Tank Cruiser #1

IN response to feedback from Tour professionals, the Odyssey Tank Cruiser, a toe-heel weighted blade, features three head weights (10g, 15g & 20g) that can be adjusted to suit green speed – the lightest weight for fast greens and the heaviest for slow greens, as well as adjustable weights in the grip (5g, 15g & 30g) to allow golfers to fine tune the blade’s balance point to create the perfect feel and deliver solid strokes.

Tank Cruiser features a new White Hot insert for consistent sound, feel and performance across the striking surface. It also sports a new longer (15”) version of the popular SuperStroke Grip, which is designed to help relieve tension in the wrist and forearms, encouraging a pendulum-like putting stroke.

Looks

The best looking new blade I've seen in 2014. Few glare issues to worry about in the brightest sun. Great single alignment aid in the flange and love the slightly deeper, wider head profile.

Feel

The large, Super Stroke grip aided excellent feel and the extra length provides you with the option to choke down on the longer-than-standard putter to make things as comfortable as can be. Odyssey’s re-formulated White Hot insert felt extremely soft and sounded great off the face. It's easy to see why this is Odyssey’s most popular insert on the professional tour.

Performance

Although there are three weight options of 0, 15 and 30g available here, I favoured the 15g weight and found there was an effortless release of the putter head at impact. The counterbalancing works very well, probably better than any other counterbalance putter I've tested before. Odyssey is the first major putter manufacturer to simplify the counterbalancing process with adjustable weight ports in both the head and handle of a putter, saving tinkerers time and money. Solid from both close and mid-range with very few putts being pulled or pushed.

Verdict

The best looking, feeling and performing blade I've tested this year, and very much the perfect alternative for the forthcoming anchoring ban in 2016. Need I say anymore? A bit pricey for an insert putter at £200 but you get what you pay for. This is an incredibly stable and soft feeling blade. There's weight in the oversized SuperStroke grip for a stable stroke, but also the option for weight in the head should you wish for an more active release on varying greens. A superb toe-heel weighted blade, one I believe you should get in the bag if you're looking to treat yourself to a premium flatstick this season.