Let’s face it. Some of us buy putters we shouldn’t be buying. We had a lousy round on the greens and immediately start checking Facebook Marketplace for new putters.
By the way, did you ever consider that the putter for sale on Marketplace is there because someone else carded 42 putts with it?
Regardless, self-fitting for putters is a common occurrence. We haphazardly putt with whatever looks interesting in the shop, never considering an official fitting. Odds are that the putter that can’t miss in the shop doesn’t really fit your stroke and will cost you strokes on the course.
This is especially true if you are shopping for a L.A.B. Golf putter.
Simply put: if you want L.A.B. Golf’s Lie Angle Balance technology to work for you, the putter’s lie angle must fit your stature and stroke.
Thankfully, figuring out your L.A.B Golf putter specifications is not difficult. You can easily find a local fitter or even do the fitting remotely.
I’ll walk you through the basics of the fitting process and give you a peek at my custom L.A.B. Golf LINK.2.2 putter.
First, though, let’s explore why having the correct lie angle is so important.
Lie Angle Balance is more than how the putter sits
Determining a putter’s proper lie angle during a fitting is not a new thing. Case in point: PING’s colored dot system. For decades, PING has bent putters upright or flat so a golfer will sole the putter flush with the ground at address.
If a putter is too upright or too flat, the probability of delivering the putt as aimed decreases dramatically. It’s the same thing that happens if a 7-iron has a lie angle that doesn’t match the player. The ball behaves unexpectedly.
With irons, golfers know the importance of lie angles. With putters, golfers may not realize it’s an equipment issue and compensate for persistent misses by aiming away from the target.
I’m not saying that an “always aim two inches left” putting strategy can’t be effective. Go with what works for you.
However, logic dictates you’ll make more putts if you hit the ball where you are aiming.
Lie Angle Balancing is static and dynamic
Naturally, getting the putter to sole correctly is part of the line-angle story for L.A.B. Golf as well. Outside of Will Zalatoris, golfers want their putters to rest nice and flat on the putting surface.
With L.A.B. Golf putters, the critical need for a correct lie angle becomes apparent when the putter starts to move.
Many golfers incorrectly equate Lie Angle Balance technology with zero-torque technology. L.A.B. Golf putters have torque. In fact, they have very refined torque profiles that are associated with a putter’s lie angle.
Lie Angle Balancing involves balancing a putter, at a specific lie angle, so the putter will return square to the ball at address. For every lie angle, the weight profile needed to achieve this goal varies.
That is why having a putter that matches your required lie angle is so important. Simply put, if you need a 72-degree lie and your putter is built to 68, the putter face will not return correctly to the ball.
At this point, you could try and adjust your stroke to match the specs of the putter. Maybe that strategy will work. But you are going against your natural biomechanics.
You may be able to diet and exercise enough to squeeze your size 36 rear into those size 32 pants you bought on Poshmark but wouldn’t it make more sense to buy 36s in the first place?
Why not just have a putter that fits you?
Getting fitted for a L.A.B. Golf putter is easy and free
I’ve spoken about the effectiveness of L.A.B. Golf’s free online fitting in the past. It’s accurate and effective. A few weeks before sending my initial fitting video to L.A.B. Golf, I had an extensive putter fitting session at a big manufacturer.
The build recommendations I received from L.A.B. Golf’s video analysis matched those that the expert fitter had determined in person. I quickly went from being skeptical to trusting L.A.B.’s process.
Thankfully, the number of local shops with knowledgeable L.A.B. Golf putter fitters is expanding daily. If you are ever in Oregon, get fitted at the L.A.B. Golf headquarters. I visited last summer and the facility is amazing.
Otherwise, use the fitter locator tool to find a qualified fitter near you.
(Folks in Northern California should reach out to Peter Brown Putting for an amazing one-on-one fitting session. Haggin Oaks in Sacramento has good L.A.B. fitters as well.)
Additional fitting options and my new LINK.2.2
Getting the lie angle right is just one of the boxes to check when ordering your L.A.B. putter. As you click through the ordering pages, you’ll select your model, length, shaft, grip and alignment scheme.
For many models, you also get to select the color of your putter. For some reason, the LINK.2.2 is not available in purple. I’m sure that the reason is legitimate but the lack of purple is still unacceptable.
(End purple rant.)
Selecting the correct shaft
If this is your first time ordering a custom L.A.B. Golf putter, you will spend time wondering about the shaft upgrades and the alignment scheme options.
For shaft selection, read through the Choosing the Right Putter Shaft page under the L.A.B. 101 menu. The TPT shaft is the most expensive option but that does not mean it is the best fit for you.
That said, I went with the TPT shaft for my LINK.2.2 build. I tend to go back and forth between the TPT and the Diamana Matte Black shaft.
For the LINK.2.2, I wanted the shaft to be as stable as possible. My thought was that the maximized shaft stability offsets the MOI decrease from playing a blade rather than a larger mallet.
Numerous alignment options
If you are like me, you’ll cycle through multiple alignment schemes before you settle on your final formula of lines and dots.
For the LINK.2.2 putter, there are 15 front options and eight rear options. For those of you into math, that makes 120 different alignment options. That many options is overwhelming. I’m overwhelmed just writing about them.
This may be the most stressful decision in the build process. What if you spend all of this money on your new L.A.B. putter only to find that the alignment scheme doesn’t suit your eye?
While this is possible, I would say you should relax and trust yourself. Odds are that you’ve already determined what you like to look at behind the ball at address. Go with that.
For my LINK.2.2, I went with a marriage of old and new preferences.
For a long time, I preferred to putt naked.
Scratch that.
I putted with putters free of any alignment lines or dots (aka naked). I like to use the edges of the putter cavity to aim, especially with blades. That’s why for this LINK.2.2, I went with no added alignment lines in the rear section.
Up front, I choose the small, thin sight line. After aiming with the body contours, I make sure this line is centered on the ball. I also use the line as a final focusing point before firing, akin to what PING promotes with their new Eye Q alignment system.
Basically, L.A.B. Golf provides you with enough options to get the alignment scheme that looks right to you and will help you aim at the target.
Don’t overthink it
Ordering a custom-fitted L.A.B. Golf putter may seem daunting but it’s really easy. Send in a short video and someone from L.A.B. Golf will let you know the lie and length specifications you need.
Getting the right specs for your L.A.B. putter is critical but not complicated.
If you have questions, give L.A.B. Golf a call. I have emailed and called them a number of times and the person on the other end of the phone is always ready to help.
Those of you who follow L.A.B. Golf on social media know Sam Hahn is very active online. He never hesitates to respond to questions and truly wants the golfing public to understand what L.A.B. Golf is all about.
The key thing to remember is that the lie angle matters. Because of this, be careful if you are looking at used L.A.B. Golf putters. To be effective, you and your putter need to align your angles.
Thankfully, the new LINK.2 models show the lie angles on the hosel so some of the guesswork is removed. Be aware as well that putters where the shaft enters the head directly, like the DF3, cannot be adjusted to a new lie angle.
Get fitted and get the L.A.B. Golf putter that fits. That’s really all you need to do.
If curious about your fit, find a local fitter or reach out to L.A.B. Golf online at labgolf.com.