Ever since the LPGA began keeping strokes gained stats in 2021, Minjee Lee has been one of the Tour’s worst putters statistically. Despite winning two majors before this season in that time, Lee has consistently ranked outside the top 120 and lost a half stroke or more on the greens in each of the last three seasons.
This year is a much different story. Lee is 8th on the LPGA Tour in strokes gained: putting and just led the field in the category at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championshipm as she won her third career major title last weekend.
The obvious catalyst behind the switch? Lee, a longtime blade user, made the move to a 42-inch Odyssey Ai-ONE Square 2 Square No. 7 Broomstick putter at the suggestion of her longtime coach, Ritchie Smith.
“We sat down after the end of last year, and were maybe this is an option to try it and just to see what our feels were,” Lee told GOLF. “And obviously, Ritchie, he was like, ‘I’m no expert, but we will figure it out together.’”
As the season was still coming to a close, Lee and Smith initially put the idea on the back burner, but once the offseason began, they decided to revisit it and Odyssey sent Lee a few different options to try.
Odyssey Ai-ONE Cruiser #7 CS Broomstick Putter
This Odyssey Ai-ONE Cruiser Line offers three distinct configurations for three different styles of putting (Cruiser, Arm Lock and Broomstick). All of these putters feature our Ai-ONE insert which delivers more consistent ball speeds, even from off- center hits, leaving putts closer to the hole
AI-ONE INSERT
Designed using Artificial Intelligence, we’ve created contours on the Aluminum backer of the insert which we co-mold to a White Hot Urethane striking surface to promote consistent ball speed across the face with the classic White Hot feel that Tour players and amateurs love.
AI WINDOW
Our designers and engineers developed a Panlite window, which is a unique automotive grade polymer, that allows us to showcase the unique topology of the back of our insert.
SL 140 AND 200 SHAFTS
These heavier steel shafts are designed to complement the heavier heads, longer grips and longer overall lengths of these models
UNIQUE NAVY BLUE PVD FINISH
These putters all feature a beautiful navy blue PVD finish that really sets them apart and gives them a premium look.
INTERCHANGEABLE FRONT WEIGHTS
Available in 5, 10, 15 and 20 grams these removable weights allow you to dial in your head weight to your exact preference.
View Product
ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Odyssey
She eventually started to get comfortable with a No. 7 shape from Odyssey’s new Square 2 Square line (The exact putter is not yet available in a broomstick configuration at retail) and she started to roll both her gamer and the broomstick head to head.
“The first few sessions, we were like, ‘Oh, the roll is way better on the broomstick,’” Lee said. “And it was just more sort of trying to figure out like, which kind of grip to use, especially with my right hand, because I was trying to take my hands really out of the stroke and use the shoulders.”
Obviously, finding the proper fit with a broomstick can be a challenge. Unlike fitting for a conventional putter or a counterbalance model, you don’t exactly have the same feel as with a broomstick. Your stance is different, your grip is different and therefore your feel is going to be different. You’re essentially starting over from scratch.
Lee said she found better success with shorter versions of a broomstick because the longer putters felt heavier.
Then, the first time he challenged her brother, PGA Tour winner Min Woo Lee, to a putting competition with the new wand, she beat him.
J.J. Spaun notches first major win for this trendy putter type
By:
Jack Hirsh
“I was a bit chuffed,” she said, laughing.
Six months later, she’s added a major win to what’s already been a successful season and she’s looking for more.
“The more I play tournaments and the more I see putts go in and the more work I do with the broomstick, I think obviously I’m gaining more and more confidence and producing better results week in and week out,” Lee said. “I feel like I’m just getting a bit more comfortable with how it should be working and like kind of the stroke I need to put on it to have like kind of a pure roll.
“I just try to think of it as a new adventure, not something that’s negative. I just wanted it to be something positive and something fun. Obviously, if I’m doing well with it, it’s even better.”
Want to find the best putter for your game? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.
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Jack Hirsh
Golf.com Editor
Jack Hirsh is the Associate Equipment Editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.
