According to Odyssey Golf, it's a driving principle in the company's new D.A.R.T. putters.
There are multiple "Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization" dealing with how our minds can take incomplete pictures and fill in the missing information to form the whole image.
That's a lot of fancy talk for a couple of converging lines on the top of a putterhead. But, Odyssey principal designer Austie Rollinson says, "The Odyssey D.A.R.T. putter utilizes this effect using multiple lines to create an image that refines alignment and helps golfers make more putts."
Here's the idea: The golfer lines up over the ball. He sees the two converging lines on the top of the putter (see image). Instinctually, the golfer visualizes - perhaps without even realizing it - those two lines converging at a point in front of the putter face. He completes the picture of an arrow, in other words - and the point of that arrow (or dart, hence the name) should be in the middle of the golf ball. If the putter face is not centered to the ball and the line, that visualization won't be there, and the golfer should know to move the putter head a smidge up or down in adjustment. That's the theory.
"D.A.R.T.," by the way, stands for "Direction and Realignment Technology."
The Odyssey D.A.R.T. putters also feature the multilayer White Ice face insert. The surface of the face has been roughened to enhance the sound at impact, and to increase friction. The putters also have adjustable weighting.
The Odyssey D.A.R.T. putters become available at retail outlets on Feb. 18, 2011, with an MSRP of $179. The line launches with two models, a standard model that is a double-bend shafted mallet; plus a D.A.R.T. Blade (pictured above) with a crank-neck hosel. odysseygolf.com
