L.A.B. DF3 Putters - 2024 Forum Review

[GolfSpy SAM]

2 hours ago, Jim Shaw said:

So not a “broom “ style. Does the putter set up and look encourage you to make more of a pendulum stroke, more than with your other putter? Or do you think your stroke is similar. 

I'm at 35", so pretty similar, and I can say that because of the center (like, of the head, not "center of the front element" like most center-shafted putters), the pendulum stroke becomes almost imperative.  When I tested two years ago, that was the biggest point of contention for a lot of the testers - it's a VERY different viewpoint when you're standing over the ball - the shaft going in behind the face.  For me, it just made it a little easier to focus on my alignment, as the shaft goes in directly behind the alignment aid - so yet another thing to help with my alignment.  I found that IF I tried to get my hands more involved, I was liable to try to manipulate the face, and if I just rock back and forth pendulum-style, the face of that putter stays dead square. 

However, if you're an experienced putter and have become accustomed (and good at) manipulating the face and the torque of the putter to get it back to square, there will for sure be a learning curve in taking your hands out of it (Sam Hahn suggests something called the 'thumbs-up drill', where you lift your thumbs while making the stroke, to teach your hands what it feels like to let the putter guide itself through the stroke. I find that I go back to this a lot on my practice swings and it's helped immensely). 

If you have already have a fairly straight-back-straight-through stroke, the L.A.B. should be an easy transition (I've been wrong before, mind you I don't mind admitting it (quietly, in a parenthetical).

[Cfhandyman]

21 hours ago, Jim Shaw said:

So not a “broom “ style. Does the putter set up and look encourage you to make more of a pendulum stroke, more than with your other putter? Or do you think your stroke is similar. 

Jim, no broom for this boy, yet.  Good question.  I think for the most part setup and stroke are the same, however, I probably should videotape myself to make sure.  I would say, the L.A.B. with its heavier head makes it easier to make more of a pendulum stroke especially when you use a light grip. What I need to do is get both on the putting green and run through a variety of drills and compare them head to head. I also need to test them both on Quintic head to head. I will be setting up a putter fitting with my friends at TXG to accommodate that.  

[Cfhandyman]

18 hours ago, GolfSpy SAM said:

I'm at 35", so pretty similar, and I can say that because of the center (like, of the head, not "center of the front element" like most center-shafted putters), the pendulum stroke becomes almost imperative.  When I tested two years ago, that was the biggest point of contention for a lot of the testers - it's a VERY different viewpoint when you're standing over the ball - the shaft going in behind the face.  For me, it just made it a little easier to focus on my alignment, as the shaft goes in directly behind the alignment aid - so yet another thing to help with my alignment.  I found that IF I tried to get my hands more involved, I was liable to try to manipulate the face, and if I just rock back and forth pendulum-style, the face of that putter stays dead square. 

However, if you're an experienced putter and have become accustomed (and good at) manipulating the face and the torque of the putter to get it back to square, there will for sure be a learning curve in taking your hands out of it (Sam Hahn suggests something called the 'thumbs-up drill', where you lift your thumbs while making the stroke, to teach your hands what it feels like to let the putter guide itself through the stroke. I find that I go back to this a lot on my practice swings and it's helped immensely). 

If you have already have a fairly straight-back-straight-through stroke, the L.A.B. should be an easy transition (I've been wrong before, mind you I don't mind admitting it (quietly, in a parenthetical).

Matt, I greatly appreciate the great insights here as I’ve only had the L.A.B. for a week. I found transition very easy as my stroke for the most part is straight back and through with minimal arc. I also have a stability shaft in my putter which is very stable, responsive and greatly minimizes torque. I tend to setup with the ball directly under my left eye, so the ball is already slightly forward. I found L.A.B.’s training videos quite helpfully.  Thanks for sharing this. 

[Jim Shaw]

20 hours ago, GolfSpy SAM said:

I'm at 35", so pretty similar, and I can say that because of the center (like, of the head, not "center of the front element" like most center-shafted putters), the pendulum stroke becomes almost imperative.  When I tested two years ago, that was the biggest point of contention for a lot of the testers - it's a VERY different viewpoint when you're standing over the ball - the shaft going in behind the face.  For me, it just made it a little easier to focus on my alignment, as the shaft goes in directly behind the alignment aid - so yet another thing to help with my alignment.  I found that IF I tried to get my hands more involved, I was liable to try to manipulate the face, and if I just rock back and forth pendulum-style, the face of that putter stays dead square. 

However, if you're an experienced putter and have become accustomed (and good at) manipulating the face and the torque of the putter to get it back to square, there will for sure be a learning curve in taking your hands out of it (Sam Hahn suggests something called the 'thumbs-up drill', where you lift your thumbs while making the stroke, to teach your hands what it feels like to let the putter guide itself through the stroke. I find that I go back to this a lot on my practice swings and it's helped immensely). 

If you have already have a fairly straight-back-straight-through stroke, the L.A.B. should be an easy transition (I've been wrong before, mind you I don't mind admitting it (quietly, in a parenthetical).

Great post thank you, when I watch the really good current putters, even with traditions type blades but mostly mallets the pendulum style seems to work the best, but in the back of my mind I'm thinking "yeah but these greens are quick and that is the best stroke to have" well our greens have been 11 or better since February and I am developing a real pendulum stroke, in my opinion. 

I digress, when I see the broom style putters from Adam Scott, Fred Couples, Bernard Langer etc. I see a very rythmic stroke and fluid, but they have broom length putters, I don't see too many LAB putters with 34-35 inch shafts on the TV. that is why I was wondering if the shorter version supported the pendulum stroke. 

[Jim Shaw]

2 hours ago, Cfhandyman said:

Jim, no broom for this boy, yet.  Good question.  I think for the most part setup and stroke are the same, however, I probably should videotape myself to make sure.  I would say, the L.A.B. with its heavier head makes it easier to make more of a pendulum stroke especially when you use a light grip. What I need to do is get both on the putting green and run through a variety of drills and compare them head to head. I also need to test them both on Quintic head to head. I will be setting up a putter fitting with my friends at TXG to accommodate that.  

thanks for getting back to me, yes I am intrigued watching the Adam Scotts and Bernard Langers of the world with their brooms, and I am thinking most of the LAB putters are broom, but maybe not...

[GolfSpy SAM]

5 hours ago, Jim Shaw said:

thanks for getting back to me, yes I am intrigued watching the Adam Scotts and Bernard Langers of the world with their brooms, and I am thinking most of the LAB putters are broom, but maybe not...

My understanding from conversations with Sam is that the vast majority of putters they sell are traditional, followed by broom, followed by counter-balanced. The weights used for the broom versus the regular are considerably different (heavier in the broom), in order to mimic the feel of the standard setup. 

[Josh Parker]

5 hours ago, Jim Shaw said:

thanks for getting back to me, yes I am intrigued watching the Adam Scotts and Bernard Langers of the world with their brooms, and I am thinking most of the LAB putters are broom, but maybe not...

I would think a majority are regular putters. Everything at PGASS or GG are regular length. 

 

[cnosil]

5 hours ago, Jim Shaw said:

 I am thinking most of the LAB putters are broom, but maybe not...

I assume you are looking at the PGA tour:

• Garrick Higgo:  standard 
• Byeong Hun An: Broom 
• Grayson Murray: standard 
• Will Zalatoris: Broom 
• Camilo Villegas: standard 
• Lucas Glover: Broom 
• Adam Scott: Broom

 

 

[Jim Shaw]

6 hours ago, cnosil said:

I assume you are looking at the PGA tour:

• Garrick Higgo:  standard 
• Byeong Hun An: Broom 
• Grayson Murray: standard 
• Will Zalatoris: Broom 
• Camilo Villegas: standard 
• Lucas Glover: Broom 
• Adam Scott: Broom

 

 

hmm, Garrick High, Grayson Murray, I haven't noticed the rest I have... 

[jbern]

15 hours ago, cnosil said:

I assume you are looking at the PGA tour:

• Garrick Higgo:  standard 
• Byeong Hun An: Broom 
• Grayson Murray: standard 
• Will Zalatoris: Broom 
• Camilo Villegas: standard 
• Lucas Glover: Broom 
• Adam Scott: Broom

 

 

Thanks for sharing that! I was able to come up with 5 of those names off the top of my head, but I did not know there was a list. I do believe most of those players are in the MEZZ or MEZZ max, but some have switched to the DF3.

[cnosil]

Just now, jbern said:

Thanks for sharing that! I was able to come up with 5 of those names off the top of my head, but I did not know there was a list. I do believe most of those players are in the MEZZ or MEZZ max, but some have switched to the DF3.

MEZZ, max, proto, and link.  

[jbern]

6 minutes ago, cnosil said:

MEZZ, max, proto, and link.  

I thought I saw AS with the DF3 at the Masters and Camilo Villegas showing one off on instagram...

[cnosil]

35 minutes ago, jbern said:

I thought I saw AS with the DF3 at the Masters and Camilo Villegas showing one off on instagram...

Sorry, yes, some are using DF3.  It is an assortment of models and types.  

[jbern]

Between weather and Mother's Day festivities I was not able to get out golfing over the weekend. I did spend a little bit of time on the Exputt putting simulator and did my first "Analysis" session with the DF3. 

In summary, it performed slightly worse than my Sub70 AL-6. However, I was quite impressed with it's performance, given that this session contained the first "real" (simulated) putts with the DF3. 

For the data analysis, I copied @GolfSpy MPR's putter comparison spreadsheet and stripped out all the other tools, other than Exputt. I believe the formulas he created are a great representation of how to score each putter for the "Analysis" method the Exputt provides (Distance weighted at 45%, Impact Angle weighted at 45%, Path weighted at 10%). Screenshots below:

From the data, you can see the greatest contributor to the lower DF3 score was distance control. I had more made putts from all distances with the DF3, but my misses were severe. Again, I do not see this as a negative because the distance control should come over time and practice. 

I'll save my thoughts on feel and sound after more putts are rolled. Specifically, after I get Dory on the course! Initial impressions were all positive though.

 

[Cfhandyman]

27 minutes ago, jbern said:

Between weather and Mother's Day festivities I was not able to get out golfing over the weekend. I did spend a little bit of time on the Exputt putting simulator and did my first "Analysis" session with the DF3. 

In summary, it performed slightly worse than my Sub70 AL-6. However, I was quite impressed with it's performance, given that this session contained the first "real" (simulated) putts with the DF3. 

For the data analysis, I copied @GolfSpy MPR's putter comparison spreadsheet and stripped out all the other tools, other than Exputt. I believe the formulas he created are a great representation of how to score each putter for the "Analysis" method the Exputt provides (Distance weighted at 45%, Impact Angle weighted at 45%, Path weighted at 10%). Screenshots below:

From the data, you can see the greatest contributor to the lower DF3 score was distance control. I had more made putts from all distances with the DF3, but my misses were severe. Again, I do not see this as a negative because the distance control should come over time and practice. 

I'll save my thoughts on feel and sound after more putts are rolled. Specifically, after I get Dory on the course! Initial impressions were all positive though.

 

Great start and post.  I like that you copied @GolfSpy MPR analysis method to ensure consistency between testers.  Very nicely done.  It will be interesting to see your thoughts and observations once you get it out on the course.

[jbern]

6 hours ago, Cfhandyman said:

Great start and post.  I like that you copied @GolfSpy MPR analysis method to ensure consistency between testers.  Very nicely done.  It will be interesting to see your thoughts and observations once you get it out on the course.

Yes, I am getting very antsy to get on the course with it (and show it off )! The weather has mitigated my pre-planned rounds and other commitments haven't allowed for openings to get out randomly!

One comment I will make about my way-too-early first impressions is the way the bottom of the DF3 is made, I LOVE that when you set it down, the DF3 automatically sits at the correct lie angle. No need to guess. The flat area that you see circled in the photo below allows for this to happen and I'm a big fan!

Edited May 13 by jbern
typos

[PJR]

Such great information and reviews here. Thank you all for your time and dedication!

I wanted to post a shout out to the customer service side of the house. I’ve worked with Matt and Jake and both have been spectacular about communicating and making sure that I get exactly what I want/need from my DF3, just like the Link before it. The company is growing quickly and it is easy to lose your connection to those of us who have been early adopters and avid fans and yet they continue to treat us with attention to our individual needs. Kudos to L.A.B. for continuing to treat a dying commodity like customer service with the respect that it deserves! 

[Cfhandyman]

31 minutes ago, PJR said:

Such great information and reviews here. Thank you all for your time and dedication!

I wanted to post a shout out to the customer service side of the house. I’ve worked with Matt and Jake and both have been spectacular about communicating and making sure that I get exactly what I want/need from my DF3, just like the Link before it. The company is growing quickly and it is easy to lose your connection to those of us who have been early adopters and avid fans and yet they continue to treat us with attention to our individual needs. Kudos to L.A.B. for continuing to treat a dying commodity like customer service with the respect that it deserves! 

I will strongly second that. For the testers, the customer service we have received from L.A.B. has been exceptional and exemplary. Calvin and the fitters were exceedingly helpful and insightful in helping us narrow down our choices. @CFreddie was even able to record his fitting call with Calvin and as a result was able to share great insights with us all. They expedited the builds and we all had our putters within 7-10 days from order. Exceptional service. So L.A.B. very well done. 

[ole gray]

Did any of ya'll go with the Press II 3º Textured or Smooth Grip? If so, how does the bigger grip perform?

Edited May 13 by ole gray

[Steve F]

Was able to get to the course Saturday and have the first official round with the DF3. Overall, I cannot complain. He's still taking some getting used to compared to the Spider. Link to my efforts on Saturday.

 

Edited May 13 by Steve F

[CFreddie]

1 minute ago, Steve F said:

Was able to get to the course Saturday and have the first official round with the DF3. Overall, I cannot complain. He's still taking some getting used to compared to the Spider. Link to me efforts on Saturday.

 

Great write-up @Steve F.  I was able to get in 18 this weekend as well - I agree with your sentiment on this putter just feels "right", but its hard to quantify at this point (especially given the lower number of holes we've posted with them).  

However, I'm already starting to see a SG improvement in one round - see below for my Arccos screenshots (1st is the past round, the 2nd is all rounds so far):

Looking forward to capturing some more data points over the next few weeks - I have a feeling I'm going to like what I / we see!

[jbern]

6 hours ago, ole gray said:

Did any of ya'll go with the Press II 3º Textured or Smooth Grip? If so, how does the bigger grip perform?

No one went with the 3* Press II grip. The counterweight users didn't have it as an option and the standard buildout users went with the Press II Pistol (2* grip). 

[Cfhandyman]

MGS Tester of the Week – Michael Riley Profile

In a new feature of the L.A.B. DF3 putter testing, we are introducing the MyGolfSpy Tester of the week for the L.A.B. DF3.  In a new feature, each week we will highlight one of the testers. The purpose is to highlight the great work they are doing, but also to get to know them a bit better.  Let us know with your comments if you like this new feature.  This weeks, Tester of the week is none other than,

GolfSpy MPR, otherwise known as      “I’m Michael. I like putters.”   

In a particularly apt analogy, he likens his putter to the quarterback of the team.  “Putters are like quarterbacks: if your team has two, it probably doesn't have one. And if a golfer doesn’t have one putter, he’s likely not a great putter.”

Who he is: A very busy man, a pastor of a small church with a wife and six children living in the western part of Michigan’s Upper peninsula, very close to the Wisconsin border.  He is the northern most of all the testers.    

He brings a lot to the table.  He is a MGS moderator and has conducted a putter testing and review previously (Edel EAS).  Like all of us, he strives to improve his putting and golf game.  He has a love for data and training aids and gadgets and is our resident Minister of Technology.  He will have Hack motion (wrist sensor), Blast Motion (sensor to track face opening/closing), ExPutt (to track club and ball putting data) as well as his Arccos data.

His able and terrific support and testing team

     

 His reference putters (i.e. Quaterbacks) Vs the Counterbalanced 37” L.A.B.DF3 “Shazam”

   Versus 

His initial thoughts on the L.A.B.

-          “for me, there will be a learning curve. Putting without thumbs is an excellent practice; there absolutely needs to be a lot of letting the DF3 roll the ball instead of trying to roll the ball with the DF3”

-          the DF3 with the TPT long shaft and Garsen Quad Tour 17 grip has a very solid sound, almost surprisingly solid for an aluminum putter. 

-           I was very pleased to see that the DF3, with comparatively little practice, put up one of the best distance control scores on ExPutt that I've achieved so far. I was surprised, though, to see it put up one of the worst scores for path, including an absolutely appalling -7.34° on short putts.

-          It was okay 

 

 

 

 

 

[jbern]

43 minutes ago, Cfhandyman said:

MGS Tester of the Week – Michael Riley Profile

In a new feature of the L.A.B. DF3 putter testing, we are introducing the MyGolfSpy Tester of the week for the L.A.B. DF3.  In a new feature, each week we will highlight one of the testers. The purpose is to highlight the great work they are doing, but also to get to know them a bit better.  Let us know with your comments if you like this new feature.  This weeks, Tester of the week is none other than,

GolfSpy MPR, otherwise known as      “I’m Michael. I like putters.”   

In a particularly apt analogy, he likens his putter to the quarterback of the team.  “Putters are like quarterbacks: if your team has two, it probably doesn't have one. And if a golfer doesn’t have one putter, he’s likely not a great putter.”

Who he is: A very busy man, a pastor of a small church with a wife and six children living in the western part of Michigan’s Upper peninsula, very close to the Wisconsin border.  He is the northern most of all the testers.    

He brings a lot to the table.  He is a MGS moderator and has conducted a putter testing and review previously (Edel EAS).  Like all of us, he strives to improve his putting and golf game.  He has a love for data and training aids and gadgets and is our resident Minister of Technology.  He will have Hack motion (wrist sensor), Blast Motion (sensor to track face opening/closing), ExPutt (to track club and ball putting data) as well as his Arccos data.

 

His able and terrific support and testing team

     

 

 

 His reference putters (i.e. Quaterbacks) Vs the Counterbalanced 37” L.A.B.DF3 “Shazam”

   Versus 

His initial thoughts on the L.A.B.

-          “for me, there will be a learning curve. Putting without thumbs is an excellent practice; there absolutely needs to be a lot of letting the DF3 roll the ball instead of trying to roll the ball with the DF3”

-          the DF3 with the TPT long shaft and Garsen Quad Tour 17 grip has a very solid sound, almost surprisingly solid for an aluminum putter. 

-           I was very pleased to see that the DF3, with comparatively little practice, put up one of the best distance control scores on ExPutt that I've achieved so far. I was surprised, though, to see it put up one of the worst scores for path, including an absolutely appalling -7.34° on short putts.

-          It was okay 

 

 

 

 

 

Another cool addition to the DF3 thread from @Cfhandyman!!!

I participated in the Clicgear 4.0 test with @GolfSpy MPR and I remember thinking... "he's from Michigan, I should see if he'd like to meet up and golf and talk about these pushcarts." Then I looked how far away he is from me and even though we live in the same state we might as well be on different planets.  It's like a 10 hour drive!

[Jim Shaw]

1 hour ago, Cfhandyman said:

MGS Tester of the Week – Michael Riley Profile

In a new feature of the L.A.B. DF3 putter testing, we are introducing the MyGolfSpy Tester of the week for the L.A.B. DF3.  In a new feature, each week we will highlight one of the testers. The purpose is to highlight the great work they are doing, but also to get to know them a bit better.  Let us know with your comments if you like this new feature.  This weeks, Tester of the week is none other than,

GolfSpy MPR, otherwise known as      “I’m Michael. I like putters.”   

In a particularly apt analogy, he likens his putter to the quarterback of the team.  “Putters are like quarterbacks: if your team has two, it probably doesn't have one. And if a golfer doesn’t have one putter, he’s likely not a great putter.”

Who he is: A very busy man, a pastor of a small church with a wife and six children living in the western part of Michigan’s Upper peninsula, very close to the Wisconsin border.  He is the northern most of all the testers.    

He brings a lot to the table.  He is a MGS moderator and has conducted a putter testing and review previously (Edel EAS).  Like all of us, he strives to improve his putting and golf game.  He has a love for data and training aids and gadgets and is our resident Minister of Technology.  He will have Hack motion (wrist sensor), Blast Motion (sensor to track face opening/closing), ExPutt (to track club and ball putting data) as well as his Arccos data.

 

His able and terrific support and testing team

     

 

 

 His reference putters (i.e. Quaterbacks) Vs the Counterbalanced 37” L.A.B.DF3 “Shazam”

   Versus 

His initial thoughts on the L.A.B.

-          “for me, there will be a learning curve. Putting without thumbs is an excellent practice; there absolutely needs to be a lot of letting the DF3 roll the ball instead of trying to roll the ball with the DF3”

-          the DF3 with the TPT long shaft and Garsen Quad Tour 17 grip has a very solid sound, almost surprisingly solid for an aluminum putter. 

-           I was very pleased to see that the DF3, with comparatively little practice, put up one of the best distance control scores on ExPutt that I've achieved so far. I was surprised, though, to see it put up one of the worst scores for path, including an absolutely appalling -7.34° on short putts.

-          It was okay 

 

 

 

 

 

Fun feature, yes I like it. 

I am intrigued by the equipment used by @GolfSpy MPR to get feedback from his putting stroke.

1. has it made you a better putter? 

2. Which piece of equipment do you think has helped the most for you?

3. How much time do you spend practicing putting?

4. How many putters have you tested, let's say in the last 3 years? 

thanks for the post @Cfhandyman

[Rob Person]

And this thread just keeps getting better!!

[MattWillGolf]

I was able to get the Nemo out on the course for the first time today for 9 holes. There will be an adjustment period. I absolutely love the feel of the putter. But I am have a tough time with getting the distance dialed in. Everything was running long. I even had a 4-putt on a hole. My putt count for 9 holes was 23 putts. Which is outside my norm. My round included one 4-putt, four 3 putts, three 2-putts, and one 1-putt. I can’t remember the last time I had a 4-putt. For me a typical 9 hole round is good for one or two 3-putts, mostly 2-putts and the occasional 1-putt.

[ole gray]

Question for testers or anyone else gaming the DF3 who went with the heavy head.  In retrospect would you have gone with a standard weight head?

[MattWillGolf]

2 minutes ago, ole gray said:

Question for testers or anyone else gaming the DF3 who went with the heavy head.  In retrospect would you have gone with a standard weight head?

Too early to tell but that thought did cross my mind during today’s round.

[ole gray]

1 hour ago, MattWillGolf said:

Too early to tell but that thought did cross my mind during today’s round.

Yea I'm thinking for myself, it might cause an issue with distance control. Heck it probably helps some folks with distance control but it all comes down to individuality.