In October 2023 I finally decided it was time to replace my 20-year-old irons and I’m going to share the details of my PXG fitting experience with you in this review.
I am a veteran, so I was pretty excited when I saw that PXG was running a promotion on their fittings. The PXG fitting cost was only $5, down from their normal $50 rate. They always seem to have a deal going on!
I ultimately ended up with a brand new set of 0317 T Irons and a 0311 Gen 5 Hybrid. And so far, I am absolutely loving them!
It was such a good experience overall, I ended up taking my wife in for a fitting. She ended up with a set of Gen 6 irons and a couple of hybrids. I’ll be going back for a wedge fitting sometime in the next couple of months as well.
Another thing I really appreciated during the process – I established a relationship with my club fitter and know that I can go back to him anytime if I need to make any adjustments or add any clubs to my bag.
Scheduling my PXG Fitting
PXG has several “featured locations” scattered throughout the U.S. Unfortunately for me, I was about a 4-hour drive away from the nearest. Alternatively, they have “Fitting Studios” in most cities, which means they’ve partnered with a local course, driving range, X-Golf etc. to have a PXG club fitter take you through the process there.
I was able to choose from 2 different locations in St. Louis. There were plenty of appointment times to choose from, both during the week and on Saturdays, and I was able to schedule with just a couple of days notice.
To see if they have one near you, just search here. Once you pick a location, you’ll pick from 4 fitting options.
Full bag (90 minutes)
Long game fitting (1 hour)
Irons Fitting (1 hour)
Putter Fitting (1 hour)
When I first saw those times, I didn’t think it would be enough, and for my fitting experience, it was not enough. But my fitter took care of me and we worked to make sure I had the right fit. We scheduled a follow-up session, at no cost, to finish things up.
Pro Tip – If you know an hour will not be enough, either schedule a full bag fitting (same price), or request additional time from your fitter when they reach out to you with your fitting confirmation.
If you hit the center of the club face consistently, you’ll be able to get into different club heads, weights, shafts, etc. If you are someone who needs maximum forgiveness and struggles to strike the ball consistently, it will narrow things down for you and an hour should be plenty of time.
How to Prepare for Your PXG Fitting
You’ll be in a temperature-controlled environment. Either totally indoors, or at a driving range with heated/cooled bays. So you’ll want to dress accordingly.
You’ll be taking a lot of swings, so I’d dress just like you would for a round of golf. Bring your golf glove! I wore my golf shoes and wore what I normally would on the course.
You’ll also want to bring your current clubs, and they’ll let you know that when the fitter reaches out to confirm your appointment. No need to warm up before getting there, you’ll have plenty of opportunity at the beginning of the session to warm up with your clubs.
Honestly, I’d approach the session exactly how you approach a round of golf!
Going into the session with a decent understanding of what you are looking for can be helpful as well. By getting yourself familiar with the various clubs from the PXG website in advance, it will minimize any feelings of being overwhelmed during the session. This will allow you to focus more on execution when it comes to taking swings.
I had no idea the 0317 irons would be explored during my fitting and knew nothing about them. I found that as the fitter was talking to me about them, simply trying to educate me on the differences between those and the 0311s, I was getting a little antsy. I believe had I known a bit more about these new clubs in advance, it may have been an easy transition.
What to Expect During your PXG Fitting
Photo – PXG Golf
My fitting experience was at a fitting studio. When I arrived a PXG Van was sitting out front. My fitter, Tim, was already inside and had an assortment of cases with every PXG club head you can imagine, and several golf bags full of various shafts.
We had our own space, and plenty of it.
Pro Tip – If you are going to do a putter or wedge fitting and you’re going to choose a fitting studio location, try to find one that is at a driving range as opposed to X-Golf. The “First Tee Range” we have here in St. Louis has a putting/chipping green. If that’s not available, schedule and talk to your fitter.
Getting Started
The first thing my PXG fitter did was get to know me. Tim took a look at my old clubs and asked me about my golf game. How often do I play, handicap, any intricacies of my game, etc. (I have a draw bias swing and my bad miss is hard left). Tim also measured my wrist height from the ground to determine shaft length.
After the fitter has an idea of your game and needs, they will talk about the different clubs that “might” be a good fit for your game. They’ll give you an idea of the technology and just prepare you mentally for the direction they are going to start in the fitting process.
For me, this seemed a bit “sales-ey”. The fitter wasn’t pushy by any means, I just don’t care so much for marketing and I’d rather just hit the club and see what I think. That being said, it was only a few minutes and you’ll get to hitting them in no time.
Warming Up
If your PXG fitter is finishing up another appointment when you get there, they will make sure you have the opportunity to start hitting balls to warm up as they wrap things up with their previous fitting. As you do warmup, they are already getting an idea of where to start.
If the fitter is ready for you as soon as you get there, they may opt to talk to you about your game and potential clubs first. Then, as you start warming up, they’ll be getting their initial configurations setup.
You’ll be hitting your own club to start, assuming you brought them, and gathering shot data on Trackman. I started both of my warmup sessions by hitting 50 yard wedge shots and gradually moving into full swings until I was loose. This is how I always warmup…so whatever your normal warmup routine is, just do that!
Once you are feeling good and ready to hit some “real shots”, you’ll establish a baseline with the Trackman. Because I was doing an iron fitting, they have you use a 7-iron.
First Swing With a New PXG Club
After the PXG fitter has the data they need from your current clubs, they’ll hand you a PXG 7-iron (for an iron fitting) with the configuration that meets your specs so far.
Club Head – Depending on your skill level and need for forgiveness
Shaft – Depending mainly on your swing speed to start
The first PXG club I swung was the PXG Gen6 0311 P. They felt AMAZING! Now, I know I’m coming off of hitting some 20-year-old Golf Smith special irons…but the PXGs felt great!
After only a handful of swings, the fitter halted the session and said we should look at the 0317 irons. The 0311 Gen6’s are stronger lofted, and with a 7-iron I was getting 200 yards carry.
Now, initially, I thought “what’s wrong with that?” The more the better, right!? But the fitter started showing me the numbers from Trackman. He also reminded me that I told him I liked a nice high ball flight into the green – which I did at the beginning of the session.
He focused in on the descent angle and started extrapolating distances that I’d get from an 8 or 9 iron and it became quite clear that I’d need about 4 wedges to fill the distances from 165 and in.
Configuration Changes
As it turns out – I was the first person in the St. Louis area to try the new 0317 T’s. The fitter said that he just got them the night before and that I would be the first to hit them. They had just hit the PXG website and I knew nothing about them.
I ended up hitting all of the 0317 lineup, and before my fitting never expected that. I thought for sure that I would end up with the new Gen 6 clubs. This is one of the reasons why a proper club fitting is a great idea!
We ultimately settled on the 0317 T, the numbers were more consistent for me and they felt absolutely amazing. Now we started playing with the weight. The fitter would add/remove a few grams and see how the numbers change, and get my feedback on how they felt. With each iteration, Trackman was showing us the shot patterns.
We also played around with the lie angle. My miss is always left, and I was definitely finishing most of my shots to the left. The fitter showed my club head data at impact and indicated that my lie angle at impact was decent, but it might be worth taking a few swings to see what it would do.
Anyway, the lie angle change suddenly made me start fading everything, but it was too much. So, we explored adding a slightly larger grip which can “slow” the turn of your hands in the swing.
We also went through a couple of different shafts. They were all stiff flex shafts, but different brands that had different designs. For some, I didn’t notice a bit of difference. But, there were a couple that I could feel a big difference, and the numbers also showed that.
Bottom line, we went through about every configuration change imaginable, all customized to my swing and my tendencies. Prior to the fitting, I completely underestimated the full value of a proper fitting, especially when it came to selecting the right shaft.
Finishing up
After hitting the different club heads, modifying club head weights, working through shaft selection, grips, and even messing around a bit with shaft length, it was VERY CLEAR to me and the fitter…and the Trackman numbers…which configuration was the best for my game.
After going through the PXG fitting, I could not be happier with the clubs and the overall experience!
Related – Should I get fitted for golf clubs?
I wasn’t ready to order that day, so the fitter happily shared my spec sheet with me and encouraged me to give him a call anytime to order. He also gave me the option to come back for a free follow-up.
There was no sales pitch at that point, Tim completely respected my stance and was incredibly professional throughout the entire fitting experience. When I went back a few weeks later with my wife, we ordered both sets of clubs on the spot.
Our clubs arrived in less than a week, and I felt like a kid waiting for Santa on Christmas. I probably looked out the window a thousand times looking for the FedEx truck.
Pro Tip – Although I don’t know this with certainty, I do believe PXG fitters receive a commission on sales. So if you go through a fitting and appreciate the service, order through your fitter! You’ll get the same price, along with any current deals, and they’ll deduct the fitting fee from your order.
Getting Your New PXGs
My clubs arrived in about 5 or 6 days, nicely packaged, and included the proper adjustment tool for the hybrids. Irons came in one box, hybrids were in a 2nd box.
I have had them for about 6 weeks now and have used them a handful of times out on the course, and quite a bit in the simulator.
The first time I took them out, my distances were off. I was hitting everything a bit longer and it took some time to get used to my new distances. I knew there would be an adjustment period, but I wasn’t quite sure how long it would take.
After a few rounds and a couple of sessions in the simulator with the GC3, I am pretty confident in all of my numbers at this point. I also took the opportunity in my sim sessions, and where applicable on the course, to see how well I can draw/fade different shots. My new clubs perform significantly better than my old ones, so getting data and experience with that was a beneficial part of my adjustment period.
Final Thoughts
My overall PXG fitting experience was great! The fitter was incredibly knowledgeable and legitimately cared about my game. He wasn’t there to “make a sale”, he was there to get me the perfect fit, and he delivered!
I was so happy with it, that I took my wife in for a fitting, and recommended it to a friend of mine who also went through the process.
My friend did a full bag fitting and ended up with a new set of irons, a couple of hybrids, and a driver. He plans to go back after he gets used to them for a wedge fitting…as do I.
I only wish that I had done this sooner. If you are considering getting a fitting, it is a no-brainer!!!