It isn't very often that we see a limited edition club go on sale, sell out, and then get restocked. But that is exactly what has happened in the last few days to the Odyssey Versa Jailbird, a putter that Rickie Fowler used, and won with, earlier this year. Dick's Sporting Goods put the putter on sale on its website around Black Friday and Cyber Monday last week and it appeared to sell out very quickly because of the flurry of interest around the model and the success it has had. You can imagine my surprise this morning then as I saw it once again go on sale at Dick's for $399, and this appears to be the only place you can actually get the putter at the moment. Given its popularity and limited edition-ness, I wrote this piece as fast as I could so you know you can get the putter right now as well. You will need to act seriously fast on this one though as these won’t hang around too long!
So why the furore around the putter? Well Wyndham Clark and Keegan Bradley both lifted titles with it at the US Open and Travelers Championship, respectively. And Fowler’s playoff win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic over Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa made it a third consecutive win on tour for the attractive mallet.
Fowler added the putter to his bag at the start of 2023. Equipment fanatics will have noticed plenty of lead tape added for weight, plus he’s had a lengthy grip installed. But the high-contrast Versa alignment system is the same as what any golfer can buy off the shelf, with the contrasting block colors helping to show face angle and path.
“I was very shocked, because I never really looked into anything that was longer, counterbalanced, or anything like that,” Fowler explained at the start of the year. “It’s very interesting, but it’s kind of freeing me up in a way. I’m not changing stroke-wise, or setup, not gripping anything differently than my normal length putter. I just feel like it’s, I don’t know, kind of helping me do some things, and I don’t have to think about it.”
According to Golf.com's Jonathan Wall, Joe Toulon (PGA Tour Rep for Odyssey/Callaway Golf) said over a hundred Jailbird requests were made across all tours after Wyndham Clark’s US Open win, the most the brand had seen in one week for a model since Rocco Mediate’s ‘08 US Open run with Sabertooth. From previous showings, these will absolutely fly off the shelf so don’t delay if you are keen!
