PXG Irons – Syndication Server

The PXG Desert Golf Club is made for rocks, cacti, gritty sand and more

Is the PXG Desert Golf Club something every golfer needs?

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Gear: PXG Desert Golf Club
Price: $99.99
Specs: 36.5-inch shaft, 44° loft, mid-bounce sole, made from raw hardened 17-4 stainless steel

Who It’s For: Golfers who frequent desert terrain or who often find themselves in a bit of a rugged predicament after a wayward drive.

What You Need to Know: PXG has crafted the Desert Golf Club specifically for shots where your golf ball might be a little too cozy with cacti, rocks or desert brush and you don’t want to damage or gash your clubs.

The Deep Dive: One of the great things about desert golf is after hitting a wayward shot that slices right of the fairway or goes over the green and into a nature area, finding your ball can be surprisingly easy. The bad news is you may not like what you see once you have found that ball. Rocks, rooks, cacti, sand, pebbles — it’s all out there, waiting to damage your shiny new irons and wedges.

PXG’s new Desert Golf Club doesn’t shy away from off-road adventures, it was designed for them. When wise judgment says, “Declare the ball unplayable and take a drop,” the Desert Club sits in your bag, gleaming, covered in saguaro cactus stamps, whispering, “Go ahead, I’ve got this.”

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PXG Desert Club — The Desert Club has 44 degrees of loft, like a pitching wedge. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The Desert Club is made using 17-4 stainless steel, a harder material than the 8620 carbon steel and 431 stainless steel PXG uses in the body of its irons and wedges, so it should be more durable. It comes standard with the length of an 8-iron (36.5 inches) and the loft of a pitching wedge (44 degrees). A combination like that should allow players to make a fast swing, get the ball over trouble and back into play.

Is the PXG Desert Golf Club something every golfer needs? No, it’s not. It is, however, a clever alternative to the old, beat-up iron that many golfers in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas and the desert regions of California commonly carry for handling off-the-fairway trouble shots.

PXG 0311 GEN7 irons

The PXG 0311 GEN7 irons feature a new material inside the hollow portion of the head that returns energy more efficiently.

Gear: PXG 0311 GEN7 irons
Price: $229.99 per club with chrome finish, $239.99 with Xtreme Dark finish
Specs: Hollow-body design including forged and milled 8620 carbon steel body, HT1770 maraging steel face, internal tungsten weight, internal polymer and adjustable titanium back weight.

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Who it’s For: Five- to 18-handicap golfers who want more ball speed and more forgiveness on mis-hits from a club that looks like a better-player’s iron.

The Skinny: The PXG 0311 GEN7 irons feature a new material inside the hollow portion of the head that returns energy more efficiently, while exotic materials like a tungsten weight and titanium back weight enhance performance and allow fitters to customize the clubs more easily.

The Deep Dive: The tungsten screws that ringed the perimeter of early PXG irons are gone, but many of the core concepts and technologies that the Scottsdale, Arizona-based equipment maker included in its early offerings have been refined, improved and updated through the years. Now, with the release of the seventh generation of the 0311 irons, PXG is showing it can use exotic materials and unique manufacturing techniques to produce clubs that continue to look like a better-player’s blade while delivering game-improvement levels of forgiveness and distance.

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The PXG 0311 GEN7 P and 0311 GEN7 XP irons both start as glowing red billets of 8620 carbon steel before they are forged five times. After each forging is completed, the still-hot metal is moved into a different tool and then forged again so the intricate shapes and contours, like the deep internal cavity, can be produced. Then, the back of each head is milled using a computer-controlled bit that passes back and forth over the clubheads, shaving off tiny ribbons of material and making the walls thinner than forging can refine.

An HT1770 maraging steel face is then attached to the chassis. The steel is exceptionally strong, allowing PXG to make it just 0.05 inches thick. According to PXG, it is the thinnest hitting area in golf, so it can flex more efficiently at the moment of impact.

The most significant difference between the 0311 GEN7 irons and their predecessors is the internal material PXG has injected inside the heads. The company has used different polymers and combinations of polymers in the past, but its new QuantumCOR polymer is the fastest yet. It supports the face and helps with durability but also returns more energy created at impact back to the ball, so golfers can generate more ball speed and distance.

To increase stability and forgiveness, PXG designers added a 20-gram internal tungsten weight in the toe of the 0311 GEN7 irons. The tungsten offsets the weight of the hosel and shifts the ideal hitting area into the middle of the face.

BUY: PXG 0311 GEN7 irons

There is also a large titanium weight screw in the back of each head. Titanium weighs less than the 8620 carbon steel used in the rest of the head, so when combined with the internal tungsten weight, more of the GEN7 iron’s overall weight shifts to the perimeter, resulting in a higher moment of inertia (MOI) and less twisting on off-center hits.

During the fitting process, fitters can swap out and change the back weight to allow golfers to try different swing weights and overall weights to see which best matches their swing and needs.

PXG claims the GEN7 irons produce nearly the same launch angle as the GEN6 irons but with more ball speed and less spin, resulting in more distance and tighter dispersion.

The 0311 GEN7 P irons are designed for low to mid-handicap golfers who want more distance and stability, while the XP is for mid- to higher-handicap golfers who need maximum forgiveness and distance. The P has a smaller blade length, less offset and a thinner topline.

Cosmetically, the clubs look very similar, but the lofts of the XP irons are significantly stronger than the lofts of the P irons. Still, golfers can mix and match them to create a blended set by working with a custom fitter.

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Below are several close-up images of the new PXG 0311 GEN7 irons:

Best new golf irons you can buy in 2024

Check out Golfweek’s list of the best irons available to purchase in 2024.

As Golfweek explained in our 2024 Driver wrap-up, the undeniable trend in the world of drivers is toward higher-stability offerings that not only perform well when you hit the ball in the middle of the face, but also help you hit straighter shots and help you maintain distance when you mis-hit toward the heel or the toe.

When it comes to irons, the trend continues to be the broadening array of offers to meet the needs of different types of players. Not that long ago, equipment makers sold blades to the best players, cavity-backs to golfers who needed some forgiveness and oversized clubs to high-handicappers and beginners. Those clubs still exist, but they are complemented by better-player distance irons, sets that blend hybrids and irons for forgiveness, and sets that blend hollow-bodied long irons with precision-minded scoring clubs.

Take Ping as an example. The Phoenix-based brand now has the Blueprint T and Blueprint S for elite players, the tour-proven i230 for good players who want more forgiveness, the i525 for golfers who want a better-player’s distance iron, the game-improvement G430 and it still offers the G710 as a max game-improvement club. Brands like Callaway, Cobra, Mizuno, TaylorMade and Titleist have similarly deep stables.

Early this suumer, new irons like the Bettinardi MB24 and CB24, the Cobra Limit3d and the Wilson Staff Model RB Utility iron have dropped.

So much variety is great golfers, but it has never been more important to seek out a good custom fitter, try several different shafts and heads and see what the data reveals.

Below are many of the irons that you will see in pro shops and specialty stores. Use this list as a starting point to discover clubs that might be ideal for you game.

Best golf irons in 2024

PXG 0317 T: Everything you need to know about PXG’s newest better-player distance irons

PXG 0317 T irons deliver better feel, more control and improved forgiveness.

Gear: PXG 0317 T irons
Price: $169.99 each
Specs: Hollow-bodied construction with forged, 8620 carbon steel body and HT1770 stainless steel face, internal tungsten weight and vibration-absorbing polymer. Available in Chrome and Xtreme Dark finish.

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Who It’s For: Accomplished players who love the look and feel of muscleback blades but now want more forgiveness.

The Skinny: This is the first hollow-body PXG iron designed for elite ball strikers, with an internal polymer that helps to improve the spin consistency.

The Deep Dive: PXG has used United States Marine Corp Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) numbers to name its clubs in the past, and that tradition continues with its newest offering for high-level ball strikers, the 0317 T. That number, 0317, designates scout snipers, which should tell you precisely what PXG is trying to do with this iron.

The 0317 T irons are triple forged using 8620 carbon steel, for a softer feel at impact, but after the forging process is complete, the hitting area of each head is then milled to ensure it is perfectly flat before the grooves are milled into the face. The back of each head is also milled, leaving behind a series of small, thin lines created as the high-speed, computer-controlled bit passes back and forth and shaves off tiny pieces of metal until the desired shape is achieved.

PXG 0317 T irons — The PXG 0317 T has a thin topline, minimal offset and a thin sole. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The 0317 T has a thin topline, narrow sole and only a touch of offset, like the previously-released 0317 ST blades and the 0317 CB irons. However, the 0317 T irons are different from those solid-metal clubs because the 0317 T is hollow.

Historically, PXG has designed its game-improvement and max game-improvement 0311 irons with hollow heads filled with a vibration-dampening polymer supporting an extremely thin face. In the most recent offering, the 0311 GEN6 irons, the X COR polymer also helps to protect ball speed on mishits and expand the sweet spot. The 0317 T irons are filled with a different material, S COR, a polymer that is less elastic, so not as fast as X COR, but helps produce a lower launch angle and higher spin rates, which should give accomplished golfers more control and enhanced shot-making abilities.

In many better-player irons, the ideal hitting area is slightly to the toe-side of the middle of the face, so to pull the sweet spot into the center and offset the weight of the hosel, PXG designers added an internal 15-gram tungsten weight in the toe area.

PXG designers also gave the 0317 T a large back weight in the center of the head that can be swapped during the fitting process so players and fitters can quickly test different swing weights while golfers are testing clubs.

The PXG 0317 T irons are fairly traditional lofts, with the 5 iron at 25 degrees, 9 iron at 41 degrees and pitching wedge at 46 degrees, but they are being touted as PXG’s most-forgiving, better-player irons. The company claims they have a moment of inertia (MOI) that is 14 percent higher than the 0317 ST and 11 percent higher than the 0317 CB. They also have a slightly longer blade length and thicker topline, but the offset is about the same. However, these clubs are noticeably slimmer than 0311 P GEN6 irons, which had been PXG’s previous better-player’s distance iron.

Below are several close-up looks at the new PXG 0317 T irons:

PXG 0317 CB irons

PXG’s new cavity-back delivers excellent feel and control with a touch of forgiveness.

Gear: PXG 0317 CB irons
Price: $169.99 each
Specs: Forged 8620 carbon steel with milled back and adjustable swing weight. Available in chrome and dark finishes

Who It’s For: Accomplished golfers who want to shape shots but need more forgiveness than a muscleback blade offers.

The Skinny: Forged for a soft feel and featuring classic looks, PXG’s newest better-player offering is a cavity-back designed to deliver excellent feel and control with a touch of forgiveness.

The Deep Dive: In March, PXG released the 0311 GEN6 P and XP irons, which can be classified as a better-player’s distance iron and a game-improvement club, but last September, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based company released the 0317 ST, a blended-iron set that combined cavity-back 3- and 4-irons with muscleback blades in the 5-iron through pitching wedge. The idea was that the game’s best players want the ultimate in precision and feel with their mid- and short-irons, but they will gladly accept a little forgiveness on long-iron shots.

PXG 0317 CB Irons — The 0317 CB has a thin topline, narrow sole and very little offset. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Now PXG is breaking that set apart and releasing the new 0317 CB as a stand-alone set of cavity-back irons for low-handicap golfers and players with a powerful, repeatable swing who are looking for control and feel around the course.

Like the previously released clubs, the 0317 CBs are triple forged using 8620 carbon steel, and the back of each head is milled to precisely create the shapes the designers intended. PXG engineers have also added a weight in the back of each head that can be changed during the fitting process to allow golfers to try different swing weights. It is a unique way for golfers to feel the difference between heavier and lighter versions of the same iron and discover which performs better. Once PXG installs the weight during the clubs’ assembly, it is not designed to be removed or swapped.

While the 0311 GEN6 irons are hollow and then filled with a polymer to soften the feel and enhance the sound, the 0317 CB irons are solid metal. They have a shorter blade length, thinner topline and narrower sole than the 0311 GEN6 P irons.

The 0317 CB irons can be purchased as a set or bought individually, making it easier for control-oriented golfers to work with fitters and create a personalized blended set of 0317 CB and 0317 ST muscleback blades.

The 0317 CB irons are available in chrome and Xtreme Dark finish.

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PXG 0311 P GEN6, 0311 XP GEN6 irons

PXG made the faces of the GEN6 irons thinner to increase ball speed and provide more distance.

Gear: PXG 0311 P GEN6, 0311 XP GEN6 irons
Price: $219 each
Specs: Hollow-body construction with a forged 8620 carbon steel body and a milled back area, forged HT1770 stainless steel face, tungsten weights and internal polymer.

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Who They’re For: The updated 0311 P and XP are for golfers who want a soft feel at impact with more ball speed and stability in a club that looks like a better-player’s iron.

The Skinny: PXG made the faces of the GEN6 irons thinner to increase ball speed and provide more distance. The 0311 P is a better-player’s distance iron, while the 0311 XP is a true game-improvement offering.

The Deep Dive: PXG has made irons that play bigger than they look for a decade. The brand’s designers aspire to create clubs that look like they belong in a single-digit-handicap golfer’s bag but deliver more power and forgiveness than a muscleback blade.

The 0311 P GEN6 and 0311 XP GEN6 irons continue that tradition by utilizing multi-material construction and a unique perimeter weight system.

Both clubs use a five-strike forging process that transforms a rod of 8620 carbon steel into the chassis. To ensure the engineers’ designs are replicated precisely every time, the back of each head is milled using a fast-spinning, computer-controlled bit that passes back and forth over the club and shaves off tiny pieces of metal.

PXG 0311 GEN6 irons have a thin HT1770 stainless steel face. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The HT1770 stainless steel faces in the 0311 P GEN6 and 0311 XP GEN6 irons are 15 percent thinner and 5 grams lighter than the faces in the GEN5 irons. On the inner-facing side of the face, PXG added a horseshoe-shaped area that PXG refers to as a Power Channel, allowing the face to bend more efficiently around the perimeter.

PXG said that by working as a system, the lighter, more-flexible faces of GEN6 irons helps generate more ball speed and distance, especially on shots hit outside the center of the hitting area.

Inside each head, PXG adds a proprietary polymer it calls XCOR2. It fills the entire inner chamber of each head, absorbing excessive vibrations to enhance sound and feel. The material also supports the face, which PXG said would bend or break after only a few hits without the added reinforcement. While the XCOR2 supports the face, it does not inhibit the hitting area from flexing, so ball speed is not sacrificed.

To add stability, PXG added two tungsten weights screws to both the heel and toe areas of the 0311 GEN6 irons. In addition to adding perimeter weighting, the tungsten screws lower the center of gravity to encourage higher-flying shots that come down more steeply, enhancing distance control and stopping power on the greens.

There is also a larger screw in the middle of the back of the clubs that fitters can adjust to change the swing weight of each iron.

The 0311 P GEN6 irons are a better-player’s distance iron, and they have a shorter blade length with slightly less offset and can help golfers produce a draw or a fade more easily than the 0311 XP GEN6 irons.

The 0311 XP GEN6, in addition to being larger, is more stable and forgiving, and it should produce a higher ball flight than the 0311 P GEN6 irons.

Both clubs are available in a chrome finish accented in black or a Black Label Elite version with Xtreme Dark finish and black Steel Fiber Private Reserve shafts.

PXG 0317 ST Blade irons

Blending cavity-backs with musclebacks, these blades offer feel and control for elite golfers.

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 PXG 0317 ST irons have a thin topline, narrow sole and minimal offset. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

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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PXG 0311 X GEN4 driving iron

In the market for a new driving iron?

Gear: PXG 0311 X GEN4 driving iron
Price: $275 (chrome) and $375 (Xtreme Dark)
Specs: Forged 8620 carbon steel body with HT1770 stainless steel face and polymer-filled inner chamber. 18 degrees of loft

On blustery days or when they are playing firm and fast course, many good players reach for driving irons off the tee because they offer accomplished players more control and produce a lower ball flight. PXG has offered driving irons in the past but has just released a new one to go along with the 0311 X GEN4 family of irons.

The 0311 X GEN4 driving iron looks like other GEN4 irons in the address position. It is slightly longer from heel to toe but has a relatively thin topline and little offset.

PXG 0311 X GEN4 driving iron — The 0311 X GEN4 driving iron has a thin topline and milled back. (PXG)

The chassis is forged using 8620 carbon steel. In fact, it is forged times, and then the back of the head is CNC milled using a high-speed bit controlled by a computer. The bit passes back and forth over the club’s back, shaving off tiny pieces of metal until the precise shape designers want is created. The advantage of CNC milling is that the process, while time-consuming, is exacting and repeatable, so every head is manufactured to the tightest possible tolerances.

The hitting area is made from HT1770 stainless steel, an exceptionally strong material. The strength of the steel allowed designers to make the face only 0.058-inches thick, so it flexes more easily at impact for increased ball speed and distance, yet it is durable.

The inner chamber of the 0311 X GEN4 driving iron has been filled with a polymer that PXG calls XCOR. It is very soft and soaks up excessive vibrations to improve sound and feel, but it does not impede or restrict the face from flexing, so distance is not sacrificed.

To help fitters obtain the ideal swing weight, PXG has designed the 0311 X GEN4 driving iron with a large weight in the center of the back of the head. The weight can be swapped to increase or decrease the head’s overall weight, so based on the club’s length or a player’s preferences, different swing weights can be obtained using the same head.

The PXG 0311 X GEN4 driving iron is available in both chrome and an Xtreme Dark finish.

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Video: PXG 0311 GEN4 T, 0311 GEN4 P, 0311 GEN4 XP irons

Parsons Xtreme Golf updated its flagship iron family for more distance, better feel and enhanced customization, with three model options.

Gear: PXG 0311 GEN4 T, 0311 GEN4 P, 0311 GEN4 XP irons
Price: $349 each
Specs: Forged 8620 carbon-steel, hollow chassis with HT1770 stainless steel face and injected thermoplastic
Available: March 9 (pre-order)

Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG) debuted in 2014 with a set of irons, the original 0311 model, that featured unique weight screws surrounding the heads and a hollow-bodied design. They were intended to look like a muscleback blade in the address position but play like a distance-enhancing, game-improvement club. The secret sauce was the addition of a soft thermoplastic elastomer inside each head that supported an ultra-thin face without inhibiting it from flexing. The material also softened feel and enhanced sound.

Over the past seven years, those irons have been refined and now the company has released the fourth generation of the 0311 irons, with the T model designed for accomplished golfers, the P being ideally suited for mid-handicap players who want more distance and feel, and the XP meant for players who want the maximum in forgiveness and power.

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This exclusive video with Brad Schweigert, PXG’s chief product officer, explains all the details about the new GEN4 0311 iron family.

PXG 0211 Irons

Golfweek’s David Dusek reviews the all new PXG 0211 irons.