Equipment
SPOTTED: PXG 0311T “Gen2” prototype irons
After spotting Charles Howell III testing a PXG XXF prototype driver on Monday at the 2018 CareerBuilder Challenge, we spotted CHIII and Zach Johnson testing PXG 0311T “Gen2” irons on Tuesday. We are told they are prototypes.
The original 0311T irons, which were released in 2015, were the Tour versions of the initial 0311 irons from PXG. The 0311T irons, while injected with the same thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material that made PXG’s 0311 irons special, had smaller profiles, thinner toplines and soles, and less offset. They catered more to the Tour player than the original 0311 iron release, but still had the familiar PXG look with screws around the perimeter.
The PXG 0311T “Gen2” irons we spotted on Tuesday at the CareerBuilder have a slightly different look than the original 0311T irons. See if you can spot the differences below.
PXG 0311T “Gen2” 4-iron vs an original 0311T 4-iron
There’s a more accordion-like look on the back cavity of the 0311T Gen2 iron (left), and it seems the overall center of gravity (CG) may be lower in the club head on the Gen2 irons, as well. At least, it appears the club has a lower overall profile. It also appears the 7-screws near the sole wrap less around the toe portion in the Gen2 iron on the left, and there’s one less screw on the high toe portion of the Gen2 irons; possibly another notch in the lower-CG column.
What do you think of the PXG0311T “Gen2” irons that we spotted on Tuesday? See what GolfWRX members are saying about them in our forums.
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- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird
With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.
On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.
Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?
Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’
So that’s why I went back.
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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?
It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.
Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.
It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.
Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.
Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.
So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?
Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.
Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play?
Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.
There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.
It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.
Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.
And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?
Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’
If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’
My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’
I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”
And you’re going with it this week?
Hundred percent.
Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week.
Thanks, man.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
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Robert
Mar 24, 2018 at 10:17 pm
They changed the body material to a harder cast steel similar to Vokey wedges. Also similar to the P790. The prior generation PXG was a 1025 Forged body. I’ve hit the P790 vs the 0311t. The PXG prior gen is softer feeling. The odd part is the P790 gives you the oh I caught it soft feel on perfect shots, but misses are harsh compared to the PXG. The PXG is always soft. I prefer the PXG prior gen to the P790. You’d think it’d be cheaper in price due to the casting of the body, but I think they are $50 more a club. The new PXG looks better than the P790 less offset etc, but I think overpriced for what it is. Glad I got the 1st gen 1025 carbon.
Brian
Feb 18, 2018 at 5:02 pm
Excited to see the next generation PXG irons. Love their stuff!
Scotr
Feb 3, 2018 at 3:32 pm
Nothing but negatives here from people who are angry simply because they can’t afford them. Yawn
stan
Jan 19, 2018 at 12:13 am
Here is what they say on the PXG website!:
“PXG Irons
PXG irons look saxxy, launch high, go far, feel soft, are unbelievably forgiving, and have a sweet spot the size of Texas. They are made with the finest alloys and are manufactured using a sophisticated process that only we would use.”
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Well that sells clubs to desperate unfulfilled gearheads and rich old hackers.
BTW… in Freudian psychoanalytic symbolism the elastomer-filled heads are equivalent to seamon-filled heads… believe it … and as for ‘skrews’…. 😮
Reality Kid
Jan 18, 2018 at 9:51 pm
Another piece of junk brought to you by a douchebag who knows nothing about golf. When people show up at our course with these clubs and shoot a 98, we call them Douchebag Golfers.
stan
Jan 19, 2018 at 12:15 am
All the OEMs are coming out with hollow seamon-elastomer filled iron heads at astronomic prices with a huge markup over cost so they can pay tour pros to p!mp the brands…. so obvious.
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 6:27 pm
So you got ‘skrews’ to dial in a fade or draw and compensate for your swing faults…. and… you got a hollow club filled with jello to muffle the feel of your off-center hits…. and fake-forged for status of your WITB weapons.
What’s next … a ball-seeking computer chip built into the clubhead?!! 😮
FAKE FORGED!!!
Jan 17, 2018 at 2:18 pm
WRX staff once again covering up for these hollow clubs filled with jello.
The only part that is ‘forged’ is the club face and even then it’s a simple and cheap roll forged plate. The rest of the clubhead is cast steel and casting the word ‘forged’ on the cast hosel is false advertising.
But that doesn’t matter because once the gearheads fall in love with PXG they can zinc die cast the club and the gearheads will still slobber over it.
DAVE
Jan 17, 2018 at 2:57 pm
You should have used ALL CAPS the whole time…
“PXG SUCKS!!! AHHHH!!! THEY SHOULD WRITE “CAST” ON THE HOSEL AND ‘FORGED” ONLY ON THE FACE!! I’M SO MAD!!! MOM…THE MEATLOAF!!!”
Robert Parsons
Jan 18, 2018 at 12:16 pm
That’s backwards according to their website.
The body is forged.
The face is FORMED and welded to the body.
So either way, I don’t consider it a forged iron. It’s two pieces. The welding process negates the feeling a forged iron would give.
Cut a Miura forged iron in half and weld it together. Would you still consider it a forged iron?
stan
Jan 18, 2018 at 6:21 pm
This what they say on their website:
“Exceptional Feel at Impact
The body is forged from S25C soft carbon steel. Forged materials, having a tight grain structure, resonate differently than cast materials which adds to an outstanding impact experience.”
What you are saying is that the weld bead interferes with the tight grain structure of the body and this affects the ‘feel’ of the impact.
What I say is a hollow body club filled with jello elastomer also negates the ‘feel’ of the club because it dulls the impact feel and negates the feel of where you hit the ball on the face. It deceives you!
The ‘feel’ of impact on the face resonates through the hosel to the shaft, and the metal back of the body is irrelevant to impact ‘feel’ because it’s mostly separated from the face.
It's Forged Homie
Jan 17, 2018 at 3:20 pm
Have you actually gone to their site and read about their irons? They show right on their site the blank forgings they use, then the incremental steps to end at their product.
Stupidity
Jan 17, 2018 at 6:58 pm
He won’t go to the site. It’s way too much fun to angry type nonsense about a product he pre-judged based on price and target market. I play PXG over my old Miura set because the Trackman numbers were better. Pretty simple.
Robert Parsons
Jan 18, 2018 at 12:09 pm
I read it on their site.
Says the body is forged.
The face is “FORMED” from HT1770 high-strength steel and plasma welded to the body.
So the face is NOT FORGED. Hmmm…
https://www.pxg.com/en-us/clubs/irons
Read it for yourself. Bottom of the page, scroll to the left. Body, goo, face.
Nobody hides the facts like we do. Period.
stan
Jan 19, 2018 at 12:17 am
Your forum moniker says it all… you need super-forgiveness clubs for your off-center hits… and you need a psychological boost playing seamon-elastomer filled irons …. so obvious
Jerry
Jan 17, 2018 at 11:50 am
I think that are too rich for my blood now. lol. More power to those who get them. Looks more elegant with the weight pad and not cut off at the heel.