CRESWELL—The term “Renaissance man” aptly fits Sam Hahn, a music and entertainment industry pro and CEO of L.A.B. Golf, a company that traded sunbaked Reno, Nev., for the lush greenery of Creswell, Ore.
For 13 years, Hahn was the booking manager at Luckey’s Club in Eugene, one of Oregon’s oldest bars. He also opened Eugene’s Blairally Vintage Arcade in the Whiteaker Neighborhood, a hotspot that weaves live music and retro flair.
Hahn’s open days allowed him to be a self-proclaimed “certified golf nut. ” He came across a putter called the Reno, crafted by Directed Force.
“I had a totally profound experience with it until the head fell off the putter,” Hahn said. “When the head fell off the putter, I sent it back, and the guy who built it and the inventor of the technology is a guy named Bill Presse, and he reached out personally to apologize.”
The two struck up a friendship, which shortly led to a business partnership and subsequent rebranding of Directed Force. According to Hahn, the company adopted the name L.A.B. Golf in early 2018.
L.A.B. refers to Lie Angle Balance, a patented technology that rules out torque and allows golfers to repeat strokes.
“One of the difficulties of putting, historically, is controlling the face of the putter and making sure that it stays square or perpendicular to the line that you’re trying to start the ball on,” Hahn said. “We balance these putters in a very specific and labor-intensive way that makes keeping the putter face square much, much easier. The putter just kind of swings itself. You just let it do its thing, and (the) ball starts going where you’re pointed more often.”
Initially headquartered in Reno, Presse and Hahn opted to relocate L.A.B. Golf to Eugene but quickly outgrew their Whiteaker Neighborhood location on Taylor Street.
Inspiration struck between Hahn and Matt Schuth, then-chief company operator, regarding their next move. As members of Emerald Valley Golf Course, setting up operations at 600 Dale Kuni Road seemed like an optimal next step.
What began as looking for around 8,000 square feet later evolved into L.A.B. Golf, occupying the entire building. Intermixed with the expansion was what Hahn referred to as “lucky breaks,” with L.A.B. Golf putters spotted on the PGA Tour and business gaining momentum.
“I just think the favorite part is the synergy,” said Laine Wortman, Emerald Valley’s general manager and head golf professional. “It feels like we’re the center of the golf universe right now, especially in the Pacific Northwest, where we have public access. Anybody can come here, get an L.A.B. fitting, and then play golf.”
Dave Stram, former mayor, praised L.A.B. Golf for its commitment to boosting the local economy and creating a positive work environment for its over 100 employees.
“Here’s a business that has come to Creswell, and it’s just bursting at the seams. They now have international enthusiasm for what they’re doing and producing good living wage jobs,” Stram said.
From 401K matching and flexible PTO to health benefits and time spent on the Emerald Valley Golf Course, Hahn shared that L.A.B. Golf prides itself on ensuring its employees can confidently say it’s “the best job they ever had.”
As 2025 gains momentum, the company’s top three goals include producing top-notch products, keeping quality at the forefront, and granting golfers the chance to find an even deeper love for the game.
While golf may be individualistic in nature, L.A.B. Golf’s company culture is anything but.
“Just like any team sport, you all work together, everybody lends their skills and plays their roles to accomplish goals, and it just feels good,” Hahn said.
“We’re doing it. We’re making plans, executing them, and achieving success. And then when you have a team this big, it’s just awesome to see everybody feel that success, from the folks that are boxing the putters all the way up to the folks in my hallway with the executives and such. It’s just so much fun to have a collective effort, drive a collective goal, and actually accomplish them,” he said.
