MEMBER REVIEWS: L.A.B. Golf DF3 Putter Testing | See What Members Are Saying!

[molecularman]

Man,  in the sun that blue color is darn nice!   It really pops in a way that isn't represented well on the website.   I'm excited to see more real world photos of the various colors.

[SEP1006]

1 hour ago, molecularman said:

Man,  in the sun that blue color is darn nice!   It really pops in a way that isn't represented well on the website.   I'm excited to see more real world photos of the various colors.

 

Yeh that's the same color I went with as well.

[WiscoLefty]

Can anyone who got the counterbalanced version confirm whether it has the shaft lean/forward press built in or not? I know they don’t have press grips but curious if the shaft is still angled. 

[SwingMan]

On 3/13/2024 at 6:06 PM, jasman29 said:

 

 

7.      L.A.B. (Lie angle balance). I try to take a lighter grip typically when I putt or at least when I am putting my best. I can do that for the most part BUT it is on the shorter putts lately where the grip gets a little tighter at times. The one thing I tried to focus on, after watching some videos Sam has putt online about how to putt with his putters, was to not feel pressure in my thumbs during the stroke and let the putter swing more freely. When you do this, this putter just wants to rock back and forth. Let the putter/tech do the work for you without your brain trying to telling to manipulate the face in any way. It was a different feeling not having that “torque” working against your hands in the feel of the stroke.

8.      Weight. I ordered the heavy head and am very glad I did. I know these sometimes get called mental things but being so technical at times with weight on all my clubs it is comforting to know that this putter is close in weight to my other putters. Weight and swing weight matter to me mentally as well as what I feel in my hands.

a.      DF3 total weight 581grams  Swingweight -F5

b.      EVNROLL total weight 560 grams Swingweight F5

c.      Scotty Cameron GoLo total weight 563 grams SW F6

  

 

This is where I had to leave it for day 1. I am headed to a golf event at PGA West and I am throwing this bad boy into the fire for our tournament. Will have more feedback when I return.

 

Thanks again to GolfWRX and L.A.B. for this opportunity and cant wait to make lots of birdies down in the desert.  

 

 

To be continued...

 

 

Great post - took a lot of time to do that. Appreciate it.

 

My DF3 order just went into production and is similar in the "Dodger" Blue but 67 lie and standard head with C Alignment. I like my traditional putters in the D6-8 range so Lab recommended the standard weight head. It will come in at E9 because as explained, Lie angle balance putters feel lighter. I had demoed a standard head at 35 in and it felt right but the lie angle was only a little "off" with my 67 lie.

 

Happy putting.

[osubuckeyes691]

9 hours ago, WiscoLefty said:

Can anyone who got the counterbalanced version confirm whether it has the shaft lean/forward press built in or not? I know they don’t have press grips but curious if the shaft is still angled. 

counterbalanced putters have 1* less forward lean than the standard models 

[coreyhr]

Unfortunately, FedEx botched my scheduled delivery of today. Maybe it'll make it tomorrow. Was really looking forward to having the entire weekend to get some work in with this thing.

Edited March 15 by coreyhr

[jigdagod]

    Please delete. Placed in wrong thread

Edited March 16 by jigdagod
Placed in wrong thread

[SEP1006]

On 2/20/2024 at 1:44 PM, SEP1006 said:

As the others have said above. MANY THANKS to LAB Golf and Golfwrx for this opportunity.

 

I tried a LAB 2.1 Armlock sometime mid last year but never could gain any consistency. Not because of the putter but because of the Armlock Method. It just seemed to me that the Armlock would have to be an easier but obviously it wasn't for me.

 

Like @rooski above I have pretty much always been a good putter. My short game pretty much gets me out of any trouble most of the time. Aside from my trial with the LAB/Armlock putter I have been gaming a PXG One and Done putter. Really like the alignment aids and the way the milled face rolls the ball. So this will definitely be a good battle.

 

So now the DF 3.0 comes out. LAB really knocked it out of the park with the size and looks. Also for me, I REALLY think I'm going to like the heavier option. And what makes this even better is there is a LAB Rep at my club. We spent about 30 minutes on the putting green and came up with the following specs:

 

Color - Blue

Shaft - TPT

Alignment - J ( I thought this was the #9 when I was on the website the other day )

Style - Standard

Head Weight - Heavier

Grip - Press II 1.5* Textured

Shaft - TPT

Length - 35"

Lie - 71*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So my putter arrived this afternoon. Got it in time to go to the course today and play 27 holes. Like others have said here (who have the blue) the blue head really pops. Especially in the sunlight, it's a metallic like shine but it doesn't reflect the sun into your eyes. Really like the white alignment aids against the blue as it is very easy to start it out on your intended line.

 

I also have a red DF 3 with an Accra White shaft in it. It is also 35" but it is 75*, aside from that they are basically the same. I bought this one with the 75* lie based on what I usually play. Putted with it for the last 2 weeks and love the way the ball feels off the face.

 

Once I was notified that I had been picked for a review I found out that there is a starter at my club who is a LAB Rep. I got with him and we did a fitting on the practice putting green. Putted with him watching and making adjustments. After about 30 minutes both he and I were convinced that a 71* was best. And boy was he right, he did a great job. I am so much more comfortable at a 71* lie.

 

Here are the main differences in the two aside from lie angle:

Red - Accra shaft and total weight is 559 grams. Very soft muted feel off the putter face.

 

Blue - TPT shaft and total weight is 569 grams. Right at 10 grams heavier, which obviously has to be the shaft. But I really like the feel of the extra 10 grams. The feel isn't quite as soft off the face but it's definitely not harsh in any way.

 

They both put a fantastic roll on the ball which start out end over end with no hopping. You can hit the ball anywhere on the face and it pretty much ends up in the same place. TO ME this is the biggest benefit over any other putter I've tried. The smaller head is awesome and a huge plus over the DF 2.1. As others have also stated you can now pick up the ball with the hole in the back as well. 

 

Hopefully if it doesn't rain tonight we will play 36 tomorrow. 

 

Stay tuned for more comments. Until then here is a pic of the 2 side by side:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mkidding]

6 hours ago, SEP1006 said:

 

 

So my putter arrived this afternoon. Got it in time to go to the course today and play 27 holes. Like others have said here (who have the blue) the blue head really pops. Especially in the sunlight, it's a metallic like shine but it doesn't reflect the sun into your eyes. Really like the white alignment aids against the blue as it is very easy to start it out on your intended line.

 

I also have a red DF 3 with an Accra White shaft in it. It is also 35" but it is 75*, aside from that they are basically the same. I bought this one with the 75* lie based on what I usually play. Putted with it for the last 2 weeks and love the way the ball feels off the face.

 

Once I was notified that I had been picked for a review I found out that there is a starter at my club who is a LAB Rep. I got with him and we did a fitting on the practice putting green. Putted with him watching and making adjustments. After about 30 minutes both he and I were convinced that a 71* was best. And boy was he right, he did a great job. I am so much more comfortable at a 71* lie.

 

Here are the main differences in the two aside from lie angle:

Red - Accra shaft and total weight is 559 grams. Very soft muted feel off the putter face.

 

Blue - TPT shaft and total weight is 569 grams. Right at 10 grams heavier, which obviously has to be the shaft. But I really like the feel of the extra 10 grams. The feel isn't quite as soft off the face but it's definitely not harsh in any way.

 

They both put a fantastic roll on the ball which start out end over end with no hopping. You can hit the ball anywhere on the face and it pretty much ends up in the same place. TO ME this is the biggest benefit over any other putter I've tried. The smaller head is awesome and a huge plus over the DF 2.1. As others have also stated you can now pick up the ball with the hole in the back as well. 

 

Hopefully if it doesn't rain tonight we will play 36 tomorrow. 

 

Stay tuned for more comments. Until then here is a pic of the 2 side by side:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love the fact that you actually got one customed before the testing event! Wondering if there's a place to see who are the L.A.B. reps available around my area.

 

One quick question - aside from the lie change, what's the rationale for you to change from alignment J to M (if I'm not mistaken)

[molecularman]

23 hours ago, coreyhr said:

Unfortunately, FedEx botched my scheduled delivery of today. Maybe it'll make it tomorrow. Was really looking forward to having the entire weekend to get some work in with this thing.

It looks like FedEx did the same thing to me.   Putter is supposed to be here today,  but the last update this morning put it in North Dakota.  I'm hoping I should get it Monday,  which I guess will be good to be distracted with work instead of waiting by the door all day, lol.

[coreyhr]

31 minutes ago, molecularman said:

It looks like FedEx did the same thing to me.   Putter is supposed to be here today,  but the last update this morning put it in North Dakota.  I'm hoping I should get it Monday,  which I guess will be good to be distracted with work instead of waiting by the door all day, lol.

Yeah, FedEx doing typical FedEx things for me. Looking like I won’t be getting mine today either. It arrived at a distribution center 45 minutes from my house on Thursday morning, and now it’s been sitting 3 hours away in a different state since Thursday night. Makes no sense. Looking like Monday now. Hopefully I’ll have some time after work one day next week to get it on the putting green.

[SEP1006]

9 hours ago, mkidding said:

Love the fact that you actually got one customed before the testing event! Wondering if there's a place to see who are the L.A.B. reps available around my area.

 

If you go to the LAB website and click on "fitting". Then click on "Lab locator", put in your zip code and it should bring up fitters in your area.

 

 

9 hours ago, mkidding said:

One quick question - aside from the lie change, what's the rationale for you to change from alignment J to M (if I'm not mistaken)

 

Actually the blue head is "J", the "M" has the white line parallel to the face as well. 

 

When I ordered the red head the alignment choices were labeled with numbers, not letters. Don't know why it changed, but for whatever reason the 3 lines are a little different as well. Heres a copy of it from my order.

 

Alignment Marking: 9 ($25.00)

 

 

 

 

[SEP1006]

Played 27 holes this morning using both the red head/Accra shaft DF3 and the blue head/TPT shaft. Used the red the first 9 holes and the blue for the last 18 holes. Was pretty cloudy today but both colors really look good against the green grass on the greens.

 

I know a lot of guys have asked this about the feel difference between the 2 shafts. I know feel is subjective but TO ME the Accra shaft continues to give a soft/muted feel. While the TPT is still soft, it's just not quite as soft. You can definitely feel the ball contact a little better.

 

As far as consistency, it's ridiculous. You can hit these putters ANYWHERE on the face and the ball rolls end over end. And whether you hit it in the middle, on the toe, or on the heel. The balls roll pretty much the same distance, easily within 6" of each other.

 

LAB really did a great job with the new smaller size as well. The DF 2 always felt like I was putting with a branding iron. The DF 3 is a perfect compact size and very easy to look down at.

 

The DF 2 I had was an armlock putter. So my only concern with the DF 3 was the grip. I have never been a hands pressed forward putter. It was recommended to me to go with the Press II 1.5* grip so I did. Went with the textured grip and it is perfect. I putt with the pencil grip and my hands are very comfortable.

 

As much as I love the roll that the PXG milled face putters (which I've been using for years) put on the ball the DF 3 is even better. Can't believe I'm saying this but you will soon see my PXG putter on the BST.

 

Supposed to get a lot of rain tomorrow and my club is closed on Mondays. I have Grandpa duty Tue, Wed and Thursday. I will have more to report Friday evening hopefully.

 

I will definitely get some pics of both of them on the green the next time I play. 

 

 

 

Edited March 16 by SEP1006

[Hunteruu]

Dang it...

 

[Drrussell]

On 2/28/2024 at 5:40 PM, taylor2325 said:

Out of curiosity, were any of the testers able to get the DF3 in a broom option? I know that they aren't available yet to the public, but am keen to know if they had that option available to the testers and if anyone went that direction?

Neither the broom or armlock were options with the current DF3. I worked with LAB to modify my putter to work as a wrist lock putter. 

[SEP1006]

2 hours ago, Hunteruu said:

Dang it...

 

 

 

Typical for Fed Ex!!!!!

[rooski]

For anybody mostly following just the new posts, I've had mine for a few days and have added a good amount to my original post if it's of interest

[Drrussell]

8 hours ago, rooski said:

For anybody mostly following just the new posts, I've had mine for a few days and have added a good amount to my original post if it's of interest

I did the same. Was thinking, might be better for us to quote our original and add so that it shows as new post.

[SEP1006]

10 hours ago, rooski said:

For anybody mostly following just the new posts, I've had mine for a few days and have added a good amount to my original post if it's of interest

 

 

Dude, I've never seen anybody anywhere write as good as a review as you have been. If that doesn't get more guys attention towards this awesome putter nothing will.

 

So far I have had 2 guys at my club place orders after using mine a few times these past few weeks. One went with the same red as me and the other with the cappuccino, both with steel shafts. I'm really curious to see the cappuccino in person.

 

On another note, how did you (or Lab) determine the weight for the counter-balancing and where to put it?

 

Also if you could can you weigh the whole putter?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Edited March 17 by SEP1006

[rooski]

54 minutes ago, SEP1006 said:

On another note, how did you (or Lab) determine the weight for the counter-balancing and where to put it?

 

Also if you could can you weigh the whole putter?

 

If I'm understanding your question correctly, there's no specific weight underneath the grip or anything like that for counterbalancing purposes. Similar to the Jailbird 380, the mere act of having a couple/few inches of grip above your hands coupled with a ~120g grip overall does well enough to counterbalance.

 

I will need to see if I can get it to balance on one of my kitchen scales lol, TBD on this one I'm also curious about the overall weight

[molecularman]

13 hours ago, rooski said:

For anybody mostly following just the new posts, I've had mine for a few days and have added a good amount to my original post if it's of interest

Great follow up!    I'm happy to see that green color is darker in person. I saw Sam's in a video and loved the darker green, but was worried they changed it based on how they look on the website.  Being that our color and alignment mark are nearly the same, it's a nice sneak peak at what mine will look like.   Fingers crossed it gets here tomorrow.    FedEx has it about 2 hour away the last day and a half.

[Arlin964]

On 3/13/2024 at 3:06 PM, jasman29 said:

My L.A.B. DF3 LA Dodger Blue

 

My First Impressions:

 

Out of the box I can tell you that this is putter is really really beautiful. Headcover is so sick and love that the colors match my putter color. I have pretty much only played black color putter heads but with so many color options I wanted something truly unique for me so I decided to go with that very nice Dodger Blue and it didn’t disappoint. When I unboxed and put on the carpet the head is not overwhelmingly large at all compared to the putters that are currently in my rotation. I exclusively play mallet style putters, if you are like me, this is a very easy transition which is what I was expecting it to be. I had mentioned in another post that I don’t have a PGA SS near me so I went to my local Golf Galaxy and they had 1 DF 2.1 and 1 Mezz in their stock. I rolled the 2.1 and didn’t have much issues, after a period of time, with the size of the head but still understand why people have their hesitancy to game. In fact when I asked the staffer there he said “that is one big ugly putter.

 

The milling looks really good on this putter and the depth of the grooves would lead me to believe the feeling would be on the softer side of the house. The shape and lines on the putter have a softness to them with the only real 90 degree angle would be the site line I choose.

 

These are the specs of my DF3:

Hand: Right
Putting Style: Standard
Shaft Selection: L.A.B. TPT

Shaft length: 35"
Lie Angle: 70

Head Weight: Heavy 
Grip Selection: Press II 3 Textured
Alignment Marking: B

 

 

 

View with a ball

 

 

The DF3 frames the ball nicely at address and like I mentioned with the softness of the lines this putter is very easy on the eyes front to back. The Blue color has no glare to it, it was overcast here yesterday so will need to see how it looks in the sunlight but all indications are that there will be no glare.

 

As you can see in the pics, the face, heel to toe, is not to large, In fact, when I compare to my gamers this one is slightly smaller heel to toe.

 

 

Side By Side with Gamers

The DF3 is great in terms of size as compared to my gamers as shown below. The DF3 is larger, front to back, than both, but not in depth heel to toe. To my eye it there is no real adjustment compared to what I would normally game in terms of size so the transition should be fairly easy.

 

 

 

 

First Impressions at my local putting green.

As soon as this thing arrived I sprinted out to the practice green where I live and spent about an hour before my sons junior golf class but only with this putter, didn’t take any gamers with me as I wanted to have just some 1:1 time for first impression. After putting for about an hour here is my feedback:

 

1.      Soling the putter. The putter just soles nice and flat and when lining up behind the ball I has zero issues squaring up to my intended line with the alignment aid I choose.

2.      Setup/Ball position. It took a few minutes to figure out how I wanted to setup to the ball and take my stance to get comfortable with where I sole the putter first next to the ball to get my setup and stance to then place the face behind the ball and fully address. Once I got that figured out, where I was consistently setting up and addressing the putts, I was on my way. Next, I already putt with the ball slightly more forward in my stance. I know that many have mentioned in other threads that this was a change that most had to make to allow the tech to do its work with how the shaft enters the head and the aid of the forward press grip. So when I setup and starting rolling it straight away, I had no issues with ball position and having an immediate sense of comfort on the greens.

3.      Feel. If had to compare the feel of this putter to my gamers, I would compare more towards the EVNRoll 5.1 I have and the depth of the milling in terms of feel are similar. For example. I play 2 different balls, either the TP5X or the ProV 1. I get a lot of crap from people telling how I can play to brands that have different feels but im trying to get though the last couple dozen TP5X balls I have and move back on to the Prov1 exclusively ( I get a lot of balls from playing in some member guest and I played TP5x for a long time till switching couple years back). Anyhow, with all my putter and the DF3 is no different, the TP5x has more a crisper sound of the putter face, much more audible ting, the Prov1 has a much softer feel off the putter face with almost no audible sound whatsoever. It is very soft feeling off the face and I really like that.

4.      Lag Putting.  I started with some 30 or so footers just to try to get a sense of how much adjustment I would need to make if any in my lag putting. After about 10-20 putts from this length, I didn’t feel any sense that I needed to do anything different than I normally do to get the ball to roll the desired distance. It was fairly easy to hit my lines and get within a 3 foot circle. I am typically a more aggressive putter and typically try to get the ball past the hole, Im not so much a die it at the hole putter unless playing in super fast greens. I also from this distance tried to hit the ball on the heel/toe purposefully to see how it performed and the tech did a lot of the work. It never really veered too far off line and most were within a makable circle, a lot where short of the hole which is what I would expect.  

5.      Putting 10Ft and In. Spent most of my time in this area. I always put with a line but for the first while from this distance I didn’t line the ball up and was just working on setup and pace. Putt after putt after putt I was rolling them on line consistently. There were a couple of my sons coaches who were arriving for the class and they came by to check out the new weapon I had. One of them asked if he could try and his comment was “this thing is stupid easy to roll straight” I had to concur. Particularly on the shorter distances on the practice green it was very easy to have the ball rolling end over end and online.

6.      Grip. The Press II 3 is a little larger than what I normally play, I normally play the SuperStroke Mid Slim 2.0. I do like the textured feel of the grip but on first impressions it does feel a little larger in the left hand than I am used to, the right hand feels pretty close to the same as I tend to grip down a bit on all my putters. It didn’t affect my stroke or distance control just how the putter feels mostly in my right hand.

7.      L.A.B. (Lie angle balance). I try to take a lighter grip typically when I putt or at least when I am putting my best. I can do that for the most part BUT it is on the shorter putts lately where the grip gets a little tighter at times. The one thing I tried to focus on, after watching some videos Sam has putt online about how to putt with his putters, was to not feel pressure in my thumbs during the stroke and let the putter swing more freely. When you do this, this putter just wants to rock back and forth. Let the putter/tech do the work for you without your brain trying to telling to manipulate the face in any way. It was a different feeling not having that “torque” working against your hands in the feel of the stroke.

8.      Weight. I ordered the heavy head and am very glad I did. I know these sometimes get called mental things but being so technical at times with weight on all my clubs it is comforting to know that this putter is close in weight to my other putters. Weight and swing weight matter to me mentally as well as what I feel in my hands.

a.      DF3 total weight 581grams  Swingweight -F5

b.      EVNROLL total weight 560 grams Swingweight F5

c.      Scotty Cameron GoLo total weight 563 grams SW F6

  

 

This is where I had to leave it for day 1. I am headed to a golf event at PGA West and I am throwing this bad boy into the fire for our tournament. Will have more feedback when I return.

 

Thanks again to GolfWRX and L.A.B. for this opportunity and cant wait to make lots of birdies down in the desert.  

 

 

To be continued...

 

That blue looks so dang good. I think that has convinced me to go blue whenever I decide to place an order. 

[wcbjr]

Any of you early adopters having issue with the headcover?  Mine seems too small and will not close well, if at all.

[rooski]

1 hour ago, wcbjr said:

Any of you early adopters having issue with the headcover?  Mine seems too small and will not close well, if at all.

 

It's a tight fit but I am able to get it on and off without much problem. You really have to make sure the whole face section of the putter goes in without snagging on the sides anywhere

[molecularman]

Well that was dramatic. FedEx shows that the putter was delivered. Only the photo for "proof of delivery" sure didn't look like my front porch! I rush outside and sure enough, no putter.

Thankfully after a quick walk I found it next door. Phew!   FedEx!  Why you gotta do me like that!?

So a quick recap.

I'd consider myself to be a pretty good ball striker, with a pretty decent short game, but really held back by my putting. My first round of the season I shot 1 under on the front,  2 over on the back.  And that was with me missing every single putt outside of 5 feet.  

Order:

DF3 - Green
Shaft Selection: L.A.B. Golf x TPT Shaft
Shaft length: 35"
Lie Angle: 65
Grip Selection: Press Pistol 2 Degree
Alignment Marking:  F
Head Weight: Heavier

 

Unfortunately the weather has turned for the worse here in MN with a cold front and snow in forecast. Tomorrow might be nice enough to roll some outside (hopefully).  But I at least have a putting mat here at home to get an initial feel.


First impression:

In a word:    STABLE

It's everything I hoped it would be. I'm very happy I went with the heavier head option,  I fear the standard weight would have felt a touch too light for my taste. So shout out to Calvin for being spot on there. At the current weight, I can have a light grip pressure and let gravity do the work. The head just feels incredibly stable and amazingly solid. Speaking of grip, I really debated what grip to go with and the Press Pistol seems like a great choice. The grip feels very versatile for different putting styles, maybe a bit less so for left hand low (imo).  I'm mostly a "2 thumbs" guy but have gone back and forth with left hand low as well as claw. The grip tapers down to a smaller flat oval at the bottom.  I didn't love it for left hand low,  but for a claw style grip it is really really good.

Set up:  

I tend to be particular about how a putter sets-up for me. Could be my flatter lie angle needs, but I find some putters really fight with me to set up square.  Not the case with the L.A.B. DF3.  It sits how you sit it. It just wants to sole nice a square making it so easy to set up and get your line. Regarding alignment,  the F alignment is exactly what I hoped it would be. The two lines on opposing ends really helps me index the putter.

Sound and Feel:  

Sound and feel are intertwined.  I had a big concern here.  I was afraid there would be a hollow ting sound with this putter. Some of the clips on the DF2.1 came off a bit like that, so I was worried.  BUT I'm happy to report that this putter feels incredibly solid and provides a nice thwack.  I'm sure that's partially attributed to the TPT shaft. The combo yields a very satisfying feel,  it's soft yet responsive.  It's exactly what I wanted.  I tend to prefer a putter with a deeper mill for a bit more of a softer feel off the face.  The DF3 with the TPT shaft really hits a sweet spot between a pleasantly solid feel with good feedback.

I have included a video clip with sound down below for reference.  The ball is a Callaway supersoft,  so it's a bit more thuddy than with a harder ball.  With a harder ball it has a nice solid thwack without any metallic ting that I was worried about.

Initial roll:

I figured there would be an adjustment period with the putter,  but there really hasn't been.  It feels like an old friend.  The roll that I am getting is far better than anything I've used in the past.  The ball starts rolling end over end and just tracks.  It's really lovely to see.   Now, keep in mind this is just on my putting mat at home.   The real test will be on an actual green.  But so far I am honestly over the moon with this putter.

Now on to the bad:

It would be a disservice to the community if I didn't point out some lackluster things.   While so far I love putting with the L.A.B. DF3,  I was a bit let down in the quality.  At the end of this post I have attached some photos.  There are areas with the finish has come off,  there is another area with odd pin holes.   I really expected a much higher level of detail and perfection for a putter of this caliber.  Now in fairness to L.A.B. this was 10 GolfWRX orders that were rushed to get out to us for testing.  I'd like to believe that either 1) this wouldn't make it out to your standard customer or 2) if it had they would take care of the issue immediately.

EDIT:  Calvin did reach out regarding the blemishes in the finish.  He was juggling all 10 of the GolfWRX orders and it just slipped through in the rush to get them all out.   It happens, we are all human.   I asked Calvin kind of what the solution would be if this was a normal customer.  Basically in comes down to making sure the customer is happy.   I feel confident in saying that this sort of thing likely wouldn't happen under normal circumstances, and in the super rare case it did,  they would go above and beyond to make it right. 








Box:   Oh la la





The head cover is so darn nice.  Very cozy,  magnetic closure.   Another poster mentioned it was fitting a bit tight on the putter.   I haven't had that issue.   My only real issue is with the inside flap.  Because my putter is really flat, the shaft gets in the way a bit.  It isn't a huge deal, it just takes an extra second of to take the cover on and off.




The TPT Shaft.     I don't think this has gotten enough love.   It's so darn cool to look at in the sun!




Top line:




Glamour shot:




Sound  (I did this with one hand, so don't judge the stroke)

 

The bad parts:

Edited March 20 by molecularman

[coreyhr]

So FedEx finally delivered my putter this afternoon, and here are just a couple of thoughts from getting home from work and rolling a few putts. 
 

Feel and Sound versus the DF 2.1

 

LAB knocked it out of the park in terms of improving the sound and feel of the DF 3 over the DF 2.1. The feel of the DF 3 is much more solid and the sound is not even comparable how much better it is. I’m attaching two videos comparing the 2 below for sound. The 2.1 is an armlock I once owned and had a LA Golf shaft in it. I’ve mentioned in other LAB threads how I couldn’t get past the sound/feel of that putter even though I loved the performance. Well I’m incredibly excited by my first impressions of the DF 3.

 

 

DF 2.1 Sound

 

 

 

 

 

DF 3 Sound

 

 

 

 

I am going to put some time in tonight on my putting mat and will be able to get to the course to test outside on Wednesday. I will add that I’m not seeing the adjustment period that’s mentioned by some when it comes to these. That could certainly change once I get it outdoors, but I’m putting the ball slightly forward of the middle of my stance just like I do my Jailbird 380. The counterbalanced version of the DF 3 doesn’t appear to have much shaft lean at all, which could also explain the easy transition. I will say that the TPT shaft and Garsen grip on this counterbalanced version initially feels incredible. It’s just so repeatable and easy to maintain face control. Much more to come soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19 by coreyhr

[coreyhr]

I figured it would be relevant to post the total weight of the DF 3 Counterbalance compared to the Jailbird 380 Counterbalance, since that's a popular choice for people doing counterbalance. I have a Winn 15" Pistol Belly Putter grip on my Jailbird that weighs 125 grams. I went with the Garsen Quad Tour 17" on my DF 3 and it weighs 120 grams. Both putters are 37.5" in length.

 

DF 3 Counterbalance: 663 grams

Jailbird 380: 648 grams

 

I'm unsure of the total weight of the TPT versus Odyssey Tank Steel shaft in the Jailbird, but the DF 3 doesn't feel heavier than the Jailbird in my hands. Like others have mentioned previously, the lack of torque causes LAB putters to feel a little lighter in head weight. So if going the counterbalance route, I would recommend the "heavy" head option 100%. Calvin was absolutely correct in that recommendation during our remote fitting discussion. 

[Minarets]

Nice.  Keep them coming. 

[molecularman]

I was able to get out to the putting green.    It's still cold and windy, but this was that best day I'll have for a week or two. The weather hasn't been great, so the green looked worse for wear - but hey, probably a good test to putt in some bad conditions. 

I have truly never rolled the ball as well as I have today!   Not to say that I was making every putt out there - but man, the ball just rolls so well.  I've really struggled with balls skidding and seemingly avoiding the hole.  It's hard to really put into words, but with this putter the ball just seems to hug the ground and track towards the hole,  it's wild.  I made a 100 foot putt (it was hit off the toe mind you) and just giggled.   I mean dead in the center.  Several longer putts went in for me,  which never happens.  It's just so darn good!  I have very high hopes for this putter once I can get out and play some actual golf.

Now that isn't to say it was all perfect.  I found I was struggling with the press grip and where to feel comfortable in terms of shat lean + getting some pushes/start line issues. What I learned (and this is going to be hard for me to break this habit)  is the less I fidget and adjust on the set-up,  the better the results.

If I set the putter down and line up only with a finger on the back of the grip,  then take my putting grip while keeping the putter in the position that it wants to set.  MONEY!    However -  my tendency has always been to set up, then make little adjustments to get comfortable.  And when I did that, the result was always worse.  I've never been a forward presser and I'm really use to/comfortable with a pretty vertical shaft.  So with the press grip an the slight automatic forward lean of the shaft, it was giving me a hard time visually.

 What I noticed is that the DF3 is sensitive to shaft lean.  If I start leaning more forward, the face opens up.  If I lean the shaft back, it starts to close.  So the key for me was to allow the putter to sit naturally and get myself comfortable in that position, rather than fighting the putter to be in a position it doesn't want to be in.   Once I really honed in on that,  the putts starting dropping more frequently.  I ended the session with a 15ish footer the slides left to right and made 3 in a row.  Definitely ending on a high note there, with a lot of hope and excitement to get out to the course once the weather allows.


 

[Tommyboi95]

20 hours ago, coreyhr said:

So FedEx finally delivered my putter this afternoon, and here are just a couple of thoughts from getting home from work and rolling a few putts. 
 

Feel and Sound versus the DF 2.1

 

LAB knocked it out of the park in terms of improving the sound and feel of the DF 3 over the DF 2.1. The feel of the DF 3 is much more solid and the sound is not even comparable how much better it is. I’m attaching two videos comparing the 2 below for sound. The 2.1 is an armlock I once owned and had a LA Golf shaft in it. I’ve mentioned in other LAB threads how I couldn’t get past the sound/feel of that putter even though I loved the performance. Well I’m incredibly excited by my first impressions of the DF 3.

 

 

DF 2.1

 

 

 

 

 

DF 3

 

 

 

 

I am going to put some time in tonight on my putting mat and will be able to get to the course to test outside on Wednesday. I will add that I’m not seeing the adjustment period that’s mentioned by some when it comes to these. That could certainly change once I get it outdoors, but I’m putting the ball slightly forward of the middle of my stance just like I do my Jailbird 380. The counterbalanced version of the DF 3 doesn’t appear to have much shaft lean at all, which could also explain the easy transition. I will say that the TPT shaft and Garsen grip on this counterbalanced version initially feels incredible. It’s just so repeatable and easy to maintain face control. Much more to come soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Man I got almost the same identical build, although mine is blue...mine gets in tomorrow😝

 

Love that you're saying the TPT and Garsen is a knockout combo