Equipment
L.A.B. Golf CEO Sam Hahn on the company’s rise, why pros are gravitating to new OZ.1 model
We’re partial, but one of the coolest elements of our Inside the Ropes video series is the opportunity to grab a few minutes with folks in the PGA Tour event orbit. Players, sure, but caddies, reps, agents, etc— the people you see “inside the ropes” at a PGA Tour event but might not hear from as often — are always interesting to talk to, sometimes even more so.
L.A.B. Golf’s CEO Sam Hahn was among those Andrew Tursky talked to at last week’s Cognizant Classic.
Here’s a couple of questions AT asked Hahn and what he had to say. Be sure to check out the full conversation in Inside the Ropes.
On the rise of L.A.B. Golf
“I mean the come-up story… it never feels like a come-up…for us inside the building. I don’t get out on tour very often anymore, and this is kind of when I really feel how different things were. I just saw Justin Lower: He’s the first guy I ever handed a putter to in 2018 on the Korn Ferry Tour, and, you know, he’s a full status pro now. We’ve got a couple of bags on the putting green and a bunch of putters in play. It’s humbling, It’s wild. It’s just a crazy thing.”
On the development of the OZ.1 putter
“The OZ is great. Adam Scott helped us design it. He had a lot of input. Between all him and our engineers, they came up with something really beautiful, timeless, I think.
“It was inspired by the tour stuff. Tour guys, more than just about anybody — you, any of our customers, or anything like that — are really attached to their grips. They like to hold the same grip they’ve been using since they were kids, and one of the really nice things about Oz is with that zero-lean option, they can slap their favorite grip on it without worrying about the onset and the shaft lean and all that stuff. It’s starting to pick up around here. I think probably in the middle of the year, we’re going to start to see quite a few more in play.”
Check out the full episode of Inside the Ropes below.
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees) Shaft: Project...
Andrew J
Mar 4, 2025 at 9:13 am
With the LAB putter’s balanced “torque free” feature one can use this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJT2YLL9