PXG’s Black Ops Driver Brings the Kaboom

You’ve probably heard it a million times while watching PGA TOUR coverage: Bob Parsons yelling “Kaboom Baby” during a PXG commercial. The only problem has been that PXG drivers of yesteryear didn’t bring the same kaboom as the competition. With the Black Ops lineup, however, that is no longer the case.

On the left, the Black Ops Tour-1 Driver, and on the right, the Black Ops Driver
Immediately noticeable is the gloss finish on the Black Ops Drivers

Just like the recently released GEN6, PXG announced the release of its Black Ops metalwoods with the announcement of the Black Ops Challenge—come into a PXG studio with your gamer, and if the PXG Black Ops or Black Ops Tour-1 Driver doesn’t outperform your current driver by delivering either more distance or tighter dispersion during your fitting, PXG will send you a $100 Mastercard Rewards Card.

TXG’s Founder, Ian Fraser, hits every piece of equipment on the market and has
been very impressed by PXG’s Black Ops drivers

I did the GEN6 challenge and PXG did not send me a gift card; the GEN6 0311 gave a substantial improvement in dispersion—45% less than my gamer. So when PXG announced that even GEN6 drivers were eligible to compete, I was very interested to see if the Black Ops is as good as Ian Fraser from TXG, who hits everything, says it is.

The Black Ops builds on the GEN6’s strength—forgiveness—and adds a ton of horsepower. With the help of the a new carbon fiber crown and—for the first time—sole and a new high strength titanium alloy face material called AMF (Advanced Material Face), the Black Ops goes (very) fast, far and straight. Indeed, my fitting ended up being a true GEN6 vs. Black Ops comparison since I fit into the exact same shaft, and after my fitter, Ryan Hughes—and thank you Ryan for your service and your awesome fitting skills (and find your local fitter here)—massaged the Black Ops’ precision sole weights and transitioned me into 8° head (from a 9°), I was able to add an extra 15 yards of carry (252 vs. 267) and 10 additional yards of total distance (284 vs. 297), despite the face that my average club head speed was 2 MPH (there were a lot of swings). Additionally, all these gains were possible with a slightly lower SMASH factor, meaning the Black Ops still has a lot more gains to give when club head speed and SMASH are equal.

And while the extra distance would make this upgrade worth it alone, the Black Ops also found the center of the fairway with ease, while my GEN6 setup had a considerable draw-bias that placed me on the left-half of the fairway. As a result, this PXG driver brings all of the “Kaboom” of a laser guided bomb to the golf course. And with it (hopefully) going in my bag, no Par-4 or 5 will be safe this season!

And perhaps the best part of this is that the Black Ops driver may not be the only new PXG offering going into my 2024 bag. Follow for the full long game fitting (Driver, Fairway Wood, Hybrids and Driving Iron) results, coming soon!

Cover Image via Sports Illustrated