PXG 0311 GEN7 irons

Gear: PXG 0311 GEN7 irons
Price: $229.99 per club with chrome finish, $239.99 with Xtreme Dark finish
Specs: Hollow-body design including forged and milled 8620 carbon steel body, HT1770 maraging steel face, internal tungsten weight, internal polymer and adjustable titanium back weight.

Who it’s For: Five- to 18-handicap golfers who want more ball speed and more forgiveness on mis-hits from a club that looks like a better-player’s iron.

The Skinny: The PXG 0311 GEN7 irons feature a new material inside the hollow portion of the head that returns energy more efficiently, while exotic materials like a tungsten weight and titanium back weight enhance performance and allow fitters to customize the clubs more easily.

The Deep Dive: The tungsten screws that ringed the perimeter of early PXG irons are gone, but many of the core concepts and technologies that the Scottsdale, Arizona-based equipment maker included in its early offerings have been refined, improved and updated through the years. Now, with the release of the seventh generation of the 0311 irons, PXG is showing it can use exotic materials and unique manufacturing techniques to produce clubs that continue to look like a better-player’s blade while delivering game-improvement levels of forgiveness and distance.

Each PXG 0311 GEN7 iron is forged five times before the back is milled to create the final shape. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The PXG GEN7 P and GEN7 XP irons both start as glowing red billets of 8620 carbon steel before they are forged five times. After each forging is completed, the still-hot metal is moved into a different tool and then forged again so the intricate shapes and contours, like the deep internal cavity, can be produced. Then, the back of each head is milled using a computer-controlled bit that passes back and forth over the clubheads, shaving off tiny ribbons of material and making the walls thinner than forging can refine.

An HT1770 maraging steel face is then attached to the chassis. The steel is exceptionally strong, allowing PXG to make it just 0.05 inches thick. According to PXG, it is the thinnest hitting area in golf, so it can flex more efficiently at the moment of impact.

The 0311 GEN7 irons have an extremely thin face and hollow chamber filled with a new polymer material. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The most significant difference between the 0311 GEN7 irons and their predecessors is the internal material PXG has injected inside the heads. The company has used different polymers and combinations of polymers in the past, but its new QuantumCOR polymer is the fastest yet. It supports the face and helps with durability but also returns more energy created at impact back to the ball, so golfers can generate more ball speed and distance.

To increase stability and forgiveness, PXG designers added a 20-gram internal tungsten weight in the toe of the 0311 GEN7 irons. The tungsten offsets the weight of the hosel and shifts the ideal hitting area into the middle of the face.

The titanium screw in the back allows fitters to change the swing weight, while also pushing more overall weight to the perimeter for increased stability. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

There is also a large titanium weight screw in the back of each head. Titanium weighs less than the 8620 carbon steel used in the rest of the head, so when combined with the internal tungsten weight, more of the GEN7 iron’s overall weight shifts to the perimeter, resulting in a higher moment of inertia (MOI) and less twisting on off-center hits.

During the fitting process, fitters can swap out and change the back weight to allow golfers to try different swing weights and overall weights to see which best matches their swing and needs.

PXG claims the GEN7 irons produce nearly the same launch angle as the GEN6 irons but with more ball speed and less spin, resulting in more distance and tighter dispersion.

The 0311 GEN7 P irons are designed for low to mid-handicap golfers who want more distance and stability, while the XP is for mid- to higher-handicap golfers who need maximum forgiveness and distance. The P has a smaller blade length, less offset and a thinner topline.

Cosmetically, the clubs look very similar, but the lofts of the XP irons are significantly stronger than the lofts of the P irons. Still, golfers can mix and match them to create a blended set by working with a custom fitter.

Below are several close-up images of the new PXG 0311 GEN7 irons: