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The PXG 0317 ST irons are beautiful irons with sweet feel and consistent performance for the strong ball striker. Cavity backs in the 3I and 4I make a real difference in playability.
Introduction
For 2022, PXG made substantial changes to the naming (numbering) of their clubs. When GEN5 was released, every club in their premium line bore the 0311 name. As we move toward 2023, one exception has emerged: the new 0317 ST irons. Named for the US Marine Corps Scout Sniper, PXG’s newest blade is a precision instrument built for the most highly skilled players.
Looks
The PXG 0317 ST irons are a departure from the 0311 GEN5 irons not only in their name but also in their looks. Where the 0311 GEN4 ST irons [review HERE] looked very similar to the other GEN5 irons, the 0317 is clearly a different animal. One of the most obvious differences from the 0311 GEN5 irons is the lack of tungsten weight screws on the back. This leaves the back of the iron as a canvas for the beautiful milling patterns. PXG has also applied their logo in a new, eye-catching way.
It’s also noteworthy that this is a blended set. The 5I through GW are pure blades, but the 3I and 4I are cavity backs. The design is very traditional – save for the Precision Weighting Technology – and still displays the mill marks radiating from the center of the head.
Moving to the address position, the 0317 ST irons has a clean, traditional look. The blade is compact from heel to toe with minimal offset. Players may notice that the top line is not as razor thin as some blades, but it’s still well within the bounds of a players iron and very attractive. Looking through the entire set, there’s a noticeable rounding to the leading edge as you move toward the wedges.
The PXG 0317 ST irons are available in Chrome and Xtreme Dark finishes. Unlike the GEN5 irons which have the PWT in a contrasting color, the Xtreme Dark 0317 ST irons are completely black.
Feel
PXG has created a trademark feel in their 0311 irons that’s consistent from the T [review HERE] through the XP [review HERE]. However, just as with the looks, the 0317 ST is the outlier. The 0317 ST is a solid body, forged iron, so it doesn’t have the bouncy feel of the XCOR2 material inside the head. Instead, players are rewarded with a very traditional, soft, solid feel when they strike a shot well. The accompanying sound is a quiet “thud” that varies slightly in pitch depending on the ball you’re using.
Feedback is a primary reason for playing blades, and the 0317 ST deliver there. Through your hands, you can locate your strike location precisely, even if you’re barely paying attention. Mishits don’t sting, but the feel is decidedly firmer. Those misses make it that much sweeter when you pure the next one.
Performance
The biggest departure from previous ST sets is the addition of the cavity back 3I and 4I in the 0317 ST. PXG did this because they observed that, even on Tour, virtually no one plays a pure blade long iron. This is a very positive change. My testing notes say it best: “4I is a big deal!” I tested the PXG 0317 ST 4I against the pure blade 4I from my current gamer set. The results clearly showed that the cavity back makes a difference. Not only is the ball speed more consistent, all my shots launched slightly higher. This combination led to higher top end distance and better distance consistency. That’s an unbeatable combination.
Want a full set of cavity backs? Check out the PXG 0317 CB irons HERE
Shifting our attention to the rest of the set, the performance is the very best of what you would expect. PXG poured immense effort into making this set as consistent as possible. Their forging and milling process creates head weight tolerances of just 1 gram (the industry standard is 3 grams). They use robotic polishing and milled grooves to make every edge and groove perfect. For the high end player that wants total control of their ball, this set is impossible to beat.
It is worth discussing exactly who this set is and isn’t designed for. If you want maximum distance and forgiveness, stick with the 0311 P [review HERE] or XP. The PXG 0317 ST irons have very traditional lofts to produce higher spin and launch. This is best for players who A) have enough speed that they’re not worried about optimizing for distance and B) want that spin for shaping shots and holding greens.
I can’t emphasize the predictability enough. Hitting these irons on a launch monitor, it’s shocking how every well-struck shot produces carbon-copy numbers. The only time the speed, launch, spin, and distance varied was when I made a poor swing.
Finally, I want to highlight the one obviously “new school” element of these clubs: the Precision Weighting Technology. PXG positioned this weight behind the center of gravity so that they can alter swing weight without moving the CG off center. They put a ton of emphasis on fitting, and the PWT gives them the ability to control swing weight in a way that no other OEM does. You can experiment with lighter or heavier swing weights to find what works best for you during a fitting with PXG.
Conclusion
For the high quality ball striker, the PXG 0317 ST irons deliver everything you could want. They look and feel great, but the consistent performance is the real jaw-dropper. Add in sensible cavity backs in the 3I and 4I and you have a set built to demolish course records.
Visit PXG HERE
PXG 0317 ST Irons Price & Specs
Matt Saternus
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Those are gorgeous. They going to be your new gamers? This would be a great set for those wanting to do MOI matching as you can tune the SW super easily.
Randall,
They’re definitely in consideration. I need to get some time on the course to make a final decision.
Best,
Matt
These irons likely won’t be for me, but I do think — as Matt points out in his review — it’s really cool that PXG has engineered these in a way that allows them to alter swingweight without moving the COG. I like more of a progression from lighter SW long irons to heavier short irons than most manufacturers typically do, and always find myself slapping lead tape onto my short irons. I’m not 100% sure how these work, but it looks like if you wanted to do some adjusting after getting your set, you could take these into a PXG and they could change the swing weight without even taking the iron apart — just pop that back weight off and put another one on. Very neat.
Matt, how do these stack up against your current gamers? I’m Currently gaming the gen4 0311 ST’s not sure if I should make the jump to these.
Chase,
The biggest difference is the cavity back 4I, which is a lot more playable than the true blade 4I. Beyond that, very slightly lower spin, slightly larger head, but overall very similar.
-Matt
Great review as always. I’m looking to go from Gen 3 T to these.
I notice some of the clubs in your specs chart is different than what’s on PXG website. I think they’ve changed some information and made me wonder which is accurate. Ex. GW on PXG says 50°, but your chart says 52°. The same with PW, 6, 5 and 4 iron.
Nope not sure where u got your info. These specs match the PXG site.
Hit the 7 iron at PXG MN a few weeks back. It’s really nice. Love the ability to swap out 1 screw to alter SW. In the end the stock swing weight in my 0211 ST worked best and there wasn’t any shaft or swing weight combo that beat out the stock 0211 ST setup with the tour elevate shaft (awesome shaft). I give PXG props. They didn’t try to push me into something that gave me any discernible difference from Driver down to putter. Wish I knew that the 4 iron was a CB at the time. I would’ve asked to hit that too as a possible replacement for the ST.
Hi Matt-
Great review as always. Seems to me that there’s a market for a progressive cb set with those longer irons and transitioning to smaller cb 8-p. Probably like a 210 to iblade combo, which I’m guessing their engineers are familiar with. Any knowledge of a dedicated CB in the works? I’m guessing not but that was my observation when I saw these and your review sort of affirmed that for me. With discussion of 4-iron benefits.
Riley,
To my knowledge, this is the only set that won’t feature their hollow body technologies.
Best,
Matt
Matt through all your testing is there a players cb iron that standards out for you over the last few years as extremely forgiving/easy to hit
Andrew,
PING is hard to beat if you want a cavity back that’s forgiving. If you’re ok with a hollow body iron, I’d lean toward PXG.
-Matt
Thanks Matt, in your experience would a Ping cavity offer permanent benefits over a hollow body design? Do hollow body irons come with limitations?
Andrew,
I would not categorically favor CB over hollow body or vice versa, I would choose the club that gave me the performance I was looking for.
-Matt
How are these compared to the Ping Blueprints? I loved that set, and I recall you did as well. Are these comparable? Perhaps PXG’s version of that Ping masterpiece?
Brian,
The 0317 ST is larger than the Blueprint, and it has cavity backs in the 3 and 4 which the Blueprint does not. Beyond that, they’re similar.
-Matt