PXG 0211 ST IRONS

• PXG 0211 ST irons feature a traditional muscle-back profile
• Triple-forged from 8620 soft carbon steel
• MSRP $149 per club

The PXG 0211 ST irons follow suit as a niche offering in PXG’s more affordable 0211 series of equipment. PXG’s standard 0211 irons are designed to fit a broad range of players. However, a quick glance at the 0211 ST (Super Tour) irons tells you that’s not the case this time around.

30,000 FOOT VIEW

The 0211 ST irons are very much what you’d expect from a club that PXG asserts “pushes distance and workability for skilled golfers.” Shorter blade length, compact profile, minimal offset and a thin top line are generally requisite features of so-called blade irons.

But, again, there’s a bit of an engineering twist, according to PXG. A tapered sole and back-bottom flange add mass toward the toe side of the clubhead. Additionally, some material is removed from the upper mid-section and repositioned to the high toe.

The redistribution of weight creates a marginally more stable club face. That said, the shorter blade length generates less MOI about the shaft axis which is what allows golfers more control over the club face at impact.

Essentially, PXG is working to increase MOI (forgiveness) on a club design that’s inherently not very forgiving. Context is always important and as much as companies profess that one club is mostly this, but a little that, such statements are always relative. So, when a manufacturer points to design elements of a muscle-back iron that boost forgiveness, it’s still fundamentally a muscle-back iron where the defining characteristic is enhanced workability for highly skilled golfers. Think of it as something like being labeled as the smallest starting left tackle in the NFL. It’s still the NFL. And you’re still an offensive lineman.

BLADE BENEFITS

We first saw the “ST” model with the 100-percent milled PXG 0311 ST irons as part of PXG’s previous GEN3 collection. It was PXG’s first true muscle-back offering. However, with a $650 per club price tag, it was more a showcase piece emblematic of PXG’s boundary-pushing identity than something designed around the typical PXG consumer.

That aside, the move to include an “ST” model in the 0211 series is, on balance, a logical one. It gives more accomplished players an entry point into the PXG brand that isn’t cost aversive. In fact, at $149 a club, it’s slightly below flagship offerings from many competitors.

That said, the PXG 0211 ST does create a bit of an interesting lineup gap. The PXG 0211 irons match specs with the previous generation 0311 GEN3 XP irons which are the most forgiving of the GEN3 models.  Conversely, the PXG 0211 ST irons sit on the other end of the continuum. That means that, as of this moment, there isn’t a defined 0211 T (or P) model. It could be that PXG feels it can cover the majority of consumers with the two existing models. Or perhaps this isn’t the last entry in the 0211 iron range. We shall see.

MATERIALS, PRICING and AVAILABILITY

The PXG 0211 irons are triple-forged from 8620 carbon steel. As a point of reference, it’s the same basic material PING uses in its muscle-back Blueprint irons. The 8620 material isn’t natively as soft as a 1020 or 1025 carbon steel often found in single-piece forged irons but PXG states that this material and forging process allows for “a tight grain structure that increases the material’s strength, prolonging groove life and producing an exceptional feel.”

Also, to be clear, the 0211 ST is a solid-bodied iron. So we’ll have to save the discussion on polymers, fancy foams and hollow cavities for another time.

The PXG 0211 ST iron is priced at $149 per club and is currently available.

Visit PXG.com for additional information or to schedule a fitting.