Once in a while, a golf product comes and brings enough buzz that you start seeing their products making their way into an increasing number of golf bags.

If like me, you like browsing through golf equipment for sale online, I’m sure you would have seen some LAB (Lie Angle Balance) putters for sale locally. As far as I know, there aren’t any local dealers for LAB putters, but that hasn’t stopped people from buying them abroad and selling to the local market.

From the name itself, LAB makes putters that keep the putter face square throughout the putting stroke, or at least it helps keep it square. There’s so much tech talk in golf these days, and it can get overwhelming.

A concept, like keeping the face square seems simple until the tech behind it is explained and we get lost in the explanation. To best explain LAB’s selling point, they have come up with a contraption that demonstrates their philosophy.

If you visit the LAB putter website at www.labgolf.com, there’s a video there with Sam Hahn, LAB CEO, explaining the tech behind their putters is a self-explanatory way.

Their contraption called “The Revealer” is a simple tool where putters can be hooked onto and instantly show the putter’s balance and how it moves when rocked in a pendulum motion, simulating a putting stroke.

In the video, a multitude of putters are tested, from different brands and models, along with LAB putters to show how other putters spin during the stroke, while LAB putters remain square. The video has a heading beside it with “Untorque Yourself” in bold letters.

Torque has been a buzzword in golf of late. This tendency for the club to twist and the technology to counteract it is the primary selling point of this year’s top selling drivers. Torque has now been tackled when it comes to the putter with LAB’s balancing technology.

And based on the number of converts I see online and the interest it has created among my golfing friends, it seems that it is worth a look. I’ve seen and putted with a LAB putter, a Mezz 1 Max model which one of my friends has. I didn’t get to spend time with it as I only made a couple of strokes on a green while we were playing.

My first impression was that it sat nicely. I also like the way the hosel is attached (center of the putter) as I have always been partial to center-shafted putters. I’d need more time with it to give a proper assessment, but on first impressions, the LAB Mezz 1 Max looked and felt great.

The next question then would be “Is it worth the price?.” While the answer would always be subjective, current prices locally runs in the mid P30,000 to P40,000 pesos. I’m sure if ever LAB opens shop here, it would hover around that price, even higher.

Am I willing to spend P40,000 on a putter? That’s a tough ask. While getting the putter on the correct line with the face square is a big part of the equation, speed and feel make up the more important half of the putting equation in my opinion.

If I’m in the market for a new putter, I’d definitely consider a LAB putter.