Equipment
L.A.B. Golf DF3 putter review – Club Junkie Reviews
![](https://www.golfwrx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IMG_3842.jpeg)
I know a lot of golfers haven’t heard of L.A.B. Golf, but they are a putter company making some serious waves in the golf space. Their Lie Angle Balanced putters have been a hit with amateur golfers for years, and we are now seeing more and more showing up in the bags of professional players. Lie Angle Balanced putters are built so that when you rest the putter horizontally, the face points at the target.
L.A.B. Describes Lie Angle Balance: “Lie Angle Balance (L.A.B.) Technology makes it effortless for golfers to deliver a square putter face at impact because, unlike other putters, it keeps the putter face square to the arc throughout the stroke. It makes putting as easy as picking the right line, the right speed, and making your natural stroke.”
I will admit that the DF3 is not the first L.A.B. Golf putter that I have owned or reviewed. I have had the pleasure of rolling the original Mezz.1 and the larger Mezz.1 Max putters as well. But the new DF3 looks very good when you take it out of the box. The Platinum finish has enough texture to ensure you won’t have to worry about glare from the sun but also has a depth to it that looks luxurious. I think L.A.B. nailed the size of the DF3 as it is compact but has some thickness to it that is very proportionate. Picking up a ball is also so easy and simple, just set the hole in the rear of the putter down on the ball. With almost zero pressure the ball sticks to the putter and you effortlessly bring it up.
I rolled the DF3 initially indoors for about 4-5 days and the first thing I noticed was the softer feel and very muted sound. Across the entire face you get a slightly softer feel than the Mezz.1 Max but it isn’t mushy or unresponsive. You can still tell when you mishit the ball or strike it dead center on the face.
When you get the DF3 on a real green, you can see how the horizontal grooves on the face produce a smooth roll with plenty of topspin and very little skid or hop. L.A.B.’s lie angle balance does just work and it has proven in every putter head they make. The face stays pointed at the target through the whole stroke without any need for you to manipulate it. I found that for me very light grip pressure allows the putter to move straight back and straight through the ball, getting it started on line easily and consistently.
Confidence on short putts is through the roof as you know you just have to aim the putter correctly in order to make a short and straight putt. Greens here in Michigan are far from smooth in February, but I never once felt like I didn’t start my putt on the intended line. Longer putts for me took a little more practice to get used to as you don’t have to try and guide the face back to square on a bigger backswing. Trusting that the DF3 will be square to your target is all you have to do, then just pull the putter back and let it go. Lag putts are very accurate and after a little while you start to imagine that you should make a few more than you statistically should. Once you get comfortable with a L.A.B. putter, it all comes down to your read and the speed you hit the putt.
The DF3 does have a little different feel than my Mezz.1 Max, and I have to think that’s due to the added stability of the DF3. The new putter also has a new grip that feels a little more familiar in your hands, a pistol version of the Press grip. Press grips are designed where the shaft installs on an angle, vertically through it, to work with the forward press in the shaft angle. This new pistol option is immediately comfortable and sits in the pads of your fingers really well. The pistol shape feels more traditional compared to the more oval shape of the Press II that I have on my Mezz.1 Max. L.A.B. also added some texture to the grip and that should provide some added tackiness when the hot and humid summer days roll in.
Overall, I think L.A.B. Golf did a wonderful job with the new DF3 putter. They were able to enhance the shape of the head, increase stability, and keep the same Lie Angle Balance technology working in harmony together. Add these up, and I think golfers who were turned off by the looks of the DF2.1 will be excited to try the DF3.
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Whats in the Bag
Justin Thomas WITB 2024 (July)
![](https://www.golfwrx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GSJIVE3acAAKbW6-1.jpeg)
- Justin Thomas’ what’s in the bag accurate as of the Scottish Open. We will make any updates if JT has many any changes for The Open Championship when we have those details.
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist TS3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Blue 85 TX
5-wood: Titleist 915 Fd (18 degrees @19.5)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 9.2 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 621.JT (5-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F @47.5, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-06K @60.5)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (46), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (52-60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour
![](https://www.golfwrx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GSJIV-kaUAATvgU.jpeg)
(Photo courtesy of Scotty Cameron)
![](https://www.golfwrx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GSJIVE3acAAKbW6.jpeg)
(Photo courtesy of Scotty Cameron)
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
See the rest of Justin Thomas’ WITB in the forums.
More Justin Thomas WITBs
- Justin Thomas WITB 2023 (November)
- Justin Thomas WITB 2022 (December)
- Justin Thomas WITB 2022 (August)
- Justin Thomas WITB 2022 (January)
- Justin Thomas WITB 2021 (October)
- Justin Thomas WITB 2021 (September)
- Justin Thomas WITB 2021 (August)
- Justin Thomas WITB 2021 Masters
- Justin Thomas WITB (2020 Zozo Championship)
- Justin Thomas WITB (2020 Tour Championship)
- Justin Thomas WITB (Workday Charity Open – July)
- Justin Thomas WITB 2020
- Justin Thomas WITB 2020
- Justin Thomas WITB 2018
- Justin Thomas WITB 2017 (FedEx Cup Champion)
- Justin Thomas WITB 2015
- Justin Thomas’ winning WITB: 2022 PGA Championship
- Justin Thomas’ winning WITB: 2021 Players Championship
- Justin Thomas’ winning WITB: 2020 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational
- Justin Thomas’ winning WITB: 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions
- Justin Thomas’s winning WITB: The 2017 CJ Cup
- Justin Thomas’ winning WITB: 2019 BMW Championship
- Justin Thomas’ winning WITB: 2018 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
- Justin Thomas’ winning WITB: 2018 Honda Classic
- Justin Thomas’ winning WITB: 2017 Dell Technologies Championship
- Justin Thomas’ winning WITB: 2017 PGA Championship
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Equipment
How data informs Edoardo Molinari’s WITB
![](https://www.golfwrx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MolinariLobWedge.jpg)
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
Molinari said his data-driven approach has helped him most with strategy – more specifically, it has opened his eyes to use his driver more often off the tee.
“Strategy is a big thing,” Molinari said. “I think off the tee especially, I’m a good driver of the ball, and once I started looking at the numbers a bit more in-depth, I realized I could hit driver a lot more often than I used to. So I would say, these days, I hit driver a lot more than other players simply because, A) I’m more accurate than average and, B) I’m a little bit shorter than average. Especially on shorter holes, I try and push it up a bit more, as much as I can, and I feel like I’ve been gaining shots in that area for sure.”
On that note, Molinari recently switched into Titleist’s new GT3 8-degree driver, which he said provides more consistent spin rates and roughly 5 to 6 more yards of distance compared to his previous driver.
On the lower end of his setup, Molinari uses four wedges (PW, 52, 56 and 60 degrees) – a decision that was solidified by the proof he found in the data.
“Looking at the numbers, I realized that I could gain a lot more with the wedges … if I didn’t have a 3-iron,” Molinari said. “So I basically have a bit of a bigger gap between my 4-iron and the hybrid. But the thing is, once you’re that far away from the green, all you’re trying to do is just trying to hit the green. So I don’t need a perfect number there, but I’m happier to have some more options around the greens, and especially from shots in the 75- to 125-yard range.”
Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.
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Equipment
Best modern deep faced drivers – GolfWRXers discuss
![](https://www.golfwrx.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/golf-angle-diagram-3-3-2-2-3.jpg)
In our forums, our members have been discussing modern deep faced drivers. WRXer ‘LeftyMaccc’ is on the hunt for a new driver and kicks off the thread saying:
“Looking at upgrading to a modern driver but I don’t see many deep face options. Does anyone know and modern (last 5 years) any actual deep face models?
Prefer the look of a deep face versus the shallow face stretched out design of the 10k models out right now. For reference I play Titleist 905T and R7 Superquad TP. Thanks!”
And our members have been sharing their suggestions in our forum.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- djohnsonx: “It looks to me that the Titleist TSI and TSR drivers are pretty deep faced. I’ve only seen the 2’s and 3’s in each model but the deeper faces on those look really good.”
- Louis_Posture: “Mizuno ST-X 230 driver.”
- roundersmitty: “PXG 0211 and Gen5 and 6 are deep.”
Entire Thread: “Best modern deep faced drivers – GolfWRXers discuss”
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