CRESWELL, OR — Richard Bland won the 2024 Senior PGA Championship, one of five major championships on the PGA Tour Champions, using a L.A.B. Golf MEZZ.1 MAX putter.
Bland shot a final-round 63 to win the event by three strokes at Harbor Shores Resort in Benton Harbor, Mich. It was the 51-year-old’s first senior tour win, as well as his first appearance in a senior event.
Bland used a MEZZ.1 MAX putter in blue, one of the eight colors L.A.B. Golf offers for its custom putter models. His putter measures 34.5 inches and has a lie angle of 73 degrees.
LIE ANGLE BALANCE (L.A.B.) TECHNOLOGY
Selecting an appropriate lie angle is critical to success with L.A.B. Golf putters, which are hand balanced one at a time at the company’s headquarters in Creswell, Ore., to give them perfect Lie Angle Balance.
Lie Angle Balance, or L.A.B. for short, is L.A.B. Golf’s patented technology that allows its putters to remain perfectly square to the arc of the putting stroke without any need for manipulation from the golfer.
With L.A.B. Golf putters, golfers can trust the putter face to return to square at impact, removing the variable of face angle from the putting stroke so line and speed can be the primary focus.
Golfers can identify their ideal length and lie angle by working directly with L.A.B. Golf through the company’s Online Remote Fitting process or visiting an Authorized L.A.B. Golf Retailer.
L.A.B. GOLF CUSTOM OPTIONS
Bland’s MEZZ.1 MAX putter has the company’s Single Line alignment marking, one of 11 custom alignment markings offered for MEZZ.1 MAX Custom.
Bland also relies on a L.A.B. Golf x TPT putter shaft, which was developed in partnership with L.A.B. Golf and Swiss golf shaft manufacturer TPT Golf. The shafts utilize TPT’s patented automated manufacturing process that continuously wind a single strip of carbon fiber in such a way that there are no overlaps or seams in its shafts.
TPT’s carbon fiber is applied so that every fiber angle is “on-axis,” which means every fiber is working together in harmony. It’s essentially a one-piece construction, and because of this it provides feedback that is uniquely quiet, clean, and ultra clear.
Bland’s putter uses L.A.B. Golf’s Press II 1.5 Smooth putter grip. It’s one of several of L.A.B. Golf’s patented Press Grips that achieves an “Integrated Forward Press” through their design.
Unlike other putter grips, which generally see the shaft travel through the center of their axis, Press Grips are installed through the grip’s elliptical shape, which is off-axis by either 1.5 degrees, 2 degrees, or 3 degrees depending on the model.
All L.A.B. Golf mallet putters are designed for use with Press Grips due to their ability to create a more consistent hand placement and an optimized roll.
