L.A.B Golf Putters

[dlow206 8,176]

Just got mine today. First off, the "factory second" doesn't really have any blemishes to my eye. Second, what kind of wizardry is going on with this putter (i know its torque balanced). It feels so light going back but it goes back on the path i am expecting to go back on.

[dlow206 8,176]

Still trying to get used to this putter. First, you definitely can still push and pull putts like any other putter. Second, there are some suggested changes to grip pressure and ball position, so still trying to get a feel for those. A suggested drill is to putt with thumbs off the grip and that does help.

One thing I did notice is the roll that the putter putts on the ball is excellent. I have Eyeline black and white balls for putting drills so you can see the roll of the ball. No wobbles with this putter, puts a beautiful roll on the ball even if you mishit.

[joen 798]

1 hour ago, dlow206 said:

Still trying to get used to this putter. First, you definitely can still push and pull putts like any other putter. Second, there are some suggested changes to grip pressure and ball position, so still trying to get a feel for those. A suggested drill is to putt with thumbs off the grip and that does help.

One thing I did notice is the roll that the putter putts on the ball is excellent. I have Eyeline black and white balls for putting drills so you can see the roll of the ball. No wobbles with this putter, puts a beautiful roll on the ball even if you mishit.

Best advice I can give you is to try and consciously make your hands do nothing to manipulate the putt.  Sounds easy but difficult in reality. Once you figure out how to do this Consistently you will see the magic of this putter.  Enjoy the process!

[dlow206 8,176]

Figured out my issues over the past couple of days in working out the small kinks. First major cause of me pulling putts was posture, which was causing me to cut across the ball. Once that was fixed, then the balls started going a bit right. Next I moved the ball more forward in my stance (this was a recommendation from LAB). Now its all good at least for carpet putting. Won't get the distance control worked out until I putt on a real green.

[dlow206 8,176]

Just got an absurd deal on a Stability shaft, so that will be going in as soon as i get my new LAB grip.

[dlow206 8,176]

Puts a really nice roll on the ball

 

[sirchunksalot 12,119]

1 hour ago, dlow206 said:

Puts a really nice roll on the ball

 

That roll does look good. How easy has it been to get used to the look of the putter behind the ball? 

 

[dlow206 8,176]

4 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

That roll does look good. How easy has it been to get used to the look of the putter behind the ball? 

 

Looks wise, not really any adjustment, except for making sure the putter is grounded completely flat and not toe up at all. I guess the other partially looks related adjustment is moving the ball more forward in the stance. At first, it looks way too far forward and you feel like there is no way you can hit the ball on the correct path, but it works, you have to get used to trusting it.

[dlow206 8,176]

Putting my DF 2.1 in play later today, will update with how it goes.

One thing I will say is that LAB Golf has great customer service. I had a question about self installing a stability shaft on a DF 2.1 and Matt from LAB Golf gave me a call and talked through a few things to look out for when installing a stability shaft into a putter. 

[dlow206 8,176]

For anyone considering changing out the stock KBS shaft with a Stability shaft and are considering doing it themselves, two things based on my experience from today:

• If you use the method of installing the Stability shaft where you cut off part of the old shaft, the stock KBS shaft is heavily tipped. Stability shaft says to cut 8.25" above the putter head, but if you measure the diameter of the stock KBS shaft in the Stability shaft, it is above 0.400" which won't fit into any of the Stability shaft adapters
   
• If you want to use the method where you put in a full Stability shaft including the straight in tip that comes with it, this one is not easy either. Some of the older versions of the DF 2.1 (I think Matt said March and earlier), uses an interference fit (i.e. not just putting the epoxy on the tip, but pounding the shaft into the head for a super tight fit). LAB does not recommend pulling the shaft on the versions with the interference fit, but I did it anyway. Even with a lot of heat, its not as easy as pulling an iron or putter with a steel shaft. I had to keep twisting with all of my strength to get that thing out. Got it out successfully though, and then put in the new tip that comes with the Stability shaft by putting on epoxy and pounding it in with a rubber mallet.

[Berg Ryman 4,391]

Interesting now that LAB is sending these to prominent YouTube golf.folks, they're ending up in bags. Right now Steve Buzza has a B.2 and today Peter Finch released a video and he now games the DF 2.1

[dlow206 8,176]

2 hours ago, Berg Ryman said:

Interesting now that LAB is sending these to prominent YouTube golf.folks, they're ending up in bags. Right now Steve Buzza has a B.2 and today Peter Finch released a video and he now games the DF 2.1

Seems like a good marketing tactic for a smaller company. Don't have to pay pros to use, just offer free product to social media influencers.

[edingc 10,026]

On 10/11/2020 at 8:22 AM, dlow206 said:

One thing I will say is that LAB Golf has great customer service. I had a question about self installing a stability shaft on a DF 2.1 and Matt from LAB Golf gave me a call and talked through a few things to look out for when installing a stability shaft into a putter. 

Matt was excellent when I worked with him a few weeks ago. Multiple phone calls and emails to make sure what I was ordering was going to work for me. It was an expensive purchase but I'm not doubting my decision at all.

On that note, I'm hoping it is in by next weekend!

[dlow206 8,176]

1 hour ago, edingc said:

Matt was excellent when I worked with him a few weeks ago. Multiple phone calls and emails to make sure what I was ordering was going to work for me. It was an expensive purchase but I'm not doubting my decision at all.

On that note, I'm hoping it is in by next weekend!

Nice. I went the cheap route, got the Ebay factory second, and then separately got a good deal on a stability shaft and installed it yesterday and regripped this morning. It is possible that my  self-installation of the stability shaft could mess with the balance slightly, but they said likely not noticeable.

If the DF 2.1 continues to work out well, i have a bad feeling that I will sell this one and get a brand new one. That probably doesn't make sense, but if i were to by a brand new one, it would be perfectly balanced to spec including shaft selection and grip selection.

[Tom D. 471]

On 5/22/2020 at 10:45 AM, Quigleyd said:

These are kind of a bad idea used as well. The honestly are very individually fit. As they should be, but its not like other putters. If you pick one of these up that was fit for someone else. They feel really weird. 

You can do a FREE remote fitting (directions on the LABGolf website) to get your specs, then you can check on the bay to see if you can find a used one, or the factory seconds that they list there under labgolfoutlet.  Depending on how unique your specs are, it may take awhile, or you can get lucky right away and find one.

[Tom D. 471]

On 5/22/2020 at 10:48 AM, scooterhd2 said:

you cant bend the lie angle?

NO, you can't bend the lie angle -- that is if you want it to stay lie angle balanced, which is the whole point.

[Tom D. 471]

On 10/10/2020 at 10:40 AM, dlow206 said:

Looks wise, not really any adjustment, except for making sure the putter is grounded completely flat and not toe up at all. I guess the other partially looks related adjustment is moving the ball more forward in the stance. At first, it looks way too far forward and you feel like there is no way you can hit the ball on the correct path, but it works, you have to get used to trusting it.

you want the bottom tip of the shaft in the middle of your stance, so that will result in the ball being forward.

[Tom D. 471]

On 10/13/2020 at 6:20 AM, edingc said:

Matt was excellent when I worked with him a few weeks ago. Multiple phone calls and emails to make sure what I was ordering was going to work for me. It was an expensive purchase but I'm not doubting my decision at all.

On that note, I'm hoping it is in by next weekend!

Yep, Matt@labgolf is great to work with.

Since you use it approximately 40% of the time, your putter has EVERY RIGHT to be the most expensive club in your bag.  As opposed to the big dog that only comes out to hunt about 14 times per round.

I think you'll be well pleased.  I've had L.A.B. Golf putters for about a year now, and consider them the best thing on the planet for making the ball rattle in the bottom of the cup in the fewest strokes possible. 

I tried both the B.2 and the DF 2.1, and settled on the DF since it is so forgiving of heel and toe strikes.  It allows me to look at my target while I take my stroke, which provides me superior distance control.

Sold both my "testers" on the bay (for more than I paid for them, actually), and ordered my DF 2.1 in the new nickle finish, which I loved as soon as I saw pics of it the first time (and it became a "had-to-have-it").

33" 68.5* with alignment aid #17, silver KBS shaft and Press II 3* grip. Could NOT be happier.

[yungkory 10,596]

I might be tempted to throw some of my Christmas bonus at one of these, just have some reservations about the online fitting, and leaving the islands isn't going to happen because I don't want to spend 12 hours round-trip in a tin can with other people during the pandemic.

How satisfied are you guys with the online fitting process? I've read everyone's feedback about them but I still don't know if I could ever trick my brain into fully committing to one.

[edingc 10,026]

4 hours ago, yungkory said:

I might be tempted to throw some of my Christmas bonus at one of these, just have some reservations about the online fitting, and leaving the islands isn't going to happen because I don't want to spend 12 hours round-trip in a tin can with other people during the pandemic.

How satisfied are you guys with the online fitting process? I've read everyone's feedback about them but I still don't know if I could ever trick my brain into fully committing to one.

Thanks to some nice weather I've had a lot more time to practice this fall than I originally anticipated. I'd say the remote fitting is pretty good. What it won't do, however, is find your ideal length as they leave it up to you to find something that is of "comfortable length." 

Knowing that I have your old Spider at 33", are you planning to stick to that length? I went from 33" to 36", but still grip down a little. I need to be mindful of my setup because I still find myself hunching a lot, but the results are better if I stand a bit more upright. 

The in person fitting I did had the adjustable length shaft and that was nice to find out what length was comfortable for me. But you could do the same by rolling a bunch of conventional putters of different lengths.

I'd have obviously been more concerned if the remote fitting had strayed 3-4+ degrees from the in person fitting, but my in person fitting was only ~1 degree different than my remote fitting.