MEMBER REVIEWS: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1 and OZ.1i Putter Member Testing | See What Members Are Saying

[Stephen1125]

I'm not part of this testing but I recently picked up a OZ1i off facebook marketplace and I'm having good results so far. I've always preferred a blade putter but I have a tendency to pull putts now and again. I've tried numerous mallet putters with decent success but my tendency with mallets is to push putts occasionally. Last year I custom ordered a Counterbalance DF3 and could never get my distance control correct. Being counterbalanced I struggled with the face being so far ahead of my hands. I had to change almost everything about my set up to get the DF3 to work for me. I will say, it was excellent at starting putts online but I was constantly a foot short or 5 feet past. The aluminum head just gave me no feel. I felt like 3' putts and 40' putts felt the same. 

The OZ1i I purchased was 34' with the 2 degree pistol press grip. I extended it to 35.5" and that doesn't seem to have affected the balance at all. My buddy has a revealer he 3D printed and it shows perfect balance. 

My distance control is very good but past 20' or so I tend to leave putts short. I'm getting within 3-5' on lag putts at almost any distance, just a bit short. The transition to the OZ1i was very easy. The 2 degree shaft lean and grip allows me to setup like I always have. The putts roll true and it fells great with the stainless insert. I need more time with it as I've only been using it for about a week. 

One thing that's very noticeable to me is the release feel on longer putts. When I'm lagging past 30' or so I have always been able to really feel the toe turn over on my putters. The OZ1i has no such feeling. 

[JimmyD]

I’m loving my OZ1.i, best putter I have owned.  My biggest improvement has been putts inside 10 feet.  I am making so many that before my wobbly stroke could not keep on line.

[Stephen1125]

Well I just had my worst putting day in years with the OZ1i yesterday. 
my speed control was absolutely trash. I’ve been struggling with anything over 25’ or so by leaving them very short. Sometimes by 10’ or more. 
 

I’ve tried the drills that lab has on their YouTube channels but no luck. I find that I need more grip pressure rather than less. To have any success. 
 

I’m wondering if I need to try a heavier head or a lighter head. 
Has anyone else struggled with longer putts? 

[Rbsiedsc]

5 minutes ago, Stephen1125 said:

Well I just had my worst putting day in years with the OZ1i yesterday. 
my speed control was absolutely trash. I’ve been struggling with anything over 25’ or so by leaving them very short. Sometimes by 10’ or more. 
 

I’ve tried the drills that lab has on their YouTube channels but no luck. I find that I need more grip pressure rather than less. To have any success. 
 

I’m wondering if I need to try a heavier head or a lighter head. 
Has anyone else struggled with longer putts? 

Heads up putting helped me here a lot on the practice green. Then on course I stare at the hole for 2-3s, putter head 2 count then go. Works very well for me. 

[Stephen1125]

17 minutes ago, Rbsiedsc said:

Heads up putting helped me here a lot on the practice green. Then on course I stare at the hole for 2-3s, putter head 2 count then go. Works very well for me. 

Thanks,

I tried heads up putting on some shorter putts but it feels so odd. 
I also stare at the hole for a few seconds to get a good picture in my mind. I’ve always been a very good putter, but not good enough!

Lag putting generally isn’t an issue for me but with both the DF3 I had previously and now the OZ1i it’s a struggle. 

[Rbsiedsc]

2 minutes ago, Stephen1125 said:

Thanks,

I tried heads up putting on some shorter putts but it feels so odd. 
I also stare at the hole for a few seconds to get a good picture in my mind. I’ve always been a very good putter, but not good enough!

Lag putting generally isn’t an issue for me but with both the DF3 I had previously and now the OZ1i it’s a struggle. 

I hear ya. One last thing you can do is a tempo drill. Say 1 back and 2 as you strike. Practice this at different speeds to figure out how far the ball goes. Then calibrate that to distance. 

[orr444]

Thinking these might help my cut stroke

[Brady_Dow]

Adam Scott sure does need the putting help. Always been a weakness for him

[stratgolf]

6 hours ago, Brady_Dow said:

Adam Scott sure does need the putting help. Always been a weakness for him

 

A weakness yes, but he's become a much better putter as his career has gone on, especially compared to where he came from.

[Tiger_Stud]

Any word on the release date of the heel shafted Oz?

[Rbsiedsc]

Finally had a round in today and putting was better. Only 1 three putt, some really good lags and I made some putts from beyond 5' (an 8' and a 23' from off the green). I also nearly made a 50' putt from far in the fringe. 30 putts total. This was the confidence boost I needed and now my DF2.1 is likely going to go up on the BST.

[Stephen1125]

I practiced putting for an hour today. I changed a few things that seem to have made an improvement in the lag putting.

1) I moved my ball position slightly forward from what I was doing and that seems to get the ball rolling better. (Apparently that’s what LAB suggests anyway) My “check” is to have my hands slightly ahead of my zipper at address. FYI, using OZ1i with 2 degree shaft lean and a normal grip. (Superstroke pistol Lock 1.0)
2) I’m using lighter pressure on the grip with my hands. 
3) Tempo + length of stroke. I saw Sam say in one of their videos that LAB putters need to be controlled by length of stroke vs accelerating into

the ball. I’ve been trying to use length of stroke as opposed to speed for different length putts. I noticed today that when I was doing longer strokes I was also changing my tempo. That seemed to have been causing me to decelerate during my stroke. I worked with a metronome today to keep my tempo the same whether putting 3’ or 40’. 
By the end of practice I was getting probably 90% of my lags putts within 3’ of the hole. 
 

Practice and on course play are two different things so we’ll see how my next round goes. Hope this helps someone! 

 

Edited July 15 by Stephen1125

[mushkie11]

Received my 0 lean oz.1i today. I am coming from a 2.1 and df3. Rolling some on the putting mat find my miss to be left? Tomorrow I will hit some outside and then give it a run for 18 holes. Love the feel of it. Way different that the df series. We shall see……

[Jut]

18 hours ago, mushkie11 said:

Received my 0 lean oz.1i today. I am coming from a 2.1 and df3. Rolling some on the putting mat find my miss to be left? Tomorrow I will hit some outside and then give it a run for 18 holes. Love the feel of it. Way different that the df series. We shall see……

As one of the members chosen to give the Oz.1 a go, I had this same issue to some degree initially.  I read and/or just discovered that placing the ball a bit further back in my stance (I was always inside left heel) was the key.  She's just automatic now.  Best putter I've owned to date.  

[mushkie11]

17 hours ago, Jut said:

As one of the members chosen to give the Oz.1 a go, I had this same issue to some degree initially.  I read and/or just discovered that placing the ball a bit further back in my stance (I was always inside left heel) was the key.  She's just automatic now.  Best putter I've owned to date.  

I took her out yesterday for the maiden voyage. Wow. What a wand. Love that I can forward press to start my stroke again! Love the feel. Putted very very well with it and it will remain in the back 

[Rory4Pres]

So to recap, I had the Gears shaft in my lab and honestly hated it.  Having tried the stock steel shaft and the TPT shaft, I've experienced the difference and it was night & day for me personally.  

 

I gave it some consideration of just giving up and moving on from this Lab but the WRXer in me said h*ll no, do what you always do, TINKER.

 

So, while considering sending it back to Lab to have them replace the shaft was technically an option, I really liked the idea of putting the same shaft as my gamer in it instead.  That was a KBS CT Tour, which Lab doesn't offer. 

 

I went to Caleb, my favorite club build/repair specialist in town.  He said he had never worked on a lab before but was game to try it and believed he could handle it.  

 

He said getting the gears shaft off was extremely difficult.  He forgot to take pics but after getting it off, he saw a couple machined rings/grooves on the inside of the shaft slot of the head.  Interesting and unique compared to other brands.  After initially having difficulty getting the new shaft installed, he worked some magic and get it in and installed.  (Big Thanks to Caleb!)

 

Basically what I'm saying is it's not an easy switch out like we typically think for putters so if you have it done, make sure you have someone really good working on it.

 

That being said, it turned out great.  I'm coming up on Tournament season so I'm going to have to hold off on really testing out the newly modified Lab Oz1i until September but used it a fair amount on Saturday and really enjoyed the feel and feedback much more than prior.

 

For fun I went with the rainbow pvc finished CT tour.  Hard to really capture the coloring in the pics but it really pops well with the blue head and grip.  Bit crazy but fun.

 

In conclusion: I understood the risks and downsides of not sending it into LAB but simply put, I would have just sold the putter otherwise.  I'm happy I took a big gamble and excited that this putter has another solid chance of making the bag this fall.  

 

 

 

 

 

[jtmagic]

5 hours ago, Rory4Pres said:

So to recap, I had the Gears shaft in my lab and honestly hated it.  Having tried the stock steel shaft and the TPT shaft, I've experienced the difference and it was night & day for me personally.  

 

I gave it some consideration of just giving up and moving on from this Lab but the WRXer in me said h*ll no, do what you always do, TINKER.

 

So, while considering sending it back to Lab to have them replace the shaft was technically an option, I really liked the idea of putting the same shaft as my gamer in it instead.  That was a KBS CT Tour, which Lab doesn't offer. 

 

I went to Caleb, my favorite club build/repair specialist in town.  He said he had never worked on a lab before but was game to try it and believed he could handle it.  

 

He said getting the gears shaft off was extremely difficult.  He forgot to take pics but after getting it off, he saw a couple machined rings/grooves on the inside of the shaft slot of the head.  Interesting and unique compared to other brands.  After initially having difficulty getting the new shaft installed, he worked some magic and get it in and installed.  (Big Thanks to Caleb!)

 

Basically what I'm saying is it's not an easy switch out like we typically think for putters so if you have it done, make sure you have someone really good working on it.

 

That being said, it turned out great.  I'm coming up on Tournament season so I'm going to have to hold off on really testing out the newly modified Lab Oz1i until September but used it a fair amount on Saturday and really enjoyed the feel and feedback much more than prior.

 

For fun I went with the rainbow pvc finished CT tour.  Hard to really capture the coloring in the pics but it really pops well with the blue head and grip.  Bit crazy but fun.

 

In conclusion: I understood the risks and downsides of not sending it into LAB but simply put, I would have just sold the putter otherwise.  I'm happy I took a big gamble and excited that this putter has another solid chance of making the bag this fall.  

 

 

 

 

 

Looks good.  

[Stephen1125]

Distance control has still be an issue for me with the OZ1i. In a last ditch effort I’ve ordered a graphite shaft to replace the steel shaft and I’ll try that. 

 

Pulling the head was pretty difficult compared to other clubs. It took more heat than I thought it should and I basically had to unscrew the head from the shaft. I could not get it to pull straight off. The inside of the head is threaded.

 

I went with the All-in graphite shaft as it was the cheapest option. My buddy has a BGT stability one that I might try if I don’t like the All-in but it’s significantly more money. 
 

 

[Stephen1125]

PROGRESS!!  

So I am a fairly impatient person. I ordered the ALL-IN graphite putter shaft on Wednesday and it hasn't come in yet. I had a round today and I really wanted to use the LAB. I had a Steel Fiber FC90CW shaft that was broken from a 6 iron sitting on my work bench. I cut off the tip where it was broken and it was the perfect length to play 35.5' in the OZ1i head.  The shaft weighed 85g. Now that's significantly lighter than most putter shafts, especially the ALL-IN I ordered. For reference, the steel shaft I pulled from the OZ1i was 110g. The ALL-IN is supposed to weigh 126g. My OZ1i head weight 369g. 

Now, this intrigued me because the putter grip I like is 103g (Superstroke Pistol Lock 1.0) which is significantly heavier than most grips and throws off swing weight. I figured the combination of the light shaft and the heavy grip could be a great combo and IT IS!!  Could be a honeymoon faze, could be science but my speed control is really good now and I made every putt I looked at inside 10’ except for 2 putts I misread.  I made approximately 75' of putts today which is slightly above tour average and had only 25 putts total for the round. Now, I only hit 3 GIRs so my short game gets some of the credit here but it was still a great day. I misread one 15 footer that grazed the lip and stopped within 10” of the hole and I lipped out a birdie putt I honestly have no idea how it didn't drop. Half the ball was in the hole. 

The club is swing weighting at F4 and google tells me LAB tries to get their clubs close to F5.(not sure if there's truth to that or not). 

 

 

Edited July 26 by Stephen1125

[tickyboy]

I know they ship with the warning not to pull the weights but has anyone tinkered around at all?  Curious how much they weigh side to side

[Rbsiedsc]

11 hours ago, tickyboy said:

I know they ship with the warning not to pull the weights but has anyone tinkered around at all?  Curious how much they weigh side to side

Depends as every putter could be balanced slightly different

[Rbsiedsc]

On 7/21/2025 at 11:37 AM, Rory4Pres said:

So to recap, I had the Gears shaft in my lab and honestly hated it.  Having tried the stock steel shaft and the TPT shaft, I've experienced the difference and it was night & day for me personally.  

 

I gave it some consideration of just giving up and moving on from this Lab but the WRXer in me said h*ll no, do what you always do, TINKER.

 

So, while considering sending it back to Lab to have them replace the shaft was technically an option, I really liked the idea of putting the same shaft as my gamer in it instead.  That was a KBS CT Tour, which Lab doesn't offer. 

 

I went to Caleb, my favorite club build/repair specialist in town.  He said he had never worked on a lab before but was game to try it and believed he could handle it.  

 

He said getting the gears shaft off was extremely difficult.  He forgot to take pics but after getting it off, he saw a couple machined rings/grooves on the inside of the shaft slot of the head.  Interesting and unique compared to other brands.  After initially having difficulty getting the new shaft installed, he worked some magic and get it in and installed.  (Big Thanks to Caleb!)

 

Basically what I'm saying is it's not an easy switch out like we typically think for putters so if you have it done, make sure you have someone really good working on it.

 

That being said, it turned out great.  I'm coming up on Tournament season so I'm going to have to hold off on really testing out the newly modified Lab Oz1i until September but used it a fair amount on Saturday and really enjoyed the feel and feedback much more than prior.

 

For fun I went with the rainbow pvc finished CT tour.  Hard to really capture the coloring in the pics but it really pops well with the blue head and grip.  Bit crazy but fun.

 

In conclusion: I understood the risks and downsides of not sending it into LAB but simply put, I would have just sold the putter otherwise.  I'm happy I took a big gamble and excited that this putter has another solid chance of making the bag this fall.  

 

 

 

 

 

Looks sharp and glad you are getting some positive results out of it!

[Radeon962]

Extended my Heavy Head Oz.1i from 33” to 34” and put a Superstoke Zenergy Tour 2.0 on it and I believe I found what I was looking for. 

This is a 2* shaft lean heavier head so I was concerned about switching to the SS grip, but I wish I would have done it sooner. 
 

I tried the Press Pistol, Press II 1.5 and the Press II 3 and did not care for them as I have used some version of the SuperStroke 2.0 grip for many years.

 

I don’t know if the balance is affected but the ball rolls end over end and I’m making more putts than ever and my lag putting (which was my biggest issue with the Lab putters) has come around to be as good as if not better than with my Jailbird Mini. 
 

If I spin it around in my fingers it rolls around just like the stock Oz.1i I also have.  
 

Balanced enough for me as the true test for me is if the line on my ball rolls end over end showing me I hit it with a square face.  This setup has me hitting the ball consistently end over end so have to see if it’s just a honeymoon period or if I found what works for me. 

[Rory4Pres]

On 7/25/2025 at 10:39 PM, tickyboy said:

I know they ship with the warning not to pull the weights but has anyone tinkered around at all?  Curious how much they weigh side to side

I was literally going to ask the same question.

 

Got to use my modified putter this weekend and with this current shaft the head feels a tad heavy.  I was wondering if anyone has removed/modified their weights.  I've got a food scale so I might remove a couple and see how that impacts things.  

 

That being said, with the new ct tour shaft, this putter has a legitimate chance of making the bag.  

[jongalt55]

Just gamed my OZ.1 through our member guest last weekend.  I'm still really, really pleased with the putter.  I only three putted once over 45 holes and made several longer putts with it.  I've always struggled with stock putter alignment lines (which is why I played exclusively 2-ball putters for the better part of the last decade), but the T-style alignment that comes on the stock putters is great for me.  Zero thoughts of putting my old gamer back in play.  And even the green finish is holding up nicely (though I'm a stickler for always keeping it covered when not in use).  I'm actually getting to the point where I'm thinking of ordering a backup, just so I have one on hand in case something happens to this one...  Or maybe I get one of the new heel shafted options when they release that (because what WRXer doesn't like trying new stuff)...

 

Well done @labgolf, and thank you for what has become my new favorite putter.

[Rory4Pres]

22 hours ago, Rory4Pres said:

I was literally going to ask the same question.

 

Got to use my modified putter this weekend and with this current shaft the head feels a tad heavy.  I was wondering if anyone has removed/modified their weights.  I've got a food scale so I might remove a couple and see how that impacts things.  

 

That being said, with the new ct tour shaft, this putter has a legitimate chance of making the bag.  

 

The weights use a standard torque wrench which is nice BUT they are definitely glued or something in there because they weren't budging when I tried to remove a couple of them.

 

Wondering if using a hair dryer then trying again would work?

 

It's always tough when you really like the setup but it's simply a few grams too heavy in the head, which then requires a firmer grip pressure than I'd prefer.

[Rory4Pres]

ok, hair dryer didn't work.  Still couldn't get any weights to budge.  

[Stephen1125]

18 minutes ago, Rory4Pres said:

ok, hair dryer didn't work.  Still couldn't get any weights to budge.  

You would need more heat than that. They out locktite on the screws. 

[Rory4Pres]

Finally got it.  Near boiling water.

 

*For the record I completely understand why they don't want regular customers tinkering with the weights.  That being said, rolling a handful of putts with two less 2.5g weights in the head feels incredible.  I can hold the putter with much less grip pressure.  

 

A big reason for wanting to do it myself was simply to test the specific lighter overall weight.  If you send it into lab, you are purely guessing on what weight you want.