Xander Schauffele reveals ‘incognito’ red putter

When Xander Schauffele took to Bay Hill’s practice putting green on Tuesday ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, it looked as though he was considering a switch back into the familiar Odyssey O-Works #7CH Red putter that he started using in 2020.

But wait! A closer look revealed it’s not exactly the same putter; it’s actually a hybrid design between his old red Odyssey putter and his most recent Odyssey Toulon XS Proto silver putter that he’s used throughout 2023.

From top to bottom: Xander’s old Odyssey #7CH Red, Xander’s 2023 XS Proto silver, and Xander’s new Odyssey Toulon Design Las Vegas red putter.

“[Odyssey] actually made both of them for me,” Schauffele said of the putters in his pre-tournament press conference at Bay Hill on Tuesday. “The red one is actually incognito…it’s like the new one, it’s milled. They just painted it…you got to take a closer look. It’s nice. It’s like a big brother of my other red one.”

Although Schauffele had originally liked the red Odyssey putter that he used from 2020-2022, he ended up switching into the XS Proto putter in 2023 for a slightly firmer feel off the face and increased precision. His original red putter had a soft Odyssey White Hot insert, whereas his XS Proto came with Toulon’s popular diamond-milled face.

Fast forward to Tuesday at Bay Hill, where Schauffele revealed a putter that combines his favorite qualities of his two previous putters.

The new Odyssey Toulon Design Las Vegas red putter looks exactly like his previous red putter from address – with the same layout of white alignment lines on the crown – except it now has a blacked-out, diamond-milled face instead of the former White Hot insert. It also has a new custom black sole plate with red screws.

His caddie, Austin Kaiser, told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday that Schauffele likes the red colorway because of how it looks visually against a green putting surface. He can see his lines more clearly. He also prefers a milled face versus an insert, so this new hybrid design is the best of both worlds.

Kaiser says the new red putter is likely to get the call up into Schauffele’s starting lineup of clubs this week.

Schauffele recently switched into a SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0 grip in his XS Proto putter, and he’s equipping the new red Odyssey Toulon Design Las Vegas putter with the same grip model.

He’s covering up the new putter with a custom Odyssey “Jimmy Draino” putter cover: “When he’s on the green, all putts break toward him.”

Schauffele finished T24 in his first-and-only appearance at Bay Hill in 2020.