PXG 0311 Black Ops Driver Review – Is it Good & Forgiving for High Handicappers?

The PXG 0311 Black Ops Driver

“With another new year comes new advancements in golf club manufacturing technology.”

In 2024, the big advancements are face materials and designs that can reach the promised land: 10,000k MOI.

Ping is claiming it, Taylormade has claimed it with the new Qi10 drivers and now PXG is making a 10k MOI bid with the PXG 0311 Black Ops driver.

But is it worth your money as a high handicappers? Read on to find out.

The PXG 0311 Black Ops Driver Family

We will be taking a look at the standard PXG 0311 Black Ops in the following review.

But PXG has also released the 0311 Black Ops Tour-1.

The Tour-1 has a more compact head, delivers lower launch and the front weight ports are pushed closer together to deliver even lower spin than the standard PXG 0311 Black Ops driver.

Is it Good for High Handicappers?

“The PXG 0311 Black Ops features three weight ports, titanium alloy face and carbon fiber crown and sole panels.”

The standard configuration for the weight ports is two 2.5g weights in the front and one 12.5g weight in the back.

But as with past PXG drivers, you can get custom weights from 2.5g to 20g.

The standard configuration worked really well for me. It’s good for high handicappers because it helps deliver really tight dispersion.

And for players who need an anti-pull or anti-push driver, the weights can be moved to achieve your optimal shot shape.

Is it Forgiving?

“The PXG 0311 Black Ops driver is perhaps one of the lowest-spinning drivers that still launch this high.”

My average launch angle after testing was 14.8 degrees and my spin rates stayed within the 2100-2200 RPM range.

Amazing. And I was getting these results whether I hit the ball low, high, heelward or toe-side.

This is where 10K MOI really comes into play. I could tell from the feel of the impact that the head remained exceptionally stable which kept my mis-hits on the fairway.

The feel was incredibly solid even on fat shots.

Difference Between the PXG 0311 Black Ops and PXG 0311 Black Ops Tour-1

“The Tour-1 is a lower-launching driver.”

For instance, the Tour-1 is only available in three loft options: 8, 9 and 10.5. While the PXG 0311 Black Ops driver has four loft options: 8, 9, 10.5 and an additional 12 degree model.

The standard PXG 0311 Black Ops driver is also going to be the more forgiving driver of the two.

Available Shafts

Project X Riptide
Project X Cypher
Graphite Design Tour AD
Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw
Mitsubishi Tensei CK Blue
Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Black
Mitsubishi Fubuki V
UST Helium Black
Fujikura Air Speeder
Fujikura Speeder Evo V
Fujikura Motore X
Fujikura Pro
Fujikura Ventus Blue
Fujikura Ventus Red

What Does it Look Like?

The PXG 0311 Black Ops has a glossy carbon fiber crown that really highlights the weave.

The same weave is visible on the carbon fiber sole panel.

Behind the ball, the PXG 0311 Black Ops has a large footprint with an elongated, slightly triangular head – an aesthetic that screams “forgiveness.”

Is the PXG 0311 Black Ops Worth it?

“It’s certainly a worthwhile GI driver.”

The vast adjustability from the three weight ports (Cobra’s Darkspeed only has two and new Paradym drivers don’t offer heavier weights) are worth it alone.

They provide a wealth of shot-shaping possibilities and enhance the overall forgiveness of this driver.

PXG 0311 Black Ops Driver

The PXG 0311 Black Ops Driver3

In 20 Words or Less

“The PXG 0311 Black Ops is supremely adjustable and is one of the straightest of 2024’s new drivers.”

PXG 0311 Black Ops Driver – First Impressions

“I was first blown away with the dispersion.”

I hit a variety of shots (fat, thin, draws etc.) during my testing and after all was said and done, my average off-line divergence was just 11.4 yards.

I was blown away by the fact that no matter how I was swinging this driver, it was still producing very favorable lies.

Again, this was with the standard weight configuration (2.5g weights up front and the 12.5g weight in the back.

So I can only imagine what my dispersion would look like if I had moved the front weights up to 5 grams. But I digress.

The PXG 0311 Black Ops driver has an exceptionally solid feel thanks in part to the AMF (Advanced Material Face) face design but also because of the natural frequency optimization.

This is a design that the PXG engineers used to finetune the inherent vibration patterns on the club head – resulting in a pleasing frequency and inhibition of vibration.

And you can really feel the high MOI at play. For the uninitiated, high MOI essentially translates to tight dispersion because it keeps the head and face from deflecting or warping.

This minimizes cut spin which keeps the ball on-line.

PXG 0311 Black Ops Selling Points

Advanced Material Face
Natural frequency optimization
Three movable weight ports
Carbon fiber crown and sole
Robotic face polishing
High launching
Low spin
Many custom shaft options

Who is the PXG 0311 Black Ops Driver for?

“The PXG 0311 Black Ops driver is great for mid and high handicappers.”

It’s actually hard to think of a group of players who couldn’t do with more forgiveness and tighter dispersion but I reserve my universal recommendation because of the head shape and launch.

Single-digit handicappers probably won’t get the most speed out of the PXG 0311 Black Ops because of the head size and the launch angles are probably too high for players who get extra carry by keeping the ball low.

But other than that, the PXG 0311 Black Ops is an excellent driver for anyone who wants near-automatic straight drives or anyone who wants the ability to shape shots to a fine degree.