L.A.B. Golf DF3 Review

Lie angle balance is the idea that built L.A.B. Golf. Balance the head along the lie angle of the shaft and the face has no tendency to open or close during the stroke, so it returns square without the hands having to manage it. The first Directed Force proved the concept and looked like a piece of lab equipment. DF3 is the version for golfers who care how a putter looks: smaller and sleeker, still center shafted and flat bottomed, milled from 6061 aluminum with eight weight screws in the sole and a ball sized hole at the back for scooping up a gimme.

Testers agree on what it does best. The face squares itself through impact, it is among the most forgiving putters on sale when a putt comes off the heel or the toe, and pace on long putts comes quickly once a golfer stops trying to steer it. Its reputation was made on tour, where Adam Scott, Lucas Glover and Phil Mickelson have all putted with the brand's designs.

The reservations are about size and company. The head is large and looks it, and from the fringe or thicker grass it feels bulky next to a blade. In the biggest head to head putter test of 2026 it finished inside the top twenty of 110 models, well behind L.A.B.'s own newer OZ.1, so it is no longer the best putter in its own catalog.

It launched at $449 in stock form and $559 as a custom build; L.A.B. now lists the stock version at $399 and a custom build, with a choice of lengths, alignment marks and head weights, at $499, still premium money for an aluminum mallet. For a golfer whose miss starts with a face that rotates, it remains one of the most direct fixes available.