50 Words or Less
The PXG 0311GEN5 driver has significant upgrades in sound, feel, and performance. GEN5 may be the line that finally earns the company the recognition it seeks in this category.
Check out the new PXG 0311 GEN6 driver HERE
Introduction
Right or wrong, PXG has been widely praised for its irons and maligned for its woods since its inception. With GEN5, the company has made major upgrades to the driver in an effort to change that narrative. The 0311 Driver is one of two drivers in the GEN5 product line. The 0311 is the all-around performer. It features a traditional shape designed to produce max distance. The other driver is the 0311 XF [review HERE] and is designed for maximum forgiveness.
Looks
The first of many upgrades in PXG’s new driver comes in the looks department. The AV carbon fiber that adorned the GEN4 models remains, but it now takes up the whole crown and has been toned down significantly. I thought the previous iteration was too shiny, and the rounded trapezoid shape was distracting to my eye. Both of these issues have been fixed, and now the crown is sharp and easy to look down at.
Compared to previous iterations, the 0311 GEN5 driver has a taller clubface with a higher and more curved crown. At address, you’re looking at a traditional shape. The AV carbon fiber crown, despite being toned down, still stands out and is a bold look compared to the majority of drivers on the market.
Flipping to the sole, the overall design is sleek, minimal, and aerodynamic. You’ll also notice three weight ports. The locations of these have been shifted to the extreme perimeter of the clubhead in order to boost MOI and improve sound and feel.
Sound & Feel
The sound of the 0311 GEN5 Driver is excellent and notably improved from prior versions. Explosive, full, and resounding are words that come to mind. It treads a middle ground between “tink” and “thunk” but leans more toward the latter. In terms of feel, the ball feels like it jumps off the face. It’s hot but there’s plenty of feedback present.
It’s rare to see something as subjective as sound in golf clubs quantified, but that’s exactly what PXG did during the R&D process for its GEN5 woods. In an effort to understand what sounds golfers prefer and how to replicate that in its products, PXG used a process called Modal Analysis.
Briefly, it’s a study that uses the mass and stiffness of a structure to identify various frequencies vibrating throughout that object. This process is frequently used in industries where noise is paramount, such as automobiles and musical instruments. Through player testing, it became clear that most players preferred sounds created by higher modal frequencies.
This became a guiding principle for the design of the GEN5 drivers. Looking at the material provided by PXG, GEN5 drivers have significantly higher resonating frequencies than those in GEN4 drivers. They were also able to achieve these desirable sounds without the aid of TPE pads, which saved 4-6 grams of weight relative to GEN4.
Performance
Thankfully, the performance of the 0311 GEN5 backs up all the gains made in the looks, sound, and feel departments. It’s as long as anything I have hit. While the XF model is advertised as being more forgiving, you don’t need to be a high speed, low capper to get the most out of this driver.
The 0311 GEN5 driver boasts 25% higher MOI than 0811 X GEN4. Compared to the previous iteration, this driver carries about three yards further and spins about 300 revs less in OEM robot testing. In my own testing, I found no reason to doubt those claims. It felt clear right away that I was getting more out of this driver than I ever did out of GEN4.
My strike patterns tend to make use of the whole face. Not every strike is going to leave me with a smile on my face, but I felt like this driver saved my blushes once or twice, particularly on high and/or toe strikes. While PXG advertises its stock driver length to be 45.5″, they stock all available shafts in 45″. For many players (me included) taking a half inch off the driver can help create tighter dispersion.
Conclusion
The PXG 0311 GEN5 driver should make waves in the golf equipment community. While many seem to enjoy hating on PXG because of its brand image, it’s clear that the people making the clubs know what they’re doing. For GEN5, they really wanted to focus on creating woods that could hang with and even out-perform the established industry leaders and, to me, they’ve succeeded. If you’re in the market for a new driver and are near a PXG location, you should check out the product for yourself.
Visit PXG HERE
PXG 0311 GEN5 Driver Price & Specs
Dylan Thaemert
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25% more moi over the pre Ios Gen 4 driver works out to over 1,200 more moi!
Is it the total moi they are talking about, as Ping do with their “10,000 moi”? That would seem more realistic.
That was the FX.
25% difference between gen 4 X and gen 5 X.
22% difference between the XF’s.
I got fit this weekend in Atlanta. This was my first experience getting fit, and I loved it. I finally got to see my swing speeds with something I trust in trackman. I’m only 2 mph off tour average speed 113. They fit me to rdx black 0311 head. I was hitting 270-293 total yards and 90% I would say was in play. With the special there having right now it was only $299. Can’t wait to get it delivered. I’m gonna put it up against my stz 220 with the same shaft and sell the loser.
Hi Billy,
It sounds like you have some data that I’m not aware of. Thanks for sharing.
Best,
Dylan
l live in Tasmania Australia so where can l see this driver and try it out if it’s as good as you say might even get more golfers interested Regards Renny Grech Cheers
Hi Renny,
I’m not sure, although I’d love to visit and play Barnbougle one day. My advice would be to utilize the “find a fitting location” on the PXG website and see if there’s anything near you. Here’s the link for your region: https://www.pxg.com/apac/get-fitted/location-map.
Best,
Dylan
I have a gen4xf that is an excellent driver what is the price of the gen5 xf
Hi Thomas,
GEN5 drivers are $499.99.
Best,
Dylan
Hi Dylan,
How were the head weights set up while testing? Heel, toe and back?
Hi Dennis,
The head weights were set in the default factory settings: 7.5 gram weights in the back and the heel, 2.5 grams in the toe.
Best,
Dylan
Hi
What shaft were you using for testing?
Thanks
Hi Scott,
Fujikura Motore X F3.
I picked up one of these used with an even flow CB shaft to replace my G30 with a tour 65 on a whim. I don’t have any easy opportunities to get fitted or demo where I live so I rolled the dice. I love it! Sounds good, there’s no mistaking when you hit it pure from sound and feel. I don’t swing on a launch monitor but it seems like reasonable distance was gained (15-20 yards)on the course. It’s a great driver and has one of the nicest head covers I’ve seen.
Reference your 311 Gen 5. driver what type of distance would u expect with the 50 gram Riptide shat in reg flex and a 85 swing speed What would club cost with midsize Winn grip
Are the 0311 and 0311XF both 460 cc in head size? Can’t find it anywhere on the internet.
Hi Jeff,
PXG lists each head at 203g of mass so I would assume the volume measurements are the same as well. I can’t find anything else though. Hope that helps.
Best,
Dylan
How does this compare to the 0211 driver that I currently own?
Hi Kevin,
I can’t compare as I haven’t hit the 0211.
Best,
Dylan
Going to demo the driver, 3 wood and 3 hybrid, 82-85 swing speed what shaft do you recommend in senior flex thanks joe
Hi Joe,
Take your fitter’s recommendations, try a bunch, and choose for yourself based on performance and feel. Good luck!
Best,
Dylan
Just went to the pxg store in Scottsdale was fitted for a driver they’re on sale till September 1st for 299 what a deal
After hitting both this and the Cobra LTDxLS, which club would you recommend more?
Hi Joseph,
I haven’t hit the LTDx LS so I can’t compare.
Best,
Dylan
I got fit this weekend in Atlanta. This was my first experience getting fit, and I loved it. I finally got to see my swing speeds with something I trust in trackman. I’m only 2 mph off tour average speed 113. They fit me to rdx black 0311 head. I was hitting 270-293 total yards and 90% I would say was in play. With the special there having right now it was only $299. Can’t wait to get it delivered. I’m gonna put it up against my stz 220 with the same shaft and sell the loser.
I’m glad to see that PXG is still keeping up the good work with their drivers. I’ve been using their drivers for a while now and they always perform well.