Price
$230 per iron
PXG 0311 XP GEN8
Price
$230 per iron
OFFICIAL RETAILER
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matt martian photography
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Why we like it
- Designed for middle and high-handicappers, the XP is PXG’s longest and most forgiving iron. It features a larger head, wider sole, stronger lofts and maximum offset to provide a comforting visual at address.
- An internal polymer enhances the sound and feel, and the ultra-thin maraging-steel face maximizes launch and ball speed.
- Split perimeter tungsten weights on the back of each iron increase forgiveness and stabilize off-center strikes.
- The forging procedure of the 8620-carbon-steel head is intricate, with five steps followed by a robotic polishing process to produce the proper shape.
- SPECS: 7-iron: 27 degrees; PW: 41 degrees
What our testers said
handicap
- all
- low
- mid
- high
Peter
58, Handicap 8
10+ years testing
It looks like there's something under the hood, but I didn't find these super-forgiving. Where it does shine is on good contact. The ball jumps off the face and you get a nice, boring, straight ball flight. So, if you want to maximize distance, which this club has, you need to hit it in the center.
Jin
31, Handicap 10
2 years testing
Aesthetically pleasing look with smaller clubface and thinner topline. When struck well, the distance was very average. Someone who's looking for more distance out of their game-improvement irons might want to look elsewhere. It's a club that's somewhat difficult to hit.
Scott
38, Handicap 16
10+ years testing
The good swings I put on it really rewarded me with some explosive, high-launching, long distance.There was a really satisfying, goosebump-inducing crack at impact, and the ball just whizzed off the face.
Gary
38, Handicap 13
10+ years testing
The perimeter weighting on the toe and heel of the club seem to help keep things in the yard. My left-to-right dispersion was really narrow. Very firm feel throughout the set. Even when you catch the ball on the sweet spot, it feels like you might have missed it a little bit.
Aaron
45, Handicap 16
1 year testing
Finding good center strikes with this club was difficult for me. Off-center hits were very unforgiving. When I did manage to get it centered up and find the sweet spot, it didn't do anything astounding.
SEE ALL (24)
Peter
58, Handicap 8
10+ years testing
It looks like there's something under the hood, but I didn't find these super-forgiving. Where it does shine is on good contact. The ball jumps off the face and you get a nice, boring, straight ball flight. So, if you want to maximize distance, which this club has, you need to hit it in the center.
Jin
31, Handicap 10
2 years testing
Aesthetically pleasing look with smaller clubface and thinner topline. When struck well, the distance was very average. Someone who's looking for more distance out of their game-improvement irons might want to look elsewhere. It's a club that's somewhat difficult to hit.
Scott
38, Handicap 16
10+ years testing
The good swings I put on it really rewarded me with some explosive, high-launching, long distance.There was a really satisfying, goosebump-inducing crack at impact, and the ball just whizzed off the face.
Gary
38, Handicap 13
10+ years testing
The perimeter weighting on the toe and heel of the club seem to help keep things in the yard. My left-to-right dispersion was really narrow. Very firm feel throughout the set. Even when you catch the ball on the sweet spot, it feels like you might have missed it a little bit.
Aaron
45, Handicap 16
1 year testing
Finding good center strikes with this club was difficult for me. Off-center hits were very unforgiving. When I did manage to get it centered up and find the sweet spot, it didn't do anything astounding.
Daniel
34, Handicap 11
6 years testing
There seemed to be a lot of energy transfer to the ball. But the trajectory was more up than it was out. If it's a windy day, this is a club you're going to be nervous hitting given the amount of height and spin the ball has.
Chris
60, Handicap 8
1 year testing
It has a wide sole and the weight is very low in the clubhead, which definitely helps you to get the ball up in the air. However, it also tends to tends to dig. I hit several shots fat until I actually choked up on the grip a bit. Carry distance is average, while dispersion on mis-hits is pretty tight.
Wayne
61, Handicap 7
3 years testing
You need to be hitting this club in the middle of the face, which doesn't always happen. Performance is slightly above average with good distance from the center of the clubface. Off-center, it's definitely not as forgiving as others.
Thomas
61, Handicap 7
10+ years testing
Easy to hit and longer than most of the other clubs. Good, medium-high trajectory. Very straight and consistent. It was much longer than average, based on the data.
Andrew
40, Handicap 8
1 year testing
The weight feels really good and powerful in your hands, but it doesn't match up with the performance of this club. It's pretty uninspiring.
Jamie
53, Handicap 7
3 years testing
From heel to toe it's pretty long, which gave me a lot of confidence that there was a big sweet spot in there, and there most certainly was. Fat shots went unpunished as the head mowed through the turf and kept the ball speed up.
Paul
64, Handicap 6
10+ years testing
I'm comfortable with it. It looks good in my hands and it's comforting, not distracting. It's just that at impact, it feels chunky—and I don't mean chunky in terms of hitting too much dirt, but how it feels when you hit the ball. You don't feel any metal. There isn't that smooth transition you get through the hitting zone with the better clubs. It always seems to drag itself.
Todd
63, Handicap 13
1 year testing
This club just seems to find the ball at the right position and the impact sound is very solid and confidence boosting. The resulting ball flight is very pure, and the distance is long. I think the performance of this club is superior based on the overall feeling at impact. It's so decisive.
Sean
54, Handicap 6
9 years testing
When you hit it bad, it tells you. With the little bit of offset, I found myself digging the club into the ground too much, especially with the pitching wedge. I had a hard time moving the ball.
Anand
44, Handicap 6
10+ years testing
The 7-iron distance was the same as my 5-iron. My 5-iron felt a little bit whippy, and there were no options for a heavier shaft. But I could see myself playing the 7-iron through pitching wedge from this set, maybe even the 6-iron. The 7 was absolute money.
Matt
53, Handicap 11
4 years testing
This club does not distinguish itself from its peers. I struggled with too much dispersion on my shots, and ball flight was lower than I'd like to see out of a game-improvement iron.
Matt
28, Handicap 7
2 years testing
My biggest issue with it is the sound it makes. Even when you find the center of the face, it sounds as if you caught it thin or off the toe or heel. So there's no reward to your ears for hitting a good shot.
Wei
56, Handicap 14
10+ years testing
I like the slight offset topline at address. It suggests you'll get a lot of help launching these up in the air. However, there wasn't the springiness I was expecting, based on the look. The spin numbers and distance were not bad, but not great. Nothing eye-popping.
Alejandra
27, Handicap 6
5 years testing
It felt really heavy at impact, but I was appreciative of that because my mis-hits weren't too spread out. A hit the ball a lot closer to the center of the face than one would expect from a poor swing. Distance-wise, it was average. The sound is strong but heavy.
Ryan
47, Handicap 12
3 years testing
A somewhat muted look for PXG. It looks smart, but it just doesn't have the performance to back it up. Mis-hits shot off the planet. Center strikes didn't fly very high or hold much energy.
Timothy
46, Handicap 17
1 year testing
This club produced so much extra spin that it turned my typical fade into a near-slice. I'd prefer a club to straighten my miss, which didn't happen here. It felt like the club was working against me in that sense.
Skylar
28, Handicap 7
3 years testing
It looks very professional with the added weight ports and the PXG logo. It almost resembles a blade, but the thickness and weight balance are much better. I found it super easy to swing on plane, and you really can't miss hitting the middle of the face. Even if you do, it's going maybe five to 10 yards right, but with still the same distance.
Shane
37, Handicap 12
6 years testing
A lot of distance with little effort. Delivers lower-launching missiles every time with consistent length. Flies dead straight with no extra spin to steer you off course. If you're just trying to hit the ball straight and in play, it's easy to do with this club.
Ryan
50, Handicap 10
8 years testing
It doesn't deliver the boom in terms of distance, but it does provide a really quick, efficient, pleasing feel at impact and launches ball up high very quickly. Everything about this club and hitting it feels quick. If it goes offline, it quickly goes offline, but you're not punished severely for it.
Jin
31, Handicap 10
2 years testing
Aesthetically pleasing look with smaller clubface and thinner topline. When struck well, the distance was very average. Someone who's looking for more distance out of their game-improvement irons might want to look elsewhere. It's a club that's somewhat difficult to hit.
Scott
38, Handicap 16
10+ years testing
The good swings I put on it really rewarded me with some explosive, high-launching, long distance.There was a really satisfying, goosebump-inducing crack at impact, and the ball just whizzed off the face.
Gary
38, Handicap 13
10+ years testing
The perimeter weighting on the toe and heel of the club seem to help keep things in the yard. My left-to-right dispersion was really narrow. Very firm feel throughout the set. Even when you catch the ball on the sweet spot, it feels like you might have missed it a little bit.
Aaron
45, Handicap 16
1 year testing
Finding good center strikes with this club was difficult for me. Off-center hits were very unforgiving. When I did manage to get it centered up and find the sweet spot, it didn't do anything astounding.
Daniel
34, Handicap 11
6 years testing
There seemed to be a lot of energy transfer to the ball. But the trajectory was more up than it was out. If it's a windy day, this is a club you're going to be nervous hitting given the amount of height and spin the ball has.
Todd
63, Handicap 13
1 year testing
This club just seems to find the ball at the right position and the impact sound is very solid and confidence boosting. The resulting ball flight is very pure, and the distance is long. I think the performance of this club is superior based on the overall feeling at impact. It's so decisive.
Matt
53, Handicap 11
4 years testing
This club does not distinguish itself from its peers. I struggled with too much dispersion on my shots, and ball flight was lower than I'd like to see out of a game-improvement iron.
Wei
56, Handicap 14
10+ years testing
I like the slight offset topline at address. It suggests you'll get a lot of help launching these up in the air. However, there wasn't the springiness I was expecting, based on the look. The spin numbers and distance were not bad, but not great. Nothing eye-popping.
Ryan
47, Handicap 12
3 years testing
A somewhat muted look for PXG. It looks smart, but it just doesn't have the performance to back it up. Mis-hits shot off the planet. Center strikes didn't fly very high or hold much energy.
Timothy
46, Handicap 17
1 year testing
This club produced so much extra spin that it turned my typical fade into a near-slice. I'd prefer a club to straighten my miss, which didn't happen here. It felt like the club was working against me in that sense.
Shane
37, Handicap 12
6 years testing
A lot of distance with little effort. Delivers lower-launching missiles every time with consistent length. Flies dead straight with no extra spin to steer you off course. If you're just trying to hit the ball straight and in play, it's easy to do with this club.
Ryan
50, Handicap 10
8 years testing
It doesn't deliver the boom in terms of distance, but it does provide a really quick, efficient, pleasing feel at impact and launches ball up high very quickly. Everything about this club and hitting it feels quick. If it goes offline, it quickly goes offline, but you're not punished severely for it.
Peter
58, Handicap 8
10+ years testing
It looks like there's something under the hood, but I didn't find these super-forgiving. Where it does shine is on good contact. The ball jumps off the face and you get a nice, boring, straight ball flight. So, if you want to maximize distance, which this club has, you need to hit it in the center.
Chris
60, Handicap 8
1 year testing
It has a wide sole and the weight is very low in the clubhead, which definitely helps you to get the ball up in the air. However, it also tends to tends to dig. I hit several shots fat until I actually choked up on the grip a bit. Carry distance is average, while dispersion on mis-hits is pretty tight.
Wayne
61, Handicap 7
3 years testing
You need to be hitting this club in the middle of the face, which doesn't always happen. Performance is slightly above average with good distance from the center of the clubface. Off-center, it's definitely not as forgiving as others.
Thomas
61, Handicap 7
10+ years testing
Easy to hit and longer than most of the other clubs. Good, medium-high trajectory. Very straight and consistent. It was much longer than average, based on the data.
Andrew
40, Handicap 8
1 year testing
The weight feels really good and powerful in your hands, but it doesn't match up with the performance of this club. It's pretty uninspiring.
Jamie
53, Handicap 7
3 years testing
From heel to toe it's pretty long, which gave me a lot of confidence that there was a big sweet spot in there, and there most certainly was. Fat shots went unpunished as the head mowed through the turf and kept the ball speed up.
Paul
64, Handicap 6
10+ years testing
I'm comfortable with it. It looks good in my hands and it's comforting, not distracting. It's just that at impact, it feels chunky—and I don't mean chunky in terms of hitting too much dirt, but how it feels when you hit the ball. You don't feel any metal. There isn't that smooth transition you get through the hitting zone with the better clubs. It always seems to drag itself.
Sean
54, Handicap 6
9 years testing
When you hit it bad, it tells you. With the little bit of offset, I found myself digging the club into the ground too much, especially with the pitching wedge. I had a hard time moving the ball.
Anand
44, Handicap 6
10+ years testing
The 7-iron distance was the same as my 5-iron. My 5-iron felt a little bit whippy, and there were no options for a heavier shaft. But I could see myself playing the 7-iron through pitching wedge from this set, maybe even the 6-iron. The 7 was absolute money.
Matt
28, Handicap 7
2 years testing
My biggest issue with it is the sound it makes. Even when you find the center of the face, it sounds as if you caught it thin or off the toe or heel. So there's no reward to your ears for hitting a good shot.
Alejandra
27, Handicap 6
5 years testing
It felt really heavy at impact, but I was appreciative of that because my mis-hits weren't too spread out. A hit the ball a lot closer to the center of the face than one would expect from a poor swing. Distance-wise, it was average. The sound is strong but heavy.
Skylar
28, Handicap 7
3 years testing
It looks very professional with the added weight ports and the PXG logo. It almost resembles a blade, but the thickness and weight balance are much better. I found it super easy to swing on plane, and you really can't miss hitting the middle of the face. Even if you do, it's going maybe five to 10 yards right, but with still the same distance.
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Range Results
We tracked 20,000 shots through player testing and then had them analyzed by our team of scientists. These graphics reflect the relative performance our players saw for each club in the category.
A Skeptic’s Guide To New Golf Equipment
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