L.A.B. Golf putters have taken the golf world by storm over the past couple of years and while the shaping of the original models was a little unconventional, the OZ.1i was the shape that first started luring people into trying their patented Lie Angle Balance Technology.
While the OZ.1i presents itself in a more compact, mid-mallet shape, the thing I feel deters golfers from moving into one of the L.A.B. putters is the fact that they are all center-shafted. Or at least they were, until now.
If you’ve been wanting to try the technology on offer from a zero-torque putter but haven’t been able to overlook the funky aesthetics, the new L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i HS may just be what you’ve been waiting for. Featuring the same aluminium body as the original OZ.1i, the name HS stands for the fact that this putter is heel shafted.
This new look is something I absolutely love and is certainly a design that I think will get golfers who prefer a traditional-looking putter, tempted into trying this zero torque design. L.A.B. has managed to achieve this look while making sure the putter still stays balanced to the lie angle by using what the brand is calling a proprietary aluminium riser.
This riser is available in 10 configurations, ranging from 64° to 74°, to allow for complete customization on each golfer’s individual lie angle. When on the L.A.B. Golf website, golfers will be able to choose other design features for their putter, such as weight, head color, alignment markings, shaft, shaft lean, and grip.
Since the aluminium riser enters the head towards the heel, the top line along the head is much thinner and offers a slightly shorter alignment aid above the head compared to the regular OZ.1i model. This is something that I actually like and allows you to see the whole face at address.
From a performance standpoint, I saw much of the same as when I tested the original OZ.1i - a putter which I considered one of the best putters released in 2025. The fly-milled 303 stainless steel insert provides a solid feel with plenty of feedback, something you would expect from a premium milled putter.
Due to the heel-shafted design suiting my eye a lot more than the standard OZ.1i design, I felt more confident when standing over the ball and subsequently found I was holing a lot of putts inside the 10ft range.
I noticed that my distance control was also much more solid than with other L.A.B. putters I have tested. I’m not entirely sure why this would be, but I felt the HS design just offered a smidge more forgiveness on off-center strikes compared to the standard center shafted design.
For those who haven’t used a putter with shaft lean before, it’s something you have to play around with and become comfortable with over time. I’ve recently been using a more conventional putter design, so when testing the OZ.1i HS, which has 2° of shaft lean and a press grip, I found it took a good 30 minutes on the putting green to get comfortable and back in a good setup before I hit the course.
Overall, the sound and feel of the L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i HS was very familiar and similar to that of the original OZ.1i due to the use of the same head materials both on the body and the face. The updated aesthetics gave me a confidence boost behind the ball, and I felt the head framed the ball much better than the original model, thanks to the heel-shafted design. This new model is perfect for those who want to try the latest invention in putter technology, while keeping a fairly traditional look at address.
The L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i HS putter is now available online and at authorized retailers. The stock model comes to retail at $499 with custom models starting at $599.
