$1399 (seven club) with True Temper Steel shafts and Golf Pride Z handles. $1,499 for Mitsubishi MMT graphite clubs
Specifications: Hollow body construction with a 4140 stainless steel face and internal tungstenweights (3-7 irons), as well as vibration-dampening spong and a polymer-covered slot on the sole.
Available now: Now (pre-orders), September 1, (in stores).
Who it’s for: Golfers looking for an iron with the forgiveness and distance of a game improvement iron, but that looks more like a player’s iron.
The skinny: TaylorMade has redesigned both the P*790’s inner chamber and weight system to make it easier to hit the long irons and to provide more consistency and feel in the short irons, without sacrificing ball speed or distance.
The Deep Dive In 2017 the original TaylorMade P*790 golf club was one of the first clubs to be able to call themselves a better player’s distance iron. The club looked similar to a blade but was slightly larger. It had more forgiveness, ball speed and stability than clubs made for players who would be competing for a golf club championship.
TaylorMade has released the fourth generation P*790 Irons. These clubs were updated twice, in 2019 and 2021. The club looks the same on the outside as the other P Series irons from TaylorMade, but on the inside, the P*790 is radically different. This gives golfers better ball speed and distance without sacrificing consistency.
The P*790 has the same design as a hollow-body iron, with a thin topline and a moderately narrow, slightly offset sole. The hollow-body allows the 4140 stainless steel face forged to flex at impact, increasing ball speed. The 2023 version has the same Speed Foam Air as the P*790 2021. The original TaylorMade vibration-dampening Foam used in the P*790 Irons is 69 per cent lighter. This makes the irons sound and feel better at impact. It also pushes the weight away from the center of the head and towards the perimeter for increased stability. Thru-Slot Speed Pockets have been added to the mid- and long-irons in order to improve performance when low-struck shots are struck.
The new P*790 features a Thick Thin Back Wall. The inner-facing side is not smooth but covered in thin, scaly areas. TaylorMade first used this technology in order to reduce the weight of titanium crowns on drivers before adopting carbon fiber crowns. The P*790 uses the same technology to reduce weight in an area where performance is not enhanced. This allows designers to reuse the material in other areas.
TaylorMade’s P*790 4-iron has a low center of gravity thanks to the flat tungsten toe weight. The 6-iron has a higher weight and the 8 iron (right) does not have tungsten. Sound stabilization bars are also different in the 4-iron vs. 6-iron. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Artificial intelligence (A.I.) was used to run thousands of simulations. TaylorMade designers took advantage of weight savings in the rear of the heads to create unique weight and bar areas at the bottom of every head. Each club is optimized to perform better. Some are curved, while others are straight. For example, the 6-iron has a curved section that adds extra mass to the toe and heel, as well as a vertically rising tungsten bar in the toe for added stability. The 4-iron has a bar which is lower and flattened in the toe. This allows the center of gravity to be lowered even more and promotes a higher launch angle.
TaylorMade placed a lot of emphasis on the precise location of CG in this P*790 version. By manipulating the weights of each head, they claim to have a “flighted CG progression” through the set. The 3-iron and 4-iron of the 2023 P*790 have now the lowest CG. As you progress from mid-irons to the scoring clubs, the CG will gradually increase. Golfers will be able hit long irons higher and short irons lower to improve distance control.
TaylorMade added a Sound Stabilizing Bar to each P*790 Iron, which stiffens the topline of the iron and helps tune the frequencies produced when the club strikes the ball. The bar of each club is unique and is located in a different place because mass is distributed differently in every club.
The P*770 is smaller but shares the same hollow-body design. Working with a good fitter should make designing a personalized combo set of P*790 long irons and P*770 short irons easy. The P*770 has a smaller hollow-body but is the same size as the P*790. Working with a fitter to create a customized set of P*790 irons and short irons should be easy.
Here are some close-up photos of the new TaylorMade P*790.
