Adam Scott poised to make major gear (and technique) change. Here’s why

Update: Scott has switched back to his L.A.B. Golf sweeper after 30 putts in the opening round on Thursday.

The game’s most prolific gear nerd is at it again.

While we’re still a day away from the first round of the DP World Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, all signs point to frequent gear tinkerer Adam Scott making a major change this week to one of the rare parts of his bag that he hasn’t tweaked in some time: his putter.

Scott has long employed the sweeper-putting method. He won his only major, at the 2013 Masters, with a broomstick putter and continued to use it after the 2016 anchoring ban. He was one of the first players on the PGA Tour to play a L.A.B. Golf putter, but, since 2002, has called upon on a MEZZ.1 MAX sweeper.

But at Wentworth this week, Scott’s first start since the Wyndham Championship last month, he showed up without his now signature Sweeper, seemingly replacing it with a conventional-length L.A.B. OZ.1i HS putter.

The OZ.1i HS is the company’s latest release and first heel-shafted putter, using a proprietary aluminum riser to keep the shaft axis pointed directly through the center of gravity of the putter, retaining its Lie Angle Balance properties. Scott helped design the original OZ.1 shape, which was released last year, but he had yet to put it into play.

L.A.B. Golf Co-CEO Sam Hahn told GOLF.com that Scott plays most of his casual golf with a conventional-length putter, and he nearly put the new OZ.1i HS in play at the Open Championship in July.

Putters

Scott had ranked inside the top 50 on the PGA Tour in putting every season since 2019, finishing 27th last season. But he’s been losing strokes on the greens this season and currently ranks 111th in the category after missing the FedEx Cup playoffs.

A key difference for Scott between the original OZ.1 and the new HS version had to do with alignment and setting the putter on the ground. Because the shaft does not actually enter the clubhead, the OZ.1i HS has a much more compact, square and traditional topline compared to the original OZ.

L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i HS Custom Putter

It’s heel-shafted. It’s still L.A.B. Heel-shafted putters have been around forever. No reason they shouldn’t be balanced. OZ.1i HS is the first heel-shafted putter with Lie Angle Balance, giving golfers the traditional look so many love with the ease of use that defines L.A.B. This isn’t just an OZ.1 i with a different neck. Lie Angle Balance demands precision, so we re-engineered the OZ.1 i chassis for a no-compromise heel-shafted design. Our proprietary aluminum riser connects the shaft to the head in a way that maintains Lie Angle Balance and delivers the same forgiveness as the OZ.1i. Golfers who prefer a heel-shafted look no longer have to compromise on performance. And because it’s a L.A.B., you can count on every putter being individually built and balanced. With OZ.1i HS, it’s not where the shaft goes. It’s where the ball goes.

$599.00 from Fairway Jockey

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, L.A.B. Golf

“Because it’s a square topline and not like the triangular top line, changing sight line levels, he just thought it was much, much easier on this model,” L.A.B. Golf Tour rep Liam Bedford told GOLF.com. “That’s why we went with a sight line from the top of the face all the way off the back.”

The new putter has a triple sightline to help Scott with his alignment and give him a different look than his MEZZ.1.

While Scott still has another night to sleep on the new putter, he hasn’t been photographed with any other flatstick and all indications are that the new “shorter” putter is a go for Thursday.

Adam Scott’s new L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i HS Specs

Model: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i HS
Length: 35″
Lie: 71˚
Loft: 3˚
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana Matte X L.A.B. Golf
Shaft Lean: 2˚
Grip: L.A.B. Golf Press Pristol

Want to dial in your new putter in 2025? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.