Equipment

2020 TaylorMade P7MB and P7MC irons: Pressure to perfection

Published

4 years ago

Aug 10, 2020

John Wunder

One word defines the new 2020 Taylormade P7MB and P7MC forged irons: Pressure.

It’s a word we all know and feel. For the best golfers in the world, it’s what they chase day in and day out. In the case of TaylorMade, the pressure to deliver time in and time out increases with every launch of a new product. It’s also the application of pressure and what it represents that makes this story so interesting.

Introducing the new 2020 TaylorMade P7MB and P7MC forged irons. Using the popular P730 and P750 irons as the starting point, Senior Manager of Product Creation for Irons Matt Bovee and his team have left no stone unturned to deliver a one-two punch that will please both P730/750 die-hards (yes, they exist) and any players who were on the edge.

With the help of modern technology, periodic feedback from the tour staff, and the admiration of classic forgings from TaylorMade’s past, the 2020 TaylorMade P-7MB, and P-7MC accomplished just what was required—they created irons with serious curb appeal that stood up to the most discerning pallets in the world: TM’s iconic tour staff.

More photos and discussion in the forums.

TaylorMade P7MB irons

The new 2020 TaylorMade P7MB irons

It needs to be said at the start that these new TaylorMade irons live in a different bucket than Tiger’s P7TW. Although those irons are used by a few players on tour, they were essentially built for one man and one swing—that’s it. So as not to confuse the issue, the TaylorMade P7MB is a stand-alone project designed to go in the bags of the likes of Rory (where they already are), DJ, Collin Morikawa, and a number of others on the major tours.

P7MB: The beginning

Just over 14 months ago, the development of the P7MB began. The nice thing was, TaylorMade had a good jumping-off point—the P730 “DJ Proto.” Although that iron has the stock P730 optics from afar, the DJ Proto has a longer blade length and a more contemporary look at address then the retail version.

“The P7MB, as far as inspiration for it, is simply just the evolution from the last two to three models starting with the 2014 Tour Preferred MB”

-Matt Bovee, Taylor Made Lead Designer Irons

Looking down at the new 2020 TaylorMade P7MB, you will see the influence of the DJ Proto. A longer blade length (1.4 mm longer than P730) complemented by a thin top line, slightly less offset (6-iron: 1.5 mm vs 1.8 mm in P730), and a similar sole profile checks off every box that players at the highest level want to see.

Unfortunately, getting that part down is only half the riddle. In this day and age, muscle back irons live in a very small box as far as what you can do. Optics are one thing, and most get that right, it’s the sound and feel and turf interaction that separates the men from the boys.

So what’s new?

So, what exactly will players experience with the P7MB iron?

Although it’s every marketing rep’s dream to say “more everything in every category,” in this particular instance, it’s in the nuance and very fine details that TM has made upgrades. To be honest “more everything” isn’t the win here. The victory is delivering an iron that performs apples to apples with the P730 all while offering a traditional look, a dash of forgiveness with the longer blade length (1.4 mm longer), and even better sound and feel.

2020 TaylorMade P7MB top line

This is where the “pressure” story comes in. TaylorMade R&D wanted to ensure that every process that could get maxed out to make this iron flawless would. The industry standard for forging weight pressure is around 1,000 tons, TaylorMade utilizes a 2,000-ton forging press to push the quality tolerance of every 1025 carbon steel forging to its peak. In simple terms, it’s like putting so much pressure on something you squeeze the air and any opportunity for a blemish clean out.

Secondly, the back muscle has gone through a cosmetic change. This was made for two main reasons

to look amazing in the bag
to dial in CG as close to perfect as they could

As with previous TaylorMade offerings, the use of milling across the face ensures consistency and sharp lines—and offers scoring lines that have been a staple in most TaylorMade players clubs.

The new 2020 TaylorMade P7MB face on

The muscle on the P7MB features a three-dimensional section out near the toe to not only highlight the distribution of weight but to add a little cachet to an already stunning golf club.

“We wanted to add a third dimension to that back section in order to do something special and at the same time stick the CG exactly where our staff wants to see it.”

-Matt Bovee TM

Truth be told, the new 2020 TaylorMade P7MB is a contemporary throwback. More so than any other TM blade in recent history (with the exception of RAC MB), this blade has a look and feel that can stand the test of time.

More photos and discussion in the forums.

Initial reactions on tour

I was told that during the marketing shoot at the Floridian last October a few of the TM staff got a first glance at the MB. This is always the first real test for someone in Matt Bovee’s position, that first eyeball reaction is huge. Get the wrong look and it could throw off the whole project, get a good look and momentum goes from cruising to a full sprint.

Down the line, it was admiration from the first three to see it—DJ, Collin, and Wolff—to Rory’s smile at first glance and ultimate quick integration going into Memorial.

“At the photoshoot last fall we showed the early prototype to Wolff and Morikawa and they were all over it immediately, their eyes lit up seeing only the head and at that point, I knew we were on to something special.”

-Matt Bovee TM

Speaking to the forgiveness part for a second. Rory has been a combo set player for a long time. The top of his iron set is typically a P760/750 3 and 4-iron and 5-PW the 730’s. After spending some time at home with the P7MB he felt the new MB’s were plenty forgiving top to bottom and showed up to Memorial with a full set of 3-PW.

Here is a quick peek at Rory’s first reaction from earlier this year…

Rory McIlroy’s bag, featuring 3-PW in TaylorMade P7MB.

The experience

I am by no means a player who is drawn to a forged muscle back. Maybe in the rare case, I’ll have it in 9/PW. The point is, they don’t provide enough help for a player like me. However, these are easy to hit, believe it or not. The longer blade length gives the appearance of a club that wants to square up, and I also appreciated the lines on the P7MB.

For the TaylorMade blade aficionados, the P7MB (to my eye) lives somewhere between the RAC MB and the 2014 Tour Preferred. The top-line is slightly straight, but not as much as the P7TW, and the toe shape could be called softly squared off. It’s an elegant design and doesn’t scare you sitting it down.

The acoustics are where you will experience that 2,000 tons of pressure—especially on a center-thin strike. The P730, when caught thin, sounded really thin, the P7MB does dull that out a bit and makes those shots a bit less painful than they could be.

I was able to go club-for-club with the P7TW, P730, and P7MB, and without getting into a data rabbit hole, I carried the P7MB about four yards further on average. Not a ton, but certainly enough to acknowledge.

P7MB: Overall

Winner, winner. Let’s be really honest here, what were the odds of this club not checking off every box? The muscle back war is won in the whole experience—from how it looks in the bag, to that first center strike, all the way to how it makes you feel as a player.

Is this club for 10 handicappers? No. 8’s? No. It was designed for the Rorys, DJs, and Collin Morikawas of the world. TaylorMade wanted to make a superb “staff blade” and Bovee and his crew did it. No small feat. The P730 was involved in a ton of great golf over the past three years—hard to improve on that. But they did—just in a very nuanced way. Well done.

Specs

Available for preorder on August 14, 2020, and in stores beginning September 4, 2020, P7MB irons ($1,399) will be offered in (3-PW) and come equipped with KBS Tour steel shafts (X 130g, S 120g) as well as the Golf Pride Z-Grip in grey/black. Available in RH and yes LH)

More photos and discussion in the forums.

TaylorMade P7MC irons

Its predecessor, the P750, is arguably the best players cavity back TaylorMade has ever designed. With multiple wins across the world and a strong presence among top amateurs and college players, the P750 won players over for one main reason: simplicity.

So, when Matt Bovee and the team decided to go back in and build something new, there weren’t a lot of places to go beyond one or two ticks better. In this iron class, that’s all that is required.

Introducing the new 2020 TaylorMade P7MC players cavity back iron.

2020 TaylorMade P7MC

“We had a great foundation to work off of with the P750 so the main things we wanted to focus on was keeping the DNA of a great iron and simply making it sound and feel a little better and be a bit more appealing sitting in the bag.”

-Matt Bovee TM

Visuals

At address, the 2020 TaylorMade P7MC will look very similar to the P750—why mess with a good thing? The part of this iron that players will appreciate is the nod to TaylorMade heritage—i.e. the 2005 TP Forged and the Japan-only version.

More photos and discussion in the forums.

So, what’s new?

Like its muscle back sibling, the 2020 TaylorMade P7MC incorporates the same 2,000-ton pressure forging to ensure the feel and sound are dialed in. This iron is also truly a one-piece forging, no titanium plugs, no extra badging no real bells, and whistles. The player will notice a slightly longer blade length (the P750), thin top line and a touch more offset then the P7MB.

It’s a simple clean players cavity back that looks amazing in the bag, behind the ball, and most likely on TV. Trust me, even that matters.

In addition, the milling process gives P7MC the sharp lines and grooves we can expect from TaylorMade forgings.

The New TaylorMade P7MC Face On

The experience

Like the P7MB, I had the chance to test the MC, and what I liked most about it was the lack of surprises. Yes, it’s stunning to look at, probably more so than any club TaylorMade had made in recent memory, including the P7TW. It’s gorgeous, but past that, the iron is just a workhorse. It has a crisp feel, plays very similar to the MB with the exception of mishits for obvious reasons. Simple, simple, simple. For the best players in the world, that’s all they want. Does it look good? Yes. Feel good? Yes. Most importantly will it take a long time to transition from my P750’s? No.

In this category, I like that. In the MB, MC category, a 1-2 percent improvement is all you really want to see.

Overall

It will come as a shock to no one, the 2020 TaylorMade P7MC is everything die-hard P750 players would want. The DNA of a great iron is there, they feel a bit better with the new pressure process, they look ridiculously cool, offer a pinch more forgiveness, and most importantly, they do the job.

Specs

Available for preorder on August 14 and at retail beginning September 4

P7MC irons ($1,399) will be offered in (3-PW) and come equipped with KBS Tour steel shafts (X 130g, S 120g) as well as the Golf Pride Z-Grip in grey/black. Available in RH and LH.

More photos and discussion in the forums.

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Equipment

Masters gear roundup: Limited-edition bags, balls, and more

Published

5 hours ago

Apr 9, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

The Masters in itself is a huge tradition in the world of golf, but it also brings its own traditions with it. One of the big ones for us golf equipment fans is the limited edition gear that is influenced by the season’s first major championship.

Around tournament time, companies big and small offer bags, balls, and accessories that are designed with the colors and history of the Masters Tournament.

Here is some of the gear that we will see this weekend out on the lush, green grass of Augusta.

Callaway

The land Augusta National sits on was once a nursery. Callaway looks to be celebrating that history this year. Colorful flowers are used all over the side panels on the staff bag and on top of the headcovers. Callaway also did some limited edition Chrome Tour golf balls with azalea patterns.

Mizuno

There might not be a green bag here for Mizuno, but they know how to celebrate the Masters! This year, Mizuno is offering Mizuno Pro 241 “Azalea” irons to a limited number of lucky customers. A new green iridescent finish is applied to the heads and some beautiful colored ferrules bring some floral color to the irons. If you are lucky enough to grab a set, you will be impressed by the green display box the irons come in as well!

TaylorMade

This year’s staff bag goes a little heavier on a metallic green color to pay homage to the first major of the year. If you look closely at the details, you will notice shiny gold accent pieces, a small Amen Corner, and an inner lining with Georgia peaches. The headcovers are made from matching metallic green fabric and feature “88th” embroidery for the number of Masters tournaments that have been played. TaylorMade’s TP5x Pix golf balls come in a case that looks, and feels, like a peach!

Srixon

Srixon’s bag for the 2024 Masters goes heavy on green and white with a more simple and classic design on the outside. When you unzip the pockets you will treated to a hidden inner lining that has Georgia’s state fruit, the peach, printed all over. Heck, Srixon even included the pit! Headcovers are matching white and green but have a look that reminds you of the iconic Masters scoreboard.

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Whats in the Bag

WITB Time Machine: Tiger Woods’ winning WITB, 2019 Masters

Published

7 hours ago

Apr 9, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

At the 2019 Masters, Tiger Woods famously ended an 11-year major championship drought. When Francesco Molinari faltered during the final round, Woods pounced. With a Sunday 70, he captured his fifth green jacket and 15th major championship.

Check out what Tiger had in the bag below.

Driver: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 60 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade M5 (13 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 70 TX

5-wood: TaylorMade M3 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 80 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7TW (3-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind Raw (56, 60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS

Ball: Bridgestone TourB XS

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

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Equipment

Best irons in golf of 2024: Pure enjoyment

Published

10 hours ago

Apr 9, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

In our effort to assemble the 2024 best irons, we have again compiled an expert panel of fitters to help you find out which of the 2024 irons is best for your game.

Ultimately the best way to find your personal best iron set is to work with a professional fitter using a launch monitor. The difficult part is a lot of people don’t have easy access to fitters, launch monitors, and club builders — so at GolfWRX, we have done a lot of the work for you.

We are in the era of not just maximizing distance but also minimizing the penalty of common misses for each player — this applies to irons just as much as it does with any other club in the bag. And of course, proper set makeup and gapping is essential. This is why, now more than ever, custom fitting is essential to help you see results on every swing you make.

We want to give you the tools and information to go out and find what works best for you by offering recommendations for your individual iron set wants and needs with insight and feedback from the people who work every single day to help golfers get peak performance out of their equipment.

Join the discussion about best irons 2024 in the forums!

Best irons of 2024: The process

The best fitters in the world see all the options available in the marketplace, analyze their performance traits, and pull from that internal database of knowledge and experience like a supercomputer when they are working with a golfer.

It’s essentially a huge decision tree derived from experience and boiled down to a starting point of options—and it has nothing to do with a handicap!

Modern iron sets are designed into player categories that overlap the outdated “what’s your handicap?” model, and at GolfWRX we believe it was important to go beyond handicap and ask specific questions about the most crucial performance elements fitters are looking at.

These are the best iron categories we have developed to help you determine which category is most important for your swing and game.

Best irons of 2024: The categories

Overall performance
Easiest to launch/Slower swing speed
Pure enjoyment
Shotmakers
Most technology-packed
Best blade

2024 Best irons: Pure enjoyment

We continue to see an overlap in the way fitters in this category define the top irons. The most playable irons are the most likely to be higher launching, and shots that fly higher make the game more enjoyable for everyone. This reiterates our belief that your iron selection should not be defined by your handicap but instead by what gives you the best opportunity to play your best — and most enjoyable — golf.

Join the discussion about best irons 2024 in the forums!

Ping G430

Their story: Billed as Ping’s “longest iron ever,” the G430 irons combine a lower CG with stronger, custom- engineered lofts and a thinner face that delivers up to two more mph of ball speed, per the company. At the heart of the new addition is the PurFlex cavity badge, an innovation that features seven flex zones that allow more free bending in design to increase ball speed across the face. In combination with a lower CG, the badge aims to contribute to a solid feel and pleasing impact sound.

Fitter comments:

“The best G.I. iron on the market. Easy to hit and launch while making great ball speed for distance.”
“The best iron in the game improvement category. High launch and packed with forgiveness on those off-center hits. It’s one of the easiest irons to hit. So easy to hit and look at for the average golfer.”
“Yeah, I mean, that’s definitely a go-to and in the matrix for sure. I mean, it’s just super easy to hit, super forgiving. They don’t mess that iron up.”
“Ping does a great job of building golf clubs. Their design is fantastic and it’s not for everybody, you know, it’s not the lowest-spinning club…but it sure is one of the most forgiving golf clubs and most consistent golf clubs. Ping G430 in that category of club, you can have something that a good player who needs a little help maybe can use because it’s consistent across the face, and you can’t do that with some of the other clubs because they’re not as consistent across the face for the ball speeds. It is a monster for us.”
“The best iron in the game improvement category. It’s one of the easiest irons to hit.”

For more photos/info, read our launch piece.

TaylorMade P790

Their story: Engineers utilized the variables of tungsten weighting, SpeedFoam Air, and internal mass — with an assist from AI — to precisely give golfers what they need in each iron. For example, launch and forgiveness in the long irons. More specifically, TaylorMade is using what the company calls FLTD CG (flighted CG) to strategically position CG throughout the set (lower in the long irons, higher in the short irons). CG is positioned almost a millimeter lower in the long irons compared to previous generations. In the shorter irons, the higher CG positions allowed engineers to dial in spin and promote accuracy.

Fitter comments:

“Best combination of everything. The amalgamation of all irons on the market blended into one mathematically perfect design.”
“I think people recognize the name. It’s a very popular club. It stands up to every model in a category.”
“That’s the staple in the players distance category. It’s year-in, year-out. It’s tough to beat TaylorMade — they don’t go wrong with that iron, for sure. They make little refinements, but it’s almost like, yeah, just keep making little refinements. Don’t kind of mess that up just because the, I mean, it, it fits such a wide range of players and it’s just such a good iron that fits a wide, wide range of handicaps.”
“I think where TaylorMade kind of struggled over the past is getting that spin on the golf club, and I think each generation it just keeps getting better. I think they did an awesome job.”
“If it’s not our best-selling iron in the fitting center, it’s always like number two. It’s such a great, great performer across the board. And yeah, it just keeps getting better every year. It’s really awesome; crazy distance on that thing too.”

For more photos/info, read our launch piece.

Srixon ZX5 Mk II

Their story: MainFrame v2 was developed with an Automated Intelligence process, flex-maximizing variable thickness pattern of grooves, channels, and cavities carefully milled into the backside of Z ZX5 iron faces for high ball speeds. Not only does MainFrame boost COR, but it also repositions mass away from the face and into the toe and sole for a lower CG for easier launch, more consistency, and forgiveness.

Fitter comments:

“I’m a big believer in the V-Sole. For high-speed guys who want a little forgiveness and are steep, it just doesn’t stick in the ground. Super soft and high launching. Not a ton of offset. It’s also been a good fit for moderate-to-high handicappers.”
“So I would say it, it kind of stands out in its category because it does launch higher than its competitors. It also sits in between some of the models, like, it doesn’t directly compete with a hollow cavity and it doesn’t compete with, like the Cobra King Tour. Like, it’s a degree stronger. For a forged iron, it performs great for us. The only problem is that it is a little bit light in a swing weight, so we have to be careful of who we fit.”
“It’s definitely one of our more popular irons for sure. You know, you get a guy who wants to play something small but still wants something more forgiving, and they don’t want kind of that full hollow body iron. I mean, that’s definitely one of our best sellers for sure. We’re seeing that a lot of combos — that’s a one iron that you can definitely combo with the ZX7 for sure.”
“I think a lot of guys like the concept of the V-Sole with them…If you’re talking an overall package, you know, for the guy that is looking for something clean. That’s a spectacular golf club. Good looks and good feel and great, you know, great performance, and it fits a lot of categories.”
“I think the one struggle a lot of companies have with that category is getting something to spin, so to try and give like guys so they don’t get those knuckleball shots or that fly out of the rough that goes 20 yards longer. I kind of think that that’s what I think makes that item so good is you get some spin on it, and I think it, it looks and feels good enough that like it, a guy that’s a mid-single digit can play it and be like, yeah, that’s good enough for me. But it’s also forgiving enough that a guy that’s in that kind of 12-to-15 kind of category if he wants to reach a little bit and play something that might look a little bit better. It just fits such a huge, huge range of players. I think it’s just awesome.”

For more photos/info, read our launch piece.

Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal

Their story: “With the JPX923 Hot Metal, Mizuno introduces “4355 nickel chromoly,” which is 35 percent stronger than the original Hot Metal material and allows for an eight-percent thinner clubface. Cup face construction works in tandem with a deep center of gravity for high launch with stopping power. Mizuno developed Hot Metal Pro, Hot Metal and Hot Metal HL (High Launch) from 175,000 real golf swings recorded via Mizuno’s Swing DNA system.”

Fitter comments:

“These are great for a player who flips at the ball but also needs some help and forgiveness. The strong lofts help reduce a player’s launch and spin.”
“Great forgiveness with the feel that Mizuno is known for.”
“Great looking and great feeling irons.”
“If I had a player come in, that’s just your, you know, your average golfer. It’s one that is like, “Hey, this is, this is one to try.” This is gonna produce a lot of ball speed and is super forgiving. You can combo it really well. Mizuno does a great job where you can do combo sets just with lofts.”
“It’s very good. It’s one of the most popular. Always in the mix of game improvement irons when people come in and they want to hit something that’s forgiving and that also still feels less clicky.”

For more photos/info, read our launch piece.

Titleist T200

Their story: If there were gripes about the previous generation of T200 irons, it was probably because of feel and sound at impact. Titleist heard your feedback on the previous T200 irons, and it listened. The new 2023 T200 irons have a reengineered chassis to create a stiffer structure and create a more stable feeling and muted sound. They also refined the Max Impact Technology within the head to sit closer to the L-face, further solidifying the feel.

Fitter comments:

“Best overall for us. Great looks, workability. Plenty of forgiveness.”
“I like the great look of these and they are easy to play for the average golfer.”
“That’s a big combo iron for sure, especially, but it’s also, you know, in that player distance category, it’s one of the higher launching ones, and it’s gonna spin a little bit more. I would say some of those irons in that category they launch, you know, they’ve launched a little bit lower and they don’t spin, which it is great for some players, but also some still want to play a smaller package.”
“I think it was definitely a big jump from the previous one. Yeah, I mean, one thing I’ve noticed is compared to some of the other irons, even kind of equal loft, it tends to get a little bit more height on it.”
“It’s great for one of those guys that if I get in there that’s kind of hitting a little low. It’s one to kind of throw in my hands…you’re seeing that initial launch kind of pick up a little bit compared to some of the other ones.”

For more photos/info, read our launch piece.