PXG 0311 Gen 6 Drivers Review – Regular Vs XF Vs Gen 5

First Impression on the Range

“My first impression when I put the PXG 0311 Gen 6 behind the ball was that it looked smaller than it really was.”

Before testing, I looked up all the stats and knew that this was a 460cc driver. When I got it behind the ball, I thought I had the wrong club. The PXG 0311 Gen 6 driver has a sleek, compact look thanks to the redesigned shape which we’ll get into a bit later.

The PXG 0311 Gen 6 driver is a distance machine. After just two swings with it, I was crushing the ball over 260 yards (carry). It does look a little intimidating because it looks smaller than 460cc; but after one or two swings you will feel completely at ease – at least, I did.

The sound of the PXG 0311 Gen 6 driver isn’t insanely loud either which is something I like. I hate testing a really loud driver that calls attention to my shot at the range – especially when I am swinging poorly. It produces a mid frequency whacking sound that doesn’t change very much when you mis-hit.

What’s New With the PXG 0311 Gen 6 Drivers?

“As far as features go, there actually isn’t a whole lot that’s new in the PXG 0311 Gen 6 drivers.”

The Gen 6 drivers have the same fully carbon carbon crown, titanium/elastic modulus face construction, adjustable hosel and even moveable weight ports as the Gen 5 drivers.

The most significant difference in my opinion is the shaping of the driver. The PXG 0311 Gen 6 driver (standard) has a “tear drop” shape that looks a bit more symmetrical than the Gen 5 standard driver. The PXG 0311 Gen 6 XF also has a more elongated head shape from front to back than the Gen 5.

I also noticed that the face of the PXG 0311 Gen 6 driver was a bit deeper than the Gen 5’s standard version. And while it may seem like an insignificant difference, I believe it’s still worth noting: the PXG 0311 Gen 6 drivers have a matte black crown whereas the PXG 0311 Gen 5 drivers had more of a glossy finish.

To me, this actually makes a considerable difference because I noticed that the crowns of the new PXG 0311 Gen 6 drivers don’t catch the sun as much as the Gen 5 drivers. This makes them less distracting at address.

However, these are all the things that I noticed with the naked eye. PXG claims that they have improved the Gen 6’s CG and variable face thickness design. But these claims could only be substantiated with a side-by-side performance test.

What Handicaps Are They for?

“The standard PXG 0311 Gen 6 is a good driver for mid to low handicappers while the PXG 0311 Gen 6 XF offers more inherent forgiveness for high handicappers.”

Both models have the same moveable weight system with which you can affect any shot bias you like. Placing the heavy weights in the back also increases forgiveness significantly in both models. So at the end of the day, there is a lot of cross-over in terms of who each model is best for.

How Do They Compare to the 0311 Gen 5 Models?

“This is where we do the side-by-side testing.”

Just like the PXG 0311 Gen 6 irons that I recently tested, I found that the PXG 0311 Gen 6 drivers represent modest improvements over the Gen 5 drivers in terms of performance. Again, the biggest stand out is with shout dispersion.

Somehow PXG tightened up the dispersion significantly in the PXG 0311 Gen 6 drivers. Throughout my testing of both versions, my largest divergence reading was 11 yards. For the most part, divergence stayed in the 6-9 yard range. Superb.

In terms of ball speed, carry distance and spin rates, the PXG 0311 Gen 6 performed just a bit better than the Gen 5 drivers. Take a look at the following tit-for-tat comparison: