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

[GolfSpy SAM]

A very happy birthday present to me - I've already told the testers, but figured I'd share here, too.  Due to some VERY unforeseen (and happy) circumstances, I'll be joining in on the fun (not as an official tester by any means, but more as a happy co-participant)

This was ordered yesterday (white Accra shaft, white pistol grip).  To say I'm excited is a VAST understatement.

[MattWillGolf]

My Fitting Experience

To get fit for my putter I used the Remote Fitting option provided on L.A.B. Golf's website. We were instructed to shoot a short video of our putting stroke while wearing golf shoes. The video needs to be shot with the putter head in line with a vertical object such as a wall edge or door jam in the background. The video should be shot at about a 2 foot height and your whole body needs to be visible. You must also provide the length of the putter used in the video as measured from the center of the putter face to end of the putter grip. In my case my putter was 34". In the past you would then email your video to L.A.B. Golf and they would review the video and provide a fitting recommendation. In my case my fitter recommended a putter length of 34.5" with a lie angle of 68° which is 1° flatter than their standard lie.

My Movie-1080p30.mov 

Following those recommendations, I had some follow up questions for my fitter. I currently use an Evnroll ER11v which has a head weight of 365 grams. I am comfortable with that head weight. My fitter indicated that their putters are on the lighter side and if I was comfortable with that weight then I should select the Heavier head weight option which for my build adds 15 grams of weight to the head. When it came to shaft selection, I did some research on the L.A.B. Golf website and it was clear to me that there was greater stability offered by a graphite shaft. So now to determine which graphite shaft seemed right for me. I asked my fitter about how L.A.B. Golf ranked the shafts in terms of feel. He listed the shafts in terms of feel (soft to firm) it goes Accra, Steel, BGT, TPT. I wanted something in the middle so I selected the BGT Stabilty ONE shaft. I went with the "double line" alignment mark. That seemed to suit my eye best and it is similar to the alignment mark on my Evnroll ER11v which I really like. 

My Build

DF3 Custom

Hand: RIGHT

Putting style: STANDARD

Head weight: HEAVIER

Shaft: BGT Stability ONE

Shaft length: 34.5″

Lie angle: 68

Putter color: DF3 - Orange

Alignment mark: I

Grip Selection: Press Pistol 2 Degree - Right

Headcover selection: DF3 Headcover - Black

The order for the putter has been submitted. 

 

Edited April 23 by MattWillGolf

[mpatrickriley]

For those of us who are growing in anticipation, this won't help make the anticipation get less:

 

[cnosil]

2 hours ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

For those of us who are growing in anticipation, this won't help make the anticipation get less:

 

If you lived near Yorktown,  you could head over to MGS HQ and spend some time with one.   I practiced putting with the DF3 for about 45 minutes today.   

 

 

[mpatrickriley]

9 minutes ago, cnosil said:

If you lived near Yorktown,  you could head over to MGS HQ and spend some time with one.   I practiced putting with the DF3 for about 45 minutes today.   

 

 

Not helping...

[CFreddie]

3 hours ago, MattWillGolf said:

My Fitting Experience

To get fit for my putter I used the Remote Fitting option provided on L.A.B. Golf's website. We were instructed to shoot a short video of our putting stroke while wearing golf shoes. The video needs to be shot with the putter head in line with a vertical object such as a wall edge or door jam in the background. The video should be shot at about a 2 foot height and your whole body needs to be visible. You must also provide the length of the putter used in the video as measured from the center of the putter face to end of the putter grip. In my case my putter was 34". In the past you would then email your video to L.A.B. Golf and they would review the video and provide a fitting recommendation. In my case my fitter recommended a putter length of 34.5" with a lie angle of 68° which is 1° flatter than their standard lie.

My Movie-1080p30.mov 7.22 MB · 4 downloads  

Following those recommendations, I had some follow up questions for my fitter. I currently use an Evnroll ER11v which has a head weight of 365 grams. I am comfortable with that head weight. My fitter indicated that their putters are on the lighter side and if I was comfortable with that weight then I should select the Heavier head weight option which for my build adds 15 grams of weight to the head. When it came to shaft selection, I did some research on the L.A.B. Golf website and it was clear to me that there was greater stability offered by a graphite shaft. So now to determine which graphite shaft seemed right for me. I asked my fitter about how L.A.B. Golf ranked the shafts in terms of feel. He listed the shafts in terms of feel (soft to firm) it goes Accra, Steel, BGT, TPT. I wanted something in the middle so I selected the BGT Stabilty ONE shaft. I went with the "double line" alignment mark. That seemed to suit my eye best and it is similar to the alignment mark on my Evnroll ER11v which I really like. 

My Build

DF3 Custom

Hand: RIGHT

Putting style: STANDARD

Head weight: HEAVIER

Shaft: BGT Stability ONE

Shaft length: 34.5″

Lie angle: 68

Putter color: DF3 - Orange

Alignment mark: I

Grip Selection: Press Pistol 2 Degree - Right

Headcover selection: DF3 Headcover - Black

The order for the putter has been submitted. 

 

Love it @MattWillGolf - digging the alignment choice! And good news, I’ve already got a name for it!

Edited April 23 by CFreddie

[CFreddie]

Some good news - Calvin got back to me this afternoon and confirmed my measurements (35" / 68 degrees) so I'm ready to build my putter!

Some even better news - he's also game to hop on a call and discuss my options live, so please send over any questions you'd want to have answered from him (note - I'm sticking to fitting & DF3-specific questions) and I can ask on our call.  I'll plan to share back to this group once we are done!  Here is what I have so far:

- Measurements: anything stand-out from my putting video, as it relates to putter length / lie angle?  (note: I've never been fitted for a putter, so unsure if length is too much / too little since I'm pretty tall at 6'4")

- Configuration: Preference is to go with standard putter configuration, but interested in learning more about counterbalanced.  How does CB work and what is the impact of not having a press grip (from @braehead)?

- Headweight: I prefer a heavier mallet-style putter, and my limited hits on a DF3 in store was that the head felt a bit light (but was the stock shaft) - any feedback on head weight?  Thinking of going heavy for mine.

- Shaft: Can you please walk me through the shaft options - from stock to TPT - and what stands out for each type?  Is there a certain type of "feel" that a user would want and gravitate towards? 

- Grips: I prefer the feel of the pistol, but wanted his feedback on any other grips that could stand-out (candidly, since the pistol is 2 degrees tilt, the angle was a bit jarring at first)

- Alignment: Since I put RH but I'm left eye dominant, I'm curious if he has feedback on alignment aides.  For me, I believe my eye prefers simpler, so I'm curious if they think a simple dot (or three) would be best for me.  

Thanks everyone!

[MattWillGolf]

20 minutes ago, CFreddie said:

Love it @MattWillGolf - digging the alignment choice! And good news, I’ve already got a name for it!

Then there is this.

[cnosil]

13 minutes ago, CFreddie said:

- Alignment: Since I put RH but I'm left eye dominant, I'm curious if he has feedback on alignment aides.  For me, I believe my eye prefers simpler, so I'm curious if they think a simple dot (or three) would be best for me.  

 

I'd expand on this to: with 30+ alignment options is there a science behind selecting or are they just a bunch of options that people can pick what they like?  

[CFreddie]

4 minutes ago, cnosil said:

I'd expand on this to: with 30+ alignment options is there a science behind selecting or are they just a bunch of options that people can pick what they like?  

Great addition @cnosil!

[Cfhandyman]

58 minutes ago, CFreddie said:

Great head cover.  Team DF3 putter covers?

39 minutes ago, CFreddie said:

Some good news - Calvin got back to me this afternoon and confirmed my measurements (35" / 68 degrees) so I'm ready to build my putter!

Some even better news - he's also game to hop on a call and discuss my options live, so please send over any questions you'd want to have answered from him (note - I'm sticking to fitting & DF3-specific questions) and I can ask on our call.  I'll plan to share back to this group once we are done!  Here is what I have so far:

- Measurements: anything stand-out from my putting video, as it relates to putter length / lie angle?  (note: I've never been fitted for a putter, so unsure if length is too much / too little since I'm pretty tall at 6'4")

- Configuration: Preference is to go with standard putter configuration, but interested in learning more about counterbalanced.  How does CB work and what is the impact of not having a press grip (from @braehead)?

- Headweight: I prefer a heavier mallet-style putter, and my limited hits on a DF3 in store was that the head felt a bit light (but was the stock shaft) - any feedback on head weight?  Thinking of going heavy for mine.

- Shaft: Can you please walk me through the shaft options - from stock to TPT - and what stands out for each type?  Is there a certain type of "feel" that a user would want and gravitate towards? 

- Grips: I prefer the feel of the pistol, but wanted his feedback on any other grips that could stand-out (candidly, since the pistol is 2 degrees tilt, the angle was a bit jarring at first)

- Alignment: Since I put RH but I'm left eye dominant, I'm curious if he has feedback on alignment aides.  For me, I believe my eye prefers simpler, so I'm curious if they think a simple dot (or three) would be best for me.  

Thanks everyone!

That’s great news. I asked the fitters about using other (non L.A.B) grips. I was told it was possible, but you would need to send the putter grip to them so they could install and balance properly. They wouldn't recommend switching the grip on your own after you get a putter from them because that could definitely throw off the balance. 
Also, I’m 6’2” and most of my putters have been 35”

[Cfhandyman]

Nice little review on putter alignment aids from Ping. Basically, they found that their research indicates when a player perceives they can line up their putter easily, they usually have better performance. 
https://ping.com/en-us/blogs/proving-grounds/putter-alignment

 

[TSauer]

4 hours ago, MattWillGolf said:

Then there is this.

Edited April 24 by TSauer

[downlowkey]

1 hour ago, TSauer said:

(Golf clap) Bravo @TSauer - take a bow

Also - Pepperidge Farm _does not_ remember this.

[Josh Parker]

14 hours ago, MattWillGolf said:

My Fitting Experience

To get fit for my putter I used the Remote Fitting option provided on L.A.B. Golf's website. We were instructed to shoot a short video of our putting stroke while wearing golf shoes. The video needs to be shot with the putter head in line with a vertical object such as a wall edge or door jam in the background. The video should be shot at about a 2 foot height and your whole body needs to be visible. You must also provide the length of the putter used in the video as measured from the center of the putter face to end of the putter grip. In my case my putter was 34". In the past you would then email your video to L.A.B. Golf and they would review the video and provide a fitting recommendation. In my case my fitter recommended a putter length of 34.5" with a lie angle of 68° which is 1° flatter than their standard lie.

My Movie-1080p30.mov 7.22 MB · 5 downloads  

Following those recommendations, I had some follow up questions for my fitter. I currently use an Evnroll ER11v which has a head weight of 365 grams. I am comfortable with that head weight. My fitter indicated that their putters are on the lighter side and if I was comfortable with that weight then I should select the Heavier head weight option which for my build adds 15 grams of weight to the head. When it came to shaft selection, I did some research on the L.A.B. Golf website and it was clear to me that there was greater stability offered by a graphite shaft. So now to determine which graphite shaft seemed right for me. I asked my fitter about how L.A.B. Golf ranked the shafts in terms of feel. He listed the shafts in terms of feel (soft to firm) it goes Accra, Steel, BGT, TPT. I wanted something in the middle so I selected the BGT Stabilty ONE shaft. I went with the "double line" alignment mark. That seemed to suit my eye best and it is similar to the alignment mark on my Evnroll ER11v which I really like. 

My Build

DF3 Custom

Hand: RIGHT

Putting style: STANDARD

Head weight: HEAVIER

Shaft: BGT Stability ONE

Shaft length: 34.5″

Lie angle: 68

Putter color: DF3 - Orange

Alignment mark: I

Grip Selection: Press Pistol 2 Degree - Right

Headcover selection: DF3 Headcover - Black

The order for the putter has been submitted. 

 

Nice Selection!

[Josh Parker]

15 hours ago, GolfSpy SAM said:

A very happy birthday present to me - I've already told the testers, but figured I'd share here, too.  Due to some VERY unforeseen (and happy) circumstances, I'll be joining in on the fun (not as an official tester by any means, but more as a happy co-participant)

This was ordered yesterday (white Accra shaft, white pistol grip).  To say I'm excited is a VAST understatement.

That color combo is sick!  

[TJ Hall]

7 hours ago, TSauer said:

This is amazing…need to figure out some way to get that on a headcover!

[mpatrickriley]

Speaking of headcovers, for those who have a DF3 or have spent some time with it, I'm assuming it has to be a custom cover unique to the DF3? Both size and the center shaft suggests to be there's no way a standard mallet cover would work. Is that correct?

[Steve F]

L.A.B. contacted me back last night, Calvin has been a huge help to me! Unfortunately, the blending of "EE" and "X" alignment aids is not doable as there is too much overlap in the designs. No worries! They will, however, use "X", which is the L.A.B. logo  and add a centered line on the back of the putter. I wanted to have a marker on the rear of the putter head for not only ball alignment, but swing plane as well. I have to say, L.A.B. has been a pleasure to work with thus far! Very communicative and chock full of information! Speaking with Calvin altered my decision just a bit: the final build is this. 

Black putter head

Head weight: heavier

TPT shaft

35” shaft length (per fitting recommendation)

67 degree lie angle (per fitting recommendation)

Alignment aid “X” with line centered on back side of putter head

Press Pistol 2 degree grip

Can't wait to get this and start working with it! 

[jbern]

9 hours ago, TSauer said:

I don’t get it… what’s the difference?

14 hours ago, CFreddie said:

Love it @MattWillGolf - digging the alignment choice! And good news, I’ve already got a name for it!

I Love the idea of everyone naming their putter! Great start!

17 hours ago, MattWillGolf said:

My Fitting Experience

To get fit for my putter I used the Remote Fitting option provided on L.A.B. Golf's website. We were instructed to shoot a short video of our putting stroke while wearing golf shoes. The video needs to be shot with the putter head in line with a vertical object such as a wall edge or door jam in the background. The video should be shot at about a 2 foot height and your whole body needs to be visible. You must also provide the length of the putter used in the video as measured from the center of the putter face to end of the putter grip. In my case my putter was 34". In the past you would then email your video to L.A.B. Golf and they would review the video and provide a fitting recommendation. In my case my fitter recommended a putter length of 34.5" with a lie angle of 68° which is 1° flatter than their standard lie.

My Movie-1080p30.mov 7.22 MB · 5 downloads  

Following those recommendations, I had some follow up questions for my fitter. I currently use an Evnroll ER11v which has a head weight of 365 grams. I am comfortable with that head weight. My fitter indicated that their putters are on the lighter side and if I was comfortable with that weight then I should select the Heavier head weight option which for my build adds 15 grams of weight to the head. When it came to shaft selection, I did some research on the L.A.B. Golf website and it was clear to me that there was greater stability offered by a graphite shaft. So now to determine which graphite shaft seemed right for me. I asked my fitter about how L.A.B. Golf ranked the shafts in terms of feel. He listed the shafts in terms of feel (soft to firm) it goes Accra, Steel, BGT, TPT. I wanted something in the middle so I selected the BGT Stabilty ONE shaft. I went with the "double line" alignment mark. That seemed to suit my eye best and it is similar to the alignment mark on my Evnroll ER11v which I really like. 

My Build

DF3 Custom

Hand: RIGHT

Putting style: STANDARD

Head weight: HEAVIER

Shaft: BGT Stability ONE

Shaft length: 34.5″

Lie angle: 68

Putter color: DF3 - Orange

Alignment mark: I

Grip Selection: Press Pistol 2 Degree - Right

Headcover selection: DF3 Headcover - Black

The order for the putter has been submitted. 

 

 Great write-up on your process so far @MattWillGolf!

[jbern]

Well, I’m leaving for vacation (currently on the plane waiting), so I won’t be super active in the thread for a few days, but I’ll try to keep up as best as possible! 
 

I got my fitting email back with all of my questions answered. There was some confusion because my gamer putter is armlock and the putter used in the fitting video was a standard putter. 32.5” is very short for someone 5’9”. 
More details to come once my order is confirmed!

[Cfhandyman]

1 minute ago, jbern said:

Well, I’m leaving for vacation (currently on the plane waiting), so I won’t be super active in the thread for a few days, but I’ll try to keep up as best as possible! 
 

I got my fitting email back with all of my questions answered. There was some confusion because my gamer putter is armlock and the putter used in the fitting video was a standard putter. 32.5” is very short for someone 5’9”. 
More details to come once my order is confirmed!

Enjoy your trip and the sunshine. 

[StrokerAce]

16 hours ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

For those of us who are growing in anticipation, this won't help make the anticipation get less:

 

funny thing about this is he says he'd never pay what it costs even though he felt it was a great putter....

LAB putters are awesome but 700+ dollars for a putter??? c'mon. that is insanity.

[mpatrickriley]

41 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

funny thing about this is he says he'd never pay what it costs even though he felt it was a great putter....

LAB putters are awesome but 700+ dollars for a putter??? c'mon. that is insanity.

This is absolutely going to have to factor into our reviews.

I have a fairly well-earned reputation around here as a budget golfer. To be sure, I have a lot of gadgets, but they are almost all either from eBay or (more recently) through connections that I've developed in the online golf community that have resulted in some very generous people/companies sending our family gear that we would never plan to purchase ourselves.

With the TPT shaft and counterbalance setup, my DF3 is going to have a website price over $1,000. For me, in my position, I don't know that there is ever a situation in which I would remotely consider spending that kind of money on a putter. When I've bought putters (again, most often on eBay or Callaway Pre-owned), I typically targeting a max price of $125. My Evnroll Midlock was an eBay purchase for $235; I believe that is the most I've ever spent on a putter.

Here's why I think a review like this matters: there are some guys in golf for whom money seems to be no object. If the DF3 is all it seems to be, they're happy to spend $1,000 to save a stroke or three a round. And for some, it doesn't even have to save strokes: some guys just like buying toys.

For my part, I'm generally grateful for those guys: without them, the secondary market wouldn't exist. In three years, they're going to want another toy, and their current putter will be on eBay or Second Swing or Facebook Marketplace.

For my part, then, I want to write this review about my experience with the performance of the DF3 (counting myself incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to get a putter that would otherwise not be accessible to me). If the putter performs well, I hope there are some who read the review and go and buy a L.A.B.

But then, three or four years from now, I'm hoping someone is scouring eBay for a used L.A.B., and is wondering if he should pull the trigger, and maybe he comes across this thread, and it helps him also make an informed decision.

[StrokerAce]

1 minute ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

This is absolutely going to have to factor into our reviews.

I have a fairly well-earned reputation around here as a budget golfer. To be sure, I have a lot of gadgets, but they are almost all either from eBay or (more recently) through connections that I've developed in the online golf community that have resulted in some very generous people/companies sending our family gear that we would never plan to purchase ourselves.

With the TPT shaft and counterbalance setup, my DF3 is going to have a website price over $1,000. For me, in my position, I don't know that there is ever a situation in which I would remotely consider spending that kind of money on a putter. When I've bought putters (again, most often on eBay or Callaway Pre-owned), I typically targeting a max price of $125. My Evnroll Midlock was an eBay purchase for $235; I believe that is the most I've ever spent on a putter.

Here's why I think a review like this matters: there are some guys in golf for whom money seems to be no object. If the DF3 is all it seems to be, they're happy to spend $1,000 to save a stroke or three a round. And for some, it doesn't even have to save strokes: some guys just like buying toys.

For my part, I'm generally grateful for those guys: without them, the secondary market wouldn't exist. In three years, they're going to want another toy, and their current putter will be on eBay or Second Swing or Facebook Marketplace.

For my part, then, I want to write this review about my experience with the performance of the DF3 (counting myself incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to get a putter that would otherwise not be accessible to me). If the putter performs well, I hope there are some who read the review and go and buy a L.A.B.

But then, three or four years from now, I'm hoping someone is scouring eBay for a used L.A.B., and is wondering if he should pull the trigger, and maybe he comes across this thread, and it helps him also make an informed decision.

absolutely love this response and I am the exact same kind of shopper. I love picking up slightly used gear from those well-off enough to buy new equipment all of the time. The only thing I've bought new recently are wedges and that's simply because I wanted sharp grooves.

the one thing I do wonder about with this putter though is the precision of the fitting and how much that matters. Can you buy a used LAB and have it adjusted? Or is the modification of the putter so unique that it has to be done by LAB only?

I'll be following along closely...

[mpatrickriley]

1 hour ago, jbern said:

I Love the idea of everyone naming their putter!

I was also thinking about giving my putter a name. Given the color I've chosen, I'm kicking around names of famous redheads, either historical or fictional. (Just for my part, I'm going to exclude actresses, etc.)

I'm also open to groan-inducing puns.

Early leaders: van Gogh or Weasley. Not a huge Harry Potter fanboy myself, but Weasley just seems like a fun putter name.

[Nick_D]

6 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

absolutely love this response and I am the exact same kind of shopper. I love picking up slightly used gear from those well-off enough to buy new equipment all of the time. The only thing I've bought new recently are wedges and that's simply because I wanted sharp grooves.

the one thing I do wonder about with this putter though is the precision of the fitting and how much that matters. Can you buy a used LAB and have it adjusted? Or is the modification of the putter so unique that it has to be done by LAB only?

I'll be following along closely...

I was curious about this as well, I remember seeing a video of how touchy the weighting can be to get everything balanced correctly and wondered about when a grip wears out and needs to be replaced. Would a different grip throw off the magic?

[StrokerAce]

8 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

I was also thinking about giving my putter a name. Given the color I've chosen, I'm kicking around names of famous redheads, either historical or fictional. (Just for my part, I'm going to exclude actresses, etc.)

I'm also open to groan-inducing puns.

Early leaders: van Gogh or Weasley. Not a huge Harry Potter fanboy myself, but Weasley just seems like a fun putter name.

Judas?

https://discover.hubpages.com/entertainment/Top-20-Famous-Redheads-in-History

Lionheart
Marilyn
Winston

 

[mpatrickriley]

1 minute ago, StrokerAce said:

Judas?

I've been betrayed by putters before. But I'd rather not give it that name upfront, and I hope it doesn't earn it

I could be persuaded of Winston:

Quote

 

“I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this Government, I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many long months of toil and struggle.

...

You ask what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terror. Victory however long and hard the road may be. For without victory there is no survival.”

 

A bit overwrought for putting, for sure. But there are days that it feels that way.

[TSauer]

13 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

I was also thinking about giving my putter a name. Given the color I've chosen, I'm kicking around names of famous redheads, either historical or fictional. (Just for my part, I'm going to exclude actresses, etc.)

I'm also open to groan-inducing puns.

Early leaders: van Gogh or Weasley. Not a huge Harry Potter fanboy myself, but Weasley just seems like a fun putter name.

I also like Weasley, it just sounds right.

I was trying to think of some classic redheaded cartoon characters like Dexter, Chuckie, Jetson, or Yosemite Sam lol.