Compare and contrast
Sixteen years ago, on a sweltering August afternoon at Baltimore Ravens training camp, I had a conversation with my cousin, former NFL running back Willis McGahee. At that time, McGahee was just a few seasons removed from his best season as a pro, his first Pro Bowl berth, and was recognized as one of the league’s best-known running backs.
As a starstruck 12-year-old meeting his cousin for the first time, I remember asking him his thoughts on football and his response has always stuck with me.
“It’s a job, but I want to be the best,” he said.
That response is forever emblazoned upon my mind.
I’m now 28 years old—the same age Willis was during that conversation—and find myself in a strangely familiar position. Life’s funny that way. Only this time, I was speaking with another elite athlete: 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott. For years, many of us have been interested in understanding Scott’s philosophy on how he tests equipment and what goes into play.
Similar to McGahee, Scott approaches his craft with the mindset of someone doing a job at the highest level in the effort to remain relevant. However, as the saying goes, “Father Time remains undefeated,” and when looking at the careers of McGahee and Scott, the distinction between professional sports becomes abjectly clear. Professional football is brutal and cruel. Golf, despite its difficulty, is a bit more forgiving.
To put things into perspective, the average career of an NFL running back is three years. McGahee’s career, on the other hand, lasted a productive decade—more than three times the duration of many of his peers—a testament to his talent, production, and durability. Although I didn’t know it at the time, during that August conversation, my cousin’s career was effectively on the wane. A running back in his late 20s is geriatric in the NFL and a running back over 30 is antediluvian. Just three years later, after an injury-riddled season with the Cleveland Browns in 2013, McGahee would be forced to retire at the age of 32, despite his intense desire to “play four more years.” That same year, Adam Scott reached the precipice of the golfing world, winning his first major championship and becoming world No. 1.
Scott is just one year older than McGahee but this June at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock, he will be playing in his 100th straight major—the second-longest streak of all time, behind only Jack Nicklaus. Scott’s longevity is nothing short of remarkable and will go down as one of his career’s crowning achievements. It seems strange to already be talking about Scott’s legacy because it doesn’t feel that far removed from his time as the top-ranked player in the world. It’s been 12 years since Scott sat perched atop the golfing world but with two top 10s and seven top 25s this year, at 45 years old, Adam Scott is as relevant as he’s ever been.
Apropos of his status as a WITB icon, I sat down with Scott to talk about equipment and longevity. Scott was open with how he tests equipment and why, and throughout our conversation, one thing became obvious: Scott isn’t looking at his career in retrospect, he’s very much looking ahead.
“I was with Titleist for 22 years, full staff, through the bag. All great products, but very limited in what I was able to look at, really. And so when I wasn’t (with Titleist anymore), I was interested in seeing what’s out there. But probably the biggest factor in me looking at stuff is I realize I can’t play the stuff that I had 10 years ago and think, ‘I’m going to be really relevant out there.’”
"The biggest factor in me looking at stuff is I realize I can’t play the stuff that I had 10 years ago and think, ‘I’m going to be really relevant out there.'”
Leaving Titleist gave Scott the freedom to develop a mixed bag that fit his golfing identity and suited his game in a changing landscape. MyGolfSpy founder Adam Beach puts it best: “If you want to shoot your lowest scores, open your bag to all brands. The chances of one golf company producing your best results from driver to putter are close to zero.”
That’s exactly what Scott did. However, it’s taken a lot of patience, time, and tinkering.
“People would be shocked if they knew how many sets of irons I have at home that don’t make it in the bag,” said Scott.
During our conversation, we were joined by Sam Hahn, founder and CEO of L.A.B. Golf, who interjected, “I don’t think anybody would be shocked.” Hahn is absolutely right. During practice and even tournament rounds over the years, Scott’s experimented with mini drivers, 9-woods, and irons from Miura, PING, Srixon, Titleist, and Callaway.
“Some of it is fair, objective testing, and some of it is completely feel-based and instinct. There’s a bit of everything going on. But I really have tried to settle and find a spot probably since last summer. I haven’t moved too much stuff around.”
In the L.A.B.
It’s impossible to tell the Adam Scott story without L.A.B. Golf. Scott was instrumental in helping develop the OZ.1 and, perhaps more importantly, the Mezz.1 Max. Since 2019, the one constant of Scott’s equipment setup has been a L.A.B. putter, specifically the Mezz.1 Max Sweeper. Yet, even among constants, there is always some form of variability.
Victor Hugo said: “Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots.”
While many associate Scott with the sweeper putter, when Scott first started using a L.A.B. in 2019, he used a traditional length DF 2.1, which, in early discussions with Hahn, Scott said “would win the Masters.” Tied for the lead through two rounds at Augusta, Scott’s statement looked prophetic. However, a disappointing weekend saw him finish T-18. Although he didn’t win the Masters, the seed was planted. Soon enough, he and Hahn were in the lab (no pun intended).
After the Masters, Scott wanted to go back to a long putter. The problem was that L.A.B. didn’t have a sweeper option ready for him. So, L.A.B. began production of the now-famed Mezz.1 Max Sweeper. Like every product, the early prototypes were just that, and they needed a bit of refining before they found a home in Scott’s bag. In the meantime, as professional golfers often do, Scott found a solution, albeit an unorthodox one. “I was playing in Dubai and started putting with a DF2 that Sam had built for my dad. He was using it as a broomstick and I was using it as an armlock.”
With nearly seven years of history between them now, Hahn remembers those early days with a humorous amount of chagrin.
“At the time, the only way we were making sweepers was by putting a layer of lead tape about that thick on the bottom of a 2.1, which we embarrassingly showed up one time to Napa with, and he’s like, ‘Yeah, no.’ And so it was a minute before we had the Mezz that we could even try as a sweeper. We’d sent those, hadn’t heard from Adam in about a year, and then we get a call and he was really stoked on the Mezz. He says, ‘But I’m actually using this sweeper that you sent to my dad as an armlock.’ I say, ‘Hmm, OK, sounds interesting.’ And we turn on the TV, they get a close-up, and I can see with my own eyes negative six degrees of loft in this thing. I’m thinking, ‘Oh, my God.’ But he filled it up for about a week and a half.”
“At the time, the only way we were making sweepers was by putting a layer of lead tape about that thick on the bottom of a 2.1, which we embarrassingly showed up one time to Napa with, and he’s like, ‘Yeah, no.'"
Shortly after, Scott and Hahn began working closer and closer together to refine what would ultimately become the Mezz.1 Max Sweeper. This was complicated by the fact that the Mezz was never intended to be a sweeper. In order to turn the Mezz into a sweeper, L.A.B. needed more room in the head to put more weight in and during that process, something unexpected happened. According to Hahn, Scott suggested that they put the Mezz Max head on a short putter to see what would happen. Today, the Mezz Max outsells the Mezz.1 by about 8 to 1.
As they worked to refine the Mezz.1 Max Sweeper, Scott decided to put it in play during the weekend rounds of the 2019 Omega Dubai Desert Classic, where he finished T-9. “I said to myself, ‘This thing is just amazing.’ Instantly, the alignment and precision I felt with the aim of the Mezz was fantastic. I worked with that for a long time, and then Sam showed up somewhere else with one for me to test. We went out and played, and it was the blue head, which I used for about two and a half years. I just putted so great with that putter.”
The shaft Hahn wanted Scott to test was the very first TPT prototype long shaft. The blue head was also meant to be just that: a prototype for Scott to test and provide feedback on. He hadn’t asked for a blue putter, but he liked the feel and performance enough that it went straight in the bag. Thus, Scott’s famed blue Mezz.1 Max Sweeper was born.
Remaining relevant
Just because Scott has found success with the long putter doesn’t mean he’s immune to tinkering. When a photo surfaced of Scott with a DF3i in his bag during Wednesday’s practice round at this year’s Farmers Insurance Open, the internet went ablaze with speculation that Scott had finally ditched the long putter.
According to Hahn, the reality is more nuanced than an equipment change. “I saw the posts, and I’m like—it’s not really his new putter. The actual gamer putter doesn’t move a lot. But we send him stuff so we can get feedback … he literally gives us vocabulary that we use to describe the experience that people are going to be paying for, sight unseen in many cases.”
Scott confirmed as much. “I’m really fortunate—I get to do a lot of early testing with Sam and the team at L.A.B. That’s really how our relationship started years ago. They sent me early prototypes and I was giving feedback before it was even out in the marketplace.”
That said, Scott’s willingness to experiment doesn’t stop at practice rounds. While the Mezz.1 Max Sweeper remains his foundation, he’s not been afraid to let tournament rounds double as a testing ground—a fact on full display at last year’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
At Wentworth, Scott used three different L.A.B. putters across the four tournament rounds— the OZ.1 HS in round one, the Mezz.1 Max Sweeper in rounds two and three, and finally, a traditional-length DF3. The explanation is equal parts tactical and instinctive.
“Yeah, look: I was really excited with the OZ project, and then the heel shaft was huge, because all of a sudden it moved a lot of things around at LAB and people who don’t like the center shaft had an option,” said Scott. “It was off the back of a disappointing end to the season in the States, and I had some golf left to play. I was just really looking for something fresh.”
He took the OZ.1i HS out in round one but when a windy forecast loomed for round two on slow greens, Scott made a calculated decision to lean on the familiarity of the sweeper. “I thought I could be missing a few more greens in the afternoon—if I’m chipping and putting, I’m going to have to lean on the long putter, just because that’s my comfort zone.” After using the sweeper in rounds two and three, he switched to the DF3 on Sunday and, by his own admission, putted well, save for a short miss on the last.
The episode is illustrative of a broader tension Scott has begun to sit with more openly: whether the sweeper is truly his ceiling or just his comfort zone. “Sam and I both believe, actually, that my ceiling might be higher with the short putter, but my floor can be lower. So if my game is in really, really great shape, which it’s looking pretty solid tee to green at the moment, and the putts don’t fall, then there’s a chance the short one can come out.”
"Sam and I both believe, actually, that my ceiling might be higher with the short putter, but my floor can be lower."
If the putter conversation reveals Scott’s willingness to question his own tendencies, his current irons tell a similar story and the way they ended up in his bag might be the best equipment story in professional golf.
Scott was at the Memorial Tournament last year when he spotted a set of Callaway Apex MB Proto irons in front of Thomas Detry’s locker. He picked them up out of curiosity, liked what he saw, and on Friday afternoon ran into Detry heading to the range.
“He said, ‘They made them, but they’re not quite the right specs.’ And I said, ‘That’s too bad, they look really good. Do you mind if I go hit some with them?'” Scott recalled, laughing. “Keep in mind his (Detry’s) specs are not even close to mine. So I took the 9, 7, and 5 out to the range Friday afternoon, and I was pureing them. I still don’t know what spec they were. And then he came out and said, ‘Do you mind if I hit them, actually?’ I’m like, well, they’re yours. So he hits them, and he played them the next day. I think he just played them so I wouldn’t take them!”
He came out and said, 'Do you mind if I hit them, actually?' I'm like, well– they're yours. So he hits them, and he played them the next day. I think he just played them so I wouldn't take them!"
Scott ordered a set and they’ve been in the bag ever since. After spending most of last year with the custom Miura AS irons, the switch ultimately came down to conditions. The Miuras minimal sole bounce became a liability on wet summer courses and the Callaways, which are almost an oversized blade, have more bounce and are more confidence-inspiring than traditional blades. By his own admission, Scott is aware that adjusting to the times has its advantages.
“Guys are out there playing stuff very forgiving compared to a traditional blade. You have to be willing to adjust to that and give up a little bit of that perfect feel with a 4-iron strike. You’ve got to get it done however you’ve got to get it done. I’m really aware of the fact that I can’t play the game like I did 10 or 15 years ago because everything’s moving faster now, and not me.”
"I'm really aware of the fact that I can't play the game like I did 10 or 15 years ago because everything’s moving faster now, and not me."
Through the 2026 season, Scott is averaging 184.88 mph ball speed—12th on the PGA Tour.
For 45 years old, I’d say he’s moving plenty fast.
Top Photo Caption: Adam Scott hits an approach shot during the Genesis Invitational. (GETTY IMAGES/Mike Mulholland)
The post Remaining Mr. Relevant: Inside Adam Scott’s Relentless Pursuit Of The Right Equipment appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
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