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The LAB Golf LINK.2.1 putter is unlike any other LAB putter. Traditional look. Heavier feel. Still makes it very easy to hit your start line.
Introduction
Last year, LAB Golf offered golfers something entirely new: their first heel-shafted, lie angle balanced putter, the OZ.1i HS [review HERE]. Pairing this more conventional look and feel with their signature technology was a hit – that putter spent the last couple months of the golf season in my bag.
New for 2026 is the LAB Golf LINK.2.1. LINK is LAB’s blade-style putter, similar to an Anser, and the LINK.2.1 pairs this traditional shape with a traditional heel shafted design. Is this the putter that will convince some of the remaining zero torque skeptics to give it a try?
Looks
The LAB LINK.1 [review HERE] opened up the possibility of zero torque putting to those who refused to play a mallet. That was a big jump forward, but no one would call the LINK.1 a beauty. The LAB Golf LINK.2.1 is a big improvement when it comes to the look. [See Price / Buy]
At address, the biggest change is that there are no visible weights. The LINK.2.1 looks like a traditional Anser, save for the position of the plumbers neck. And speaking of the neck, that’s been improved dramatically too. On the LINK.1, the neck being bolted into the cavity looked unfinished. With the LINK.2.1, the neck is set back from the leading edge and further from the heel, but it’s a visually clean connection. One other interesting detail is that the cavity is very narrow, at least 1/2″ shorter than other Ansers.
The sole of the LAB Golf LINK.2.1 is covered in weights, as you’d expect from a LAB putter. Etched branding fills the middle of the sole between the two banks of weights.
As we’ve come to expect from LAB Golf, there are a number of customization options available for the LINK.2.1 putter. There’s just one finish (for now) – a sharp, black PVD – but you can choose from fifteen front alignment marks and eight rear alignment marks. There is a cost to accessing these custom looks: the stock version of the LINK.2.1 is $499, customs start at $599.
Finally, LAB Golf is also offering a LINK.2.2 which is longer from front to back and shorter from heel to toe. If you’d like to see a full review of the LINK.2.2, please let us know in the comments section.
Sound & Feel
This putter is 100% CNC milled from 303 stainless steel, giving it a feel that’s distinct from all the LAB mallets I’ve used before. On perfectly struck putts, the LAB Golf LINK.2.1 feels sensational. Despite its weight, the feel of impact is very soft – a firm hand gently guiding the ball on its way. Mishits firm up substantially – I’d say 3 points on a 10 point scale.
The soft feel is enhanced with the sound, a dull, muffled “tock.” In addition to mishits feeling firmer, they produce a different sound – more “click.”
My one complaint about the LAB Golf LINK.2.1 is that the feedback is a bit nebulous. There is a clear difference between perfect strikes and everything else, but differentiating among the misses can be difficult.
Performance
In the last few years, I’ve spent a lot of time with LAB Golf putters. I’ve reviewed every new model, and one LAB or another has been in my bag the majority of the time. Among those putters, there are a lot of similarities. The LAB Golf LINK.2.1, however, is totally unique in the company’s lineup. From the look to the feel to the performance, this putter stands apart from its brethren. [See Price / Buy]
The first obvious difference (aside from the look) is the feeling of weight. Compared to other Anser-style putters, the LAB Golf LINK.2.1 feels very heavy. This was surprising to me given that we’ve found zero torque putters tend to feel lighter than their swing weight [more on that HERE]. That said, with a swing weight of D9, the LINK.2.1 is hefty. Also surprising: the LINK.2.1 feels way heavier than other LABs. I swung it side-by-side with the LAB Golf DF3i [review HERE]. Despite being much larger, the DF3i felt like a feather, the LINK.2.1 like a hammer.
While I don’t typically like heavy-feeling putters, I found the LAB Golf LINK.2.1 very helpful with distance control. Regular readers may recall that long distance putting is the one area where I struggle with zero torque putters, in part because they feel so light. With the LINK.2.1, I didn’t feel like I had to hammer the ball to get it to the hole.
Another big difference is the grip. A major part of LAB Golf’s story is their Press grip which negates the forward shaft lean inherent in most of their designs. The LINK.2.1 uses conventional putter grips, and this created a significant level of dissonance in my brain. When I put my hands on a Press grip, I know instinctively to use my zero torque “thumbs up” technique. The Lamkin Deep Etched grip, along with the look of the LINK.2.1, tells me to use my “normal” putting technique. This could be part of why I had better distance control with the LINK.2.1, but it also felt weird.
I’m sure that I could adjust, given more time – there’s nothing inherently bad about this set up – it was unusual. It was like walking into a Mexican restaurant and being served your favorite hamburger. I expect for someone who hasn’t spent as much time with LAB Golf putters, this whole thing would be a non-issue.
Turning to forgiveness, the LAB Golf LINK.2.1 is a bit more tolerant of mishits than most other Anser-style putters. This is surely due to the heavier head and the weight packed into the heel and toe. If we compare the LINK.2.1 to its LAB brothers, however, it’s in a losing battle. The DF3 [review HERE] is one of the most forgiving putters in golf, and the OZ and MEZZ.MAX aren’t slouches either. You can get away with small misses with the LINK.2.1, but you don’t want to regularly explore the edges of the face.
As for the signature benefit of all LAB Golf putters – the ability to hit your start lines more easily – the LAB Golf LINK.2.1 delivers as expected. In my first testing session, I was hitting a lot of pulls as I adjusted to the grip, but they were the most repeatable pulls I’ve ever seen. I was concerned about grooving a rut in my putting mat. After adjusting to the conventional grip, I found the LINK.2.1 as trustworthy as my other LABs for consistently starting the ball on its intended path.
Finally, the LAB Golf LINK.2.1 is offered stock and custom, with base prices of $499 and $599, respectively. Going custom allows you to pick your alignment aid, lie angle, shaft length, and head weight. Custom grip options include Lamkin Deep Etched, rubber and cord pistol grips, LAB’s Pistol 0, the Garsen Quad Tour [review HERE], and a trio of Super Stroke grips – Tour 2.0, Flatso 2.0, Pistol 1.0. Finally, there are five shafts options: steel (the stock option, what I used for this review), ACCRA ($100 upcharge), GEARS ($175), Diamana ($250), and TPT ($399).
Conclusion
If you’ve tried LAB Golf putters in the past and hated them, you need to try the LAB Golf LINK.2.1. This is the most un-LAB Golf LAB Golf putter I can imagine.
If you love LAB Golf putters, you should still try the LINK.2.1. Pairing lie angle balancing with a traditional look and grip might unlock an even higher level of performance on the greens. [See Price / Buy]
A compact blade design with a slimmer footprint, offering a classic, traditional appearance while maintaining L.A.B. stability and performance.
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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