L.A.B. Golf has always celebrated the fact that its putters don’t look traditional. The company’s designs are built around function first. Recently, Sam Hahn and his team at L.A.B. had a launch event for media out at their unconventional headquarters in Eugene, Oregon, to show off the new OZ.1i HS putter, where we got all the details on the new design.

We have seen more and more L.A.B. putters on the professional tours, where the company has gathered more feedback on its putters. The new OZ.1i HS comes from the feedback that some players just don’t like looking at a center-shafted putter, but they really love the Lie Angle Balance technology.

Previously, the company had nothing to offer such players. Now, with the addition of the OZ.1i HS putter, they do.

It isn’t hard to see what is new in the OZ.1i HS putter. The new aluminum riser (hosel) is custom-designed to ensure that L.A.B.’s Lie Angle Balance tech works just like every other putter in their lineup. This wasn’t a simple process of just tossing a hosel onto an OZ.1i putter head; it had to be thoughtfully engineered to work in harmony, as just the slightest changes in weight and shaft orientation can throw off the balance.

Brian Parks and his team of engineers came up with a very lightweight design that was strong enough, but ran into an issue with custom fitting length and lie of the putter. The solution was to create 10 riser lengths that would work with the different lie angles to make sure that the shaft didn’t interfere with the balancing.

“Designing a heel-shafted putter that stays balanced to the lie angle presented us with a unique challenge,” said Brian Parks, vice president of engineering. “The result is our custom, proprietary aluminum riser, a key feature of the OZ.1i HS that lets us offer multiple lie angles without compromising the signature feel and balance golfers expect from every L.A.B. putter.”

There is a standard hosel height for standard lie putters, and if you require a more upright lie, then the riser gets longer to accommodate that. I needed a slightly flatter lie angle on my putter, and it required a shorter riser. The risers also offer the golfer the choice of forward shaft lean or a vertical position that can help with hand position or the look.

These riser changes allow the shaft to virtually enter the head at the same angle to keep the face pointed towards the target. I got to play with the new putter and can say from address, it is a very good blend of L.A.B. and a heel-shafted mallet. You are able to see a little more of the head and the alignment, and I definitely felt more comfortable lining up the OZ.1i HS compared to the DF3 or OZ.1i putters that I have in my collection.

I was under the impression that the face on the OZ.1i HS was designed to offer that slightly more crisp feel and sound that the original OZ.1i has been known for. Brian told me that not only does it do that, but it also helps with adding weight to the head. He also told me that they spent a ton of R&D hours on getting that face to perform and fit correctly in the putter head. Sam hinted at the possibility of additional face options with different materials, millings, and finishes to allow golfers to really dial in their putter to their liking.

Like the current line of L.A.B. putters, you will be able to customize the new OZ.1i HS with a mind-blowing number of alignment options, head color choices, grips, and shafts. L.A.B. takes a little different approach to shaft fitting as they have found different shafts can really change the feel and sound of the putter. I was able to hit a steel shaft, Accra graphite, both new Mitsubishi Diamana shafts, and the TPT shaft side-by-side on L.A.B.’s huge indoor putting green.

Each shaft offered a slightly different feel, with the TPT offering the firmest feel and more audible sound. L.A.B. requires the shafts they use to be perfectly straight in order to get the best performance out of the lie angle balance, weighting, and, to my surprise, a lot of shafts are not even close to perfect. L.A.B. works directly with all of the shaft companies to ensure that the shafts they use fit their extremely tight tolerances.

The new L.A.B. OZ.1i HS putter is available now, starting at $499 for stock putters and $599 for custom putters.