The FUTURE of GOLF? | LAB Golf DF3 vs. Link.1 | Test + Review

this is lab golf’s link one Putter and this is their latest df3 Putter and in today’s video we’re taking these Putters on the golf course to compare them and put them in a head-to-head competition to see which one comes out on top so let’s get right into [Music] it right guys so if you’ve been following tej or just the golf equipment industry in general you’ll know that lab golf has been on an absolute tear in the last few years with their technology and their putter models these Putters have been spotted in the bags of many top tour Pros Adam Scott is using the MZ One Max Phil Mickelson just recently put a df3 in play and it seems like anytime I walk into a golf store people are talking about these testing them and frankly buying them up now basically how these Putters work is they have zero torque or zero bias in twisting unlike a toe up tow down or face Balance style putter these Putters stay perfectly Square to whichever Arc that they are swung on by the player now lab golf has five different models within their lineup the DF 2.1 which pretty much looks like a Starship to most people the link one which is going to be a much more traditional blade shape the mes1 and mz1 Max which are more mid Mallet style Putters and now recently they have just added their latest df3 putter now the reason df3 has left a lot of people intrigued is because it is basically a slim down version of the putter that started it all the lab golf DF 2.1 so in today’s video we are taking the latest df3 and putting it in a head-to-head match play on course nine hole putting competition against the more traditional looking lab Golf Link one to see which one comes out on top how we’re going to work through this is we have nine randomized lengths of putts selected from 6 to 50 ft in on each hole we’re going to switch off which one of these Putters starts first really just trying to keep this testing as Fair as possible and as per usual with these videos the specs on both of these Putters are pretty much the exact same from there I’ll talk you through the differences I’m noticing between these models and hopefully by the end of this video you have a good idea which one of these Putters is going to work best for your game all that said guys we’re out here on the golf course now so let’s get into testing in order to see which one goes first we’ll flip a t for it I got that a little bit more to the left so we’re taking df3 to start and we’re going to see what we can do 25-footer here uphill little bit right to left so looking down at df3 I really like the shape of it it to me it’s a lot more compact compared to the df2 point1 it’s a lot more pleasing to the eye I think it’s probably pretty in line with a tailor made spider size shape maybe not quite that small but actually pretty decently close to that size but nonetheless let’s go ahead and try to make this thing I didn’t hit it all right got a knock in a two and a half footer here to start little knocker all right easy money all right now I’m moving on to link one taking a look down at this thing just a much more traditional shape obviously this is not going to look like your answer to Newport 2 style blade but it’s in terms of the lab golf lineup it’s very classic very traditional I’ve liked the shape of it you know it’s funny both of these Putters even though they’re very different in terms of how they look I actually really like the shape of both of them just in different ways it all right firmed it knock this thing in and we will be all square through one all righty guys hole number two downhill left to right about 14 ft is what we had randomized so we’re going to start with link one because we started with df3 on the last hole talked about looks on the last hole obviously this being a lot more traditional with the link one where it starts to get interesting is the alignment AIDS so what I think is really important with the lab Golf Putters is making sure you select the correct alignment AES the putters don’t want to twist during the stroke so it’s very important that you get them lined up properly to your target now with df3 you have a lot more options in terms of alignment AIDS the alignment AIDS are a little bit bigger with the link one because the top line is so thin the alignment AIDS tend to be really small but the way I have these set up both lines are pretty similar length this one’s just in the flange and that one is a little bit closer to the face downhill left to wrer playing it maybe 18 in out that’s big that’s big for link one all right df3 is got to match it now I’ve kind of preferred link one because on putts like these and the fact that it’s a little bit more of a traditional blade shape I feel like I have a little bit better control over speed but I’ll tell you what I see seem to have kind of been preferring the feel of df3 off the face so I’m curious to see if I actually end up preferring the feel of df3 long term kind what we’re going to find out here let’s see if I can knock this in maybe I’m just a good Potter guys all righty guys hold number three we got 21 ft on this hole approximately downhill a little bit right to left and we’re going to see what we can do all square in this match good match so far you know the more I look down at df3 the more I like it it’s just not a big head but you feel like you can really miss this kind of all over over the face and you’re going to have tons of forgiveness through the Impact Zone it’s just not really going to twist quite as much as link one didn’t hit it kind of Mis rdit all right link one’s going to have an opportunity to go up you know the one thing I do notice with df3 is I tend to lose a little bit of feel because there’s so much mass back in the head it seems like I tend to struggle controlling the actual length of the putt hopefully that makes sense but nonetheless link one good opportunity to go up here in the match doesn’t break as much right to left as I thought oh that’s big you know it’s so funny about link one is I really have enjoyed this putter the one real struggle I’ve had with this thing is the grooves for some reason I mean I seem to be making putts today but for some reason I’ve noticed over time I tend to catch putts maybe on a groove or in between a Groove and it comes off with slightly different speed than I’m used to and that’s been maybe a sko frustrating so the one thing I wish lab golf would do with link one is offer some different face options maybe a fully mil face a smooth face and the grooves to allow people to choose different options that are going to suit what they’re looking for in terms of feel hole four here guys 39 ft a little bit uphill kind of right to left we’re starting with link one let’s see what we can do link one’s kind of been on fire so far which means I can feel a three putting coming that’s it that’s really good speed see like these last few putts with link one I haven’t really caught them in between a groove or like on a Groove and so they’ve come off with very predictable speed but that’s not always what I’ve noticed but nonetheless df3 has got an opportunity should start turning go that’s pretty good too the big thing between these Putters that I’m noticing is really speed control you know I feel like even though I’ve kind of complained about the grooves a little bit with link one I seem to have a little bit of a better time controlling speed whole five here guys we have 50 ft this is probably going to be the toughest putt of the Day based on what I’ve seen in terms of the randomized number so downhill a little bit left to right but the grain is actually going to the left so this is lowkey a brutal plot I’m not even going to lie starting with df3 this press pistol grip is pretty interesting it’s a little weird to get used to both the forward press in the grip and the pistol I would say for most people I I would maybe probably recommend starting with just the regular press grip kind of get used to that and then if you really prefer a pistol feel then maybe slitch over because getting used to both of these for me it seems like it would take some time for sure but you kind of have to have the Press gript because of how much onset this putter has that was really good that was absolutely fantastic speed we’ll pop this one in something I actually do want to note about the field that I just realized is on the df3 the grooves are actually slightly closer together as opposed to the link one so I think for me I’m getting a little bit more consistent contact on the golf ball putt over putt as opposed to the link one that’s just something I literally just picked up as I looked at these Putters you know the biggest thing I noticed with df3 is it’s just more forgiving especially on these longer putts if you struggle to find the center of the face that’s where I do really like this but on the contrary to that if you prioritize Center face contact in your practice and you want something with a little bit more traditional center of gravity that’s where link one seems to be kind of the choice of better players you know Grayson Murray won in Hawaii with a link one earlier this year that was really good too really good speed there you know and for me I mean I do prioritize Center face contact in my practice so that is one of the reasons I do tend to prefer this shape because I know I have the L angle balancing technology but in a little bit more of a traditional package in terms of the design itself so that’s kind of why I seem to have preferred link one and so far it is leading one up through five let’s head over to whole six all right guys so now we’ve got a little bit of a shorter putt here we’ve kind of been doing longer putts longer lag putts to see how these things perform on those putts that require a little bit better speed now we’re going to go a little bit shorter on these next couple hes this is a 9-footer here so we’ll start with link one I have this braking a little bit left to right it’s probably not far outside the hole it might even be be left Edge and we’ll see uh how good I can roll it yeah that was really good I mean for me personally I just like having control over the face and I think that’s where link one seems to do a slightly better job but but nonetheless we’ll go ahead and try to knock it in with df3 so I kind of had this me just outside left Edge you know for me personally I do prefer the alignment Aid of df3 I do really like this being close to the face and the problem with the alignment a on link one if you put it on the top line is that Top Line is so thin that it’s more like a dash not a line so to be honest with you guys I kind of prefer the alignment eight options of df3 but I mean link one’s working son of a gun all right link one’s got a big lead we’re heading over to seven now so now we’ve got a six-footer here link one’s got a two up lead with three to play this is not good news for the df3 but df3 starting first and we’ve got a pretty straight uphill six-footer so I mean this is this is a chance for link one to uh give something away if df3 can kind of knock one in early put the pressure on I got this pretty straight to be honest now it’s just a matter of hitting it where I want all right kind of sliced across that you can see all the sides spit on the line but we made it that’s what DF three needed to do to stay in this match now we got link one same thing I really think it’s straight looks like it wants to maybe move slightly left but I I really think it’s straight to me that one I pulled it and it stayed straight so see if we can do it knock this thing in oh ad me now right guys hole number eight link one has a two up lead we’ve got a pretty tough putt here it’s a downhill left or right or it’s pretty severely downhill so there’s a chance we could see a three putt maybe a make from the df3 to keep it in it but we’ll see link one’s going first so should be able to get the line from this and try to knock it in with df3 going to break I feel like pretty severely and then it’s going to kind of straighten out at the end oh I firmed that it uhoh uhoh all right we’re going to leave that I’m Mark it with a t this is getting interesting I’m not playing this up for the camera folks this is real life putting this has become an interesting match here okay I did not play enough break there it’s sort of straightened out it was just never high enough to begin with oh it stayed straight son of a gun all right actually you know what it’s like a foot and a half we’ll finish it no cheating around here folks knock this thing in almost missed an 8 in putt there now back to link one this for the win it is approximately 4 fish now I’m not going to lie these are where I feel like I’ve been kind of sketchy with link one it’s definitely not as stable as the df3 and because of that you really got to make sure you find the center of the face to me it looks pretty straight there it is folks link one is the champion this was a fun match let’s go over my final conclusions with both of these Putters here right guys so there it is that was a competition SL test between the lab Golf Link one and lab golf’s latest df3 I hope you enjoyed it that being said let’s go over my final conclusions on these Putters and kind of talk about how they differ from each other so as far as looks go with these Putters I actually really like both of these just in different ways but starting with link one obviously this is going to be a much more traditional design and while it’s not a direct copy of an answer 2 or a new Port two style putter like I mentioned on the golf course it’s probably as close as lab could get while still maintaining their technology and in my opinion it’s a much better looking blade than their first two models the blad one and the b.2 and while link one does have a little bit of onset it’s not nearly as much as the lab golf Mallet model so when you set it behind the golf ball it looks a lot more traditional and because again doesn’t have as much onset you can use a normal style grip you don’t need a press grip which really makes it a much easier switch for the majority of players now with df3 the head size is obviously much more toned down compared to the 2.1 I think that the face depth matches up really nicely to the size of the golf ball and additionally you have tons of different alignment options and color options with df3 to kind of match what you’re looking for or need from a looks perspective and you know with df3 because of the slightly larger footprint compared to the link one I find it very easy to line up down at add dress and actually very confidence inspiring knowing that I have the extra Moi in the back of the head in case I miss Center but I mean it’s still definitely a pretty odd design and because of how much onset this putter has it pretty much requires you to use a press script which can take a little bit of time to get used to and so for me in terms of the looks category it’s pretty much a tossup you know I really do prefer the traditional of Link one but with df3 I absolutely love the footprint and the alignment options that they offer with this head you know with df3 I don’t really know if there’s much they could change to make this better to be completely honest with you guys I actually think this is quite well done the only thing I would like to see is possibly a link one in the future with a thicker Top Line I mentioned it on the golf course a few times but me personally I love to have a line on the top line so I can match it up really closely to the line of the golf ball but because this Top Line is so thin the line looks more like a dash it’s very very small and frankly it kind of throws off my alignment sometimes so I think that having a slightly thicker Top Line and a link one in the future would be absolutely phenomenal the wise again both of these Putters are really good just in different ways we’ll start with link one now I mentioned it on the golf course this putter has a much more forward Center gravity which I absolutely love I think it makes it a lot easier for myself personally to control speed because of that I can really feel the golf ball coming off the face but that being said and also something I mentioned on the golf course these grooves longterm I have just really struggled with I don’t know exactly why it seems like I’m just catching the golf ball inconsist consistently in terms of phas contact and because of that my speed as a whole has been pretty inconsistent with the link one now I think it has something to do with how wide apart the grooves are it seems like I’m catching the golf ball either sometimes on a groove or on the edge of a Groove and then sometimes in between the grooves and just because of that it kind of throws off my speed out of nowhere now getting into feel with the df3 obviously this having a much further back Center gravity I do find it a little bit harder to control speed on longer lag putts but I actually prefer the feel off the face with df3 over the for the link one with df3 the grooves are a little bit closer together which I think makes the contact more consistent the face depth itself is a little bit shallower and the material has a really nice pop off the face which are all things that kind of line up exactly to what I’m looking for in terms of feel so in terms of the feel category guys it’s a tossup once again you know I prefer the CG depth of the link one but I prefer the feel off the face of the df3 the last category we are going to get into with these Putters is forgiveness and I’m just going to keep it real with you guys this one is not really close the lab golf df3 is in incredibly stable and frankly it pretty much feels like point and shoot on straight at inside the whole puton while the link one is not nearly as unforgiving as lab golf’s earlier blades it definitely requires a lot more attention to detail and making sure that you have centered strikes at impact so with all that being said I think that figuring out which one of these is going to work best for your game just kind of comes down to understanding the type of putter you are you know if somebody really prioritizes speed control in terms of putting link one is awesome because it still has the lab tech but a much more traditional depth in terms of center of gravity now on the contrary if you’re somebody who really struggles with centered face contact and getting putts started online especially from short distances that’s where df3 is phenomenal because it is just so stable through impact but if I had to choose one to game I think I would go with the link one now the results on the golf course do speak for themselves but the two main reasons I would choose this is because in my opinion it is my job as the player to control center face contact to get the start Direction and additionally I believe that speed is King when it comes to putting and in my opinion it’s a lot easier to nail down speed with the link one because of the more traditional Center gravity depth but as a whole guys I’ve said it I’ll continue to say it I absolutely love the tech behind lab it absolutely does work and frankly it’s incredible to hear the stories of pros and amateurs alike switching over to these Putters and having pretty immediate success all right unfortunately we got caught in a little rain so I had to move my setup but the two things you have to get right with the lab Golf Putters if they’re going to work well for you is first and foremost the lle you need to find a consistent plane for the face of the putter to stay Square too it will stay Square The Arc it swung on but you got to make sure you get the right Arc and L angle to begin with Additionally you got to get the alignment Aid right if the face is staying Square to the arc but it is not aligned properly you’re still not going to make putts so make sure you get those two things right and I think you will have a ton of success with these Putters as a whole guys I would love to hear your opinions or takes on these Putters if you’ve had the chance to test them or you are considering them for your bag so go ahead and drop those in the comments down below if you have any questions again drop it in the comments down below or shoot me a DM via Instagram if you enjoyed the video be sure to give it a like make sure you’re subscribed to the YouTube Channel and you click that notification Bell so you are notified anytime that we post a new video additionally make sure you’re following us on our other social media channels Instagram Facebook Twitter and Tik Tok always great content on those channels as well we’ll catch you in the next video peace