The post Golf’s rarest club is making a PGA Championship appearance | Tour Report appeared first on Golf.

The post Golf’s rarest club is making a PGA Championship appearance | Tour Report appeared first on Golf.

Welcome to Fully Equipped’s weekly Tour equipment report. Every Friday of PGA Tour weeks (plus other times, if news warrants), GOLF equipment editor Jack Hirsh runs you through some of the biggest news surrounding golf clubs on Tour, including changes, tweaks and launches.

After one round, Aronimink is proving more difficult off the tee than originally anticipated, and one of the early leaders is navigating that challenge with golf’s rarest club.

Yes, Aldrich Potgieter is gaming a 1-iron this week, and it’s helped him contend at the PGA Championship (tied for the lead after the first round and the solo leader at the time of this writing on Friday).

Off-the-tee play wasn’t much of a story in the lead-up at Aronimink, which is hosting a PGA for the first time in 64 years. The Donald Ross gem measures just 7,394 yards, short by modern major championship standards, and players contemplated bomb-and-gouge strategies for the layout.

“Strategy off the tee is pretty nonexistent,” Rory McIlroy said in his pre-tournament press conference. “It’s basically bash driver down there and then figure it out from there. … When these traditional golf courses take a lot of trees out, it makes strategy not as much of a concern off the tee.”

That comment came back to bite McIlroy, as he hit just 5 of 14 fairways and lost nearly a half shot to the field off the tee in an opening-round 74. Turns out the wild undulations and firm conditions of Aronimink’s fairways made them difficult to hold. Missing the fairway also proved unexpectedly penal, as the average proximity difference between the fairway and not on Thursday morning was nearly six feet worse than the average PGA Tour host course, according to Justin Ray.

While many players opted to keep their typical top-of-bag setups, Potgieter took the interesting approach of adding a 1-iron in addition to his regular PXG 2-iron. The slightly longer build checked in at just over 15 degrees of loft, which gave the club a touch of right bias.

Now, like many of the 1-irons you see on the PGA Tour from time to time, this isn’t your grandfather’s 1-iron. This is a hollow-bodied club with a graphite shaft designed to get the ball in the air. I wouldn’t advise anyone to hold Potgieter’s 1-iron (which he referred to as a 3-wood in a press conference) up during a lightning storm.

The club is rare by PGA Tour standards and if ever seen, it’s usually during the Open Championship or Scottish Open.

But Potgeiter’s 1-iron has some unique abilities even among other butter knives. As PXG’s Justin Shepherd told GOLF, the new Gen 8 driving iron’s weight adjustability allowed Potgieter to add the club in place of his fairway wood because they could straighten out his ball flight more easily.

“Playing with the weight and lie angle, as I went a little more upright … he actually was losing some ball speed, so he obviously wasn’t hitting it as well,” Shepherd said. “We moved back to the lie angle fit, then we could work on the ball flight without changing the two things.”

Potgieter’s 1-iron features a 12g weight in the heel and a 7g weight in the toe to help him turn it over. His 2-iron is more neutral.

With the 1-iron, which is 5/8 of an inch longer than the 2-iron with the same Nippon Modus GOST shaft, Potgieter carries the ball only a few yards farther than the 2-iron, but its runs out nearly 30 yards farther while reaching 170-172 mph ball speeds.

While Potgieter hit driver off the tee 11 times on Thursday, his driving irons came in handy on three tee shots and his approach to the par-5 9th. It all added up to a share of the first-round lead.

Flatstick swaps

One thing that has rung true about the challenge of Aronimink has been the difficulty of its signature Donald Ross domed greens. Was that the reason a number of players chose to make putter changes when tweaks during major weeks are usually more subtle?

The most notable move was Brooks Koepka, who moved into a new TaylorMade 2026 Spider Tour V from his previous 2025 Spider Tour X. Koepka reportedly broke his previous putter at the One Flight Myrtle Beach Classic last week, necessitating the change. He spent several hours working through various mallet putters on Monday before settling on the new Spider Tour V.

We still don’t know much on the new Spider Tour V, which appears to have been redesigned from the previous version that’s in Shane Lowry’s bag. The previous Spider Tour V was the most forward CG mallet in the TaylorMade lineup, making it feel like a blade.

Koepka’s new Tour V appears more compact and the weight ports are forward in the head, which seems to indicate a similar goal. Koepka is likely looking to find something that feels like his previous Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Teryllium putters.

But more surprising was that Alex Fitzpatrick, fresh off a Cinderella three-week run after winning the Zurich Classic team event, swapped putters.

The young Fitzpatrick went from his silver Odyssey Ai-ONE No. 7 S to a Navy Ai-ONE No. 7 CH.

While the change from silver to navy is interesting, it turns out the change from a slant neck to a crank hosel is the key switch.

Odyssey Ai-DUAL #7 S Custom Putter

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Odyssey reps Harry Shih and Cody Hale handled the change because Fitzpatrick, a gear-free agent, said he felt like he was leaving the face open at impact. In his first two events as a PGA Tour member, Fitzpatrick lost nearly a half-shot per round on the greens.

“Just gave him more face awareness,” Shih told GOLF. “He felt like the face was hanging open so we went to the crank so he could square the face up easier. Quintic data confirmed it.”

Hale added that the Crank Hosel matched his stroke rotation better.

“We also went 1 degree more upright to better match the shaft plane to his forearms, which he and his putting coach Andy Paisley like to see in his arm structure,” Hale said.

Sahith Theegala also went back to his Anser 2 gamer after a one-week trial with an Ally Blue H mallet.

And continuing a trend of what might become the PGA Tour’s next hot putter, Tom Hoge added a new Phantom 9.5R, the same model putter Cameron Young uses and Justin Thomas recently added.

Spieth goes longer; Fowler goes shorter

Thursday was a bit of a trip back in time for Jordan Spieth as he chases the career Grand Slam, but it was the driver that was dialed for Spieth, unlike how it was 10 years ago.

Spieth gained 1.93 strokes off the tee on the field in Round 1, ranked second in the field. He missed just two fairways.

Turns out he made a tweak to his GTS2 driver last week after putting it in play at Doral, going to a longer, 46″ Fujikura Ventus Black shaft.

Thanks to the increased stability of the GTS2 head he found he was able to go longer and down in loft (from 10 to 9) to get more speed. Spieth also has his GTS2 front weighted with 9g in the front and 3g in the back to get even more speed.

He gained .663 strokes a round off the tee at the Cadillac but then picked up more than a stroke a day at the Truist with the longer build. Since adding the GTS2, he’s gone from 113th in SG: Off the Tee to 77th in just two weeks.

Titleist GTS2 Custom Driver

$699.00 from Fairway Jockey

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But on the flip side, Rickie Fowler shortened his driver this week.

After using a 45″ driver for the last few weeks, Fowler is back again using a shorter build, but this time at 43.25″, almost certainly the shortest driver on the PGA Tour. In fact, it’s the same length as his mini driver.

Fowler is having one of his most accurate seasons on the PGA Tour in terms of driving accuracy and has used a 44.125″ driver for much of the season. He opened with an even-par 70 on Thursday.

Golf Pride again dominates grip count

As is typical, the overwhelming No. 1 grip at the PGA Championship was Golf Pride.

All but 11 of the 156 players in the field at Aronimink played Golf Pride grips this week, continuing the most dominant run in golf equipment.

Check this out

This section is dedicated to cool photos we’ve snapped recently on Tour, but haven’t had a reason to share yet. For this week, check out Christiaan Bezuidenhout’s new PXG 0317 Tour prototype irons.

Odds and Ends

Some other gear changes and notes we’re tracking this week.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout added PXG’s 0317 Tour Proto irons (above) with KBS Tour 125 S+ shafts … Lucas Glover switched to the GTS2 driver after adding the fairway woods last week … Max Greyserman added Callaway’s Quantum TD TD driver with Ventus Blue 6-X … Viktor Hovland added a Ping G440 Max 3-wood and G440 3-hybrid to his bag … Greyserman and Ryo Hisastune switched to Vokey’s A+ grind to get faster through the turf … Haotong Li is following in the footsteps of Fowler and Gary Woodland by adding a Scotty Cameron GOLO 7 CS … Denny McCarthy (GTS2 9.0) and Luke Donald (GTS3 9.0) added new Titleist GTS drivers non-contracted … Fujikura lead the driver shaft count with 46.2% of the field … Maverick McNealy switched to the new Fujikura Ventus TR Black+ 6-X in his driver.

3 things you should read/watch

A selection of GOLF content from the past week that may interest you.

Hideki Matsuyama is golf’s most notorious tester. Here’s what makes his bag | Bag Spy – Take a deep dive into the bag of Hideki Matsuyama and see why, even as he tests more than anyone, he continues to play mostly the same stuff.

This Aronimink feature has pros re-thinking their wedge setup at the PGA – Aronimink is the first chance for PGA Tour players to see bent grass this season. See what Vokey’s Aaron Dill says is the key to handling northeastern turf.

Cameron Young reportedly playing golf ball that would conform under rollback – Cameron Young revealed on Wednesday that his Titleist Pro V1x Double Dot golf ball passed the new rolled back conformance test. See what that means and what it’s a big deal.

The author welcomes your comments at Jack.Hirsh@golf.com.

Want to overhaul your bag in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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The post This pro bomber uses a rare equipment combination for the LPGA appeared first on Golf.

The post This pro bomber uses a rare equipment combination for the LPGA appeared first on Golf.

If you search the golf forums online for all of 10 seconds, you’ll see some shaft arguments centered around the idea of playing something like a Fujikura Ventus Black or a Project X Titan.

These super-stout, low-launch, low-spin shafts are all the rage in the forums “because that’s what the pros play”. Usually, those names include guys like Rory McIlroy, Gary Woodland, Aldrich Potgieter and other high-speed players on the PGA Tour.

But we’ve got a new name to add to that list: Auston Kim of the LPGA Tour.

It’s pretty rare to see a shaft like Fujikura Ventus Black out on the LPGA Tour. In general, the LPGA doesn’t have as much aggression as the PGA Tour does, and even the players who are a bit more aggressive will typically opt for something that still provides them with a bit more help launching the ball. Something like a Fujikura Ventus Red profile or the popular Mitsubishi Diamana WB with its softer handle and mid-soft tip would be better driver shaft profiles for these types of swings.

But Kim isn’t anywhere near the “standard” female profile. She’s currently ranked fourth on the LPGA in driving distance, and she has a swing that more closely mimics something like Cam Young; very wide, very long, and adds a small pause at the top of the swing before unleashing in transition.

Auston goes for a Fujikura Ventus Black Velocore+ 5-S that’s tipped an inch. I asked PXG LPGA Tour Manager Scotty Kim how many times he tips a driver shaft an inch out on the LPGA.

He simply replied, “Not often.”

He also mentioned, “Auston could probably actually play something a little bit stiffer than this if she wanted, but tipping the stiff flex gives her a good blend of giving her the feel she wants with the performance she needs.” Auston simply added, “I’m good” with a laugh.

Auston combines her Ventus Velo+ Black with a PXG Lightning Tour, the lowest spinning head in the new Lightning lineup. The combination of a shaft keeping up with her aggression and the speed and spin profile of the Lightning Tour provides her with a very stable package that helps her hit the signature cut shot that she wants to see off the tee.

And she’s got all the speed she needs to earn that No. 4 rank in driving distance on the LPGA Tour. Auston sits in the low 160s for ball speed, similar to me, if that’s any indication of her greatness, and she plays with a little bit more spin, too. I’m a big advocate for playing with a little bit more spin, and with such a consistent cut shot, she’s utilizing the stability and speed of the Lightning Tour in every way she can.

A good reminder that just because something says what it might be on paper doesn’t mean that in practice it’s what that gear is going to do. As an industry, we frequently get caught up trying to bucket equipment into speed and spin buckets. In Auston’s case, it was about consistency and deviation from shot to shot. Something that Johnny Wunder and I both noticed during our own testing of the PXG Lightning Tour back in October.

PXG Lightning Tour Custom Driver

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Other ‘stiff profile’ shafts on the LPGA

Another surprising option on the LPGA Tour getting a ton of use is the Diamana WB. Compared to the Ventus Black, it’s a bit of a softer profile, but it’s still created as the low-launch, low-spin part for the slightly stronger player. Something that’s been in the hands of guys on the PGA Tour like Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, and Justin Rose.

You might guess a profile like the Diamana BB would be a more popular part for the women’s game, but with athletes of all genders getting stronger and faster, the need for profiles to keep up with the more athletic fields is more apparent.

For those of you reading at home, this leads into a discussion about how important it is to find the right profile golf shaft for your game, and then match the weight and flex of that profile to your swing’s needs.

Making sure you’re in a profile that activates at the right time in your swing is critical. Weight and flex are then there to make sure that you’re squeezing every bit of performance out of it that you can.

In Auston Kim’s case, they decided to stick with a lighter-weight, stiff flex shaft that they tipped one inch. This tipping stabilized the tip a tad while also making the handle a bit softer, which is very helpful for a wider, more aggressive swing that stays very connected. Again, think Auston, Rory, Cam Young, or Xander.

They don’t yank down on the golf shaft in transition; they keep it wide and long with their wrists relatively stable, and they create separation until impact.

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The post How this LPGA powerhouse chooses what goes in the bag appeared first on Golf.

The post How this LPGA powerhouse chooses what goes in the bag appeared first on Golf.

PXG staffer Auston Kim, who averages 290 yards per drive, is one of the LPGA’s longest hitters. And her power dictates a special fit. Recently, I had a chance to get some range time with Kim and PXG LPGA tour manager Scotty Kim and got a look into their process when it comes to getting clubs in her bag.

Here’s what I learned.

The bottom of the bag

Auston Kim started the bag with a 58-degree lob wedge, choosing to play PXG’s 3x Forged Sugar Daddy III wedges and opting for a lower bounce C-Grind offering in the lobber. She said she’s never used a 60-degree wedge because she prefers to chip with the 58 degree. At one point, she played just 52- and 56-degree wedges until a round with Hollis Stacey at a junior tournament.

“She looked at my wedges,” Kim said, “and said, ‘What are you doing?’ So she told me to go 50, 54, 58 and I’ve just stuck with it.” Wise advice.

PXG Sugar Daddy III Custom Wedge

Artfully engineered for versatility, customization, and insane accuracy across all playing conditions. PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy III Wedges are 3X forged, 100% CNC milled, and feature three innovative sole designs to allow players to find their perfect fit while experiencing the quality and precision only PXG can deliver. Available right and left-handed in both Chrome and Xtreme Dark finish. BENEFITS Versatility Outstanding Control Customization Innovative Adjustability Unmatched Precision

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Also available direct from PXG

She continued the wedge set with a 54- and 50-degree S-Grind, also in the Sugar Daddy III wedges. I thought it was interesting that she chose the lower-bounce C-grind in the lobber, but Scotty Kim gave some insight.

“You know I think for her, with the shots that Auston hits around the green, the C-Grind provides some versatility for her,” he said. “Being able to open it up and still have the right bounce to get through the turf and not get stuck.”

Irons

Auston Kim had the PXG 0317ST irons, which are easily some of the nicest irons that PXG has ever made. It’s an iron that has stood the test of time over the years, and hasn’t been replaced yet by PXG, but we hear there may be something new coming soon. The 0317ST heads are what I would consider a “player’s blade.” It’s a narrow-sole option that’s meant to launch a little bit lower and spin a bit more while providing optimal control for the player.

Since Kim is a player who hits a cut shot and works the ball with plenty of spin, something like the ST provides her the feel, feedback and launch that she wants to feel in control of the ball. “I’m a stock cutter — I have to see the ball work left to right.” she said. She also talked about a recent iron switch that happened purely because Accra no longer makes her old Accra Tour 90 shafts. She’s now in the Accra TZi 95 iron shafts — it’s a fantastic graphite offering for stronger players looking for more of a ProjectX type of feel.

Long game

Kim really shines once you put some metal woods in her hands, and it starts with the hybrid, the hero of our story here. PXG has always made a really good hybrid. Even through a couple years of some iffy metal woods, the hybrids were always a good standout in the lineup. Kim, however, isn’t exactly the normal hybrid candidate. Hybrids are extremely popular on the LPGA, but a lot of that comes out of a need for speed and launch, not something that Kim concerns herself with. For her, it’s more about confidence.

“Personally, I think that I struggle with hitting the ball high sometimes,” she said. “I know I can get it up there, but the 4-iron just doesn’t look good to me. I’ve tried it a bunch before and I just — I believe that a hybrid has more versatility. I just like the look of this better.”

We had Kim hit a couple fun shots with her PXG Lightning 4-hybrid, and she hit the nail on the head when she talked about how versatile the club is. Hitting it through all windows is stress-free for Kim, and it gives her the confidence behind the ball that she needs to perform on course. With ball speeds reaching 143 mph, she gets plenty of distance out of the club as well. With her stock shot getting to about 80 feet in the air, I challenged her to hit the ball up to 100 feet and then hit it as low as possible. She hit one to 100.9 feet in the air and hit a low stinger to 21.4 feet. Versatility? Check.

She then followed up the Lightning 4-hybrid with a Lightning Tour 5W and Lighting Tour 3W before jumping to her Lighting Tour driver.

PXG Lightning Custom Hybrid

$329.00 from Fairway Jockey

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The big stick

Auston Kim and Scotty Kim worked together last fall when the new Lightning product came out and ended up fitting her into a Lightning Tour 9-degree Driver in the PXG FLAT setting with a Fujikura Ventus Velocore+ Black 5-S. Auston Kim works with plenty of spin, so using their Lightning Tour model helps to control her misses a bit better and makes sure that she’s not over-spinning her stock shot. The Ventus Velocore+ Black shaft helps keep up with her aggressive transition and helps stabilize the head through impact. It’s a setup she has a lot of trust in and has plenty of speed. Ranked fourth in driving distance on the LPGA doesn’t come easy, but clearly Scotty Kim has helped her build up a workhorse here.

“I already liked Black Ops a lot, and when I first tried the Lightning Tour that was — I mean I saw an immediate jump in ball speed and carry so it was a no-brainer,” Auston Kim said.

Looking to get fit for your own PXG clubs? Find a PXG fitting location near you.

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The post PXG drops new Stick’em forged wedges appeared first on Golf.

The post PXG drops new Stick’em forged wedges appeared first on Golf.

PXG’s new wedges won’t just help you stick the ball close to the hole, but also stick softly on the face.

The company announced its new Stick’em Forged wedge line Thursday, each precision-crafted from three-times forged 8620 soft carbon steel.

“The short game is where players either gain confidence or lose it,” PXG senior director of engineering Mike Nicolette said in a release. “With Stick’em Forged Wedges, the goal was to give golfers a wedge that performs predictably shot after shot. The head stays stable when you open the face, the grooves generate reliable spin, and the forged construction delivers the soft feedback players rely on to judge distance and touch around the green. When a wedge reacts exactly the way a player expects, it frees them up to be more aggressive and creative.”

PXG’s three-times forging process helps to align the metal’s grain structure at a molecular level. That’s how the company is able to create a super soft feel while retaining a crisp sound at impact.

Center of Gravity is also a focus of the design, as a high-toe shape helps to raise the CG and align it for open-face shots. That’s going to lead to lower launch angles and more spin, especially on open-face shots where spin is crucial.

The wedges also feature PXG’s high-performance groove geometry to maximize friction at impact to produce more consistent spin. The wider grooves help to grip the ball better and channel more water and debris away from the face.

The Stick’em Forged wedges will be offered in lofts ranging from 50˚ to 60˚ with the 54˚ to 60˚ lofts offered in either the wider, full-soled BP-grind or the tapered-sole S-Grind for more versatile performance.

Price and Availability

PXG‘s new Stick’em Forged wedges are available starting March 12 on PXG.com.

Each wedge will cost $199 in chrome, while the Xtreme Dark finish costs $219.

Want to find the best wedges for your game in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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The post PXG adds first center-shafted ‘zero torque’ putter to its lineup appeared first on Golf.

The post PXG adds first center-shafted ‘zero torque’ putter to its lineup appeared first on Golf.

In a short span of time, PXG has put together one of the most robust lineups of low-torque putters and now they’re adding a missing option.

PXG’s new Hot Rod ZT marks the company’s first low-torque option with a center-shaft hosel. Previously, all of the company’s “zero-torque” putters featured an S-hosel, which places the shaft over the CG axis, but then curves the hosel back to the heel.

“Every detail of Hot Rod ZT was shaped around confidence, both visually and through impact,” PXG design engineer Matt Andrews said in a press release. “From the way the mallet frames the ball to the sound and feel off the face, we focused on creating a putter that looks stable, feels stable, and performs exactly the way players expect when it matters most.”

Keep reading below for more on the PXG Hot Rod ZT, including my take on the release.

What’s actually new with PXG Hot Rod ZT — and why you should care

The new Hot Rod ZT is now PXG’s largest and highest MOI ZT option.

The head is milled from 6061 aluminum, and the lighter-weight material allows mass to be distributed precisely within the head for maximum MOI.

Four interchangeable weights allow the weight to be further pushed toward the perimeter, as well as concealed high-density tungsten.

The face of the putter features PXG’s proprietary Pyramid Milled Face Pattern, which has a diamond-shaped pattern with a pointed tip to reduce actual contact area with the ball and soften the feel but still retain the feedback players are used to from a milled face.

The newest technology for PXG is the center-shafted design that goes straight through the head’s center of gravity to create the low-torque effect. Like all other PXG ZT putters, this putter will balance toe up. It also features three degrees of integrated shaft lean to place the hands back in front of the face, an optimal position.

The PXG Hot Rod ZT

What is it: An ultra-high MOI, low-torque mallet putter with a center shafted configuration. Available in two alignment options with a full-length sightline or a short line from the front to the hosel.

Who it’s for: Players who want an ultra-high MOI mallet and are comfortable with an onset center-shaft configuration.

My take: PXG is all in on low-torque

The new Hot Rod ZT marks PXG’s fifth low-torque shape option in their ZT putter family, building out one of the more comprehensive low-torque lineups on the market.

While PXG has released traditional putters since their first low-torque putter, the Allan, which was released in late 2024, it seems obvious this is where the focus of their putter design is going.

What’s really interesting is that this is the first time they have gone with a center-shafted option, instead going for their S-hosel on their previous releases.

I think what that tells us is that center-shafted options aren’t as taboo as they were when the low-torque trend started. Golfers are willing to try center-shafted models if they see the benefits and PXG is betting that golfers will see those benefits with their ZT putters.

Price, Specs and Availability

PXG’s new Hot Rod ZT putters are available starting Feb. 12 on PXG’s website.

The putter costs $449.

The putter is available to be customized for length and lie, while the loft is fixed at 6˚ and 3˚ of integrated forward press. The stock headweight is 375g, while the minimum is 345g and max is 415g.

Want to find the best driver for your game in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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The post PXG makes another tour staff splash with Aldrich Potgieter signing appeared first on Golf.

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If this gear-free agent season has seemed quiet, you haven’t been paying attention to PXG.

The company made the only major signing of the new year when it announced that PGA Tour rookie Marco Penge joined its Tour staff last week. Now, PXG has added another big acquisition in the form of reigning PGA Tour rookie of the year Aldrich Potgieter. He was previously with Titleist.

“Last season showed me what it takes to compete out here,” Potgieter said in a press release. “I’m focused on getting better every week, and PXG gives me the tools and support to do that. The equipment performs, the process is straightforward, and that’s exactly what I’m looking for.”

Potgieter led the PGA Tour in driving distance last season at 325 yards a tee shot, which means PXG will now have two of the longest young stars on the PGA Tour on staff. Penge led the DP World Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee and averaged 319 yards.

PXG also now has the last two winners of the PGA Tour ROTY award, with Potgieter joining 2024 winner Eric Cole. That doesn’t include Penge, who is the leading favorite to win the award this year.

“Aldrich didn’t just have a good rookie year – he set a standard,” PXG Founder and CEO Bob Parsons said. “He’s disciplined, powerful, and knows what he wants out of his equipment. That clarity and competitiveness make him a great fit for PXG as he takes the next step in his career.”

PXG 0311T GEN8 Custom Irons

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PXG

Potgieter will play the company’s new Lightning Tour driver as well as PXG’s Secret Weapon mini driver, GEN8 X driving iron, GEN8 0311 T 4-iron, 0317 ST 5-9 irons, Sugar Daddy 46 & 60 wedges and the Brandon Tour putter. Notably, Potgieter is still listed on Titleist’s website as a “Golf ball player.”

This is probably the final major equipment signing ahead of the 2026 season. It has been quiet, but PXG has been a big winner. The company is making a big bet on young talent, and it potentially could have the last three winners of the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award on its staff.

Gear changes are always fickle and worth following, but it is worth noting that both Penge and Potgieter will have a constant golf ball from last season, which helps to bring some consistency.

But with both Potgieter, Penge and Cole, PXG is sending a message that they will be relevant among the game’s best for years to come.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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The post PXG’s new GEN8 irons are fast, yes. But also offer so much more appeared first on Golf.

The post PXG’s new GEN8 irons are fast, yes. But also offer so much more appeared first on Golf.

When Bob Parsons launched the PXG 0311 iron line in 2015, it was one of the more polarizing (and criticized) club launches in recent memory. The idea was simple: Sparing no expense, how can we make the best performing (and feeling) irons in golf? Indeed, the initial offerings were pricey; the unit cost per club (production cost, not retail) was somewhere in the range of 3x what a normal club cost.

Despite the public and many in the industry speculating that the concept of a $350-per-iron sticker price would never last, PXG thrived and created a new “premium” market of that we hadn’t seen in the U.S. The buzz was real, the market was established, and PXG, after 10-plus years, continues to innovate and do it in their own way. PXG always has made great irons. I can’t think of a generation of PXG irons that didn’t live up to the marketing pitch in terms of ball speed and user experience.

Under the creativity and brain power of COO Brad Schweigert and Mike Nicolette, senior director of R&D, PXG has not only continued producing quality irons, but now also . . . a really good driver. That part is not easy for a company this young; 10 years is a blip in terms of building IP and innovation so to think that PXG is a full 14-club (plus a ball!) company with great product speaks to the will of Bob Parsons and Co.

Now comes the latest chapter in the PXG irons story. The new 5X Forged GEN8 0311 (P, XP, T) series of irons is here, and I gotta say . . . they bring a very interesting story and perhaps a new way of looking at iron design. Keep in mind that Nicolette is one of the most respected builders in the game, so it’s not a fluke that PXG continues to push technology all while putting it in a package that satisfies.

“With GEN8,” Nicolette said in a release, “we focused on elevating every performance variable without compromise, from the polymer to the face architecture to the weighting system; every element works together to maximize energy transfer, tighten dispersion, and deliver the soft, responsive feel golfers expect from PXG.”

Keep reading for more on the PXG GEN8 irons, including my take on the release.

What’s actually new with PXG GEN8 irons — and why you should care

The tech story

If you’ve been tracking PXG over the years, you would know that visible weight distribution has been its calling card. Looked funny at the time, but the idea was actually quite brilliant and representative of a company trying to push the limits at every turn. GEN8 marks a new level of sophistication in the R&D process that might feel like other OEM’s, but it’s still very PXG.

What can we typically expect from PXG irons?

The company excels at new-age craftsmanship. I say that knowing every OEM pushes the limits, but the ethos of PXG to me is a clubmaker that almost never looks back and is always reaching for the next big thing. I love that.

Let’s dive in.

QuantumCOR, which is a proprietary polymer that essentially satisfies a few key things: (1) It pushes an iron’s COR to the razor’s edge of legal, and (2) It creates the sound and feel to match what players want.

Is this new? No. Quantum COR was present in GEN7; there is just more of it this time around, and it sits lower in the clubhead compared to its predecessors.

PXG has always made its irons fast first and backed them off from there. Some may think that this tactic is wise only for distance irons but, honestly, I think it makes sense across all platforms . . . even with muscle-back irons.

Why?

Because technology allows you to build spin and nuance after the fact; it’s harder to make clubs precise first and fast second. Make sense? This means leveraging proprietary internal substances to nail iron construction in sound, feel or speed — or all of the above. Using Quantum COR is another example of evolution.

In PXG’s case, a new internal tungsten weighting system pulls CG away from the hosel with tungsten slugs out on the toe (20G T, 25GP and 15G XP), given its irons one more opportunity to maximize priority No. 1, which is ball speed across the face and increased MOI.

This is not a speed story (at least not entirely). PXG irons have always lived as close to the legal border as any company in golf so speed is always part of the story, but it’s not the selling point of the GEN8 line. Forgiveness and efficiency and adjustability have now been pushed to the . . . X-Treme. So don’t worry: GEN8 brings all the speed vibes, but PXG just didn’t have to lead with that this time.

Deep Core Recoil Technology

Deep Core Recoil Technology is the mechanism that makes the face pop. In 4th-grader terms, PXG created more space behind the face to allow the face to flex back even further to create ball speed and feel. More space means more polymer (.200 of an inch behind and .300 of an inch lower) in the cavity and boom. This in combo with PXG’s ultra thin maraging steel face not only creates speed opportunities but also nails down spin efficiency and trajectory. The latter is the achieved goal here.

Dual perimeter weighting system

The most compelling advancement in the GEN8 lineup is the new dual perimeter weighting system that does a few things to an iron that I simply haven’t seen. First, by putting moveable weights to the extreme heel and toe sections, PXG fitters can influence and enhance strike point and, more important, start lines without adjusting the lie angle; it also allows them to dial in swing weight without adding weight to the heel. Moving weights to make CG constant isn’t a new idea, but the way PXG has done it is different.

“Edel did it first!”

Yes, we will hear this refrain from the serious gear heads, but GEN8 out paces any previous product. PXG is moving more weight, and that weight sits further out on the fringes of the clubhead than anything I’ve seen. And it’s actually something you can see in the air.

By putting weight out on the toe and heel and away from the center, PXG increased MOI substantially, making even the 0311 T iron extremely forgiving.

PXG said nearly all golfers were able to distinguish between different weight configurations in testing, with all of them seeing a measurable change in face-to-path at impact.

This advancement alone really piqued my interest, and I can say now that, after testing and playing rounds with these irons, this perimeter weighting package has noticeable value vs other irons.

The PXG GEN8 0311 iron lineup

GEN8 0311 P

What is it: Players Distance Irons on creatine. In this category (see: Apex Ai200, 790, T250, etc.), the 0311 P is the longest and highest launching I’ve hit, and the dual perimeter weighting adds a bit of nuance to the flight for better players who need this iron.

Who it’s for: 5-15 handicaps and good ballstrikers looking for help at any cost.

GEN8 0311 XP

What is it: Mack-truck ball-speed machine. Simple. Fast, forgiving, high launching. If the whole line is a big party, XP is Mardi Gras night.

Who it’s for: High handicaps looking to have fun, hit it all over the face and get away with it. PXG does extreme forgiveness better than anyone.

PXG GEN8 0311T

What is it: Historically a platform I’ve loved and played. Tour shaping with a speed package. Fast and forgiving for this category. These irons don’t spin as much as some of their competitors in this category, but they do launch higher than all of them so it becomes apples to apples. For the most part, stopping power comes from the landing angle, not from spin. A forgiving better-player package with speed. Lots of speed. Ideal for someone like me.

Who it’s for: Tour-level to 8 handicaps.

GEN8 0311 X Driving iron

What is it: The hottest driving iron (18 degrees) I’ve seen in years: 4-wood speed, 3-wood spin, with north-to-south trajectory control. It gets up and can go down.

Who it’s for: Really fast players that may be 3-wood challenged, hybrids don’t agree with them; also suitable for that player in Texas or Scotland who thrives on hitting bullets that run forever. In a nutshell, it’s a niche club that’s a really good time but you better have speed or it could be a problem. Think Jake Knapp not Joe Pesci.

My take: Playability in something I want to play

This was my first go-around with PXG since coming back to the brand-agnostic fold. Nothing has changed, and I love that this is true. I’ve always found the experience of a PXG clubs to be a ton of fun for a simple reason: They design golf clubs that will help anyone hit a bunch of good shots.

If I take the T iron, for example, yes, it’s a hot players iron, but for someone like me who wants that everyday playability with little to no effort, it’s a blessing. I can play an iron in a Tour package that has the speed of a player’s distance iron and the nuance of something closer to a Tour CB. I can’t say that about many irons these days, at least not ones that are as long as these. The Callaway Rogue ST Pro was the last set I could say mirrored this experience. That iron may not have been for the serious club connoisseur, but they were a party day in and day out. I played phenomenal golf with those things.

The GEN8 0311 Ts give me the same feels and performance, but this time in a 5X forged package. That’s PXG — they just always take it a step further. I imagine if PXG made Ferraris, their version would be an F1 mod. That’s just how they roll.

GEN8 across the board took the fastest iron platform that I know and built in efficiency. That’s saying a lot these days, because everyone makes fast forgiving clubs, but this launch took it deeper. This type of evolution is usually reserved for drivers.

Parsons started this company to satisfy a question he had: How do I make golf clubs that don’t compromise anywhere? Knowing Bob over the years, what he really meant was how do I make golf clubs fun to hit all the time?

Some may say PXG irons aren’t for everyone, and that’s fair — maybe they aren’t. But as someone who does this for a living, I can say with conviction that anyone looking for a fun golf club day in and day out, you’d be hard-pressed to find something better than the GEN8 0311. They are simply a party that you must experience.

Price, specs and availability

PXG’s new GEN8 irons are available to order starting Jan. 15 at PXG.com.

Each iron will be offered in Chrome or Xtreme Dark finishes, with Chrome irons going for $229 per stick, while Xtreme Dark is $249 per.

Iron loft progressions are as follows:

0311 P: (4-GW) 20.5, 23, 26, 30, 34, 39, 44, 49
0311 XP: (4-GW) 18, 20, 23, 27, 31, 36, 41, 47
0311 T: (3-PW) 20, 22.5, 25, 28, 32, 36, 41, 46

Want to find the best irons for your game in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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The post This PGA Tour rookie is making a big gear change before his debut appeared first on Golf.

The post This PGA Tour rookie is making a big gear change before his debut appeared first on Golf.

The days of the golf equipment signings hot stove might be gone, but every now and then, one signing deserves our attention.

Marco Penge just earned it with his latest gear move.

The newly minted PGA Tour member, by virtue of his runner-up finish in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai, has joined PXG’s Tour staff. He had used Mizuno clubs since 2022 and played the company’s driver and irons during his three-win season last year in Europe.

“From the first conversation, it was clear PXG is obsessed with performance,” Penge, the 29th-ranked player in the world, said in a press release. “The fitting process, the people, the technology … it’s all built to help players compete at the highest level. I’m excited to work closely with the team and put PXG equipment in play every week.”

PXG Lightning Tour Mid Custom Driver

$649.00 from Fairway Jockey

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PXG

Penge was slated to make his season debut this week at the Sony Open, but withdrew due to illness. He is still in the field next week at the American Express.

PXG says Penge will play the new Lightning Tour Mid Driver, Secret Weapon Mini Driver, new PXG 0311 GEN8 4-Iron and PXG 0317 ST 5-P Irons to start the year. Notably, Titleist still lists Penge as a “Golf Ball Player” on its website, and it seems he will continue to play the Pro V1. He also used at least four Scotty Cameron putters last year and won with three different ones.

Penge will be playing both sides of the pond this season as he retained his DP World Tour membership.

“Marco is driven, talented, and unapologetically competitive, exactly the kind of player we want representing PXG,” PXG founder and CEO Bob Parsons said. “He’s committed to getting better every day, and we’re proud to support him with equipment built to perform at the highest level.”

Few other major equipment staff moves are expected for 2026, but PXG is teasing a second addition to its Tour staff that it did not announce on Tuesday.

After Penge’s big 2025, not only will his adjustment to the PGA Tour life be worth watching but so, too, will his adjustment to new gear.

Want to overhaul your bag in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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The post PXG unveils new Lightning lineup of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids appeared first on Golf.

The post PXG unveils new Lightning lineup of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids appeared first on Golf.

Today, PXG unveiled the tech behind its brand new Lightning metalwoods — four drivers, two fairway woods and a hybrid all aimed at giving the best PXG performance you’ve ever tested. You’ve probably seen the pictures and videos on my or Johnny Wunder’s (@johnny_wunder) Instagram pages, and we’ve been very bad about hiding how much we like the new gear. There’s lots of reasons for that, so let’s dive in and see what PXG is bringing to the table in 2026. I’ll mainly focus on the new drivers here because I know that’s what most of you want to hear about, but there’s some specific notes about the fairway woods and the hybrids I feel are important as well. 

Johnny and I were both lucky enough to attend the PXG media event earlier this year where they unveiled the product and fit us into the best options for our games (and let us have some fun while we were at it too). PXG had nearly full bags built overnight for more than 25 players that were there testing, including a new bag for every single attendee. Wild.

What’s new with PXG Lightning?

PXG’s Lightning launch follows a successful Black Ops series of products. Black Ops was sort of universally seen across the industry as the first legitimate driver and fairway options from the PXG brand. They’ve always made a respectable hybrid offering, but the industry hasn’t been quite sold on their top-of-the-bag metalwoods.

It’s worth noting that the entire lineup has a glossy finish from top to bottom. The crown and the sole are both polished carbon fiber, and it absolutely passes the eye-candy test. I’m someone who prefers the gloss finish on my woods and this implementation is definitely high on my list of favorites. The gloss really brings out the shaping in the sole so you can not only see the spine on each driver, but also the different shapes and areas where they clearly are attacking some aerodynamic opportunities. 

When I asked JW about PXG and what he’s seen from the company since he got started in the golf industry, he came back with this: “Specifically to drivers, I’d say PXG went from a company who dabbled in drivers just to satisfy the loyalists to now how having a bona fide driver that will compete with anyone. The company shifted a ton the moment they nailed this Lightning series. They are now a legit FULL BAG company. Huge step forward.”

With Lightning, they’ve surpassed Black Ops in every way possible, and frankly, it’s so far beyond Black Ops that PXG has now put itself in a competitive space right along with the big dogs in Callaway, TaylorMade or Titleist. And they’ve taken an interesting approach in the design. 

Frequency Tuned Face

The big tech story with PXG Lightning is their Frequency Tuned Face. The very first thing most of us at the media event noticed and questioned when we first saw the heads was the ridge on the bottom of each model. A very pronounced ridge. A ridge that had to have a story. And for the first day of the event we all started to speculate what this ridge did. We all went through our fittings for new drivers getting zero technical details, which to their credit was a really cool way for us to dive into the gear. It was a purely feel- and performance-based look at the new stuff that let us wonder about the reasoning behind it. But on Day 2, everything was unlocked. Which brings us back to that Frequency Tuned Face. 

Essentially what PXG did is find the optimal frequency that the club head vibrates at to create a marriage between face flexion, ball compression, sound and feel. The aforementioned back ridge plays its part by stiffening up the carbon fiber sole plates in each model so that they don’t negatively affect the overall modal frequency. By finding this perfect frequency they are able to optimize speed and launch off the face so that a fitted golfer sees the most performance possible out of their PXG Lightning metalwood. This goes for the two fairway models and the hybrid as well. 

Sound and Feel

A quick note on sound and feel: these drivers sound so cool. They’re unapologetically loud offerings, but with a deeper tone than you might expect from this volume. There’s no piercing ting, but rather a nice crack that’s incredibly satisfying when you get one right in the center. Off-center the pitch is going to drop just a tad and you’re able to get feedback on how badly you may have missed off-center. This is probably my favorite sounding driver I’ve tested so far as 2026 launches are concerned. 

Additional Improvements

While the entire launch revolves around this Frequency Tune Face, PXG has stepped it up in nearly every category. They weren’t afraid to admit their downfalls when it came to the Black Ops lineup, showing us charts that had the Black Ops lineup behind its competitors in nearly every category, including speed, launch, spin and down-range dispersion. Lightning, however, turns over a new leaf for the company. They can confidently say that the decision in performance to play a PXG Lightning product over the competition is going to come down to the fit. It may be harsh to say, but fitters simply weren’t pulling Black Ops off the shelf to compete in fitting bays; but they’re ready to pull Lightning into more bay battles in 2026. 

Each head also has an increased amount of carbon fiber, and with their Spined Sole technology that carbon fiber’s strength has been improved even further, creating a more stable driver lineup while increasing MOI in each model by allowing PXG engineers to more strategically place their adjustable weighting systems. On the Tour head you’ll notice a 67% increase in the carbon fiber sole plate over the 0311 Black Ops Tour-1, and the Tour Mid and the Max 10k+ have a 74% and 84% increase, respectively, over the 0311 Black Ops driver. Yes, you read that right. The “middle” model has a 74% larger carbon fiber surface area than the more forgiving model of the last generation. More on this in a bit. 

Black Ops was touted as a very forgiving lineup, almost to a fault, but by adding more carbon fiber to the Lightning lineup, PXG is able to move weight more strategically and squeeze every bit of MOI out of these heads. The Max 10k+ head sees a 5% MOI boost over the 0311 Black Ops for a total combined MOI measurement of 8290; the Tour Mid sees a 12% MOI boost over the 0311 Black Ops Tour-1 for a total combined MOI measurement of 9122; and the Tour sees a 2% jump above the Tour-1 as well for a total combined MOI measurement of 8290. It’s worth noting that the new Lightning Max Lite also sees an impressive MOI measurement of 9667 MOI points, just missing out on that commonly marketed 10k MOI measurement. 

The Lightning Tour Mid Driver — The Special One

By finding this optimal modal frequency, they’re able to fine tune each driver into the proper segment for the golfer the product is aimed at, which is how we get the introduction of the brand new Lightning Tour Mid: a head aimed at supporting a larger bell curve of players who may find themselves at a lower handicap but need a bit of help with launch and spin. The Tour Mid is, for lack of a better term, the new core head in the lineup or the middle ground between the low spin Lightning Tour and the High MOI Lightning Max 10k+. I think about 80% of the better players at the PXG event got fit into the Tour Mid, and none of us were really surprised. Both Johnny and I got fit into the Tour Mid and played a full round with it the next day. We were both extremely impressed, and Johnny will tell you it was one of my better driving rounds he’s seen me have. 

Putters

PXG's Mustang ZT adds to zero torque putter lineup

By: Jack Hirsh

The head has a better player’s inspired shape, feel and performance with just enough added forgiveness to make it playable for a rather large bucket of golfers. Charles Howell III was actually the first person to get into Johnny’s ear about the new Lightning models, and if you know Johnny at all, that was more than enough to get him pretty amped going into our testing. 

I think what makes the Tour Mid so great is the spin and launch window it finds itself in. The Tour model this year moves into more of a niche tool. It’s great for players looking to kill spin and launch the ball a bit flatter. Players who want to work a big cut are going to love the Lightning Tour. But for players who may need a little help getting the ball up in the air or naturally produce a little bit of a draw off the tee, the new Tour Mid hits a really nice sweet spot.

During my fitting, paired with a Ventus TR Black 6x (which was a complete surprise for me) the Tour Mid never fell below 2100 rpm and never skied above 2800 rpms, which for me hits a perfect sweet spot. I am actually OK if certain misses spin up on me and reach that 3000-ish mark, but I get terrified as I get closer to that 2000 rpm number. My horror miss is the low-spin duck hook. (I get chills just typing that out.) But the Tour Mid held strong, and it threw up some really impressive ball speed numbers as well. I was sorta feelin’ it the day I was getting fit so I was swinging closer to 116 mph down in the Scottsdale National sun and was seeing ball speeds right around the 170-mph mark. Plenty of speed to compete with anything else I’ve tested. And these numbers weren’t just full-bore swings on the range. Johnny and I got a chance to immediately take our fit drivers out on course and test them out, and we saw the exact same playability we did in our fits. 

Lightning has struck

The new PXG Lightning lineup is a very welcome addition to the PXG family. On the surface, it’s a great new option in fitting bays with a reliable hybrid, two new fairway woods and four new driver models — particularly the Lightning Tour Mid. As PXG celebrates a decade of success and growth, the Lightning product is the perfect display of what its team is capable of and how it’s trying to push the company forward.

The drivers are priced at $649, with the fairway woods $379 and hybrid $329.

Looking to get fit for your 2026 bag? Visit your local True Spec.

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The post PXG’s Mustang ZT adds to zero torque putter lineup appeared first on Golf.

The post PXG’s Mustang ZT adds to zero torque putter lineup appeared first on Golf.

PXG’s latest zero torque putter is built on one of its most unconventional shapes.

The company is releasing the new Mustang ZT, its fourth zero torque putter in what has become one of the hottest club categories in the sport.

“With the Mustang ZT, we’re expanding the Zero Torque lineup to give golfers even more options that fit the way they play,” said PXG Founder and CEO Bob Parsons in a release.

Keep reading below for more on the Mustang ZT putter, who it’s for and my thoughts on the new design.

What is the PXG Mustang ZT?

The Mustang ZT is PXG’s fourth in their line of ZT putters, and it builds on their Mustang II shape, which is one of the most unique shapes in their putter line.

Starting with an anser-style blade, the Mustang has the corners pinched out further from the center of the putter to increase MOI. To give this putter “toe-up” zero torque properties, PXG uses its patented “S” hosel to place the shaft axis directly above the CG of the putter.

This design allows the clubface to stay square throughout any stroke type (pendulum or arc) and eliminates the need for a center-shaft design.

PXG also uses a hollow-bodied design injected with its proprietary S-COR polymer to increase MOI further by concentrating mass in the wings of the putter.

To help the player’s hands stand ahead of the clubhead through the stroke, the Mustang ZT is designed with 1 degree of integrated shaft lean.

Who is the Mustang ZT for?

If you’re looking to get into a low-torque putter model but don’t like the typical center-shaft design or prefer looking at a high-MOI blade-style putter, the Mustang ZT might be one of your few options.

While the Mustang ZT isn’t a traditional blade, it is one of the few high-MOI blade-style options in the low torque space, which has been dominated by mallet shapes.

The Mustang ZT will also appeal to players who like a bit of firmer, milled feel and faster ball speeds off the face, thanks to PXG’s ultra-thin face and pyramid milling technology.

My thoughts

PXG’s putter options have become very robust over the past several years, and just over one year after introducing their first ZT option, they now have their fourth.

Within PXG’s ZT putter lineup, you can now choose between a high-MOI mallet, a wing-style mallet, a wide-bodied blade and a high-MOI wing-style blade.

It’s clear PXG believes their S-hosel can be applied to many different shapes they already make, which is only going to give players more options to find the best putter for their games.

The Mustang ZT is a unique shape, but not one that will upset the modern player. A player who is increasingly willing to trade looks for performance.

As someone who is very pro-blade and anti-center shaft, I’m eager to try getting a putter that matches the narrower shape I prefer and offers low torque characteristics without a center shaft.

Price, specs and availability

The PXG Mustang ZT is available starting October 16 at PXG stores, fitting studios and PXG’s website. It will cost $449.99.

Stock loft and lie are 4˚ (which plays like 3˚ with the 1˚ forward shaft lean) and 70˚ lie, but these can be customized when ordering.

The headweight is adjustable, with the stock setting at 365 grams and options ranging from 350 to 385 grams.

Want to find the best putter for your game? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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