Equipment
Spotted: PXG 0811X Driver
There’s a new PXG driver being tested in Hilton Head at the RBC Heritage this week. Called the 0811X, the driver is said to be 400-500 rpm lower spinning than the company’s original 0811 driver and offer slightly more draw bias, according to a PXG representative. And like the 0811, it measures 460 cubic centimeters.
PXG, an upstart golf equipment company that has generated an unprecedented amount of buzz for a variety of reasons — its billionaire founder Bob Parsons, its exclusiveness, the company’s unique technologies and high-profile PGA Tour staff, for starters — has reduced the amount of weight-adjusting screws used from 16 in the 0811 to 11 in the 0811X.
Related: What makes PXG irons and wedges so different?
Charles Howell III, a PXG Staffer, is said to be testing the 0811X at Hilton Head.
Related: See that clubs Charles Howell III is currently using.
More In-Hand Photos
Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about the 0811X in our forum.
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Equipment
Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron
As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)
What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!
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I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…
To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”
On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.
Here’s what he had to say:
You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?
MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.
And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.
When did it come back in the bag?
MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.
What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?
MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?
Do you remember how much you paid for it?
MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.
The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?
MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.
It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?
MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.
What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?
MT: Like high 170’s.
Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.
MT: Yeah. The butter knife.
Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons?
MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.
How far do you carry that?
MT: Like 235.
A good little wind club, I’m sure.
MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.
I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man.
MT: Absolutely.
To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (3/28/24): L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick putter with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft.
From the seller: (@hibcam): “L.A.B. GOLF Mezz.1 Max Broomstick- LA Golf Paige Spiranac Shaft- 44″/79.5. Brand new, never used brown leather cover. The head was professionally anodized from Orange to Blue (Orange looked bad with the Pink shaft so I had it changed). Only a few rounds on this combo. Please see last pic- slight ding on back corner. 8.5-10 condition. THE SHAFT COST $475/ THE PUTTER $625. $799 shipped in the US. ONLY $699 SHIPPED.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Equipment
Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.
However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was amiss. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.
“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”
Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.
Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.
Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.
One final note: Per Ping’s PGA Tour rep Kenton Oates, Finau’s driver is also adjusted to play with an additional degree of loft to help dial in his desired launch.
We’ll see how he fares with the new setup this week in Houston!
- Check out the rest of our pictures from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
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Sad Smizzle
Apr 12, 2016 at 2:23 pm
Great advertising for clubs that perform like every other. Nothing spectacular about it.
Ask your players to play with range balls if the clubs are that good, Mr Parsons. Because you know they all want to play Pro-Vs and it’s the ball not the club
Sad Smizzle
Apr 12, 2016 at 7:51 pm
Says the guy who knows all about it because he did it first
Sad Smizzle
Apr 13, 2016 at 2:49 am
Oy vey. I hope the moderators remove this idiot and block him from posting forever
Sad Smizzle
Apr 13, 2016 at 10:47 am
I’m going through a tough time right now but I plan on being out of my mom’s basement in six months
Loser Smizzle
Apr 14, 2016 at 3:03 am
Such a loser that he has to pretend to be somebody else because he doesn’t even know who he is when he looks at herself in the mirror
Sad Smizzle
Apr 13, 2016 at 12:35 pm
Yeah that’s why I started this thread and you’re at the back
Nick
Apr 12, 2016 at 12:38 pm
I’m not a big fan of the matte finish on the crowns. These clubs look fantastic up until that point. The price is obviously another thing. There is little to no prestige in this company, and although the history is in the process of being written, I don’t see how the golf community will embrace a manufacturer that charges what PXG does. Interested to see how the train rolls in the coming years.
stephenf
Apr 14, 2016 at 10:08 am
I think the premise is a big roll of the dice that goes something like this: We’re charging insane prices because our stuff is _that_ much better. If these things get out there and good players find out they’re really _not_ that much better — maybe about as good as the best any other premium company puts out — you’ll see the bottom drop out quickly after that.
It could be that if they’re really not noticeably better than anybody else’s best, selective perception will carry them for a while — as in, “Because I paid so much for them, I hear the angels sing every time I hit them.” So much of evaluating a new club is pure subjectivity, and that can be affected so much by the need to perceive value. Many players will remember the great shots, great feels, etc., and the bad ones won’t register (hey, it’s a new club anyway), at least for a while. (The same happens when somebody’s into a new instructional thing, too. You find what you want to find, for a while.)
Or, I guess, maybe they really are that good. I’ve just seen it before, with some big new thing. Everybody loses their minds, there’s a wave of “it’s clearly the best ever,” and then it subsides. But we’ll see.
stephenf
Apr 14, 2016 at 10:10 am
[Sorry — there were paragraph breaks when I wrote it. Don’t know what happened.]
Mark
Apr 12, 2016 at 12:29 pm
Are Ping taking them to court? A g25 with a few bits of welding and drilling.
Ben
Apr 12, 2016 at 1:51 pm
Pxg designers are from ping! They own the patents!
Beefhouse
Apr 13, 2016 at 7:04 am
I’m not an expert on US law, but typically IP rights vest with the company, not the employee. I expect the leavers will also be subject to non-compete/non-solicit restrictions that should prevent them from poaching Ping ideas and staff.
Charlie
Apr 12, 2016 at 12:05 pm
Conflicting images?
1st image shows 0811X with no marker on crown. 4th picture shows marker on crown.
Looks like the 0811x actually has the marker, and is deeper faced. Much like the Taylormade SuperTri and SuperDeep.