First Cut
Mizuno M.Craft OMOI putters: What you need to know
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Mizuno expands its line of M.Craft forged/milled putters with the new OMOI lineup of three models. The OMOI line features heavier heads (as much as 28 grams depending on the model) for better stability, feel and sound, but keeps the overall weight of the club similar to standard models with lighter shafts and grips for better control.
PRICE: $350, three models: 01 and 02 blades, 03 mallet.
THE DEEP DIVE: When Mizuno’s David Llewellyn, director of research and development, and Chris Voshall, head of product, were struggling to come up with a name for the new heavier version of the M.Craft lineup of putters, they turned to the company’s Japanese heritage.
As greens have gotten faster, and average putting strokes have gotten yippier, putterheads in response got heavier. When Mizuno’s team, which had offered a weight kit with its original M.Craft lineup, saw more users opt for the heaviest possible configuration of those weights, the OMOI was born. The stock heads are almost 20 grams heavier than some standard models, shifting the club’s balance point lower and leading to more consistency in face rotation. One other thing all yippy putters need is more forgiveness on off-center hits.
“I’m not exactly fluent in Japanese, but I know enough that when we asked What’s 'heavy' in Japanese?, I kind of knew it was ‘omoi,’” he said. “When we found out the secondary meaning was ‘passionate thought’ or ‘willpower’ and that kind of imagery, well, we were like, We’re definitely using 'omoi.' That’s just too good for a putter, especially when your main theme is what you did with some additional mass.”
Of course, it also helps that the last three letters are m-o-i, as in the golf technology term “moment of inertia.” MOI is a measurement of the stability of an object and its resistance to twisting on an off-center hit. By making the heads on the OMOI line as much as 28 grams heavier than standard, the new putters automatically improved their stability on off-center hits compared to the standard M.Craft models introduced in the prior two years.
The heavier heads are paired with a lighter shaft and a lighter grip to change the balance point of the entire club. The idea is to further stabilize the entire system so the club is easier to swing.
“Our testing showed that locating more of the overall club weight in the head provided more consistent face rotation through impact,” Llewellyn said.
The extra mass in the head allowed for tweaks to the designs, specifically thickening the sole, that in addition to improving stability produced better sound and feel measurements through the company’s acoustic profiling known as “harmonic impact technology.”
The OMOI lineup includes two blades, the slant-neck 01 and the heel-toe weighted plumber’s neck 02, as well as a rounded mallet design, the 03. The 01 features a three-quarter hosel offset and 60 degrees of toe hang; the 02 features a full-shaft offset and 40 degrees of toe hang; and the 03 uses a double bend shaft and is face-balanced. The 01 and 02 feature 370-gram heads, while the 03 is 383 grams. Each model features 8-gram heel and toe weight screws, and a kit with extra 3-gram and 13-gram weights is included at no additional charge.
Like the original M.Craft line, the heads are forged from 1025 carbon steel, and they feature deep face milling for furthering that softer feel. They are offered in three finishes: double nickel, blue ION or Black ION.
The OMOI putters will be at retail in March ($350).