PXG doesn’t get the credit it deserves. Nearly ten years ago, the company appeared out of nowhere and, despite the naysayers, continues to develop products that rival the established options.
Case and point: my GEN6 Challenge experience, where PXG’s GEN6 0311 driver unseated my MGS “Most Wanted” custom-fit driver (which shall remain nameless).
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As someone who has alerts set for whenever new equipment appears on the USGA conforming list, I’ve long known that the criticisms directed at PXG are largely unfounded. Indeed, the brand is backed by many former PING engineers, and pricing has fallen in line—if not undercuts—the mainstream options. So when the GEN6 Challenge came out, I decided to test Bob Parsons’ newest product and find out if he was ready to mail me a $100 gift card when my Driver won the battle. Spoiler: I was wrong.
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The GEN6 lineup consists of two models: the 0311 and 0311 XF. As the model naming alludes to, the 0311—available in 7.5°, 9°, and 10.5° lofts—prioritizes distance, while the 0311 XF—available in 9°, 10.5°, and 12° lofts—prioritizes forgiveness. Both, however, feature a beautiful, stealth-like appearance—a matte black carbon crown mates to the black Ti412 titanium face and polished black sole plate with three adjustable weight ports.
And to make sure you can maximize performance with both 0311 driver heads, PXG offers over 75 different shafts, including offerings from Graphite Design, Fujikura, Mitsubishi, and ProjectX.
Returning to the GEN6 Challenge on Saturday, August 5, I walked into the PXG Westchester location and was quickly greeted by my competitors fitters, Brandon Violette and Richard Roe. They offered me water, asked me to warm up, and took some quick specs (length, flex, weight, etc.) on my gamer driver.
Once I found a rhythm, I declared I was ready. So after confirming I understood the terms of the Challenge, Brandon cleared the Trackman and asked me to hit my 5 “best drives.” And I did my best—the average numbers following five swings with my gamer were 113 MPH club head speed, 161 ball speed, 260 carry, and 273 total. The apparent problem with my gamer, however, was dispersion—5 swings yielded approximately 65 yards of range of deviation.
I think Brandon grinned at this point because, while developing the GEN6, PXG retained Golf Laboratories Inc. to conduct independent testing of the 0311 against the market alternatives. Their testing revealed that both 0311 models generated similar distance and industry-leading dispersion.
Brandon quickly reviewed the numbers with me and pointed out that I needed something that would reduce spin and my overly-closed face so we could turn the driver from a shotgun into a rifle.
The 0311 head in 9° head was our starting point, as my launch angles were in check and sole-placed, precision weighting would allow Brandon to adjust the weighting for a slight fade bias to help dial out my overdraw.
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The first shaft Brandon paired this head with, ironically, turned out to be the winning combination—the 0311 head with a Graphite Design Tour AD TP Shaft. And while aesthetics don’t yield performance gains, the Tour AD TP goes perfectly with the GEN6 driver head—it features a white to graphite/silver color that transitions nicely into the matte black crown. Brandon selected the Tour AD TP because its a very tip-stiff golf shaft, which would help combat the over-draw in my swing by giving some stability and stiffness to straighten the ball out.
Before I reveal how this combination performed, I want to note that Brandon also tried a few more options, including Fujikura’s Ventus Black, Tensei White, and the Graphite Design AD UB. These didn’t work either because of flex, weight, or ball flight, but Brandon wanted to make sure that we found the right option since my gamer has a counterbalanced shaft in it, and these options were not.
So once we confirmed the 0311 / Tour AD TP combination was my PXG candidate, Brandon cleared the Trackman one last time and asked me to hit my 5 “best drives.” And despite being a little tired, the PXG shined—the average numbers following five swings with my gamer were 109 MPH club head speed (so ~4 MPH less), 160 ball speed, 261 carry, and 280 total. And while the PXG won the GEN6 Challenge with the slight increase in distance, it blew my gamer out of the water when we factored in dispersion—approximately 35 yards, equal to an approximate 45% reduction over my gamer.
While the Golf Laboratories testing alluded to this outcome, the true confirmation comes from putting it in the golfer’s hands. And to that point, my GEN6 Challenge experience is becoming a very common story: as of August 21st, PXG currently has a 93% win rate against competitors. So like more than 1,000 other drivers, my gamer will be going up on eBay as soon as my new 0311 GEN6 / Graphite Design Tour AD TP Shaft arrives.
Speaking of which, if you need your GEN6 after taking the challenge, PXG may be the only fitter that, provided the components are readily available, offers an overnight “build and ship” option so you can have your new setup for that weekend’s round.
Cover Image via PXG
