PGAPappas 12 Days of Christmas Santa Dared Me DAY 9 Giveaway 2: New LA GOLF Bel-Air and Malibu Putter Review

Just one year after entering the putter category, LA GOLF doubled down with improvements in their next generation of carbon putters, the Bel-Air and the Malibu.  And these putters are turning heads again.

The new putters feature more exotic finishes, a variety of hosel options, and an even larger sweet spot.  LA Golf says the new putters are the most technologically advanced putters ever made.  And one of you is going to win your very own LA Golf putter.  You can choose either model, any "X" finish and hosel, and of course it comes with the LA Golf shaft.

For those of you unfamiliar with the LA GOLF putters it all starts with the construction.  More than 400 layers of carbon composite (the same material used in graphite shafts) are milled into the final head shape.  And this carbon material allows the head to be extremely lightweight compared to other traditional steels and materials used in designing putters.

 

So what's the benefit of that?  Well this light weight allows LA GOLF to make the size of the putter big.  Really big actually.  Tungsten weights are then positioned low and in the toe and heel areas.  And together the larger size and extreme perimeter weighting creates a very large sweet spot and very significant stability.

 

And these new Bel-Air (blade model) and Malibu (mallet) putters increased MOI to higher levels than the original.  The carbon fiber bodies were designed even lighter at 50 grams.  And LA GOLF then used more discretionary tungsten weight positioning in the heel and toe.  So the Malibu now has an insanely high 6800 MOI yet it maintains the same overall weight as the original blade (360 grams).  Crazy really.

 

  

I played the Malibu-X this year (I'll touch on the "X" finish a bit below).  And on putts hit more towards the toe and heel balls rolled straight on my intended line with nearly identical distance as perfectly struck putts.  It's damn impressive and there's no doubt at all about this putter's stability and larger sweet spot.

 

 

  

Being an all carbon putter the feel at impact is different than a putter made of solid steel.  But not in the way I would have expected.  I was expecting the carbon head to feel something like plastic, but the Malibu-X instead has a solid and deep feeling at impact.  I'd say the Malibu-X feel is very much like steel, it's just a lighter, less dense feeling than steel.  And on shorter putts Malibu-X feel is almost indistinguishable from solid steel putters.  On longer putts it felt more muted with more click than steel.

 

 

The Bel-Air and Malibu incorporate descending loft technology in a 303 SS face (which is basically a face with four descending degrees of loft from top to bottom).  DLY corrects for shaft lean variance from address to impact so your ball launch is as consistent as a clean center strike.  You get a predictable roll and exceptional distance control no matter where you hit your ball on the face.

 

 

If you're wondering yes LA GOLF purchased SIK Golf and this is the same DLT that was used in their putters.  And as a quick refresher the putter face has 4 degrees of loft at the top and 1 degree at the bottom.  So if you come into the ball with a forward press (which can smother the ball into the turf), DLT has more loft on the top still to roll the ball instead of driving it into the ground.  Conversely if you come into the ball with an upward angle, DLT has less loft at the bottom to prevent a bouncy roll and instead keep it smooth like a square delivery.

 

  

The Bel-Air and Malibu putters each feature LA GOLF's P-Series and P-Series SoHo anti-vibration shafts respectively.  And they have an extremely satisfying feel.  When I've been fit for other putters I've reviewed the P-Series and P-Series SoHo have been right at the top for best performing putter shafts.  It gives me a strong sense of my hands not only controlling the head and movement of the stroke, but also a feeling like my hands are actually connected to the head.

 

Maybe that's the putter stability, maybe it's the shaft, maybe this is just a subjective feel or a combination of all.  But this heightened sense of connection makes controlling the putter as easy and precise as writing with a pencil or simply throwing a ball with my hand.

Both the Bel-Air and Malibu have three different hosel options, face balanced slant, non balanced slant, and plumbers neck to match up with the kind of stroke and amount of rotation you have.  And they also both have the more exotic "X" finish.  To me the X finish is soothing, something like a Damascus steel swirl.  The standard Bel-Air and Malibu putters use a more understated raw carbon finish.

 

Remember you always have three different ways to win the daily gifts in my giveaway this year.  On X/Twitter just repost my giveaway announcement and follow all; on Instagram repost or mention in your story, like, and follow all; and here on my blog leave a comment in the section below in the daily review/giveaway, Jingle Bam, Letters from Santa, Jingle Bam Bigger, Santa Dared Me, and Flash Kringle Gonna Kringle articles.

These gifts are great prizes of course, but also some of the best equipment and gear in their class that I played and reviewed this season.  And I hope these mini reviews and recaps give you an idea of why I rate them so highly.

Merry Christmas all!.