William L. Coney Blog: Not Just Another Wallhanger: PXG Releases Limited Edition Darkness Operator Putter

You can add PXG to the list of brands taking this whole Black Friday thing a little too literally.

Just announced is a Limited Edition version of the company’s Operator Putter, and while it may be tempting to throw this one on top an ever-growing pile of paint-driven money grabs, the story here extends beyond the murdered-out look.

At first glance, the story is textbook. A new variable-sized pyramid face pattern offers gripping benefits. Rather than fall back on the industry standard promotes forward roll faster story, PXG is more general in its characterization of that particular element of performance, simply saying, “the small pyramid structures bite into the golf ball cover to create more consistent launch and roll chrematistics.” You can toss in improved sound and feel as well.

Boilerplate for sure, but in the true spirit of the holiday shopping season, I’m compelled to add the requisite, but wait, there’s more.

Indeed there is.

PXG’s escape from the wallhanger category comes via that new pyramid milling pattern. What’s notable is that the size of the pyramid milling pattern varies across the face, with the center being the most densely milled.

As with similar consistent distance technologies, what PXG is effectively doing is slowing down the middle of the face. That may sound counterintuitive, but it’s not much different than what companies do with their driver faces to stay within USGA limits while boosting speed on off-center hits. It’s really hard to boost speed on the perimeter, but if you slow down the center (where ball speeds are greatest), you can, more or less, flatline the rest of the face so that distance is nearly consistent regardless of whether you hit it duck’s nuts center, or out on the toe.

To the just learn how to putt crowd: Spare me your sanctimonious. FYI, even the best players in the world miss the sweet spot on their putters from time to time.

PXG’s technology story hasn’t been independently validated, but on paper, it has the potential to vault it into the high-tech performance putter category with Evnroll and PING.

While PXG’s claim that the Darkness Operator putter can be tailored to suit any stroke is perhaps dubious, it does offer five 1-gram sole weights. Stock, it’s 375-grams. The included weight kit allows golfers to adjust the overall head weight as well as adjust the distribution of weight to tune the closure rate. Whether that’s enough to allow the Darkness Operator to adapt to both straight back straight through, strong arc, and all strokes in-between is a matter for testing, I suppose.

The Limited Edition Darkness Operator is milled from 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum. Each is emblazoned (PXG’s word) with the Darkness skull insignia and the number 26, which represents the 26^th Marine Corps Regiment that PXG Founder, Bob Parsons, served with during the Vietnam war.

The putter comes stuck with a custom SuperStroke Darkness grip, the Darkness Weight Kit, and a uniquely numbered Darkness headcover.

Available now from PXG.com for $700.