PLAYING WITH … ODYSSEY TOULON INDIANAPOLIS PUTTER
If you’re in the market for a new putter, you should seriously consider one of the latest releases from Toulon Design by Odyssey.
MODEL PLAYED: Indianapolis with a SuperStroke grip. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Different. The ‘Indy’s’ X shaped design is not the style of putter head I would typically opt for. But when put behind the ball, and after a little time on the putting green, I got used to the look and came around. With the combination of the head shape, large line and contrasting look between the satin face and black rear of the putter being extremely easy to align. HOW IT PERFORMED: Once I felt comfortable with the look of the putter, there was another performance characteristic I struggled with. The feel off the putter face was firmer than my preference. Odyssey is known primarily for soft insert putters and the fact that the Indy had a slightly harder feel surprised me. Feel is a very personal thing of course and what I found firm others might think is perfect.
In terms of rolling putts, the Toulon was very impressive. The roll of the ball was consistent and seemed to get started quickly. In fact my speed with the Indy was as good as it has been in some time, a result that is generally a good indicator of a good roll off the face.
The alignment benefits of the head design came into their own the more time I spent with the putter and I could only lay blame on my missed putts being misread. Similarly the ease to line up the face and the line on the putter with the line on the ball made short putts as close to a sure thing as they can be.
The deep milled face pattern adds to the Indianapolis’ alignment, clearly showing where the centre of the putter face is.
Overall, I loved the way the Indianapolis performed on the greens but continued to struggle a little with the feel of the putter, which might be slightly different to the rest of the Toulon range thanks to the variety of materials used to make the high-MOI head. With some more time and a softer ball model I could easily overlook the feel if the putts kept going in.