PXG 0311 P and XP GEN7 Irons, Black Ops Irons, and Sugar Daddy III Wedges Fitting Review

To say PXG is coming out guns blazing with their new 0311 P and XP GEN7 irons (and really the Black Ops irons and Sugar Daddy III wedges as well) would be a massive understatement.  Some of the things I experienced during my recent fitting literally made me raise my eyebrows in awe and say out loud, "WOW."

Even my fitter Dustin (who knows my game from previous PXG fittings) was impressed with some of the things I was experiencing.  And quite frankly the 0311 P and XP GEN7 irons, new Black Ops irons, and Sugar Daddy III irons performance all had me so impressed that I can honestly say this new line of clubs is trailblazing with bona fide improvements over previous gens.

Before we get started I want to mention this review won't go heavy into the new PXG tech except where it might help paint the picture of improved performance.  You can always go to the PXG site and read about the new tech in the irons and wedges.  And I encourage you to do so because it is the engine that drives the improvements.

This fitting review will primarily focus on what I experienced hitting the 0311 GEN7 (P and XP) irons, Black Ops irons, and Sugar Daddy III wedges, comparing the irons performance as well as noting improvements over previous gens.  And with the wedges I'll concentrate on a head-to-head comparison with the Sugar Daddy II wedges as well as point out some differences between the three grinds now available for Sugar Daddy III.

PXG 0311 P GEN7 Irons

We started my fitting with the new 0311 GEN7 P irons because my fitter Dustin Lieber knows my game and preference of iron style.  P has been my favorite 0311 PXG iron model going back a few generations now.

I've been fit by Dustin numerous times now, and each time is even more enjoyable than the last.  Dustin is incredibly thorough and friendly.  He's incredibly knowledgeable.  And bottom line is he's a fun guy to hang out with who will dial you in with precision.  If you're anywhere in Ohio I'd highly recommend you look him up for any PXG fitting.

And it was actually kind of funny when someone walked in as I was warming up and unknowingly interrupted us.  He was curious what was going on and long story short, I told the curious stranger the same thing I just told you.  Dustin gave him his card.  And there's now a new PXG fitting for Dustin is on the horizon.

• Feel that Resonates

So back to my 0311 P GEN7 iron fitting.  First swing and immediately I knew GEN7 improved the feel at impact.  0311 has always been a solid, soft feel that's delighted players for years.  I'm telling you here and now it's even better.

PXG is using a new internal polymer called QuantumCOR that's been in development for more than 10 years.  And while PXG will tell you it's a technology that's performance driven (and that's certainly the case as you'll read more about below), the softer, more solid feel is undeniable.

In fact it's so satisfying I'd almost call it therapeutic.  It's the kind of impact feel that (at least for me) gets me even more focused, like I'm more mentally engaged in the strike.  You know that feeling when you're in the zone, no matter that activity you're doing?  That's what the GEN7 feel did for me with each swing.  And I'd put the GEN7 feel up there in any conversation about the best feeling players distance irons on the market.

• More Distance, Tighter Dispersion, and Greater Forgiveness

Seriously, the GEN7 P irons hit the trifecta with more distance, tighter dispersion, and greater forgiveness and really leave you wanting for nothing.

With the GEN7 P irons I saw gains in every important performance category that matters with your irons.  Ball speeds, launch angles, and spin rates were incredibly consistent.  And while you'd expect high ball speeds and distance from a Players Distance iron like this, GEN7 P is clearly forgiveness driven all around the face as well (much more so than with the GEN6 P irons).

I had better shots both up, down, toe, heel with GEN7 P (and also GEN7 XP) than with GEN6 P and XP (which were already outstanding in all of these areas).  On center strikes I gained maybe a few more yards (I'll have to take my GEN6 P irons out with the GEN7 P to see exactly how much more).  But distance retained on misses was unmistakable and pretty amazing.

Low, heel, and toe misses were close to one half club longer with GEN7 P compared to GEN6 P.  And even more amazing was that misses on the heel, toe, and high had almost the same distances as center strikes.  Legitimately distances all within five yards of center strikes.  Misses low lost the most distance compared to center strikes (something like 10 yards), but as mentioned that's still a big improvement over the low miss performance of GEN6 P.

• Distance Control and Consistency of Spin and Launch

Distance control was much better with GEN7 P compared to GEN6 P as well.  And I'm talking about both absolute 10 out of 10 perfect strikes to misses all over the face.  Dispersion or variance from the perfect shots to the mishits significantly improved.

GEN7 P gave me tighter dispersion on shots in terms of downrange longest to shortest distances.  And GEN7 P shined even brighter on left and right dispersion.  GEN7 P had less right miss tendency and also less right miss variance.  My overall shot dispersion left and right with GEN7 P was tighter than GEN6 P.  GEN7 P had what I'd call neutral biased misses in the sense that my shots wanted to stay on center with only a few not so mad misses left and a few not so bad misses right.  Whereas both left and right misses with GEN6 definitely fly further off center line (with more right miss bias with GEN6).

I didn't see much difference in launch (although I think GEN7 P have the same loft specs as GEN6 P).  And spin rates were not significantly different as well (maybe tad less spin with GEN7 P).

But a whole different story on misses, and again an area what made GEN7 P outperform GEN6 P for me.  Launch and spin on misses were much tighter and more consistent and closer to ideal center strikes with GEN7 P.  Spin consistency was at least a few hundred RPM tighter with GEN7 compared to GEN6.  And shots missed high and on the toe launched almost identical to center strikes with GEN7 P.

PXG 0311 XP GEN7 Irons

The new 0311 GEN7 XP irons are stronger lofted than the GEN7 P and as expected launched a few degrees lower than the P irons.  What was not expected however was I hit GEN7 XP with spin very comparable to GEN7 P.  Dustin said that was surprising for him as well since XP are designed to spin less than P.  Another reason why you want to get fit if you can.

• Similarities and Differences between GEN7 0311 XP and 0311 P

To my eye the difference in shape and size between GEN7 XP and P are very similar to the difference in shape and size between GEN6 XP and P.  I don't think PXG made any big changes to the shape of either.  So with GEN7 XP you still get a thicker topline, wider sole, longer blade, and slightly more offset than with GEN7 P.  I like that PXG didn't change much here and allows players to choose from the XP and P shapes that appeal most to them.

I would say however that GEN7 XP has a significant upgrade in feel at impact compared to GEN6 XP.  XP uses the same QuantumCOR polymer as the P, and the same HT 1770 Maraging steel which is both incredibly strong and thin.  And the result is a stronger and softer feel with GEN7 compared to GEN6.  The XP has slightly more click at impact than P and slightly less feedback than P.

• Distance and Forgiveness of GEN7 XP versus GEN7 P

Dustin had access to my GEN6 fitting (a few years ago) at this current GEN7 fitting and I'll mention a few differences in GEN6 XP to GEN7 XP performance here now.  But I really want to focus more on GEN7 XP versus GEN7 P as I think that's more helpful to anyone choosing between the two models.  But back to GEN6 XP?  Suffice to say GEN7 improves all performance across the board.

GEN7 XP improved performance over GEN6 XP in the same manner that GEN7 P improved performance over the GEN6 P.  GEN7 XP ball speed was a little higher than GEN6.  Spin and launch were similar between GEN7 XP and GEN6 XP.  But the mishit performance of GEN7 XP is far superior to GEN6 XP.

On misses heel, toe, and low GEN7 XP distance lost was within 5 yards of center strike distance.  Whereas with GEN6 XP these same misses were closer to 10 yards.  With GEN7 XP I also had a tighter range of launch and spin (which contributes along with more consistent ball speed to the tighter overall dispersion).

GEN7 XP did have faster ball speeds for me than GEN7 P by almost 3 mph on average.  But at the same time GEN7 P also had a higher launch angle than GEN7 XP by about 3 degrees.  I mentioned above spin rates were surprisingly similar for me (XP should be lower spinning for most).

On misses low, high, toe, and heel both GEN7 XP and P held their launch angles comparatively equal.  But GEN7 XP was slightly better (tighter) on downrange dispersion and even tighter on left-to-right dispersion.  And this is ultimately why I chose GEN7 P over GEN7 XP.  I'm not sure if it's the iron design itself or if I'm just more comfortable with the smaller P head.  But I will also say this in closing (and it surprised me) - GEN7 XP actually outperformed my GEN6 P in both of distance and consistency of distance and dispersion.  There's no question the new GEN7 line (both P and XP) have raised the bar on PXG's 0311 iron performance.

PXG Black Ops Irons

I mentioned on social media there was a big surprise for me in my fitting.  And the new PXG Black Ops irons were it.  Full disclosure I hit the 0311 P GEN7 irons best of all but the Black Ops performance was eye-opening to say the least.  Black Ops were another 3 to 4 yards longer than the GEN7 XP and felt surprisingly similar to GEN7 XP despite having a different polymer inside.

The Black Ops is a much larger clubhead with more face area, thicker topline, and wider sole.  And one of the really interesting things about these irons for me was how well I hit them.  Yes, they're designed to be incredibly forgiving.  But I generally hit thinner soled irons better than wider soled irons because of my flat angle of attack into impact.  With Black Ops I had very crisp contact (Dustin's own words).

• Iron Looks with Hybrid Performance

The big takeaway with Black Ops for me was they clearly look like irons (albeit larger irons) but legitimately deliver hybrid like performance.  I already mentioned above the greater distance with Black Ops.  But you're also getting noticeably higher launch and yet at the same time a trajectory that flattens out at peak heights.  Peak height with Black Ops for me was actually almost identical to peak height with GEN7 XP.  I wouldn't have guessed that based on the trajectory numbers and Dustin explained it's all about Black Ops strong lofts combined with low and deep CG.

Spin is supposed to be higher with Black Ops than GEN7 XP but I had very similar spin rates between these two irons.  Descent angles were slightly steeper with GEN7 XP than Black Ops (and to bring my GEN7 P babies back into the conversation, decent angles with P were the best/steepest of all three irons).

It dawned on me as I wrapped up the iron fitting with Black Ops that PXG has created a spectacular line of irons also in the sense of giving players a wide variety of shapes (in addition to different performance benefits).  PXG has three 0317 irons, two 0311 irons, and now these Black Ops (along with the 0211 XCOR 2 irons).

With a dual cavity design and and same HT 1770 steel face as the GEN7 P and XP irons Black Ops delivers a phenomenal combination of forgiveness and distance.  And anyone who launches their irons too low or loses performance on shots hit low on the face should absolutely take a strong look at these.

PXG Sugar Daddy III Wedges

If you ask someone who's played PXG Sugar Daddy II wedges how they like these clubs, almost to a person they'll tell you they're the best wedges they've ever played.  Well guess what?  Not anymore.  Because the new PXG Sugar Daddy III wedges are even better.

My fitting was indoors so I'll talk more about complete performance when I get these on the course.  But off the mat on half swings I definitely saw more spin with Sugar Daddy III, which is outrageous because Sugar Daddy II were already some of the highest spinning wedges on the market.

One of the cool things about the Sugar Daddy III lineup is we now have three different grinds and two different profiles.  So again like with their iron lineup PXG is offering a variety of wedges to suit different players eyes and performance preferences.

• All Conditions for All Players

Sugar Daddy III wedges now come in S, BP, and C grinds as well as classic and high toe shapes.  S is a standard grind for all conditions and shots.  BP is a versatile grind but with more bounce for those who need it and making it especially effective from bunkers and soft conditions.  And the C grind is the narrowest sole with aggressive heel and toe relief for those delicate touch shots and when you want to open the face up and hit to elevated greens.

I wound up going with one wedge in each grind, and maybe most surprising was how well I hit the 54 degree high toe BP grind off the mat.  It's the wedge with the highest bounce (12 degrees), and I'm confident I'll be able to hit this well from tight, dry lies on the course.

This is a good point to again touch on how important it is to get fit if you can.  Dustin asked me if I wanted to go with a 56 degree BP and bend it down to 54 degrees.  This would keep my gapping but also reduce the 12 degree bounce down to 10 degrees.  It wasn't necessary after hitting the 54 degree BP more, but it's nice when your fitter is giving you all the options possible.

• A Whole Lot of Spin, Zip, and... Forgiveness?

The Sugar Daddy III wedges have one extra groove compared to Sugar Daddy II (which is always a good thing to have more ball to grab on and create more friction).  I don't know if it's the extra groove or something they did to the actual grooves on the Sugar Daddy III wedges but as mentioned earlier spin has definitely increased.

What was really interesting about Sugar Daddy III was how great they were when I missed high.  And this is going to happen when we're in the rough when the ball sits at different heights.  Put aside for a moment having the right grind for these shots, but I saw very high spin and very consistent launch on high misses which made me smile like a crazy man.  Distance control is spectacular.

I'll need to take the wedges out and test on fairways, from the rough, into the wind, downwind, in dry and wet conditions to be sure.  But I'm willing to bet there's something to Sugar Daddy III improved performance on high misses.  And at least indoors stopping power on misses was extremely impressive, hit, bite, stop.  A few times I just stared at the numbers almost in disbelief at how quickly shots hit and stopped.

When my Sugar Daddy III wedge fitting was finished Dustin had made sure I had wedges with the right grinds for a variety of shots and blended so we had no yardage gaps while maintaining spin rates with the lofts we chose.  I'm as excited to put Sugar Daddy III in play as I am to get going with the 0311 P GEN7 irons.

Conclusion

I mentioned on social media the day of my fitting this was my favorite PXG fitting to date.  And now you know why.  Even the irons models and wedge grind/loft combinations I didn't wind up with were massively impressive.

PXG improved everything you can improve with the GEN7 P and XP irons from the previous GEN6 irons.  The new Black Ops irons are going to be some of the easiest to hit game-improvement irons you ever lay your hands on.

And those Sugar Daddy III wedges?  Easy enough to hit that anyone can play them, hero shots in their DNA, and quite possibly destined to be the most consistent performing clubs in your bag.