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These are far from your traditional tour-inspired irons and that might be a good thing…
PXG isn’t always the first name golfers associate with tour-style irons, but that may begin to change with the release of the PXG Gen 8 0311T irons.
Designed to have the most compact club head in the Gen8 range, this is PXG’s answer for those golfers seeking quick ball speeds and plenty of forgiveness in a tour-inspired shape.
But have PXG delivered tour level performance? Find out in our full PXG 0311 T GEN8 irons review below…
NCG Summary
NCG SUMMARY
It’s safe to say the PXG 0311 T GEN8 irons are a modern take on tour-styled iron. The ball speeds are optimal with towering launches and steep descent angles.
There is also a surprising amount of forgiveness on imperfect strikes. They won’t suit purists looking for a compact blade but their performance gains are unquestionable.
PROS
Exceptional ball speed for a tour iron
Try stable and high launch
Fairly forgiving for the type of iron it is
CONS
Head is larger than a traditional tour blade
First Impressions
For a tour iron, the 0311 T has got a fairly big profile. The head is relatively tall with a thick sole and a noticeably meaty midsection, reflecting its hollow construction.
Saying this, I do think PXG has done an excellent job disguising this size at address.
The topline is technically thick, but the rear portion has been shaved away, meaning that when the club is set behind the ball it appears far thinner than it really is.
Overall, the whole appearance of the club that looks much closer to a traditional tour iron, while still offering the benefits of a larger, more forgiving head.
NCG Verdict
Despite the hollow construction and explosive face, I thought the feel might be a bit interrupted but it was actually a strong point.
The impact felt solid rather than harsh, and the internal polymer does an excellent job of controlling vibration.
I wouldn’t say feel has always been a strong point of PXG irons but they have clearly focused on improving feedback and control compared to earlier generations. Even when my shots were not struck perfectly, the clubs do still feel stable, rather than having that overly clicky sensation.
My ball speeds were exceptionally high for a tour-style iron. With a 9-iron, for example, I saw my speeds regularly exceed 103–106 mph.
Equally I was quite amazed by the launch I was seeing off some of the shots I was hitting. They were very high, producing peak heights over 100ft, which is surprising but extremely unusual for players’ irons.
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Despite this, spin rates aren’t especially high. I found they sit slightly lower than a traditional blade, but crucially, descent angles are extremely steep, often exceeding 50°.
This means that despite the lower spin, shots stop quickly on the greens. In fact, the descent angles were steeper than those achieved with a blade, resulting in more consistent stopping power.
Carry distances hovered around the mid-140s with a 9-iron which are marginally higher than expected. But what stands out most is the towering flight and consistency.
Even without absolutely perfect strikes, distance, spin, and control all remain impressively stable.
PXG has clearly worked hard to address a historical concern with very fast-faced irons, that they don’t hold greens.
With the 0311 T GEN8, high launch and steep landing angles mean that I found these concerns to be largely eliminated.
Final Thoughts
The PXG 0311 T GEN8 irons are not a traditional tour blade, but then they aren’t trying to be. Instead, PXG has created a compact, tour-inspired iron that delivers quality performance.
If you are happy to accept a larger profile of tour iron than you previously may have used, then I see no reason why you shouldn’t consider the PXG 0311 T GEN8 irons.
