When LA GOLF hit the scene, they were met with reactions all over the place. From the simplest assumptions that they would just be a Matrix reboot, all the way to discussion of them trying to modernize the golf shaft segment with a deep ownership group that includes several PGA Tour players.
As it turns out, none of us had any clue just what LA GOLF planned on becoming, and realistically, we still may not know as this brand continues to dip its toes into a little bit of everything.
An example? How about them acquiring the SIK putter brand and then proceeding to release what they are calling the first all carbon putter head that is melded with the SIK Descending Loft Technology and the most expensive putter shaft on the market. There is a lot of technical design info in this one, it isn’t just another blade putter head design which feels at this point to be a dime-a-dozen sort of thing, and it sure isn’t priced like them either.
The LA GOLF Putter
Alright, lets get it out of the way, this one, is a $1,500.00 putter.
OK, do you have your breath? Have you collected your bearings a bit? Are you ready to learn why its priced as such, and even why LA GOLF is taking dead aim at Scotty Cameron in their marketing for it? Keep reading and we will break it down for you.
If you don’t realize it yet, LA GOLF is bold. They believe what they are doing is unlike anything else on the market, and are more than willing to say it, to anyone, including some of the biggest names in putter design. When LA GOLF dropped this putter on the world, it was a notable surprise as most of us believed we would simply see the SIK designs pushed more with the backing of LA GOLF and that they would naturally come standard with their putter shafts. Instead, we are getting what the company believes is one of the most technologically advanced putters ever made.
While the company might be slapping Bryson DeChambeau on their marketing for this putter, the story doesn’t really need the “mad scientist”, it’s pretty cool all on its own when you get down to the nitty gritty. This is an all-carbon fiber head. Why? Because LA GOLF is adamant that material technology in golf has surpassed traditional putter makers and their block of steel designs. The ability to take 435 layers of low fiber aerial weight carbon and CNC it into two putter shapes which allows precise weight placement and savings is the critical element in play here.
You see, the LA GOLF Putters (blade and mallet) can range from 350g to 400g depending on the head and which weights are installed. Those weights are either 70g or 90g and are in the sole of the putter heads at the heel and toe just as we have seen in many putter designs for several years. The difference? The MIM (metal injection molded) tungsten weights make up at least 40% of the putter’s overall weight. We are talking 140g to 180g at the perimeter of the designs but still in a traditionally weighted design. The lightweight carbon mixed with the tungsten means, according to LA GOLF, a sweet spot that is 50% larger than the most popular milled putters on the market. Which makes sense when you have the putter in hand because the overall blade length is quite large.
But wait, there’s more! That perimeter weighting means more MOI, or resistance to twisting at impact, but it is also being blended with an LA GOLF putter shaft designed just for these two heads. The company already makes some of the stoutest (four times what “X” flex would be), most vibration dampening, and stable putter shafts on the market, and according to them these blacked out designs take that to another lever making for a putter that is not only forgiving, but maybe the most stable through impact out there. You see, it is that stability which they believe helps limit variances in face angle at impact which lead to exponentially larger misses on the greens.
As mentioned, the LA GOLF putter comes in either a traditional plumber’s neck blade model or a mallet (more of a mid-mallet) with plumbers, slant, and face balanced slant neck options. The entirety of the putter is finished in black, including the Winn grip and the PVD finish on its CNC milled 303 Stainless SIK DLT insert which has scientifically proven to be one of the best pure-roll insert designs out there. The putters can be ordered in 33”-36”, but the MIM weights which are selected are not adjustable and neither is the 71-degree lie angle due to the materials and production methods in play here.
Like we said, LA GOLF is bold, and this is perhaps their most bold endeavor with a putter carrying a price tag which might send most golfers into shock. Something else it does, however, is create some interesting conversation with the brand taking aim at the exact companies who might otherwise offer their shafts as an upcharge option in their own putter lineups. Will this bold and brash stance with the LA GOLF putter have unintended consequences for the entire putter industry? Only time will tell, but it is going to be one heck of a fun discussion while we wait and see!
For more information on this putter or any of their offerings, check out their website at www.lagolf.co.
I like the tech
But the look is so unrefined it kills the whole thing. This look is something I expect to see at Sports Chalet for $19.99
Again, great concept, but at this price, finish is everything.
I can’t drop that much especially on a putter that looks like it would be in the sales bin at Dunham Sports
For 4X stiff, I mean… I’d roll it just for the fun of it. I’m guessing that shaft isn’t flexing much haha
The look feedback is interesting to me, I like that they went with a Damascus look in the carbon fiber. I don’t really get the “cheap” comments there at all.
I think calling it "bold" is right on the nose. The tech is very interesting and they have a lot of it packed in there, but that price tag definitely puts a damper on my interest. I just can’t see dropping what I’d pay for a whole set of irons on a putter unless it’s out of this world better than anything else on the market. For that kind of money I’d want it to include an expert caddie to make all my reads and a pro to hit the putts for me.
The interesting thing on that? They don’t really talk about the size in their release materials…
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I noticed that. I wonder why? I am guessing that the know it will be a instant turn off and they are hoping people will try it and the performance will override the shock of the size.. I compared it before to the macgregor response.
The price puts it out of reach for me, but I’m not against it otherwise. I do enjoy larger clubs/putters etc the additional size doesn’t bother me.
Asking genuinely, What makes a putter overrated? Its a shape that seems fairly common, albeit larger. It features a tech that is talked about by every company in MOI and a material that I do not believe has ever been done for the putter head in full.
I totally agree that the cost is high, but with the high price of milled steel putters, I would think many would find it falls in line.
Was just about to ask this
Right next to the sugar daddy wedges. ?
I do not believe so.
Im curious if they will be there, my thought would say no, since LA Golf is selling the complete package of goods (meaning shaft and head) as a premium product with no real fitting options.
This is simply baffling.
I still want the mallet version. Been debating selling some putters to fund that one
As to price, I sold about $1500 worth of putters for a $900 milled everything custom putter with a 3 hr fitting. But I know that putter fits me. I don’t need to buy another putter. If it doesn’t perform, it’s on me. I’m sure you can get a fitting at some retail outlet to see if the LA Putter fits you even with limited adjustments. It seems fairly standard but everyone is different. And the mallet looks great.
Would it make me a better putter? Doubtful. To me it looks unrefined, like it has a rough finish. (this may be hard to tell from the pictures used.)
I was fortunate enough to roll it at Shaftup #2. It is comically oversized. I mentioned actually looks like my 3yr old’s toy putter. The head is huge, the shaft is huge. It’s like they had a goal, and given the restraints of materials caused them to have to go XXXXL to meet them. That being said, the roll off the face is slick and the sound is pleasant. It’s a mixed bag when you both hate and love a club at the same time. ? the price is enough to deter most average players, but I doubt that’s who their target is.
Price wise, I don’t like it. Size wise? I might like it, it might not be an issue at all if you get one in hand.
It looks very damascus on the back/sole of it….. I don’t mind the look on the sole, but am very against it on the back for some reason. The top down picture it looks very muted, but the others at an angle, I am not a fan of the pattern intermingling with the sight line.
Overall, with the comparisons in the pictures, it looks like a very "beefy" putter. Playing a TC#7 with as much weight on it as I can get, I feel like this would be an interesting one to look into (assuming I was in the market for a $1500 putter).
That could very well be. Maybe I am confused on the word overrated. Is it carbon fiber that is? MOI?
When I first opened the box, I was genuinely surprised by the size. Nothing on the website or materials indicate how large it is. You get used to it pretty easily, but it is definitely large, which is why we included that picture in @Jman article.
I really like the look in hand, as it looks refined in every aspect other than the rivets, which seem almost out of place.
Yes, you can order them direct from their website and choose loft, lie angle, etc.
Lie angle, yes, loft, not typically. They’re also steel though.
I guess what I am saying is there is not component in that putter that I feel is better than the components in my Toulon Chicago.
I don’t see how they can justify a $1500 putter.
Ok I wasn’t sure if there was something with the descending loft technology… So if the loft and lie angle aren’t correct on this putter you’d have to change your stroke or setup to make it work since it’s not adjustable?
I mean, it seems like a kinda cool use of some current technology. That’s fun. And I think they did a pretty good job with the looks considering it all imo. I kind of wonder who it’s for. Someone who just thinks an interesting new putter is worth $1500? Someone who thinks the tech will give them performance/results that’s worth the $1500? I mean you really gotta believe in it or just not care at that price don’t ya? I’m not either if those people, but it’s interesting.
In comparison to the Cure putters when they came out, is it similar in size to that? Or would the Cures still be larger?
Overall looks wise, it’s like they pulled sole weighting from one brand, the back plate with rivets somewhere else, the finish somewhere else too. I realize none of those items are proprietary to one oem (or assume they arent) It’s almost like a digi-camo if you just glance at it
Not quite as large, but close.
The price is definitely a big hurdle.
Broken down its not quite as big though. I think the putter shaft is up there around $400 and they have sold a lot of them it appears. Still makes it over a grand, but I suspect a few are jumping in.
I think you hit it here: "I mean you really gotta believe in it or just not care at that price don’t ya?"
I kind of forgot/forget about that being a part of it. Custom something where they’re buying individual components at near full price I might give it that kind of deduction in my head, but that’s tough math for me when it’s the company that makes them. You know what I mean? If you sell your x, y, z at ___ prices and make money off them at that, and put x, y, z together yourself and sell it, I feel like it should generally be a little less than retail of the individual parts put together elsewhere. Maybe just me, and they’re successful, so they obviously think it’s going to have success. Is it weird that the cover could help sway my opinion? There was no cover in the article. Let’s see the covers.