Gear: PXG 0317 ST Blade irons
Price: $199 each in Chrome finish, $219 with Xtreme Dark finish
Specs: Forged 8620 carbon steel, milled face and back, adjustable swing weight. Available in 3-iron through gap wedge in chrome and Xtreme Dark finish.
Who It’s For: Elite golfers with powerful, repeatable swings who demand control and feel in a traditional iron.
The Skinny: Modern manufacturing techniques and classic shaping combine in this better-player’s offering that blends cavity-back long irons with muscleback blade mid- and short irons for a feel-oriented set.
The Deep Dive: PXG has always aspired to make game-improvement irons that look like the equipment you might find in the bag of a PGA Tour or LPGA professional. For example, the 0311 GEN5 P has a relatively thin topline and only moderate offset, but an internal elastomer system softens feel and helps support a super-thin face that produces extra ball speed.
The new 0317 ST irons are, however, the real thing. They are not something a golfer who shoots in the 80s or 90s has any business playing. The ST stands for super tour, and while PXG is blending the construction of the clubs within the set, these really are for single-digit handicappers, college players and professional golfers. Like the old joke, if you have to ask if you are good enough to play them, you probably aren’t.
The 0317 ST irons (0317 is the Marine Corps’ military occupational specialty code for a sniper) are made from soft 8620 carbon steel for an exceptionally soft feel at impact. The steel is forged three times to create the shape designers want, then the hitting area and back of each head are milled using a computer-controlled bit to ensure consistency from club to club. The milling process creates tiny lines you can see on the back of each head. Unlike the 0311 iron family, the 0317 ST is solid and has no elastomer inside the heads.
The 0317 ST is made for the game’s best players, but everyone wants a little help hitting long irons, so the 3- and 4-iron were designed as cavity-backs while the 5-iron through gap wedge are muscleback blades. The perimeter weighting in the 3- and 4-iron create more stability on off-center hits, but to call the clubs forgiving would be a mistake. In both head designs, the toplines are thin, the soles are narrow and there is minimal offset to allow skilled players to shape shots more easily.
The tiny tungsten weight screws that are a symbol of PXG clubs are not present in the 0317 ST, but there is a large screw in the back of each head that club fitters can adjust. Using screws with different weights allows fitters to increase or decrease the swing weight to match a player’s preferences and needs more easily.
The lofts of the 0317 ST irons are as traditional as the clubs’ look at address, with the 5-iron being 26 degrees and the pitching wedge having 47 degrees.
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