Skyscraper333

Intro
Alright everyone, I’m back and pumped for another shaft test! (although hopefully this one doesn’t add as much distance as the last one 😂). I was hesitant to sign up for this because it’s late in the season here in Madison, WI, and it’s stat-heavy (wasn’t sure if I would have access to the right equipment), but after some post-selection discussion and research, we are good to go. Also, the LAB team has been absolutely on top of things, so where I expected almost this entire test to be indoors (thinking production would be 4 weeks or so), the putter is already on it’s way here – now need to contact my SAM guy and schedule something a lot earlier than we expected.
Now, if you’ve read my last reviews / followed my other posts, you might know a lot of this already – but I’m a former semi-competitive golfer (mid-range D-III golf team in the early-mid 00s, now pick my tournaments based on the course rather than the competition), and I can still kinda hold my own from time to time. My handicap is up to a 3.8 this year from my all-time low of 1.5 in 2023, but when it comes to putting…

Various sites say that, for my handicap, I should average around 32 putts/round – but I often have 35+. Maybe proximity is also a factor – lots of greens + lots of 2-putts = lots of pars. In the few rounds where I end up sub-30 putting, they’re usually pretty close to +hcp rounds. With those putting struggles come quite a few putter changes (you know, “to change up the feel”), so I have a big stockpile of putters in my basement.
Two factors in this test: LAB, and the TPT shaft.
LAB: My first go with LAB was just to give it a shot, so I bought a putter “cheap” (relative to a direct order) off of the LAB outlet – picked specs that looked close enough with the Mezz XL, and when it showed up, it was brand new (my theory is it was a cancelled custom order or a proto or something). It performed better than what I was using, but I like the look of a blade, so when it became available, I picked up a Link.1 (to be honest, I’m bitter that I didn’t pull the trigger on the initial Link limited release, but I picked one up as soon as they stocked the now-standard edition) – the Link is what I’m using for the test. Premium Shaft: I have very limited experience with premium shafts. I’ve wanted to try something, but found it hard to justify the cost – can it really be that good? The closest I’ve tried is a Fujikura (thanks to @dlow206) popped into a Toulon Madison head that I bought (specifically for the Madison capitol image); I almost pulled the trigger on a BGT Masters edition shaft a couple years in a row, but decided against it; and then there’s the Accra, which I believe was a premium upcharge (albeit a relatively small one compared to TPT/others). I’m actually really excited to do a legit side-by-side putter shaft test to see if it truly makes a difference. OK OK, so the details of the test: I submitted my fitting video to LAB, and they confirmed the specs on my Link.1 are appropriate – 34.5” length, 69 degree lie, so the two putters will be identical aside from the shaft. I’m a bit jealous of some of the other testers, because they get to pick a different color for their test putter (which also helps differentiate in the test pics/videos), but the Link only has the one color (technically they did release a black version at one point, but I expect it’s the standard color that’s showing up). The fitting video:

PXL_20240921_031112174~2.mp4 (does that stroke look as bad to you as it does to me? 🤣Maybe that's my problem...or maybe I'm just very deep in my own head)
Now, once the putter gets here, I’m planning the following: some on-course play (didn’t expect this, but they built/shipped it fast enough for it to work), lots of sessions on my BirdieBall and PuttOut AirBreak (an excuse to practice more this off-season!), and a couple sessions on SAM to collect some stats (which…will likely also include a lesson – also a great excuse to try to get better!).
First Impression (9.75/10)
Had hopes of getting the putter on Saturday, but based on FedEx tracking info, it took a bit of a joyride through the backroads of the northern US and showed up two days later than original estimates (scans imply it was cruising down US-2 instead of the Interstates, and likely cruised right past my house yesterday before heading to Chicago and back). 
As for the actual putter when it arrived -- per usual, the LAB team packed it very securely, so no risk of damage in any way. The putter overall looks awesome. Some quick compare/contrast to the benchmark Accra putter: 
Head actually looks slightly darker -- I'm guessing that's just the age and nothing more than that.  "Accidentally" got the same alignment markings -- picked the new putter's markings while at work, not looking at the older putter. Picked what I thought would work best for me, thinking I was adding a line compared to the one I already had. But...nope, I guess I have a subconscious preference, because I blindly picked the exact same markings.  Love the look of the shaft -- great color, cool subtle pattern. I'm actually surprised how much I prefer the look of this one to the straight white Accra (back when I ordered that one, I was all-in on white, but 5 minutes into this test, I think that was a mistake).  The build is slightly different, I'm guessing within a certain margin of error. Side-by-side, the lie seems identical, but the length is very slightly different (like 1/8" or less -- the Accra comes up to the bottom of the grip cap of the TPT).  The TPT feels slightly heavier -- but I don't have a great way to confirm. From putting it on a flat scale at a few different angles, my guess is that the TPT Link is 10g heavier.  The grip -- it's the same. But also different. Looks like LAB went from the standard Garsen to a LAB-branded version with a Black/White/Blue color scheme. The blue/white is a pretty close match to my High School team colors, which is cool (but also, a thing of the wayyy past).  So...why dock it 0.25 points? Well there's the build difference, which is minor. But my petty reason is that I think a different color head would look better with this grip/shaft combo (black, blue, or darker gray, maybe gunmetal) -- now, I knew that wasn't an option with the Link, but maybe something LAB could explore in the future?
Oh, and first putts with it...lights out. Only flat-ish 4-5 footers on the BirdieBall, but all dead center. The Accra also gave me two dead center putts, so we will see...