Sixth Sense

PXG’s new 0311 Gen 6 is full of all the good stuff we associate with the company’s irons.

by Tony Dear

All iron-makers, and iron-making departments, have their own R&D, their own look, their own technology, their own perspective, their own target markets, and their own theories. They do what they think best for their company, making the clubs they believe will satisfy existing customers and maybe attract new ones.

Very occasionally, however – and we can’t over-emphasize how seldom this happens, one wonders why manufacturers don’t do things just a little bit more like PXG. That certainly isn’t to suggest other companies should copy what PXG does, just that taking a leaf or two out of its book might not be the worst idea.

Ever since Bob Parson’s company introduced its first 0311 iron (Gen 1 ) eight years ago it has made the thinnest irons faces in the game. That wouldn’t count for a lot if those faces were so brittle and vulnerable they dented or were obliterated altogether after just a few strikes, but the TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer) that PXG used to fill the hollow-body of the 0311 Gen 1 iron, the COR2 inside the Gen 2 and Gen 3, the XCOR in the Gen 4, and XCOR2 inside 2022’s Gen 5 and the Gen 6 announced two weeks ago (remember PXG and TaylorMade reached a settlement in 2019, two years after PXG had accused TaylorMade of infringing patents with its Speedfoam-filled P790 iron) have cushioned the blow of impact, creating a wonderfully-soft feel. And because, the polymer filler is so light, it enables PXG to push some weight to the outside of the club in the form of tungsten heel and toe weights which increase the club’s perimeter-weighting and thus its Moment of Inertia (MoI). That makes it more forgiving.

The face of the 0311 Gen 6 is made of extremely strong HT1770 Maraging Steel and just 1.27mm thick – 15% thinner than 0311 Gen 5 faces. Together with the XCOR2 that, says PXG, helps them deflect more effectively than any iron the company has ever made, meaning faster ballspeeds.

Likewise helping the face deflect more dynamically and bend more in the top section of the face is the Power Channel, a U-shaped corridor cut into the inside of the face.

While the face is made of HT1770 Steel, the body of the 0311 Gen 6 is forged not once, not twice but five times, from soft 8620 carbon-steel to tighten the grain structure which prolongs the life of the grooves and adds to the overall feel of the club.

The back of the iron, meanwhile, is milled to reduce the thickness of its walls, give it a sophisticated look and improve manufacturing tolerances (the 0311 Gen 6 you buy will be as close to identical as is realistically possible to the 0311 Gen 6 you buddy buys).

There’s also a large weight in the back of the club which helps fitters create the idea swingweight for your swing.

That’s a fair amount of tech, and it’s present in both the 0311 Gen 6 P and XP models – the P a Players-Distance iron, the XP a game-improver’s club whose heads are slightly larger and which are a little more offset.

Price – $220 per club (P – 4-G; XP – 4-G + Sand wedge and lob wedge)
Lofts – P: 4 – 20.5˚, 7 – 30˚, PW – 44˚; XP – 4 – 18˚, 7 – 27˚, PW – 41˚
Shafts – Steel – True Temper Elevate MP 95g, KBS Tour 110, KBS Tour Lite
Graphite – ProjectX Cypher 60i 5.5, UST Recoil 75 DART, Mitsubishi MMT 70R
Right and left-hand
Black Label Elite version is also available with Xtreme Dark finish and black Steel Fiber Private Reserve shafts ($80/iron upcharge)
pxg.com

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