It's not every day that a golfer can buy a prototype driver and put it in their bag before the final-final version hits stores, but that's what PXG is offering with a limited release of 0811 X Proto and 0811 X+ Proto drivers.
Both drivers are legal and conforming, landing earlier in the year on the USGA conforming driver list. PXG staffers, like Ryan Moore and Pat Perez, have been toying around with them and using them. PXG isn't doing some kind of grand experiment by releasing these clubs to the public. Rather, they're doing what they want to do, getting new technology in the hands of their customers at a time when a full-scale launch makes almost zero sense.
It's pretty clever.
The drivers sell for $495 each, which puts pricing for a PXG driver actually below some prices of their peers. Consider that for a second. When you think PXG, you probably don't think about a competitively priced product, but that's the direction in which the company has been going and has been somewhat accentuated by the pandemic. An 0811 X Gen2 driver is now just $295. If you're curious about PXG, now is the time to get in the door.
So, what are golfers getting with these proto drivers?
The biggest, most obvious change in the move away from the company's smaller adjustable weight ports to larger versions. There are four total weight ports, which gives the golfer plenty of room to move weight for draw/fade bias and repositioning the center of gravity. This is exactly what the overwhelming number of golfers need.
Buyers are also getting a more refined look from a PXG driver, maybe more on level with the luxurious price point of the company's equipment. PXG clubs look packed with technology, and they are, but enough golfers now know the company ethos that aesthetic statement is no longer necessary.
Typically, multi-model driver releases feature different heads with different benefits. Maybe there's one that's more adjustable compared to one that's more forgiving. Maybe there's one with a center of gravity that's back and low compared to one that's more forward. There's the tried are true full-sized head and a smaller head for better players. In this case, the different heads accommodate different angles of attack, with center of gravity position playing a big role.
The 0811 X Proto is for players who have a negative angle of attack with the driver (hitting down, in parlance) and has a lower center of gravity. The 0811 X+ Proto is for golfers who have a positive angle of attack (hitting up, or adding loft, in parlance) and need something a little more up and forward to help kill some spin.
The 0811 X Proto is available in a 9-degree offering, while the 0811 X+ Proto is available only in 10.5 degrees. Both are only available for right-handed golfers right now for $495 each with online fittings available at PXG.com.
