OZ.1i

The OZ.1i is L.A.B. Golf's face-inserted variant within the OZ line, built on what outtabounds.co.uk describes as the same size and shape as OZ.1, with the change concentrated entirely at the face. Per that same source, the insert is stainless steel, and agentscored.com similarly lists the face material as a stainless steel face insert. outtabounds.co.uk credits the OZ.1i as the brand's first putter model to carry a face insert at all, a distinction worth noting even as an unverified editorial claim rather than a maker-confirmed history.

The maker's own page, in its more expansive OZ collection prose, explains the thinking behind the move away from a bare-face design: "The first L.A.B. putters had a soft and satisfying feel and sound, but soon requests rolled in for something firmer. We answered with a stainless steel face insert in DF3 and OZ.1, which provides a pleasing combination of feel, sound and slightly faster ball speed." That page frames the insert as a direct response to player demand for a firmer, higher-pitched impact rather than the softer thunk of the original line, and it adds that "the insert also imparts faster ball speed" alongside the feel change. outtabounds.co.uk's editorial take lines up with that framing, describing the OZ.1i's feel as firmer and quicker off the face and pointing the insert's purpose toward creating faster ball speeds, and suggesting it suits players who want more audible and tactile feedback at impact.

Against the rest of the OZ line, the record positions the OZ.1i as a feel variant rather than a shape or fitting change. pluggedingolf.com's editorial note describes the shape as more conventional, which reads consistent with outtabounds.co.uk's claim that it shares size and shape with OZ.1. The maker's page also notes an OZ.1i HS heel-shafted version, describing "the flow of the shaft into the head" as "exceedingly graceful" while L.A.B.'s balancing technology quiets the head rotation that a heel-shaft design would otherwise introduce, giving buyers a stylistic choice layered on top of the insert decision itself.