[PHOTO: Kate McShane]
There’s something inherently poetic about a golfer searching for “the one” – not a swing or a coach, but a putter. For Adam Scott, that search has stretched across a decade, defined by sweeping rule changes, failed experiments and a relentless pursuit of consistency on the greens.
Even when Scott has found a rhythm with the flatstick, he’s remained open to new designs that might offer cleaner looks or better numbers.
Heading into 2025, it seemed the search was finally over. After ranking 19th and 27th on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting with L.A.B. Golf’s Mezz.1 Max, Scott appeared settled, reinforcing the belief he’d found his wand.
Scott’s heel-shafted Oz.1i HS putter is a new addition at the BMW PGA Championship.
Then came Pebble Beach. Struggling early at the no-cut AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Scott benched the Mezz.1 Max for a L.A.B. Oz.1 – a mallet he helped develop – in hopes of finding a spark.
“Pro golfers are a little crazy,” Scott told Golf Digest in February. “I’d been putting so well for the last two years with the Mezz.1 Max that everyone would have said I was an idiot to change putters. But I was so involved in the process of the Oz being released, my heart wanted to change and give it a go. My head was telling me not to. I was running 70th and figured there was never a better time to throw it in.”
The switch didn’t stick. Scott soon returned to the Mezz.1 Max, but the season proved uneven. He finished 111th in Strokes Gained: Putting – his worst performance since 2017-2018 (165th).
When the putter misbehaves, tinkering follows. For Scott, that meant testing fresh builds from L.A.B. at the Wyndham Championship. Liam Bedford, the company’s head of tour relations, thought one might sneak into competition before year’s end, but seeing Scott wield a conventional-length, heel-shafted Oz.1i HS at the BMW PGA Championship was still a semi-surprise.
Scott used a centre-shafted Oz.1 mallet for the first time at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
“He always likes to test new stuff, in short and in long putters,” Bedford told Golf Digest. “We built this one for him to mess with in the off-season. He [texted] me a few weeks ago saying it might go in at Wentworth – cool to see it actually be a real thing.”
The 35-inch build, complete with a matte black Mitsubishi Diamana composite shaft and triple sightlines, would mark Scott’s first competitive start with a standard-length putter since 2015 (assuming it goes in play in today’s first round).
While the putter might look out of place in Scott’s hands after years of wielding a long wand, Scott routinely practises at home with shorter builds, shelving the broomstick to reset his eyes.
“From what he’s told me, it’s to keep this sweeper looking fresh and not falling into any bad habits during rounds where it doesn’t matter,” Bedford said. “He’s also a really good putter with almost anything, so I think it’s a way to keep things interesting and fun.”
Now, with majors and playoffs in the rearview mirror, Scott has room to experiment again – a chance to chase down the stroke that once made him one of the most consistent putters on tour.
