The Odyssey Metal-X Arm Lock putter does exactly what it says on the tin. The mid length shaft is designed to be anchored against your arm so that you can make a conforming stroke as defined by the rules of golf to come in for 2016.The shaft is well balanced and we tried the version with the oversize #7 head and the Metal-X insert. The key feature of this putter is the 7 degrees of loft on the face instead of the usual 3 or 4 degrees. This is because locking the shaft against your left arm will push the hands forward and de-loft the face so the extra 3 degrees ensures that you are not hitting the ball into the ground.
Using the putter will take some time if you have not used a long shafted putter before as it does take some trial and error to find a comfortable position to make the putter work. Our favourite was to rest the shaft against the left arm, clasp the shaft and left forearm with the right hand and then rock your shoulders.
The impact provided a solid strike from the Metal X insert that you could feel right up the shaft, but the putter did feel quite heavy overall, even though that will help its stability.It difficult to rate the Odyssey Metal-X Arm Lock putter compared to other putters as it is designed to work with a specific stroke used by the minority. It will appeal to those who are beyond redemption with the standard length putter, but for others we feel working something out with a regular length putter would require just as much effort. It is a novel first attempt by any manufacturer to react positively to the change in rules for anchoring putters and for that Callaway Odyssey should be applauded. However I would expect them and others to come up with something that will have wider appeal in the coming years.