Golf trends on tour are sometimes hard to spot straight away. Itâs not always obvious from a broadcast what driver or wedges a player is using. But one trend over the last couple of years, which is so visually obvious it can be seen from space, is the move from blade putters to mallets.
Even long-time purists like Brooks Koepka have switched out their trusty blade for a mallet-style putter to take advantage of the stability, alignment and forgiveness that mallets offer. But what if a blade could offer the same benefits of a mallet and keep the traditional blade profile that players love?
That would be the holy grail of blade putters, and itâs exactly what L.A.B. Golf is aiming to deliver.
Meet the LINK.2.1 and LINK.2.2.
What is the LINK.2.1?
The LINK.2.1 is a new heel-shafted blade putter by L.A.B. Golf. It has all of the lie angle balanced technology golfers love about L.A.B.’s putters in a traditional narrow-body blade with a thin topline that will appeal to a broad spectrum of players.
What is the LINK.2.2?
The LINK.2.2 is a wide-body blade featuring a square back which provides additional mass behind the ball and a slightly wider footprint.
The Specs
Both the LINK.2.1 and LINK.2.2 are made from deep fly milled 303 Stainless Steel. They come in a black PVD finish and matching black shaft and grip for a sleek, all-black look in its stock configuration. Both models have zero degrees of shaft lean which means a press grip is not required. Players can use their preferred grip, allowing them to maintain a familiar feel at address.
How Do They Do It?
The LINK.2.1 and LINK.2.2 utilize L.A.B.’s proprietary riser mechanism which looks like a traditional hosel but is cleverly engineered to allow the shaft to connect to the putter at the heel while still achieving the distribution of weight required to maintain balance relative to the putterâs lie angle. The riser was first introduced with the OZ.1i HS, L.A.B.’s first-ever heel-shafted putterâa compact mallet that was designed alongside 14-time PGA TOUR winner, Adam Scott.
What Inspired the LINK.2 Blades Series?
In a post on their Instagram account, L.A.B. Co-Founder Sam Hahn mentioned the current conversation happening in the world of golf about the blade being “dead,” and it didn’t sit right with him. “There’s a lot of joy walking around with a blade,” Hahn says. Their timeless shape inspires confidence, even if they’re historically harder to putt with compared to modern mallets. L.A.B. wanted to make putting with a blade easier and more fun to play with.
“Blades typically are going to be less forgiving, however a lie angle balanced blade is going to be more forgiving than traditional blades,” Hahn added.
Hahn also gave a shout out to Karsten Solheim, the founder of PING and inventor of perimeter weighting in putters, which helped reduce unwanted twist on off-center strikes. Hahn describes the LINK.2 series blades as a “distant cousin” to Solheim’s PING Anser blade putter, which came out in 1966 and revolutionized the putting industry.
How Much Do They Cost?
The LINK.2.1 and LINK.2.2 start at $499 for the stock configuration and $599 for custom configurations.
The stock configuration ships with a 69 degree lie angle and comes with a matte black premium steel shaft, Lamkin Deep Etched Black Grip and Link Family black head cover. It features a clean topline with a single alignment line on the back flange. The stock configuration comes in 33, 34 or 35 inch shaft lengths.
For any lie angle other than 69 degrees, or for more custom options like choosing from a wide variety of topline and flange alignment guide options, premium shafts, grips and head coversâa custom order is required. Custom configurations start at $599, with additional costs depending on shaft, grip and head cover selections.
The LINK.2.1 and LINK.2.2 are available to order now on L.A.B. Golfâs website.
Whether they truly deliver mallet-like performance in a traditional blade profile remains to be seen, but L.A.B. Golf is clearly betting that the blade isnât going anywhere.
