my first experience with the Ai-One insert, although the review of the Ai-One Milled Two had already challenged that perception. It still is not as nice to me as a fully milled face, but it was a good effort and better than expected for an insert.
The broader takeaway from the session is that this is a good putter, but one that never really made me question the place of my gamer.
Pros and Cons
Looks (+ve): I like the compact shape. Compared with the Ai-One Milled Two, it looked tidier and sat nicely behind the ball. The blue finish is acceptable, although I would still prefer black.
Aim/Alignment (neutral to -ve): This started reasonably well, but the full-length alignment line began to bother me as the session went on. I would prefer a shorter line and note that Odyssey also produced a “Tour Dot” version with three dots for alignment, rather than a full line (but that’s as rare as hen’s teeth). More importantly, it never inspired confidence in my aim the way my SeeMore does. Golfers who like to aim using the back and body of the putter may get on with it better than I did, as the middle section is quite distinct, a little like a TaylorMade Spider.
Feel (+ve): Better than expected. I went into the test with some scepticism because of the insert, but it felt more solid than I expected and did not feel cheap or hollow.
Sound (neutral): No real issue here. It matched the feel reasonably well and never became distracting.
Pace control (neutral): Respectable, but not standout. It lagged the SeeMore as distance increased, although it was not bad relative to the Broadie benchmarks. Uphill pace control was better than downhill.
Performance overall (neutral): This is probably the simplest summary of the review. It did a lot reasonably well, but it did not do anything especially well.
Headcover (+ve): Odyssey make good head covers, with strong magnetic closures.
Grip (neutral): Fine, but nothing memorable. No real positive or negative. I prefer the pistol grip that’s on the new Ai-Dual models.
Price (neutral): When first released, the retail price of the A-One Milled putters was around £449, and this second-hand example is XXXX. Much of the range can still be bought new online for around £250, although they are getting scarce.
Conclusion
The Odyssey Ai-One Milled Eight T is a good putter, and it exceeded my expectations.
There is plenty here to like. The compact shape suited my eye, it sat nicely behind the ball, and the feel was better than I expected, given previous experience with the insert.
But I would not game it.
For me, it never inspired the same confidence in aim as the SeeMore, and once that is missing, the rest of the putter’s strengths are not enough to compensate. I also think a little more toe-hang, and perhaps a slightly more upright lie angle, would have suited me better. I’d be intrigued to try the Tour Dot version if I can ever find one of them. The lighter shaft in this putter did feel better through the stroke than the previous test putter, but not by enough to change the result.
So my verdict is this: a good compact mallet that exceeded my expectations, but one that never gave me enough to replace the gamer.
Fit verdict (for me):
Would I game it tomorrow? No, just a bit too much going on behind the ball.
What would I change? Lie angle and alignment line.
What did I learn? Not all inserts are bad! This one is actually pretty good, but it seems to depend on the head shape it’s fitted to.
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Links:
Full testing framework: here
All my other putter reviews: here