PXG Proto 3 Wood Spotted

[djhgolf]

55 minutes ago, OspreyCI said:

I have not hit it off the tee and I do know it is just a hair bigger than the Gen2, but not my much. Maybe the face is a little taller. Not as big as the 0211 though.

Thanks...

 

Decisions to wait for the Gen4 or pick up the proto... I like the sound of your observations.

[OspreyCI]

16 minutes ago, djhgolf said:

Thanks...

 

Decisions to wait for the Gen4 or pick up the proto... I like the sound of your observations.

FOR ME...I am not sure how the Gen4 can be much better than the Proto fairway. Gen4 will be more expensive and, from pics, the sole does not have the "bounce" that the Proto has. The Proto is just so good off the turf for me. The sole just glids through the fairway and little bit of rough. 

[snagy2000]

Proto 3 compared to Ping G410 LST 3...Heading to club to give it a go...

 

 

[JoeFrigo]

if anyone decides to move on from the proto 3w let me know please. I have the 0211 but im not too impressed with it

 

debating between ordering a proto or waiting for gen4... ideally want the proto to match my driver and hybrid

 

[OspreyCI]

Going back tomorrow for a follow up fitting of the Proto 5 wood vs Proto hybrid. 

[eddiebigeddie]

10 minutes ago, OspreyCI said:

Going back tomorrow for a follow up fitting of the Proto 5 wood vs Proto hybrid. 

While you're there grab an extra Proto 3 wood & send it my way.  Just tell them I wanna demo it for a few years 😉 , you know to make sure it matches my driver 

[wam78]

5 hours ago, JoeFrigo said:

if anyone decides to move on from the proto 3w let me know please. I have the 0211 but im not too impressed with it

 

debating between ordering a proto or waiting for gen4... ideally want the proto to match my driver and hybrid

 

I’ll let you know after this weekend.  Have not had a chance to get mine out yet.  Work has been busy.  
 

I’m very comfortable with my ts3, but I just had to give this guy a chance.  Especially after being impressed with the Proto driver.

[snagy2000]

Took mine out to the range, hit a few tee & fairway shots on the course, and also hit some in a simulator to get a peek at my numbers. I did take out the diamana shaft I ordered with this club and replaced it with VA Composites Drago, which is also in my current gamer Ping G410 LST and was in my Gen2 2- fairway. I've never found a diamana which I liked, that's beside the point. The Ping and the Proto are both the same length at 43". Head to head , it's early, the Proto is outperforming the Ping distance-wise by about 10 yards. The Proto launches slightly higher, still penetrating, and seems to roll out better on the course. The feel of the Proto is slightly harder than the Gen2 IMO, similar to the feel my Ping. I do like the smaller head and the higher face as compared to the Ping. Easy to hit both off the tee as well as off the fairway. I'm going to give it a go on the course a couple times this weekend and I will report back what I'm seeing. 

[JoeFrigo]

47 minutes ago, wam78 said:

I’ll let you know after this weekend.  Have not had a chance to get mine out yet.  Work has been busy.  
 

I’m very comfortable with my ts3, but I just had to give this guy a chance.  Especially after being impressed with the Proto driver.

My thoughts exactly!! My first PXG club was the proto driver and it’s been hands down the best single club I’ve ever used. Liked it so much I bought the 0211 3w on release day but I didn’t know a proto fairway was coming

 

please keep me posted. I would just need the head if you do move it

[matt70286]

I have a fitting at the PXG store next Friday and can report back. I also have a TSi2 coming in so I plan on comparing that with the Proto 3 wood.
 

Should be interesting as I haven’t swung a club since December (but plan on hitting balls for the first time in a while on this Sunday). 

[JoeFrigo]

13 hours ago, snagy2000 said:

Took mine out to the range, hit a few tee & fairway shots on the course, and also hit some in a simulator to get a peek at my numbers. I did take out the diamana shaft I ordered with this club and replaced it with VA Composites Drago, which is also in my current gamer Ping G410 LST and was in my Gen2 2- fairway. I've never found a diamana which I liked, that's beside the point. The Ping and the Proto are both the same length at 43". Head to head , it's early, the Proto is outperforming the Ping distance-wise by about 10 yards. The Proto launches slightly higher, still penetrating, and seems to roll out better on the course. The feel of the Proto is slightly harder than the Gen2 IMO, similar to the feel my Ping. I do like the smaller head and the higher face as compared to the Ping. Easy to hit both off the tee as well as off the fairway. I'm going to give it a go on the course a couple times this weekend and I will report back what I'm seeing. 

Overall how do you like the Drago shaft?? ive wanted to try VA shafts for a while now. I just bought a VA Nemesys for the proto hybrid but haven't gotten yet. I ordered the extra weights kid to add some more weight to the head

 

Ive almost pulled the trigger on the Drago a few times on eBay. There's a Vylyn availabl but I fear it would be too soft for my liking. Drago seems to be the one id fit in most. There was a used club at PGA store a while back that had Raijin in it but I found that to be loose and definitely high launch

[snagy2000]

15 minutes ago, JoeFrigo said:

Overall how do you like the Drago shaft?? ive wanted to try VA shafts for a while now. I just bought a VA Nemesys for the proto hybrid but haven't gotten yet. I ordered the extra weights kid to add some more weight to the head

 

Ive almost pulled the trigger on the Drago a few times on eBay. There's a Vylyn availabl but I fear it would be too soft for my liking. Drago seems to be the one id fit in most. There was a used club at PGA store a while back that had Raijin in it but I found that to be loose and definitely high launch

I find the Drago shaft a great fit for me in my fairways. The stiff butt and tip sections suits my swing perfectly and generate higher ball speeds. Most VA shafts will get you higher ball speeds, just have to find the right one for your swing. I've tried Raijin in both driver and hybrid and they require smooth swings and both balloon the ball, which at times, can be an issue for me. I actually prefer the hybrid shaft over the driver shaft and have used it in my 19* hybrid. The Slay shaft isn't bad for hybrid or utility shafts either, I had it in a couple Srixon U65 which I sold. I've never tried the Nemesys since counter balance shafts and I don't get along. Hear good things about them from others, but just not for me. 

[bap1130]

10 hours ago, matt70286 said:

I have a fitting at the PXG store next Friday and can report back. I also have a TSi2 coming in so I plan on comparing that with the Proto 3 wood.
 

Should be interesting as I haven’t swung a club since December (but plan on hitting balls for the first time in a while on this Sunday). 

 

Following...interested to hear your thoughts on the comparison between the two

[miss0033]

For whatever it's worth, I had a PXG fitting today.  Hit the 0211 fairways, Proto Fairways, 0211 Hybrids, Proto Hybrids, Gen II Driving Iron, as well as Gen 3, Gen 4, and 0211 4-Irons.

 

Was attempting to do a few things, bridge the gap between my 260~ish Proto X Drives, and 220~ish 19* Gen II Hybrid.  As well as replace an old Ping G5 22* hybrid that goes about 200, because I am spraying my 0211 4-iron, and my 5-iron is a 185/190 club.  

 

It felt the differences between them (Proto vs 0211) were consistent between Hybrids and Fairways.  The 0211 was slightly more forgiving off the toe, but man, when you flushed one, the ball exploded off the Proto face.  With the 0211 I never had that "Yeah Baby!" shot during my fitting with it.  Dare I say a pure strike on the Proto Fairway felt better than a pure strike on even my Proto X driver...  The problem being I have never been a good fairway wood player... I hit down on the ball, launch high and generate a TON of spin.  No matter which shaft and settings we tried, I couldn't get one that made sense.  Getting launch, spin, and distance in the ballpark lead to inconsistent strikes.  Consistent strikes with other settings ended up being too high and spin-y.  I cannot compare to the Gen 2 fairway woods, sorry, never having owned one or hit one. Moved to the hybrids.

 

Similar characteristics.  When you hit the sweet spot with the Proto, man, it feels and sounds awesome and just explodes off the face.  The 0211 was slightly more forgiving, but also shorter in general.  I hit the 17* about 235 with the proto, and around 227/228 with the 0211 in 17*.  Toe strikes were pushed less in the 0211 hybrid, but less noticeably so than the difference between the fairway woods. However, neither were as forgiving as the Gen 2...  My 19* Gen 2 I can hit off the end of the toe and I feel like it still goes and is still, mostly, predictable.  Pure shots with the Gen 2 feel similar as the 0211 - good, but not outstanding.  The feel of pure-ing the Proto (fairway wood and hybrid) was awesome.  

 

Really like the small white lines that frame the ball on the face of the Proto clubs, and kind of wish my Proto Driver had that (but in actuality, Id probably not see it at address)  I went with a 22* proto as I was hitting pretty consistent, well struck shots - going about 205-208, which is about exactly what I was looking for to replace my 22* Ping.

 

On paper, a driving iron should be perfect for me.  But it wasn't.  Kept catching it fat, too much sole or something, wasn't for me.  The only had 1 head with a glued steel shaft, so not the best fitting experience for that, but he said they don't have many left anyway and might not get one even if I ordered it at this point.  It was fantastic off the tee (probably why its called a driving iron) but I couldn't catch it off the turf to save my life.

 

The Gen 3 I hit the best of the 4-irons I tested (0211, gen 3, gen 4).  Couldn't justify the price of it, not to mention I hit the Proto 22* much better right around the same distance.

 

So I will continue to be a 13 club player I guess.  Driver, 3 & 4 Hybrids, 5-GW, 54 & 58 specialty wedges, putter.

 

I asked about waiting to hit Gen 4 hybrids and fairways, and the guy was honest with me, I likely wouldn't benefit a ton from it.  MAYBE, the 17* I might hit better, maybe. 

 

But also said expect the fairways and hybrids to be at least $100/club more than the Proto.  I don't need a $350 hybrid, nor a $400 fairway wood.

 

This was only me, and my experience with an iffy swing.  If you are a good fairway wood player, I highly suggest checking out the Proto fairway wood.  The 0211s were fine, the hybrid wasn't as good as the Proto or the Gen 2 in my opinion.  But it was as good as or better than several other hybrids I had tried before getting the Gen 2 hybrid (one of the best I have ever played).

 

Sorry for the long rambling post.

 

EDIT:  for both lines, I tried a 3-wood, 3-wood turned to 4, 5 wood, 5-wood turned to 4.  Just wasn't working for me.  For a minute I thought it was the fact that it is February and I have only been to the range a handful of times, and I am sure that contributed.  But I was hitting mostly darts with my Gen 2 hybrid.

 

Also, to be fair, we played with HZRDUS smoke yellow (fairway) and black (hybrid) and those seemed to fit me the best, and it my current clubs.  We tried an Aldila offering, and a Fuji offering.  I told him I wasn't interested in adding anything over $100 in upgrade price.  He told me he didn't have a ventus to fit me.  They only had a Ventus blue, and that was a mid/mid shaft and would help combat my high launch/high spin strikes.

 

 

Edited February 27, 2021 by miss0033

[prouse25]

Really wish they would make a 16.5 head. I didn’t care for the 5 wood.  Strangely launched almost exactly like the 3 wood - yet shorter distance. The 3 wood with Ventus blue was solid and TrackMan numbers were really good.  Only hit it inside.  
 

it didn’t seem to ever go hard left - which is a good thing.  The rep put his heaviest weight in the toe to help. Might be a contender. Can’t wait to hit it outside. 

[Calvertdr]

On 2/15/2021 at 12:17 PM, OspreyCI said:

Like to hear about the Proto Hybrid when you get it. That will probably be replacing my Gen2 hybrid. 

Proto hybrid is a monster - I keep adding more weight toe side to tame the draw . Carrying 205 regularly  with a 22 turned down to 20.5

[JoeFrigo]

On 2/26/2021 at 9:01 PM, miss0033 said:

For whatever it's worth, I had a PXG fitting today.  Hit the 0211 fairways, Proto Fairways, 0211 Hybrids, Proto Hybrids, Gen II Driving Iron, as well as Gen 3, Gen 4, and 0211 4-Irons.

 

Was attempting to do a few things, bridge the gap between my 260~ish Proto X Drives, and 220~ish 19* Gen II Hybrid.  As well as replace an old Ping G5 22* hybrid that goes about 200, because I am spraying my 0211 4-iron, and my 5-iron is a 185/190 club.  

 

It felt the differences between them (Proto vs 0211) were consistent between Hybrids and Fairways.  The 0211 was slightly more forgiving off the toe, but man, when you flushed one, the ball exploded off the Proto face.  With the 0211 I never had that "Yeah Baby!" shot during my fitting with it.  Dare I say a pure strike on the Proto Fairway felt better than a pure strike on even my Proto X driver...  The problem being I have never been a good fairway wood player... I hit down on the ball, launch high and generate a TON of spin.  No matter which shaft and settings we tried, I couldn't get one that made sense.  Getting launch, spin, and distance in the ballpark lead to inconsistent strikes.  Consistent strikes with other settings ended up being too high and spin-y.  I cannot compare to the Gen 2 fairway woods, sorry, never having owned one or hit one. Moved to the hybrids.

 

Similar characteristics.  When you hit the sweet spot with the Proto, man, it feels and sounds awesome and just explodes off the face.  The 0211 was slightly more forgiving, but also shorter in general.  I hit the 17* about 235 with the proto, and around 227/228 with the 0211 in 17*.  Toe strikes were pushed less in the 0211 hybrid, but less noticeably so than the difference between the fairway woods. However, neither were as forgiving as the Gen 2...  My 19* Gen 2 I can hit off the end of the toe and I feel like it still goes and is still, mostly, predictable.  Pure shots with the Gen 2 feel similar as the 0211 - good, but not outstanding.  The feel of pure-ing the Proto (fairway wood and hybrid) was awesome.  

 

Really like the small white lines that frame the ball on the face of the Proto clubs, and kind of wish my Proto Driver had that (but in actuality, Id probably not see it at address)  I went with a 22* proto as I was hitting pretty consistent, well struck shots - going about 205-208, which is about exactly what I was looking for to replace my 22* Ping.

 

On paper, a driving iron should be perfect for me.  But it wasn't.  Kept catching it fat, too much sole or something, wasn't for me.  The only had 1 head with a glued steel shaft, so not the best fitting experience for that, but he said they don't have many left anyway and might not get one even if I ordered it at this point.  It was fantastic off the tee (probably why its called a driving iron) but I couldn't catch it off the turf to save my life.

 

The Gen 3 I hit the best of the 4-irons I tested (0211, gen 3, gen 4).  Couldn't justify the price of it, not to mention I hit the Proto 22* much better right around the same distance.

 

So I will continue to be a 13 club player I guess.  Driver, 3 & 4 Hybrids, 5-GW, 54 & 58 specialty wedges, putter.

 

I asked about waiting to hit Gen 4 hybrids and fairways, and the guy was honest with me, I likely wouldn't benefit a ton from it.  MAYBE, the 17* I might hit better, maybe. 

 

But also said expect the fairways and hybrids to be at least $100/club more than the Proto.  I don't need a $350 hybrid, nor a $400 fairway wood.

 

This was only me, and my experience with an iffy swing.  If you are a good fairway wood player, I highly suggest checking out the Proto fairway wood.  The 0211s were fine, the hybrid wasn't as good as the Proto or the Gen 2 in my opinion.  But it was as good as or better than several other hybrids I had tried before getting the Gen 2 hybrid (one of the best I have ever played).

 

Sorry for the long rambling post.

 

EDIT:  for both lines, I tried a 3-wood, 3-wood turned to 4, 5 wood, 5-wood turned to 4.  Just wasn't working for me.  For a minute I thought it was the fact that it is February and I have only been to the range a handful of times, and I am sure that contributed.  But I was hitting mostly darts with my Gen 2 hybrid.

 

Also, to be fair, we played with HZRDUS smoke yellow (fairway) and black (hybrid) and those seemed to fit me the best, and it my current clubs.  We tried an Aldila offering, and a Fuji offering.  I told him I wasn't interested in adding anything over $100 in upgrade price.  He told me he didn't have a ventus to fit me.  They only had a Ventus blue, and that was a mid/mid shaft and would help combat my high launch/high spin strikes.

 

 

im glad I saw this review and really appreciate it!!! I got the proto driver last October and its been the best individual club ive ever bought. Like you mentioned it definitely has an explosive feel when flushed compared to other clubs ive hit...

 

bc I like the proto driver so much I ordered the 0211 3w on release day not knowing proto woods were releasing. The 0211 3w has been pretty underwhelming. Feels very hard off the face and the ball speed just isn't there. Compared to my SIM 3w, the 0211 on avg is about 6mph slower. 

 

I picked up the proto hybrid last week and it definitely reminds me of the driver when flushed. I also find it very forgiving for a smaller footprint. The 17* proto hybrid was giving me the same ball speed as the 0211 3w

[JoeFrigo]

@wam78 are you still thinking of moving on from the proto 3w???

[snagy2000]

After seeing the details on the Gen4 fairways, I'm giving serious thought on sending back my Proto for the Gen4. Looks like the honeycomb insert is larger on Gen4 which might help me like the feel off the face better. 

Edited March 9, 2021 by snagy2000

[JoeFrigo]

42 minutes ago, snagy2000 said:

After seeing the details on the Gen4 fairways, I'm giving serious thought on sending back my Proto for the Gen4. Looks like the honeycomb insert is larger on Gen4 which might help me like the feel off the face better. 

ive seen a couple comments now on people not liking the feel off the face from the proto fairway and it really surprises me. Ive got the driver and hybrid and love everything about them. even the mishits feel good to me

 

The 0211 3w feels terrible. Very hard feel off the face

[JoeFrigo]

There’s no thread on the hybrid but just wanted to say how awesome this 17* proto is. From the first time I hit it I felt it would be the best club in my bag

 

used it today first time outside and played my first round. 2 tee shots right down the middle, landed a par 5 in two, and misfit one a little low on the face that still flew out about 235 yards. Came up just short of the green on a par 5 with that one 

 

it’s very forgiving and as easy to hit as the Proto driver .... I need the 3w!

[lakecowboy]

On 3/9/2021 at 7:12 AM, JoeFrigo said:

ive seen a couple comments now on people not liking the feel off the face from the proto fairway and it really surprises me. Ive got the driver and hybrid and love everything about them. even the mishits feel good to me

 

The 0211 3w feels terrible. Very hard feel off the face

I preferred the feel of Gen2 more than Proto on the FW

[JoeFrigo]

after daily Ebay searches for over a month I finally got a 3w head that arrived today!! Im playing 18 tomorrow but im hoping I can get some data today head to head with the 0211. I ordered the 0211 the day of release and ive been pretty disappointed with it. The proto 2H gives me the same ball speed as the 0211 3w

[JoeFrigo]

Not sure if it’s me, my winter swing, or maybe nothings as good as the SIM... but I’ve had the 0211 almost 2 months now and said it’s nothing too great. Got a Proto 3w head in and it’s actually quite similar performance. I like the shape at address but both models seem to lack ball speed. The SIM numbers are from October compared to the PXG numbers from yesterday. 

I’m fine with the launch and spin numbers but ball speed is pretty slow. The Proto 2H at 18* gives me avg 150 ball speed 

 

I think my experiment is over and I’ll probably grab a SIM2 3w

 

 

Edited March 30, 2021 by JoeFrigo

[evoviiiyou]

Thanks Joe! What shaft is in your SIM 3 wood that 159mpg ball speed is strong! In my experience, SIM fairways and hybrids always have top notch ball speeds, so no surprise there. What, shaft was in the SIM and SIM Max woods? Are you liking the Max launch angle better than the SIM or are you trying to have a Goto stinger fairway club? 
 

Also, from that PXG comparison view. The AV Raw Orange definitely is better than the AD in the PXG heads either one 

Looks like, you need to decide which gap yardage wise you need to carry that ball and what flight window. Thanks for sharing and good luck. 

[InsuranceGuy89]

8mph difference is a ton of ball speed.  Id have a hard time believing that is just from the head and there are other factors going on in that equation as that is ALOT

[JoeFrigo]

1 hour ago, evoviiiyou said:

Thanks Joe! What shaft is in your SIM 3 wood that 159mpg ball speed is strong! In my experience, SIM fairways and hybrids always have top notch ball speeds, so no surprise there. What, shaft was in the SIM and SIM Max woods? Are you liking the Max launch angle better than the SIM or are you trying to have a Goto stinger fairway club? 
 

Also, from that PXG comparison view. The AV Raw Orange definitely is better than the AD in the PXG heads either one 

Looks like, you need to decide which gap yardage wise you need to carry that ball and what flight window. Thanks for sharing and good luck. 

Yea AD XC oddly is not a good fit for me. Its usually a shaft that should work for me spec wise but my timing and strikes were all over the place.... AV Raw Orange is awesome. great feel and not low spin like Pro Orange. The dispersion with it was much tighter also

 

SIM had KBS TD 70 cat4 (x flex). The KBS wood shafts are highly underrated and dont get enough love. The SIM Max 3w had a Tensei Pro Orange so it was surprising to see the higher launch and super low spin. The other SIM Max was driver with KBS TD 60 cat4. SIM Max driver I found most of the year to be slower speed wise. The PXG Proto driver I sit around 163

 

Ideally what im looking for is the pxg proto launch and spin numbers with closer to SIM speed. If I got it to around 155 id be happy. I have the woods weight kit so maybe I just need to mess with the weights in the proto to get optimal numbers

 

I dont know whats ideal or how big a drop it should be, but on averages I find it weird im around 163 ball speed with driver and 10mph slower with 3w. I dont know if thats normal or not

[JoeFrigo]

41 minutes ago, InsuranceGuy89 said:

8mph difference is a ton of ball speed.  Id have a hard time believing that is just from the head and there are other factors going on in that equation as that is ALOT

yea I dont disagree. I dunno what it is but it was like that most of last year. SIM 3w was always a ball speed monster for me but the drivers weren't the best. Like I posted above im usually around 163ish with driver so maybe the SIM Max driver just wasn't a good fit for me

 

but honestly with all the 3w's I tried last year the SIM was always at least 3mph faster than the next closest competitor

[InsuranceGuy89]

4 minutes ago, JoeFrigo said:

yea I dont disagree. I dunno what it is but it was like that most of last year. SIM 3w was always a ball speed monster for me but the drivers weren't the best. Like I posted above im usually around 163ish with driver so maybe the SIM Max driver just wasn't a good fit for me

 

but honestly with all the 3w's I tried last year the SIM was always at least 3mph faster than the next closest competitor

Sounds like you may have found your holy grail 3 wood.  That is nice.  If I could get that much more ball speed than something else, Id insta buy.  I have the gen 2 fairways now that I like.  I use a 16* head so probably wont upgrade it.  Looking into getting the Gen 4 driver though!

[snagy2000]

4 minutes ago, JoeFrigo said:

yea I dont disagree. I dunno what it is but it was like that most of last year. SIM 3w was always a ball speed monster for me but the drivers weren't the best. Like I posted above im usually around 163ish with driver so maybe the SIM Max driver just wasn't a good fit for me

 

but honestly with all the 3w's I tried last year the SIM was always at least 3mph faster than the next closest competitor

I just returned a SIM2 Max 5f with their watered down Ventus without Velocore  and at times it was going further than my Ping G410 LST 3. I just hate watered down shafts, can never trust them in the heat of the moment. PXG fitting tomorrow and going to give the Gen4 a go and see what they got performance wise.