This Custom L.A.B. Golf Putter Is A VZN In Purple

A couple of months ago, L.A.B.Golf unveiled their latest Lie Angle Balanced putter, the VZN.1i. For a company known for making atypical putters, the VZN.1i was amazingly normal looking.

At first glance, you might not even think it is a L.A.B. putter. Once you see the shaft position, and the L.A.B. Golf logos, you know it’s a L.A.B. putter. 

While the putter I demoed for the release article was close to my play specs, it wasn’t a complete match. Even so, the VZN.1i immediately jumped to the top of my L.A.B. favorites list.

Then I started wondering about how it would play if it was a perfect build for me.

Naturally, I took this as an opportunity to explore all of the customization options and build that perfect VZN.1i. Spoiler alert: There are lots of customization options including a brand-new shaft option.

Today, I’m going to take you through the customization process, highlighting the important decisions I made to ensure that the L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i fit my play needs.

The importance of customizing a L.A.B. Golf putter’s lie angle

Let’s start with the most important build aspect. A putter that is built to fit your body will help you make more putts. Your natural swing mechanics will go out the window, along with your natural putting posture, if your putter is too long or too short.

“Body building” is especially true for L.A.B. Golf putters. Not only is the correct putter length important but you need to get the lie angle right to truly get the most out of the Lie Angle Balanced technology.

The Lie Angle Balanced technology only really works when the lie angle of the putter matches the lie angle needs of the player. By the way, that is why L.A.B. Golf putters have all of those weights on the bottom.

The weights balance each putter for a particular lie angle to create the proper torque profile.

Remember, L.A.B. Golf putters are not really “zero-torque.” Lie Angle Balancing keeps the face square to the putting arc during the stroke. This means that the face should return square to the ball at impact.

This also means that you could be fighting the putter’s rotation if you need a 68-degree lie angle and you are playing a putter with a 71-degree lie angle.

Used buyers really need to be aware of this. If you buy a used L.A.B. putter on Facebook Marketplace, make sure that the lie angle fits your needs.

If you don’t know your lie angle, that’s an easy fix. You can figure out your required lie angle by sending L.A.B. Golf a short video. I’ve been through lots of putter fittings and L.A.B. Golf’s video assessment yielded the same lie angle as the in-person fitters.

When L.A.B. Golf told me I needed a 72-degree lie angle, I believed them.

Custom shaft and grip options

Two other physical features of your putter you will need to select are the grip and the shaft. Grip options change if you are looking to build your putter with 1.5 degrees of forward shaft lean, or the zero-degree lean found in more traditional (non-L.A.B. Golf) mallets.

The grip choices are different because L.A.B. makes a specific set of grips that compensate for the shaft’s forward press angle. The grips with 1.5 degrees of press should give you the most neutral address feeling since the press angle in the grip equals the press of the shaft.

If you want your hands to be more forward at address or you tend to add loft to the putter, the three-degree could work better for you.

For the zero-degree putters, L.A.B. Golf offers branded versions of traditional grips like the Lamkin Deep Etch along with various SuperStroke models. If you are a fan of the L.A.B. Golf Pistol 2.0 grip, they now make a zero-degree version of that grip as well.

I went with my favorite press grip, the Press II 1.5° Textured grip. The shape of the grip meshes well with my hands and I like its density and texture. The white indent that runs the length of the front side is also a nice indexing tool for the fingers.

My stiffest of stiff shaft selection

Shaft selection for your putter can be a daunting task. L.A.B. Golf has lots of options and many of them invoke a significant upcharge when added to the putter. It’s understandable that customers are nervous about selecting the wrong shaft.

Thankfully, L.A.B. Golf understands this and has dedicated a page on their site to shaft fitting.

Ultimately, shaft selection comes down to desired stiffness. In terms of pricing, the stiffer the shaft you want, the more you will be paying for the shaft.

Why would you want a stiff putter shaft, especially if adding stiffness reduces feel?

Just like with a driver shaft, the stiffer the shaft, the less the shaft will bend during the swing. We all know this but rarely do we apply our driver shaft knowledge to putter shafts.

L.A.B. Golf putters are all about returning to square at impact. The Lie Angle Balance technology seeks to eliminate the face angle variable from your swing. This should deliver more consistent on-target rolls.

A putter shaft that flexes too much could be influencing how the putter returns at impact. If you feel the shaft kicking during the stroke, that indicates that the face potentially is no longer square to the path.

You may end up manipulating the putter during your swing to compensate for the shaft kick. Manipulation is a big no-no when it comes to consistency.

With a L.A.B. putter, where you already need to trust the putter to do its thing, removing any manipulation due to shaft flex should be advantageous.

Those of us who like a little kick in the shaft may initially struggle with the stiff feel. I prefer the feel of my DF3 with the Accra shaft but I make better putts with my L.A.B. putters that have either the Diamana or TPT shafts.

L.A.B. Golf adds a new Graphite Design Tour AD Black shaft to the mix

A couple of weeks back, L.A.B. Golf announced a new ultra-stiff shaft that they have produced in partnership with Graphite Design. This shaft has the lowest measured deflection in the shaft cohort.

For my build, I went with the TPT shaft since it was the stiffest shaft offered at the time.

However, this new shaft has me curious. I’d really like to see some head-to-head data between the two stiffest shafts along with some feedback from folks who have rolled them side by side.

Maybe we can develop a stiffness test and get some real data back at MGS HQ.

Cosmetic choices are fun and very important for play, too

The most fun part about designing your custom VZN.1i is dialing in the appearance. If you like bright colors, you have eight options. Naturally, I went with purple since that is the best color.

Selecting the putter’s alignment marks is a little more complicated. For the VZN.1i, you have 23 alignment options for the front section and 13 for the back.

The options that you select will influence how your putter looks but they will also influence how you aim the putter.

I wish I had a way to tell you exactly how each scheme influences alignment. Unfortunately, that can vary from person to person.

Some folk like alignment-free putters. Others like the “T” alignment aide because it gives feedback about face angle and target line. Still others prefer the parallel lines to create rails for the ball to roll between.

I fall into that third camp with mallets. My build was Option E for the front and Option 10 for the rear. This created two near-continuous lines on the perimeter of the cavity and a third short line at the front to center on the ball.

My final build versus the actual putter

The photo above shows the final build specs for my custom L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i putter. One of my favorite things about projects like this is to see how the putter that shows up at the house compares to the photos present during the build.

This time around, I was also very curious to see how this VZN.1i build would compare to the putter I used when the model was first released.

Specifically, I wanted to see how the press angle difference influenced play. Ideally, I was hoping to identify a specific putting tendency that was lean angle dependent.

Pretty purple putter

Cosmetically, I’m super happy with the purple custom L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i. The purple color is a little different from my purple DF3 but still a pleasingly-deep purple. I’d say that the finish is a little glossier as well.

All in all, it’s a good shade of purple with a finish that is bright but not blinding in full sun.

The alignment scheme looks better in person than it does on the computer. I was concerned that the rear lines would look much bolder than the front lines at address. To my eye, the scheme blends nicely from front to back.

Things got quite interesting once I got the new purple VZN.1i to the practice putting green. This was especially true when I rolled balls side by side with the 0° shaft lean green version.

The most significant revelation was that the purple VZN.1i with the 1.5 degrees of forward lean felt way more comfortable than the zero-degree version. I chalk this up to familiarity. Every other L.A.B. Golf putter I’ve gamed for any period of time has the same shaft lean.

On the VZN.1i without the built in lean, I found myself pressing or not pressing the shaft forward. It was like I didn’t really know where it should be angled.

As I said, I am used to having the lean. If you are coming to L.A.B. Golf putters from traditional putters that do not have forward shaft lean, you may find the exact opposite to be your experience.

For me, having the 1.5 degrees of press made the putter feel normal and produced much more consistency.

Although I don’t have quantitative data to share, I found the targeting and grouping to be better with the purple VZN.1i. The familiar shaft lean probably has something to do with this but I also think the new alignment scheme suits me better as well.

For my eye, the central line at the back of the green VZN.1i is distracting. Without it, my eyes migrate towards the front of the putter. It seems unlikely that one line on the rear could be distracting enough to influence accuracy but companies who track eye movement during putting, PING for example, have shown this to be true.

As I mentioned, finding the right alignment scheme is important and more than just picking a cool pattern.

Getting to know the TPT shaft

I become very mechanical when I putt with the TPT shaft. This is not necessarily a bad thing. “Mechanical” equates to letting the putter work without my manipulation.

When I first used a L.A.B. putter, the “thumbs off drill” was very effective at training me to let the putter do its thing, no steering required.

With the stiff TPT shaft, I need to have the same type of trust in the tech to be accurate. The stiff shaft doesn’t seem to move at all during the stroke. With my DF3 that has the Accra shaft, I can feel the shaft bending during the stroke. Not so with the TPT.

It is going to take some adjustment but if it does eliminate a stroke variable and keep the face truly square to the path, it should be worth it.

Spend the extra cash and get the right putter for you

Getting properly fitted for your clubs is beneficial for all aspects of your game including putting. Even if you buy a putter off the rack, you should get it checked to be sure that the lie angle, length and even loft angle settings match your putting needs.

Check your current gamer, too. You may be just a couple of bends away from better putting.

If you are ready to buy a L.A.B. Golf putter, order a custom one. At minimum, you need the correct lie angle. The stock 69-degree lie angle may not even be close to the angle that you need.

Custom will cost you more than stock. However, if you can dial in all of the aspects of the putter to fit your needs, you will have a putter that you can play for years.

Just think of all of the money you will save by not buying more putters. I’ll bet that savings will cover the cost of the L.A.B. putter upgrades.

When the putter arrives, don’t expect immediate miracles. If it is your first L.A.B. putter or even a different model than your last one, give yourself some time to get used to it.

For the Lie Angle Balance tech to be effective, you need to change how you manipulate the putter during your swing. That could take some time.

I’m talking days to weeks, not years. Just commit to the club and enjoy your custom L.A.B. putter. I don’t see this new purple VZN.1i leaving my gamer rotation any time soon.

By the way, L.A.B. Golf just announced that the VZN.1i is now available in Sweeper and Armlock versions. Naturally, these longer builds are also fully customizable.

Build your own custom L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i and other models at labgolf.com.