Getting A Clubfitting At PXG Detroit

The GolfBlogger recently was invited to a clubfitting at PXG Detroit. It was a fun and informative session.

The PXG experience was exceptional from the start. As I entered, I was immediately by a gentleman who asked how he could help and then offered a bottle of water.

PXG branded water, naturally.

The greeting reminded me of the days of the high-end department store, where sales people who earned a good living on commissions greeted you at the door, or as you entered their department, with a sincere effort to offer a pleasant (and profitable for them) experience for the customer.

The shop had a different vibe from other clubfitters I have visited over the years. PXG is clearly aiming at a premium experience that goes beyond nuts-and-bolts clubfitting.

The Front Desk at PXG Detroit

The interior, decorated in stark black-and-white, displayed a large selection of apparel and accessories, all branded with the distinctive PXG logo. It looked very much to me like a tony pro shop or department store.

I was told that, while PXG owner Bob Parsons personally tests and approves of the equipment side, his wife Renee handles the soft goods. I assume she also approves the displays.

The interior of PXG Detroit.

But that wasn’t why I was there. I was at PXG for a driver fitting.

My fitter was Marcus Aguilar, a golf professional who has worked at — among other places — the classic Indianwood Country Club in Lake Orion, Michigan.

As with most fittings, the PXG fitting session began with warmups with a mid-iron, and then a series of swings with a driver to set a benchmark. Each swing is recorded by a top-of-the-line Trackman system that collects data on club speed, angles, spin, ball speed, launch, carry, roll and more.

Next, we started working through a series of driver head and shaft combinations to find the pairing that maximized my distance.

Shafts and heads at PXG Detroit.

PXG has thousands of shaft and head combinations to work with. The heads are of course all PXG, but the shafts are from a variety of manufacturers.

Aguilar’s goal was to get my spin rate down, while improving carry and roll.

What we settled on was a PXG Gen 5 0311XF, with a ProjextX Riptide CB50 5.5 at 45 inches. My grip is a Winn Dri-Tac Dark Grey in Midsize.

The D311 XF driver head we settled on to maximize my numbers.

After my driver fitting, I took the time to take a look at the rest of the PXG lineup.

Aguilar took the time to show me the numerous iron, hybrid and fairway woods heads at PXG Detroit. There are game improvement, mid handicapper and players’ clubs from several “generations” of PXG designs available.

PXG, Aguilar said, does not release new generations on a strict schedule. Instead, they are released when Parsons approves. If that means several heads come out in quick succession, that’s ok with the boss. If there is a longer wait as the technology is developed, that’s ok as well.

Of note: you can get any of these left handed.

In addition to the Trackman bays, there also is an area for testing and fitting PXG’s extensive selection of putters.

Putters in PXG Detroit’s putter fitting area.

Everything at PXG seems to have a story; Aguilar was happy to tell them, and I was happy to listen.

PXG’s putters are a good example of the company’s story driven nature. On the bottom of the putters are skulls with the number 26. Parson was in the 26th Marine regiment, which incorporates skulls into some of its insignia.

Appropriately, it is described as “battle ready.”

The 26th marine Regiment incorporates a skull in some of its insignia.

Parsons is justifiably proud of his Marine service. He was wounded in action in Vietnam, and earned a Combat Action Ribbon, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross and the Purple Heart.

Another example: the camouflage patterns on the bags below are derived from a map of the routing of Parsons’ Scottsdale National golf course.

PXG golf bags with Scottsdale National camo patterns.

The distinctive — and occasionally ridiculed — look of the PXG clubs, with their exposed screw weights is another Parsons story. The bottom line is: the boss likes the look. Other companies hide their weights behind smooth chromed surfaces. PXG clubs wear their hearts on their sleeves.

The origin story of PXG also is interesting: After spending as much as $300,000 on clubs, Parsons reportedly became frustrated that none improved his game. His solution was to found PXG and throw lots of money into the development of clubs that met his expectations for improvement.

I admit that — although I have never met him — I am inclined to like Bob Parsons. Back in the 1980s, I was a very happy customer of his Parsons Technology software company. His personal accounting software remains the best I’ve used. It was easy for me to grasp and amazingly, found errors when balancing your checkbook. It was bought by Intuit, but I’ve never liked Quickbooks as much.

Parsons also founded GoDaddy, which has its detractors, but should be given some credit for bringing domain registration to the masses.

Will the PXG driver improve the GolfBlogger’s game? I’ll start exploring that question in a couple of weeks when my custom driver from PXG Detroit arrives.

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