PXG 0211 XCOR2 irons

Gear: PXG 0211 XCOR2 irons
Price: $159 each
Specs: 431 stainless steel body with HT1770 stainless steel face, two internal elastomers with progressive blade length and offset.

Who it’s For: Golfers who want PXG’s key performance technologies at a more budget-friendly price.

The Skinny: Clean and classic-looking on the outside, the latest 0211 irons have a new material first seen in the 0311 GEN5 irons inside each head that increases ball speed, softens feel and enhances sound.

The Deep Dive: In the consumer electronics industry, new technologies mature and make their way from top-of-the-line offers to less-expensive offers over time. Consumers who want the latest and greatest understand they will pay a premium price for the shiny new smartphone, but they can save a few dollars if they get a model with last season’s technology. Depending on their financial situation and their priorities, less expensive options can often deliver everything they need.

Think of the new PXG 0211 XCOR2 irons that way, like a merging of the more-affordable 0211 family with some of the distance-enhancing features first released in the 0311 GEN5 irons that came out in April.

The body of the 0211 XCOR2 is cast from 431 stainless steel while the thin HT1770 stainless steel. The hitting area has been designed to be extremely thin, so it flexes easily at the moment of impact to create more ball speed and distance. 

Behind the face is the heart of the 0211 XCOR2 iron, the XCOR2 material itself. The material, which debuted in the 0311 GEN5 irons, is a lighter and more energy-efficient version of the elastomer that PXG had injected into previous irons. It absorbs vibrations to enhance sound and feel, and it supports the face, but it does not inhibit the hitting area from flexing, so golfers won’t see a drop in ball speed.

What made engineers equally excited to use XCOR2 is it weighs less than the other material, which naturally shifts more weight (about 5 to 7 grams) to the perimeter, and that makes the club more forgiving. Just going with XCOR2 makes the MOI in these irons 2 percent higher.

On the back of the face, PXG designers created an upsidedown U-shaped feature the call Power Channel. Again, this was first designed into the 0311 GEN5 irons, The Power Channel allows the top and perimeter of the face to deflect more at impact, broadening the sweet spot, decreasing spin and increasing the launch angle.

While there are three different 0311 GEN5 models to appeal to…