Declassifying PXG Black Ops

Inside the soundproof walls of government agencies, military units, paramilitary organizations or even private companies, “Black Ops” refers to a covert operation not attributable to the organization carrying it out. 

For gamers, think CIA operative Alex Mason’s clandestine mission in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

You’ll get the idea.  

As it declassifies its latest drivers, fairway woods and hybrids, PXG is being anything but secretive. The Scottsdale, Ariz., company is trumpeting a new level of forgiveness, advances in materials and composite construction, faster face designs and precision weight placement in all three categories with Black Ops.    

“I have often wondered why golfers are content to give up distance to achieve forgiveness,” says Bob Parsons, PXG founder and CEO.  “We’ve spent so much of our R&D efforts focused on that challenge and I’m proud to say … we’ve cracked that nut.” 

That’s great, Bob, but enough with the formalities. Tell us what you really think.   

“Black Ops woods are straight like an arrow, more forgiving than a priest on Sunday and absolutely stunning to boot!”  

Period.  

Two Head Shapes  

PXG’s seventh-generation 0311 drivers come in two very distinct head designs.  

Black Ops is the larger.  

It has a deeper front-to-back, lower profile with maximum head length and less crown curvature. The high-launch, low-spin model suits a wide range of golfers looking for a balance of ball speed, distance and forgiveness. 

Black Ops Tour-1 is the tour-inspired design. 

Developed with staff player feedback, it features a smaller head profile, taller face height with a more curved down crown to create what PXG calls “an aggressive look at address.”  

Built for more advanced players, the Black Ops Tour-1 maintains a more penetrating ball flight and low-spin performance.  

“What caught us off guard was the quick acceptance of this driver by the tour staff and how surprised everyone was with the results they were getting,” said Brad Schweigert, PXG’s Chief Product Officer. “They gained distance on center hits because of the launch characteristics but their mishit performance was just way better.” 

Don’t think the entire PXG tour staff just defaulted to the Tour-1 head design. 

 Schweigert insists that wasn’t the case.     

“We asked one of our staff players if we could send him the heads to try. The player called back a few days later and said, ‘OK, I hit them. That one that doesn’t say TOUR on it? That thing just goes straight forever. That thing is really good.’”

What the heck is AMF Technology? 

PXG isn’t saying a whole lot about the composition of a proprietary new advanced material face technology in Black Ops. Only that it’s a higher strength, more flexible titanium alloy. 

During testing, the upgraded material’s composition passed the performance test in a landslide.   

PXG says it increased face deflection while achieving higher launch (0.5 degrees) and lower spin (200 rpm) compared to T-412 which was used in the 0311 Gen 6.    

“The amount of performance difference from this material change is like nothing I’ve seen in my 24 years of being in this industry,” Schweigert said. “We were definitely looking at new materials for the (Black Ops) face but didn’t anticipate this type of result. The increased launch and spin combination, especially the lower spin we got from that material change, was, like I said, I’ve never seen that before.” 

Incorporating a variable face-thickness, non-uniform bulge and roll design, PXG engineers used finite element analysis and computer assisted drawing to optimize the face for characteristic time (CT) and ball speed. 

According to Schweigert, the tighter roll radius achieved more optimal launch and spin results on high and low misses and the bulge radius assisted for improved results on heel-toe misses.  

To get consistency with the non-uniform bulge-and-roll face design, PXG adjusted the horizontal and vertical curvatures of the face by employing robotic face polishing.  

“I love the way the new Black Ops driver looks at setup and the face feels so hot,” says brand ambassador Joel Dahmen. “Geno (Bonnalie, Dahmen’s caddie) is having to figure out yardages he’s never had to figure out before.” 

Composite Construction  

Getting to a 10,000-plus MOI threshold doesn’t happen without a strong support structure.  

To get mass to the perimeter of the club head, PXG employed high-strength composite construction.     

The crown and sole of Black Ops drivers use a thin-walled, high-grade composite material and are put together using a compression molding process. 

Wanting to steer clear of the durability and performance issues that have plagued other higher-modulus, stiffer composites, PXG landed on a material one-quarter the density of titanium with similar strength properties.  

The driver walls on both Black Ops drivers are razor-thin at 0.030 inches.   

“It saved us a lot of mass from the center of the design,” Schweigert said. 

Push Those Weights 

Can’t be a PXG without a weighting story, right? 

For Black Ops and Black Ops Tour-1, there are three weight ports.  

One centered in back is a 12.5-gram weight to help Black Ops achieve its high MOI and higher launch trajectories. Two weights positioned in front closer to the clubface are both 2.5 grams. One is in the heel for draw bias, the other in the toe to promote a fade.  

Not wanting to limit the options, PXG has built a full complement of weights to adjust for performance and/or the overall head mass.  

Weights come in 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5 and 20 grams, making it easier for a golfer to split mass and/or concentrate additional weight in one location to create maximum effect.  

Adjustable weighting can be used to increase the combined MOI beyond the 10,000 grams – cm2 threshold.  

Sound/Feel Enhancement  

What about that finite element analysis and computer assisted drawing to get the face of Black Ops optimized for CT and ball speed we mentioned? 

PXG also used those tools to achieve “higher primary frequency modes to improve Black Ops sound/feel performance.” 

“We wanted sound to be very consistent between the two drivers at impact,” Schweigert said. “We put a lot of time and effort into getting that right. The sound is solid and it’s fast.” 

PXG staff player Eric Cole can vouch for that.  

Cole, reigning PGA Tour rookie of the year, put the new driver in play a week after Black Ops was added to the USGA conforming list. Cole promptly finished T-3 at the RSM Classic. 

“I’ve noticed more speed with solid shots as well as on off-center strikes,” he said. “Black Ops looks great over the ball which makes it easy to have confidence in it on tour.”      

Fairways and Hybrids  

If you’re looking to shed a couple of pounds, PXG is the place to be because “thin is in.” 

Black Ops fairways and hybrids come with a proprietary new high-strength stainless steel face material which allowed the design team to thin out the fairway wood faces by 12 percent and the hybrid faces by 10.5 percent to make them more flexible than their predecessors.  

A more squared face design makes the perimeter skirt more vertical, adding increased forgiveness while delivering deliver faster ball speeds, higher launch and lower spin.   

To thin out the walls of the fairways and hybrids, PXG used high-strength AM355 then capped them with a crown of lightweight high-grade carbon fiber. Saved mass was reallocated low and out to the clubhead perimeter to optimize CG positioning while adding forgiveness. PXG’s Precision Weighting Technology further adjusts the mass to support preferred spin and bias settings.  

That weighting technology is also responsible for the improved sound and feel of Black Ops.  

“Most golfers use their fairway woods and hybrids more often in a round than driver so a lot of time and energy was devoted to getting these clubs right,” said Mike Nicolette, PXG’s Director of Research and Development and a former PGA Tour winner. 

PXG LPGA Tour professional, Celine Boutier, made the switch to Black Ops for this season.  

“They have a softer feel and are nicely forgiving,” said last year’s Evian Championship winner. “The heads are a little bigger than the previous model which gives that extra bit of confidence.” 

PXG for Heroes  

As always, PXG stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the military, veterans and first responders in the U.S.  

Special heroes’ pricing for Black Ops and other PXG apparel and accessories is available to the men and women of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, law enforcement, firefighters and EMTs as a thank-you for their service. 

Driver Specs and Pricing 

The 0311 Black Ops is coming out in four lofts: eight, nine, 10.5 and 12 degrees in right-hand and nine, 10.5 and 12 for southpaws. 

Black Ops Tour-1 will be available in eight, nine and 10.5 for right-handers but only nine degrees for lefties.  

The wallet hit will be: 

Black Ops driver – $599.99  

Black Ops Tour-1 driver – $649.99  

Black Ops fairway woods – $349.99  

Black Ops hybrids – $299.99  

Learn more about the entire collection at PXG.