Unofficial PXG Black Ops Driver Review

[BreakfastBall15]

Hello fellow Spies. I wanted to give my 2 cents on the new PXG Black Ops driver. I am going to get this out of the way early, yes, the PXG commercials are probably some of the most annoying commercials on TV, but if you can get past that they make some pretty great golf clubs. A little about me: I am currently in the Air Force stationed in Oklahoma, previously Colorado and New York before that. I have a wonderful wife that hasn’t necessarily caught the golf bug, but watching Full Swing has her more interested than she was previously. I also have two young children; my daughter is 3 and my son is 1 so I don’t get out as much as I would like but can still get out once every week or other week to play. I started taking lessons about 2 years ago and my game has improved drastically, going from a 20something handicap down to the 11-12 range. Historically, my game off the tee has been abysmal to say the least. Since taking lessons though I have somewhat cured my slice, but it still leaks in there from time to time. Now my driver game is no longer a weakness and depending on the day it is the strongest part of my game.

Fitting Experience:

I was previously gaming the PXG Gen 5 0311 XF with a Project X HZDRUS Black gen 4 60g 6.0 shaft. I was fit for this driver by PXG, so it was a decent fit for me. I will say that diver was good, not great, but still go the job done. During that fitting we had tinkered with the weights and put more weight in the heel to help with the slice correction. I went in to the PXG fitter to try out the new Black Ops driver with an open mind as I had already tested the Callaway Ai Smoke line and the TaylorMade Qi10. After warming up with my irons and getting a baseline with my gamer driver, we dove into the fitting by using the shaft I previously gamed and a few other stock options. After narrowing the shaft down, I was getting some pretty good numbers. I elected to try the upgrade shafts and did not get along with the Graphite Design options but once we got to the Ventus lineup it was a different story. I initially tried the Ventus Black and it was a very good shaft but the ball flight was way too low so I switched to the Ventus Blue. What a difference. My club head and ball speed both jumped up resulting in longer carry and total yardages but what was much more important was my dispersion was significantly tighter. While I think the stock option would have been fine, I elected to get the Ventus Blue based on the numbers.

Looks and feel:

To me new Black Ops looks significantly better than previous PXG drivers. Gone are the matte crowns and replaced with a gloss head. PXG keeps the “X” alignment aid, and the driver sits well at address. The new face technology produces a much different sound than the previous models, and to me it is a much better sound. Also the headcover is significantly better than the Gen 5 and ditches the camo pattern at the top and opts for a black on black color scheme. A nice bonus feature is the magstick which is a magnet that can stick to an iron or your cart when you take off the cover to head to the tee box.

On Course Performance:

After getting my new driver in I was eager to take it to the course and test it out but life had other plans. I was unable to get to the range and course for a few days but eventually got some range time. I’ll be honest, my first range session was a bit of a mixed bag. Hit a lot of good shots but was also seeing ball flights I was not seeing on the sim during the fitting: mainly a few slices and a few pull hooks but overall it was a great first range session. I was able to get to the course a few days later and was very eager to get to the first tee. The first hole at my home course is a 464 slight dog leg to the right that I typically miss the fairway to the left and end up by the 3rd tee box. I hit the best tee shot I’ve hit on that hole and ended but in the middle of the fairway. The rest of the round was followed by several great tee shots but also a new shot shape for me: a pull hook. I know that is on my swing and not the club but it was refreshing to see more balls hit the fairway and not slice 2 fairways over. After playing a few rounds, I have hit more fairways per round and am hitting it further (which sometimes isn’t the best because I end up in the rough and in bad lies on the doglegs) and am very pleased with this driver. I have also picked up a ton of distance over the Gen 5 and have had several drives around 320 (don't ask how those holes ended with my garbage wedge and putting game)

Final Thoughts:

I am very pleased with this driver and have more confidence on the tee box than ever before. I was skeptical as to how much of a performance difference I would from the same manufacturer over two product cycles, but PXG has done a phenomenal job with this driver.  I can see PXG becoming a serious player in the driver market with this driver. I am a feel player and don't rely on numbers with the exception of the fitting mentioned above, but the confidence I have with this driver is unlike any club I have used previously. I highly recommend at least testing it out if you're in the market for a new driver (PXG is doing the driver challenge until 30 April where if your gamer beats the Black Ops in distance or dispersion they'll give you $200) and if you qualify for their heroes program its a significant discount. I'll have better photos coming but in the mean time here is one with the headcover.

 

[StrokerAce]

Nice work! Looks like you're all in on PXG according to your signature. They make awesome clubs and the fitting process is excellent. Let us know how it goes throughout the season. 

[BreakfastBall15]

2 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

Nice work! Looks like you're all in on PXG according to your signature. They make awesome clubs and the fitting process is excellent. Let us know how it goes throughout the season. 

Only reason I'm full PXG is I got a full bag deal after they rolled out Gen 6. The price was way too good to pass up especially after pricing out a bag of various OEMs. I do agree that they make awesome clubs and I was glad I could get past the obnoxious commercials. I'll be going in a different route when I get new wedges ($300 for a single wedge is ridiculous IMO). I will also say their fairway woods are highly underrated.

[StrokerAce]

1 minute ago, BreakfastBall15 said:

Only reason I'm full PXG is I got a full bag deal after they rolled out Gen 6. The price was way too good to pass up especially after pricing out a bag of various OEMs. I do agree that they make awesome clubs and I was glad I could get past the obnoxious commercials. I'll be going in a different route when I get new wedges ($300 for a single wedge is ridiculous IMO). I will also say their fairway woods are highly underrated.

they take good care of their vets. as a former Marine I feel guilty not having a single PXG club in the bag. Maybe that will be my next set. I just convinced a buddy to do the fitting last week and he ordered the newest irons.

KABOOM BABY!

[BreakfastBall15]

1 minute ago, StrokerAce said:

they take good care of their vets. as a former Marine I feel guilty not having a single PXG club in the bag. Maybe that will be my next set. I just convinced a buddy to do the fitting last week and he ordered the newest irons.

KABOOM BABY!

My fitter let me hit the 0317T irons after my driver fitting since he didn't have another fitting for a few hours later. It was very hard to not pull the trigger on those. I do agree they have a great military discount though!

[Shrek74]

On 3/26/2024 at 8:58 AM, BreakfastBall15 said:

Hello fellow Spies. I wanted to give my 2 cents on the new PXG Black Ops driver. I am going to get this out of the way early, yes, the PXG commercials are probably some of the most annoying commercials on TV, but if you can get past that they make some pretty great golf clubs. A little about me: I am currently in the Air Force stationed in Oklahoma, previously Colorado and New York before that. I have a wonderful wife that hasn’t necessarily caught the golf bug, but watching Full Swing has her more interested than she was previously. I also have two young children; my daughter is 3 and my son is 1 so I don’t get out as much as I would like but can still get out once every week or other week to play. I started taking lessons about 2 years ago and my game has improved drastically, going from a 20something handicap down to the 11-12 range. Historically, my game off the tee has been abysmal to say the least. Since taking lessons though I have somewhat cured my slice, but it still leaks in there from time to time. Now my driver game is no longer a weakness and depending on the day it is the strongest part of my game.

Fitting Experience:

I was previously gaming the PXG Gen 5 0311 XF with a Project X HZDRUS Black gen 4 60g 6.0 shaft. I was fit for this driver by PXG, so it was a decent fit for me. I will say that diver was good, not great, but still go the job done. During that fitting we had tinkered with the weights and put more weight in the heel to help with the slice correction. I went in to the PXG fitter to try out the new Black Ops driver with an open mind as I had already tested the Callaway Ai Smoke line and the TaylorMade Qi10. After warming up with my irons and getting a baseline with my gamer driver, we dove into the fitting by using the shaft I previously gamed and a few other stock options. After narrowing the shaft down, I was getting some pretty good numbers. I elected to try the upgrade shafts and did not get along with the Graphite Design options but once we got to the Ventus lineup it was a different story. I initially tried the Ventus Black and it was a very good shaft but the ball flight was way too low so I switched to the Ventus Blue. What a difference. My club head and ball speed both jumped up resulting in longer carry and total yardages but what was much more important was my dispersion was significantly tighter. While I think the stock option would have been fine, I elected to get the Ventus Blue based on the numbers.

Looks and feel:

To me new Black Ops looks significantly better than previous PXG drivers. Gone are the matte crowns and replaced with a gloss head. PXG keeps the “X” alignment aid, and the driver sits well at address. The new face technology produces a much different sound than the previous models, and to me it is a much better sound. Also the headcover is significantly better than the Gen 5 and ditches the camo pattern at the top and opts for a black on black color scheme. A nice bonus feature is the magstick which is a magnet that can stick to an iron or your cart when you take off the cover to head to the tee box.

On Course Performance:

After getting my new driver in I was eager to take it to the course and test it out but life had other plans. I was unable to get to the range and course for a few days but eventually got some range time. I’ll be honest, my first range session was a bit of a mixed bag. Hit a lot of good shots but was also seeing ball flights I was not seeing on the sim during the fitting: mainly a few slices and a few pull hooks but overall it was a great first range session. I was able to get to the course a few days later and was very eager to get to the first tee. The first hole at my home course is a 464 slight dog leg to the right that I typically miss the fairway to the left and end up by the 3rd tee box. I hit the best tee shot I’ve hit on that hole and ended but in the middle of the fairway. The rest of the round was followed by several great tee shots but also a new shot shape for me: a pull hook. I know that is on my swing and not the club but it was refreshing to see more balls hit the fairway and not slice 2 fairways over. After playing a few rounds, I have hit more fairways per round and am hitting it further (which sometimes isn’t the best because I end up in the rough and in bad lies on the doglegs) and am very pleased with this driver. I have also picked up a ton of distance over the Gen 5 and have had several drives around 320 (don't ask how those holes ended with my garbage wedge and putting game)

Final Thoughts:

I am very pleased with this driver and have more confidence on the tee box than ever before. I was skeptical as to how much of a performance difference I would from the same manufacturer over two product cycles, but PXG has done a phenomenal job with this driver.  I can see PXG becoming a serious player in the driver market with this driver. I am a feel player and don't rely on numbers with the exception of the fitting mentioned above, but the confidence I have with this driver is unlike any club I have used previously. I highly recommend at least testing it out if you're in the market for a new driver (PXG is doing the driver challenge until 30 April where if your gamer beats the Black Ops in distance or dispersion they'll give you $200) and if you qualify for their heroes program its a significant discount. I'll have better photos coming but in the mean time here is one with the headcover.

 

Excellent write up @BreakfastBall1515. I've done 3 PXG fittings when I was living out in AZ 2020-2023, and they were very good.

I'm scheduled for another full bag fitting this coming May from the local PXG guy (not near a PXG store here in TN) and really excited to try the new BO woods and Gen6 irons.

I've done the math, and with the Heroes pricing, it would save about $1k over the estimated prices from the other OEMs. It goes higher still if I go 0211 XCOR2 (but I really want those Gen6's). I've very excited for the fitting to get here!

[BreakfastBall15]

Thanks! 

My PXG fittings have been with a PXG rep at a non PXG location as the nearest one is 3 hours away in Dallas. I’ve done 2 fittings with him (3 if you count the gen 6 challenge) and both time I’ve had a great experience. 

The heroes discount is pretty solid. Wish some other oems even offered them or had a better discount

[DechamBRO]

Just got fitted for the 0311 P gen 6 irons, and bought a 0311 XF gen 6 3 wood and 7 wood. The black ops driver is next on my list for sure!

[BreakfastBall15]

16 minutes ago, DechamBRO said:

Just got fitted for the 0311 P gen 6 irons, and bought a 0311 XF gen 6 3 wood and 7 wood. The black ops driver is next on my list for sure!

Love the double chrome. It’s so clean