Charles R. Goulding and Kate Esposito highlight how L.A.B. Golf’s groundbreaking 3D-printed putters, backed by L Catterton and luxury titan LVMH, are redefining performance, customization, and innovation in the golf industry.
Introduction: L.A.B. Golf Putters Using Additive Manufacturing to Change the Game
L.A.B. Golf, founded in 2018 by Sam Hahn, has completely transformed the golf world by introducing their 3D printed clubs. The company takes their name from “Lie Angle Balance”, the technology at the heart of their putters’ superior performance. Despite their non-traditional shapes, L.A.B. putters have become increasingly popular on tour and in the marketplace, with dozens of professionals using them around the world. In June, the company was launched even further into fame when J.J. Spaun used the L.A.B. Golf DF3 putter to sink a 64-foot shot and win the U.S. Open. Since then, L.A.B. has sold a majority ownership stake to L Catterton, a private-equity firm connected to luxury goods titan LVMH. The recent success L.A.B. has experienced as a result of their high-performing putters highlights how additive manufacturing has the power to separate good brands from great ones.
Unconventionality and 3D Printing Paving the Way for Success
Though L.A.B. putters look unlike any other golf clubs on the market, their customization capabilities and advanced manufacturing methods yield superior results. Lie angle balance technology stabilizes the putters to minimize unnecessary torque as they are swung, assisting golfers in achieving a square putter face at impact. This greatly improves the direction and accuracy of a put, helping players achieve a better result. Additionally, L.A.B. putters can be fully customized to fit various golfer preferences including head shape and weight, length, lie angle, grip type, and alignment markings. The company also offers a fitting process, which ensures each putter is tailored to a golfer’s unique stroke and posture.
L.A.B. Golf is able to produce these unconventionally shaped putters thanks to additive manufacturing technology. While traditional manufacturing methods have limitations on the shapes and internal structures that can be created, 3D printing allows for the formation of complex geometries, including the unique shape of L.A.B.’s putters. The company utilizes laser powder bed fusion metal 3D printing to produce the base shape of the club heads, which are then combined with 3D printed polymer parts such as face inserts and weight elements. Additive manufacturing also enables L.A.B. to offer extensive customization options. Thanks to 3D printing technology, modifications can be made to the weight distribution, surface texture, center of gravity, alignment, toe hang, and loft, offering a personalized putting experience.
Other leading golf companies have also utilized 3D printing to improve their putters and club heads. Fabbaloo has published articles on Cobra and Callaway and how additive manufacturing has helped them become more popular among consumers and gain traction across global markets.
Creating merchandise as experimental as L.A.B. putters requires an extensive research and design process to develop the best products possible. 3D printing plays a large role in this operation because it allows for rapid prototyping and iteration of putter designs, helping L.A.B. test and refine new concepts. This greatly reduces developing time and ensures the putters can reach global markets much faster. CEO Sam Hahn has stated that the company plans to invest heavily in research and development in the future, citing his belief that a good product is much more important than good marketing.
L.A.B. Golf, L Catterton, and LVMH: Joining Together to Further Innovation
On July 29th, L.A.B. Golf announced that it sold a majority stake for over US$200 million to L Catterton, a private equity firm managing US$37 billion across numerous markets. Sam Hahn is confident that L Catterton will successfully grow the business while remaining true to its founding beliefs.
L.A.B. sold an estimated 130,000 putters in 2024 and is expected to triple that number in 2025. While this highlights the company’s immense success, it also poses a problem because the current framework is too small to sustain manufacturing at that pace. Thanks to the deal with L Catterton, L.A.B. can improve the functionality of its business, support more growth, decrease lead times, and increase quality. Furthermore, as part of the deal, L Catterton insisted that L.A.B.’s management team stay with the company. This enables L.A.B. to combine their team’s dedication and passion with L Catterton’s resources and business knowledge, setting the company up for prosperity.
L Catterton is backed by luxury goods giant Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH), a French multinational corporation that owns 75 renowned fashion brands including Dior, Tiffany & Co., Dom Pérignon, and Givenchy. The group is present in all major sectors of the luxury industry and is headed by Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault. As members of one of the biggest fashion conglomerates in the world, LVMH’s companiesare innovators of leading technology within the industry, including additive manufacturing. Louis Vuitton used 3D printing in its Artycapucines collection to embroider elegant designs onto leather bags while Bulgari uses additive manufacturing to create unique pieces of jewelry and Swiss watchmaker TAG Huer incorporates 3D printing for prototypes and tests. Both L.A.B. Golf and LVMH are utilizing 3D printing to help revolutionize their respective fields, showcasing their understanding that additive manufacturing is key to achieving success.
The Research and Development Tax Credit
The now permanent Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit is available for companies developing new or improved products, processes, and/or software. 3D printing can help boost a company’s R&D Tax Credits. Wages for technical employees creating, testing, and revising 3D-printed prototypes can be included as a percentage of the eligible time spent for the R&D Tax Credit. Similarly, when used as a method of improving a process, time spent integrating 3D printing hardware and software counts as an eligible activity. Lastly, when used for modeling and preproduction, the costs of filaments consumed during the development process may also be recovered.
Whether it is used for creating and testing prototypes or for final production, 3D printing is a great indicator that R&D Credit-eligible activities are taking place. Companies implementing this technology at any point should consider taking advantage of R&D Tax Credits.
Conclusion: L.A.B. Golf Teeing Up for Future Success
L.A.B. Golf’s innovative approach to putter design has pushed them to the forefront of the golf industry and given them worldwide acclaim. The company is currently utilizing additive manufacturing to its fullest extent, and CEO Sam Hahn recognizes that 3D printing is in its infancy and will likely become even more advanced in recent years. Hahn plans to embrace any upgrades to the technology and is also looking to incorporate artificial intelligence in L.A.B.’s production model. With L Catterton’s support, L.A.B. is ready to embrace change in order to usher in “fore-ward” progress.
