Today, Lab Golf has released their new Oz.1i HS Putter. It takes the profile of the successful oz.1i and converts it into a heel shaft design and has a more traditional top line that a big barrel player prefers the look. This opens up a new market for the lab to engage in potential battles, but many golfers are confused by the new version. Let’s talk about what you’ve missed, how to get a sacrifice for high heels, and why it’s crucial to the future of lab golf.
Whole laboratory lineup – customer-driven
Let’s quickly review the current appearance of the lab lineup. We have OG DF2.1, the more popular DF3, the less popular link, the almost forgotten Mezz and Mezz Max, the standard Oz.1 and the Oz.1i including the milling insert and now the Oz.1i HS. If we look at the advancements from the labs and you’re always focusing on the consumer bases because they gain visibility, a clear pattern appears. Laboratory research and development is driven by consumers. That’s exactly how they want to grow their company.
I was lucky enough to attend a lab golf media day to bring a new HS putter to the headquarters in Eugene, Oregon. We started with Sam and Team and then grouped together to fit the new putter and visit the facility.
Accessories are very simple. They have tools that quickly adjust the angle of lies, allowing you to set it right on the golf ball, and then check your body position and eyeliner to dial the proper length. From there, it’s as easy as choosing the head style you like (in this case we all obviously use it with the HS), then try a few aftermarket shafts to see which feels the best and offers the best roll. I sold it on a new Mitsubishi product that is about to be launched until they put the TPT in their hands and I really quickly changed my mine. I ended up with a blue head, scope dot and matching width flange line to a 71 degree lie angle.
While it was really fun and visiting the facility was a special surprise that opened my eyes to several different things, the real fun came when we were able to ask Sam and the team some interesting questions. One answer that keeps coming is: “If that’s what the client wants.” I think I heard Sam say it 5 to 6 times over the course of the day, and it’s not just him asking questions. This is his true answer. Lab’s R&D team certainly has its own goals and projects, but the company is very focused on appreciating consumers on a consumer basis and listening to what the market wants them to make, and then finding these ideas for rapid prototypes and bringing them to the market. This brings us back to the lineup.
Bill Presse IV’s DF 2.1 is the catalyst for the entire concept. Directly to the center of gravity of the head, so that the simplest putters keep square so that they can keep them square with the strokes in the putters they may make. question? That was huge and ugly. answer? Lab link. This is probably the least talk about the existence of a laboratory putt. To be fair, this is actually one of my favorites, but it’s because I’m the blade guy. The link didn’t really come to the market out of strong influence and certainly dropped on the map, mainly because the benefits of hammer shape add a lot to the concept of lab putters.
Lab Golf Oz.1i HS putter
This is the heel. It’s still the putter of the laboratory heel shaft forever. There is no reason they shouldn’t be balanced. The oz.1i HS is the first high heel putter with a balanced angle of lie, allowing golfers to make the traditional look so much with ease of use, not just the oz.1i, the neck is different on the neck. Lie angle balance requires precision, so we redesigned the Oz.1 i chassis for a non-stretch heel shaft design. Our proprietary aluminum riser connects the shaft to the head in a balanced manner to maintain the lie angle and provide the same forgiveness as the Oz.1i. A favorable golfer look no longer requires compromise performance. And because it is a lab, you can count on each putter that is individually constructed and balanced. With oz.1i hs, this is not the position of the axis. This is where the ball goes.
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So that’s not the answer they want. Then we got DF3, which is the best choice in the lab lineup for most golfers. It’s still big, maybe not the most attractive putt, but its balls picked up, at least looking purposeful. It’s like someone actually sat down to design a putter to match the concept.
After DF3, things got weird. Mezz.1 is released and people are confused. What do you think of the laboratory? They tried to soothe the smaller shape the blade user wanted, but ended up creating something that looked like a tool to stir the fire pit. Then, when people think it’s just a weird proportion, they bring us Mezz.1 Max. To some extent, it does look much better to some extent, but DF3 is actually a more attractive option.
By then, the laboratory development had a slight pause. Probably because the company doesn’t know where to turn after its boring love for Mezz.1 and Max. But then we got Oz.1 and the market was very, very happy. Probably still not the smoothest or most attractive product on the market, and the lab threw it into the world because “at least the best that looks so far is the best,” we enjoyed the Oz.1.
Now, we finally arrived at the birth of the Oz.1i HS, the “best-looking” lab golf’s heel-axle variant for players who just refused to play the straight-axle product.
This is all because labs are consumer-driven. Every model release is the answer to the problem. Performance, blade users, appearance, look again, looking for the third attempt, performance and current traditionalism.
How do they achieve the position of the heel axis?
This is actually an easier question than you think. In fact, the labs aren’t the first to make a putter exposed on the heel shaft, but they’re definitely the first to do that, with really balanced putters with consistent sweet spots and keeping it balanced.
From a strict mathematical point of view, it is not difficult to create a putter that balances the toes, or to play a role in the revealer. If you can place the shaft axis of the shaft at the head center of gravity, you’ve solved the problem. That’s why we see many other low-key toe putter options on the market. When I asked Sam why he was doing the lab (what I think) was about to come to this point, he said two things continued to bother him. One is that everyone else has to bend different angles of lie, and when you bend angles of lie, the shaft axis no longer queues. This means that if you bend the putter outside its stock lie angle, you won’t pass the apocalypse test. Of course, this is unacceptable for laboratory golf. They don’t want to release the putter of the heel, but make sure it remains in the lab spirit.
Another problem is what SAM calls “gradual dessert,” a dessert with no center or symmetrical shape on the push rod, which uses weight placement to pass the revealer test and can result in a significant difference in weight from the heels to the toes. For laboratory golf, this is not done.
This is how we get a new riser Hosel or box blowpipe system. The system creates a different Hosell for each individual angle of lie. Flat lie angles are shorter, and more upright angles are higher. This helps keep the knuckles of the river, the shaft of the shaft enters the head center of gravity without worrying about bending or altering the attack of Hossle. So while others on the market may have released the torque from the heel shaft, the toe design is very low, no one deals with changing the angle of the lie. The labs are now available, and because of the changes in the parts, depending on the angle of lie you fit, builders can actually make it easier to balance the putts and make sure they pass the apocalypse test. They just grab the right lie corner part, thanks to the consistent placement of each head grinding, then torque the bolts to the head and build the putter like any other model in the lab family. They certainly finalize and check the build to make sure it fits the correct angle of lies.
One question I left behind is how height changes affect how the axis plays. The lab gave us some quick understanding of their shaft testing process and why they were very picky about the shafts provided and it was impossible to wonder if this change in height (and therefore the change in the muzzle part you cut from the shaft) also affects the next one from one lie angle to the next shelf to the next pole. The answer is…interesting, but I can’t talk about it yet.
Check out this amazing video from Lab Golf about its new Riser Hosel system.
I firmly believe that the lab is heading towards a modular system that can be balanced at home. I asked Sam this question. I wouldn’t say he gave me a super positive answer, but he absolutely didn’t shy away from saying that it was a cool concept and he liked to cater to the crowd who liked to tinker. Want players with 4 different axes, 3 different lie angles, 2 different alignments and 6 grips. They exist. I am them. They are me.
Think about how cool that would be. You can change the blow, head, face, shaft and grip in a modular system that keeps its lie angle balanced. At the moment, this is not feasible, but there are signs that the future may be possible. Even the simplicity of being able to swap your setup with a new head that appears, or the new face milling type is an incredible upgrade to the product line.
There is no doubt that my mind will continue to answer “What’s next?” by asking and listening to inquiries from consumer groups and their fans. The industry is packed with this market, and it is undeniable. So for the lab it will stay one step ahead and remain thought leader. They have a free license to try things other OEMs can’t do, and I know they’ll get that license and run wild with it. They’ve made fun of us on something that might have happened, which is very exciting. They love their customers, and customers love them even more. That’s what keeps them so far and that will continue to bring them into the future.
You can buy new Lab Golf HS from Fairway Jockey or directly from Lab Golf
Lab Golf Oz.1i HS putter
This is the heel. It’s still the putter of the laboratory heel shaft forever. There is no reason they shouldn’t be balanced. The oz.1i HS is the first high heel putter with a balanced angle of lie, allowing golfers to make the traditional look so much with ease of use, not just the oz.1i, the neck is different on the neck. Lie angle balance requires precision, so we redesigned the Oz.1 i chassis for a non-stretch heel shaft design. Our proprietary aluminum riser connects the shaft to the head in a balanced manner to maintain the lie angle and provide the same forgiveness as the Oz.1i. A favorable golfer look no longer requires compromise performance. And because it is a lab, you can count on each putter that is individually constructed and balanced. With oz.1i hs, this is not the position of the axis. This is where the ball goes.
