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In-Depth Reviews of TaylorMade’s P790 irons from Six GolfWRX Members

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From August 29-31, six GolfWRX Members took to TaylorMade Headquarters for an all-inclusive, once-in-a-lifetime trip to The Kingdom in Carlsbad, California. There, they participated in “The TaylorMade Forged Experience,” which included an iron fitting with TaylorMade’s Master Fitters, a personal session on GEARS (essentially an MRI for your golf swing), a set of TaylorMade’s new P-790 irons built to spec, meetings with TaylorMade’s engineering and marketing team, a behind-the-scenes tour of TaylorMade’s Headquarters and Manufacturing facilities, and two rounds at local golf courses with Team TaylorMade.

For a full breakdown of the experience, trip members updated this thread live from Carlsbad, and later left their full reviews of the TaylorMade P-790 irons.

Related: For pricing, availability and in-depth tech info on the P-790 irons, which are highlighted by their all-new SpeedFoam technology between the forged face insert and rear cavity, click here.

But the real question is, did the TaylorMade P-790s help the games of the GolfWRX Members? To answer that question, we had each member — who had handicaps ranging from 2 to 8 — bring their gamer set of irons out to The Kingdom during the fitting, where they tested the new P-790 irons versus their previous set. Read on to find out their thoughts and results.

Editor’s Note: Member reviews have been edited for brevity and grammar.

Mike Randall (lvmike)

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Mike Randall out of Las Vegas came to the Kingdom with a set of Callaway Apex Pro irons. His miss, according to him, was a weak baby-fade that lost distance and trailed off to the right of his target; he thought it was due to an over-the-top move. His GEARS session showed that he was actually square with his path, but his club face did tend to stay open, thus causing that weak miss to the right that Mike was sensitive to.

MikeRandallTrack

With his Apex Pro irons, Mike averaged 106.2 mph of ball speed, a launch angle of 21 degrees and a spin rate of 6915 rpm. With the TaylorMade P-790 irons (Nippon Pro Modus105 Stiff shafts) that he was fit into, he saw a jump to 110.5 mph of ball speed with 20.6 degrees of launch and a spin rate of 6511 rpm. So while the launch and spin was slightly lower than his Apex Pro irons, he saw significantly faster ball speeds, leading to more distance.

IN MIKE’S OWN WORDS

I averaged 80 mph with my Apex 7 iron, and I averaged 84 mph with the P-790 iron. I went from XP 115 shafts to Modus 105 shafts. Trajectory was dead even at 20 degrees but picked up 8 yards on average in distance. “But it’s a degree stronger.” At my swing speed, a degree doesn’t equate to 8 yards.

The biggest plus for me is feel. While the P-790s are not as buttery as the P-730 (blade irons)… yes, even I striped that 5 iron that was making its rounds. That said, after 2 solid swings I knew it couldn’t get any better, so I passed it off to Inkoo (dude has a legit swing!). Anyway, the Apex have a notable click that’s not that muted forged feel that I get off of a Mizzy JPX Tour 900 (as a point of buttery reference). The P-790s are much closer to that. It’s got a ton of technology but it’s all hidden by a forged face attached to a ‘softer’ forged body.

Even though I was trying to bring my launch angle down, TJ (my fitter) showed me that with the same launch angle, the Modus 105 was getting me 4 mph faster club head speed, 400 rpm less spin and ball speed up to 111 mph. These 3 components were key to me because I was getting more distance without having to worry about run out on the greens.

Face on, I prefer the P790s. The overall shape is a bit more boxy, which I prefer and the top line merges smoothly into the hosel with a crook or dip (see Callaway Steelhead irons or Ping irons). I love that transition. The bottom line of the sole is fantastic. It’s not a hard straight line. It has just a bit of radius without getting too round.

The overall satin finish is a huge sell to me. Love that look. The slim piece on the back that’s polished reminds me of something else that’s pretty classy; my wedding band. It’s satin with a polished edge in the middle. We’ll see if these irons will stand the test of time like that has.

The sole is nothing special to look at…no v-sole like Srixon, no beveled edge like Mizuno, but it certainly doesn’t have to be. I realize this section is about LOOKS, but the performance of the sole has been fantastic so far. No high bounce thin shots to note and, well, I don’t hit too many fat shots (unless it’s a chip), but nothing there either. Speaking of which, I’ve chipped a few times with the AW, which is something I don’t do, due to sole interaction (chunk) and it’s batting 1,000 percent. May start incorporating that into the short game.

The hollow iron ‘look’ has no bearing at address. If anything, it hides it well for those who might think it would bother them. The bonus of the whole hollow iron look? Cleaning the clubs is a breeze! No nooks and crannies to clean if you’re a cavity back guy. My first shot with my 5 iron (hit the green to 15 feet with a punch shot from under a tree!) beared witness to that. I was irritated to be under that tree in the first place and it was broken up by, ‘wow, that was a nice surprise. Note! Quick and easy to clean!’

The lack of colors, badging, and various other potential tackiness is also a big plus. It’s just a clean look. TaylorMade knows players in the handicap range they’re targeting prefer that look. Good job there!

Overall, a really good looking club. Better than most when it comes to this category. Best looking iron ever in my bag? Maybe not, but definitely top 3 (MP-32s…c’mon guys. Although I’d argue that face to hosel transition is executed better by TM on the 790s).

I think they are legitimately one club longer.

To sum it up, the feel and sound are better than the Apex, the offset (or lack thereof) is just very nice to look down at, and the fact that I’ve picked up length and haven’t sacrificed any accuracy is just tremendous for me.

Bobby Stroud (imburningstarIV)

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Texan Bobby Stroud came to the Kingdom donning a set of Mizuno MP-53 irons with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts. He says he prefers a fade, which made sense since his GEARS session showed an outside-to-in swing path and an open club face. Who can argue with wanting to play a reliable fade? Not me, and not his fitter.

After getting a baseline with his gamer 7 iron, his fitter had Stroud try a few different shafts — a KBS Tour and a Nippon Pro Modus to no avail. Stroud said he didn’t like the weighting of the KBS Tour or the kick point of the Modus. Back to the X100, and Stroud regained his comfort. If it ain’t broke…

BobbyStroudTrack2

Ultimately, Stroud gained 2 mph of club head speed and 4.3 mph of ball speed with the P-790 7-iron head vs. his Mizuno MP-53 iron with the same shaft. He also peppered his target, or at least the center line of Trackman, more often.

IN BOBBY’S OWN WORDS

I was fit for P790’s with Tour Issue X100’s, 2 degrees flat, 3-AW.

I really think anyone who played Mizuno MP-53’s, 54’s and into the H-4/5 will really be drawn to these.

Well it took me about four holes to start hitting anything good, but very impressed with the feel and looks. Now that said, these things are LONG, maybe not so much in the shorter irons, but as I go up through the set towards the long irons they get really long, like maybe I have 12-15 yard gaps in the set as opposed to the 10 yards I’m used to. Just going to take some rounds to figure things out, but forgiveness is incredible. I got away with a couple of stinkers today, including a 3 iron off the tee I know my MP-53 3 iron might not have even made the fairway.

So far I have been extremely surprised with how good and how solid the P790’s feel. I’m not sure I’ve ever had an iron this forgiving, and I thought my MP-53’s were forgiving irons, but this is just different, not to mention the confidence when you have a long iron in your hand from the fairway to just swing.

I would say 4-7 (3 iron is an absolute monster off the tee, and a huge weapon for my course) I’ve still not had enough shots with to get them figured out exactly, but getting there. Reactions from playing partners have been very positive, everybody loves the look and feel. I have to say I’m becoming more impressed with them each round.

As someone who has only ever just played your standard forged cavity back, I was impressed with the amount of tech packed into this iron. Seems to me like the SpeedFoam is the real breakthrough here, and is what is allowing these clubs to feel and look like a players iron. Now I have been known to be extremely whiny and critical of new club prices these days, irons and drivers seem to just be getting too expensive, but I’m going to be honest, after Tomo Bystedt’s presentation to us on the P790’s I’m kind of shocked they’re at the price point they are, and it seems very reasonable when you compare it to similar clubs.

I was really impressed with the feel of the P790, so solid.

I was fit for the same shafts I was playing, the lofts on the 790’s are stronger than my 53’s, but if I take same lofts and compare 6 iron example; MP-53 5 iron: 27 degrees and P790 6 iron: 26.5degrees, I was 185 yards tops in the Mizuno 5 iron, and had no problem hitting the 790 6 iron 195 yards, BUT with a bit higher flight, and it still hit and stopped no problem.

I haven’t encountered one single shot yet that had the “hot spot” feeling. I was actually thinking about that during testing and the couple of rounds I’ve played since because of the design. VERY consistent with the yardages so far. 

My miss tends to be thin and the 790’s are WAY better than my Mizuno’s on thin shots, almost like it doesn’t even effect the shot, just comes off lower and still stops on the green. But noticeably more forgiving all around than what I was playing. I hit a lot of 3 irons off the tee and can honestly say I’ve had two fat ones end up OK, that I don’t think would have been saved from my MP-53 3 iron. I think a 10-12 handicap will be perfectly fine with these.

Jonathan Duncan (Duncan6226)

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Long-hitting Jon Duncan from Indiana set the Kingdom’s range on fire with his 310+ yard drives, but we’re here to talk about irons. Using his Srixon Z-765 irons, with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts, he was carrying the ball 181 yards, but he was suffering from a sprinkling of “el hosels” and wayward strikes.

Fitter Jason Werner, who said shanks are often a product of length, put him into shorter iron shafts, and experimented with KBS Tour C-Taper shafts. Any trace of shanks disappeared, and even with shafts that were an inch shorter than his gamers, Duncan picked up nearly 4 mph of club head speed, 13 yards of carry, 12 yards of total distance, and was hitting the ball 19 feet higher at its peak height. He was launching the ball about 2 degrees higher, although spin dropped about 700 rpm.

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Werner said he was a “perfect candidate for a fitting,” and Duncan said of the P-790 irons, “the feel and sound is absolutely outrageous.” The performance improvements also speak for themselves.

IN JONATHAN’S OWN WORDS

I was using standard loft, length, lie Srixon Z-765 irons with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts. My specs are now 1 inch short and 2 degrees flat with KBS Tour 130X C-tapers. I couldn’t be more excited about these new irons. I will say I am a half a club to a full club longer with the P790s vs the Z-765s even with them being shortened.

I told him that my main goal was to reduce the big misses and hopefully gain some consistency. I explained that my misses were a block and hook, with the occasional Shank. He had me warm up with my Srixon 765 7-iron with TI X100 shaft. After I was good and loose, he got some baseline Trackman numbers. I was pretty much spraying my 7 iron and even managed to hit a shank with it. Jason handed me a P790 7 iron with a TI X100 shaft. The results were much of the same, which did not surprise Jason as he figured the shaft was not good for my swing.

Jason handed me a P790 7 iron with the Modus 130X shaft that was an inch short. My dispersion improved and I liked the feel of the shaft. Trackman showed that the shaft was spinning too much. Jason switched out the shaft for a KBS C-taper X flex that was also an inch short. This combo felt great!

For me, I create quite a bit of lag with 100ish mph club head speed with 7 iron and my hand were moving roughly 16 mph. The typical ratio is hands travel 20 percent of the speed of the club. I was referred to as the “problem child” that would likely hate most shafts and be very reluctant to change once I found one that worked well with my swing.

I absolutely love the look and the feel of these irons. I can attest to what has been said about thin shots not being affected as much. The only issues I have come across so far are fliers out of the rough and I have a pretty big gap between my 50-degree wedge and my P790 PW. My 50-degree Callaway MD3 wedge carries about 120-125 yards but my P790 PW carries 150-155 yards. I’m going to look into adding the AW with the set. Other than that, the clubs have been great!

Inkoo Kang (inkoo4)

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Inkoo Kang came to the Kingdom with a set of Titleist AP2 irons strapped with True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT S300 shafts. Based on his GEARS session, Inkoo had basically a straight-through swing path but was suffering from a toe down condition at impact and a closed face.

Due to his club head speed in relation to his hand speed, his fitter felt he needed a softer-tipped shaft. So they tried different shafts in the P-790 heads… a whole bunch of different shafts. Eventually, Kang found comfort with KBS Tour Flighted shafts, helping him square up the club and achieve greater consistency.

InkooKangTrack2

Compared to his gamer AP2s, Kang picked almost 1 mph in club head speed and over 6 mph of ball speed. He was launching it a touch higher, although spin rate dropped about 500 rpm. While he said his AP2s fit his eye nicely, he said the P-790s feel “really, really good.”

IN INKOO’S OWN WORDS

The GEARS fitting blew my mind to be honest. It was able to capture every aspect of where the club is throughout the swing, and compiled data about the club face at every point in the swing, specifically, set up and at impact. There were some things that surprised me, especially how much “toe down” I was at impact. It also measured the ratio of hand/grip speed to club head speed at impact, which for me, was on the lower end, and my fitter Kurt Donahoo immediately knew that something with a softer tip may help.

I got into a groove with the KBS Tour Stiff FLT, and ultimately that was what I was fit into.

The feel, especially at impact, with that shaft with superb. I loved how the club head felt as I released through impact, and the height and spin was really solid. I could feel the difference of the single wall tip construction for the KBS’s vs. the double wall construction of the DG’s. IMO, the KBS had a little more “snap” or “oopmh” as I got to impact, and I really enjoyed that feel.

They’re so easy to hit. Knowing that the P790’s were about a club longer than my AP2’s, I hit a lot of knock-downs and 3/4 swings.

I’m quite excited to get out and continue putting these irons to the test, pretty excited about them, and I think Taylormade has something very exciting in their hands with the SpeedFoam technology.

Daniel Billingsley (Dbill)

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Power-player Daniel Billingsley came to the Kingdom with a set of Callaway Apex Pro irons, shafted with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts. His irons were bent 2 degrees flat, but after his GEARS session, his fitter found he should have a standard lie angle or even 1 degree upright.

So he began hitting P-790s with a standard lie angle and in his gamer shaft. His fitter then experimented with Nippon Pro Modus 130X shafts, and Dan found his match.

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Compared to his Callaway Apex Pro irons, Dan gained nearly 9 mph of ball speed, carried the ball 15.8 yards farther, gained 17 feet in peak height and dropped just 200 rpm. He also said the P-790s felt “more powerful off the face, and had way better performance.”

IN DANIEL’S OWN WORDS

I was fit into the P790 4-GW with Modus 130X. I was previously playing Callaway Apex Pro’s 5-AW, which were bent 1-degree strong.

These are the real deal guys, make sure to add them to the list of irons to try.

In short, the short irons from the 790 series performed just as well as my Apex Pro irons and felt very soft.

I was playing Apex Pro 2016 bent 2 degrees flat. I had them bent flat because my setup position is kind of low for my hands even though I am 6 feet tall. After going through GEARS, I learned that I did not need to be playing 2 degrees flat, but standard lie angle or 1 degree upright. Even though my static address with the club would warrant a flat lie angle, my dynamic position with the club face was different. Again, this was super eye-opening.

The first thing I noticed about the 790 irons were the soft feel and almost spring like face. They felt very powerful in the long irons.

I always want my 6-iron spinning in the 6k range, which both clubs did just that. You can see the increase in every category across the board, some were very significant like ball speed and carry distance. Again these are AVERAGE carry distances with a 6 iron from each, around 8-10 balls a piece. The 790’s which worked best for me were with the Modus Tour 130 X flex shaft. The dispersion really came together with these. I was playing tour issue x100’s in the my apex pro irons.

The Modus 130X brought dispersion in for me and through the GEARS fitting, we learned I needed a slightly softer tip than the X100 I was playing.

We tested both the X100 and Modus 130X in the 790’s and the Modus were the clear winner with spin rates, dispersion and feel for me. I had never tested the Modus before and was never fit before.

First thing I noticed is the high ball flights and increased distance in long irons. The short irons were very workable, up and down.

All in all, I am really liking the new irons and they feel really good. I will keep playing them.

Kyle Pidgeon (Kyle75)

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Kyle Pidgeon came from Ohio to the Kingdom with a set of Callaway Apex irons, shafted with Project X 95 Flighted 6.0s. Kyle’s GEARS session showed his path was about 6 degrees in-to-out, and he either hit a straight ball or left it out to the right.

With this in mind, Kyle and his fitter began experimenting with different shafts in a TaylorMade P-790 iron head. Eventually, they stumbled on the True Temper AMT S400 shaft that Kyle felt comfortable and was performing well with.

KylePidgeonTrack2

Compared to his Callaway Apex irons, Kyle gained 1.5 mph club head speed, 2.1 mph of ball speed, 4 yards of carry and 3.4 yards of total distance with TaylorMade’s P-790 irons.

IN KYLE’S OWN WORDS

The irons play exactly like you would expect a forged players iron to play. They are not clunky in the slightest bit to me. I think we all found that we had a higher trajectory with these irons, but nothing ridiculous. I don’t think you would have to worry about your shots ballooning. The feel of these irons are good, the SpeedFoam gives them a great, soft feeling you get from forged irons. Definitely not a hollow feeling.

What I’ve found to help with the gaping between the PW to my wedges was to add the A-wedge to help the transition, so you don’t have such a big distance gap. My fitter at Miles of Golf (Derek Skidmore) recommended this and Tom Fisher, my fitter at The Kingdom, recommended the same.

My fitter was Tom Fisher and he was a real pleasure to work with. From the GEARS, we learned that a soft tipped shaft would work best for my swing and release. I had a case of one good swing and one bad swing going. We finally settled on True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 AMT shafts, 3/4 inches long and 1-degree upright. I was seeing about 4mph faster with the P790 vs my Callaway Apex CF 16’s.

My final thoughts about the P790 irons are that TaylorMade has created a players, distance club. The feel of these irons might remind you of PXG irons, but the SpeedFoam gives these clubs pop that the PXG do not have.

My ball speed was 4-5mph faster with the 790 and I was seeing about 6-8 more yards on carry.

I don’t feel that I’m trading any precision with the 790’s. The 790’s are very much players irons in my opinion, they just happen to have more distance than other player irons.

Discussion: The full TaylorMade Forged Experience thread

 

 

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He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

57 Comments

57 Comments

  1. Alex

    Apr 7, 2018 at 9:02 pm

    Hit them today and they feel great. Currently playing Mizunos that are truly forged for those hung on that and I don’t think I lost the feedback. They feel great.. Dispersion was awesome. I felt my swing becoming more relaxed. Most likely buying.

  2. Rob

    Mar 28, 2018 at 10:28 pm

    Oh ya also, they are sweet looking.

  3. Clublender

    Feb 27, 2018 at 5:55 pm

    If you would like to try P790 irons before you buy, Clublender rents them anywhere in California. They start at $65/day and $20 each additional day; delivery and return included. https://www.clublender.com/product/mens-right-handed-p790/ Give us a try!

  4. James

    Nov 7, 2017 at 9:11 am

    Seems like shafts made more a difference than anything else

  5. JohnFS

    Nov 6, 2017 at 6:48 pm

    Why so much emphasis on length? It makes me laugh.

    • jaypeegolf

      Nov 7, 2017 at 10:59 am

      My thoughts exactly! Seems an unhealthy obsession with hitting it further. How about hitting it straighter!

  6. Da Judge

    Oct 2, 2017 at 4:02 pm

    P•790 = FAKE FORGED

  7. TBone

    Sep 30, 2017 at 8:02 pm

    I hit a 7 iron at my local GS and they weren’t bad.

    I like my Srixon’s more

    • Think or Thwim

      Oct 6, 2017 at 5:15 pm

      Stay with what you like, and not change for the sake of change.

  8. BB

    Sep 27, 2017 at 8:54 pm

    Looks like Golf WRX are deep six-ing this topic thread most likely because it’s too anti-TM…. while on the main forum the gearheads are lapping up all the touchy-feely-looky nonsense.

  9. Anders

    Sep 27, 2017 at 2:49 pm

    Hit them today at a fitting using Trackman. Usual swing speed with a 6i is 91-92 and was getting between 92-93 and 190+ yds with a 7i. Others have reported improved club head speed too as well as a hot face. That is crazy and I doubt I will be able to live with the club gapping at the lower end and likely bunched up gapping at the top end. They are hot but too hot for my taste. They do look good though.

  10. Jack Nash

    Sep 27, 2017 at 12:37 pm

    Any reviewers say, “hey, these feel just like PXG’s”?

    • AM

      Sep 27, 2017 at 2:23 pm

      You don’t ‘feel’ the clubhead until it hits the ball, and if it hits off-center all clubs will feel bad.
      What you do feel is the club shaft flexing, twisting and carrying the mass of the club head… and that’s it.
      What ‘feel’ do you refer to… feeling good you own overpriced underwhelming PXGs?

  11. SJ

    Sep 27, 2017 at 11:14 am

    What’s wrong?! If the clubs make your golf game more fun then I’m all for them. Only a very small percentage of golfers will care if the lofts are “jacked” up. I’m no TM fan, and I won’t be buying them, but I have no problems with this article or the reviews.

    • Da Judge

      Sep 28, 2017 at 10:47 pm

      Pathetic and juvenile attitude towards the game of golf! Fun is for children. Golf is for real men.

  12. McD

    Sep 27, 2017 at 8:59 am

    Soooo…. the P790 is a bastardized “forged” club head? The thin faceplate is forged and the back and hisel are not forged, only cast steel, but the word “forged” is imprinted on the hosel. So it’s what? 10% forged and 90% cast?
    Bait and switch…. ya think?

    Of course golf fans will howl to save TM and saying that a forged face is good enough for them… and it doesn’t matter anyway because the club feels so good.

  13. WakaWaka

    Sep 27, 2017 at 8:11 am

    Some of these comments have to be from Taylor Made marketers. “Im ready to buy now!!”. “feel! looks! forgiveness!”. Its so ridiculous. Anyone who makes comments such as these for such a transparently lame marketing “article” must not be serious or unbelievably gullible beyond belief. The teaters found basically zero quantifiable advantage with these clubs and struggled even to come up with even subjective praise. None said they would switch. TM irons are clicky-feeling low-end clubs for high handicappers thinking they can buy a game.

  14. JStan

    Sep 27, 2017 at 1:22 am

    How can you get a fitting at the kingdom? How much does it cost? I know Callaway has a fitting for $150.

  15. Spitfisher

    Sep 26, 2017 at 10:15 pm

    some don’t understand HEAD = distance SHAFT = consistency, that’s how it is in a driver, ne reason to think its different in a forgiving iron.

    I played a couple of rounds with my 790s, they share the same 7 iron loft as my gamers, 30.5 loft.
    My gamers I have played 60 times on my home course this summer. The 790s had the same shaft, I was trying the head. Well the first day I spent a lot of time deep into the green for front pin locations, they went noticeably higher and had no real rollout, several divots were only a few feet on 160+ yard approach shots. Each time I hit the ball, the launch angle, flight and distance were really consistent within a few yards. The second day I had them dialed in, one club stronger especially in the 6,iron on up, I immediately put my clubs on ebay

    Feel is subjective but I too have used many of the classic “forged” clubs mentioned above. and yes nothing beats those crushing shots and great feed back. The trouble I found with those classic blade is one 7 iron pured will go 185 yards and the next shot will go 155, only to be followed by another well struck ball going 165. This hollow design and high ball speed faces, really is the future for most brands. Yes, some our out there like PXG but there have been others before them. Today’s high tech manufacturing, quality materials and cad design has made these 790s something to try and buy IMO. Check your ego at the door and try these.

    • LD

      Sep 27, 2017 at 5:59 am

      Thanks for the astroturf.

    • Jim McDougall

      Sep 27, 2017 at 8:49 am

      Interesting comments which illustrates the design changes represented by the P790s.
      The P790 design simply pulls the clubhead Center of Mass (CofM, or G) farther back from the face, just like in hybrid clubs. That’s what happens with ‘hollow’ club construction that pulls the clubhead mass back. No mystery here.
      Also, TM insert a slug of high density tungsten into the toe to pull the sweet spot outwards towards the toe, to obviously compensate for toe hits common among recreational golfers. Pulling the CofM towards the toe also makes the club more flippy due to the increased feel of eccentricity. No mystery here either.
      Accomplished golfer who usually play and are able to control solid blades can adjust to the different ‘feel’ of the P-790s. Recreational golfers will also find a new and even pleasant ‘feel’ to these game improvement club designs.
      The same ‘feel’ effect can be accomplished with a sole flanged club with some extra metal in the toe area. The P790 adds the flexing forged face plate backed up by a foam interior as a technical plus.
      The P-790 is obviously “over-engineered”, which is the designing of a product to be more robust or complicated than is necessary for its application, and generally occurs in high-end products for specialized market segments who are willing to pay the price for fancy golf clubs. That’s the P-790.

  16. KK

    Sep 26, 2017 at 9:54 pm

    A lot of Callaway irons dudes. Interesting.

  17. Eng. Bob

    Sep 26, 2017 at 9:00 pm

    Mike Randall:
    ”It’s (P-790) got a ton of technology but it’s all hidden by a forged face attached to a ‘softer’ forged body.
    Wrong… the body is not ‘forged’, it’s cast steel. The cast steel body is actually ‘harder’ than forged steel.
    ————————
    Bobby Stroud:
    ”I haven’t encountered one single shot yet that had the “hot spot” feeling. I was actually thinking about that during testing and the couple of rounds I’ve played since because of the design.”
    That’s because the body and hosel are cast steel and the face is only a thin so-called forged stamped plate. The “hot spot” is muffled by the cast steel hosel.
    —————————
    Kyle Pidgeon:
    ”The irons play exactly like you would expect a forged players iron to play.”
    Only the faceplate is forged; the body and hosel are simple cast steel. What you ‘feel’ is the faceplate springing mechanically and not a forged ‘feel’.
    —————————
    Jeeez ….. nobody knows what they’re hitting with. Stamp-forged faceplate and cast steel body and hosel.

  18. Golf Engineer

    Sep 26, 2017 at 5:22 pm

    What are you buying in a P-790 clubhead? You should know, shouldn’t you?
    Can anybody tell us if the P-790 is ‘fully’ forged back and face, or, is it ‘co-forged’ with a cast steel back and a thin roll forged face plate welded to the cast steel back? There seems to be some contradictory reporting on this issue, like here:
    —————————
    It’s not quite all forged though, as the wrap around face is forged from 4140 Carbon Steel and then welded onto a cast 8620 carbon steel body. Therefore the bit you hit the ball with is forged, so you have that feel….”
    http://www.golfalot.com/equipment-reviews/taylormade-p790-irons-review-3888.aspx
    ——————–
    “The key to the P790 performance is a hollow, cavity-free construction that features forged 8620 carbon steel in the body and forged 4140 carbon steel in the clubface.
    http://www.golf.com/equipment/2017/08/22/first-look-taylormade-p790-forged-irons
    ———————
    From what I saw of the exploded view of the P790, the body looks too complex to be a forging. So who is right? Golfalot.com or Golf.com.?
    GolfWRX Staff must investigate and inform us…. fully forged or co-forged? Ask TM because putting the word “forged” on a cast hosel may be disingenuous.
    Performance ‘feel’ comes from the clubface, through the hosel, up the shaft and then into your hands. That’s why you should know the material of the clubhead without doubt.

    • Golf Engineer

      Sep 27, 2017 at 7:39 pm

      GolfWRX Staff don’t seem to want to resolve this ‘forged’ P790 issue when there is contradictory information out in the public.
      Why doesn’t somebody at GolfWRX simply phone their TM Carlsbad contacts on their 1-800 toll free line and ask them the simple question: Is the P790 fully forged (except for the tungsten plug)… face and body? Hmmmm.

      • RD

        Feb 26, 2018 at 2:03 pm

        What difference does it make to all the whiners pointing out (correctly) that the body is cast and only the face is forged? You don’t hit the ball with the back of the club or the hosel (intentionally!). I have lots of Wilson Staffs and Haig Ultra forged irons from the ’60’s that feel pure and go nowhere – pure forged irons are overated get with this century!

    • Golf Engineer

      Sep 28, 2017 at 1:38 am

      I should have read this GWRX article before posting my above comments:
      http://www.golfwrx.com/467020/taylormade-expands-forged-iron-offerings-with-p-730-p-790/
      “The P-790 irons debut a new construction from TaylorMade, using 4140 steel club faces that are forged into an L-shape. The club faces wrap around the sole of the irons, where they’re welded to iron bodies made of 8630 steel.”
      ———————-
      What I would like to know is how the 4140 steel club faces are “forged” into an L-shape…. hot forged or cold forged… because it sounds like the face plate is simply “bent” into shape under some pressure that cannot be construed as “forged”.
      As for the bodies made of 8630 steel we must draw the conclusion that it is CAST steel and NOT forged…. SO WHY IS THE WORD “FORGED” IMPRINTED ON THE HOSEL??!!!!
      The FAKE-FORGED mystery continues ………!

  19. Boss

    Sep 26, 2017 at 10:56 am

    Where’s the comparison to the PXG?

    • Golf Engineer

      Sep 26, 2017 at 5:23 pm

      Why are my valid comments not being posted?

      • Boss

        Sep 26, 2017 at 9:05 pm

        Because GWRX are covering up for TM and their fake forged clubs.

  20. 2putttom

    Sep 26, 2017 at 10:47 am

    what I’m taking away from this is being properly fitted makes all the difference.

    • Boss

      Sep 26, 2017 at 9:08 pm

      Not ‘all the difference’. The Speed Foam has a lot to do with the high performance of the p790

  21. Mordaunt

    Sep 25, 2017 at 8:55 pm

    Every one of these players, except Kyle, played a 7-iron with SIGNIFICANTLY more loft than the P790. That explains pretty much all of the performance gains. And Kyle didn’t really pick up any distance. Surprise.

  22. TexasSnowman

    Sep 25, 2017 at 5:51 pm

    I hit em indoors at local golf galaxy, felt a little clicky to me (currently gaming cobra s2 forged). Perhaps it was the maxfli balls which were the only ones available on their range. Anyone else feel this? Looks good at address.

    • Golf Engineer

      Sep 26, 2017 at 5:27 pm

      And TM have stamped “Forged” on the cast steel hosel when only the faceplate is ‘forged’. Maybe that’s why they felt ‘clicky’…. the back of the club and hosel are cast steel and don’t transmit the ‘feel’ like 100% soft fully forged clubs.

  23. Acew7iron

    Sep 25, 2017 at 5:41 pm

    Id love to get my hands on their Apex Pro’s

    • AM

      Sep 26, 2017 at 12:23 am

      what would you do if you got your hands on their apex pros, squeeze them?

  24. Carolina Golfer 2

    Sep 25, 2017 at 3:19 pm

    I found the aspect of Duncan’s fitting about the longer shaft creating the occasional shank very interesting. I play my irons 1″ over (from a fitting) and have found that I’ll have a tendency to shank the 6 iron off par 3’s. Not very often from the fairway, but off a tee.

    I really like these clubs a lot. I’m hoping as a mid to high cap I could play them successfully, but I noticed all the testers were single digits’ with very fast swing speeds.

    • Martin

      Sep 25, 2017 at 5:26 pm

      Clubs are not targeted at low handicappers. All testers were 2-8 handicap. If they wanted a real test they would have used the actual target handicap grpup

      • Benny

        Sep 25, 2017 at 7:21 pm

        My buddy IO just got a set. Loves them and is a 17-18handicap. Said he feels the misses but all and all his game is better than ever. He insists they are NOT blades even though everyone who sees them says they are blades. 🙂

        • doufous

          Sep 26, 2017 at 8:37 pm

          great review…..i’m ready to buy a set too

    • Bob

      Sep 26, 2017 at 12:19 am

      You cannot correlate performance with a high speed swing to performance with a lower speed swing because the dynamic-mechanical properties of the shafts are completely different. The P-790 clubhead performs differently with different shafts, and that’s an irrefutable reality.

    • gulpeg

      Sep 28, 2017 at 1:15 am

      they don’t give any physical characteristics on Duncan (height, wrist to floor, etc.) but that change is quite a bit different. almost 4° flat from what he was playing. that’s a huge miss on someones part in the fitting game.

  25. Big Mike

    Sep 25, 2017 at 2:56 pm

    I have two rounds on my 790s which arrived last Thursday and were built to my specs. They are indeed a club longer for me. Feel is very nice, looks appealing, forgiving and can maneuver the ball.

    • AM

      Sep 26, 2017 at 12:21 am

      ‘feel’… ‘looks’… ‘forgiving’… “and can maneuver the ball’. That’s one terrific clubhead… P-790!

  26. peeny

    Sep 25, 2017 at 1:44 pm

    how long will we keep believing that you can buy a better game?

    • toyzrx

      Sep 25, 2017 at 6:53 pm

      Forever for sure! but I truly agree with you. I think few of us have gotten any better in the past 5 years. I’d say that change of equipment harms our gold games. It’s for sure fun to try new toys though.

  27. Marnix

    Sep 25, 2017 at 1:41 pm

    It does not seem realistic that any increase in club head speed was attributable to the irons (i.e. club heads), so they’re more likely due to better ‘fitting’ shafts for each player. In my opinion the performance differences in modern club heads are negligible if one ignores the stronger lofts that some manufacturers are going with these days. It’s really all in the shaft, and being fit to the right shaft is important. That said, I may be due for a fitting myself …

    • The Dude

      Sep 25, 2017 at 8:13 pm

      100%!….someone should do a blind test with shaft change only (i’m sure it’s been done before, but I cannot find it). ……I would think that one of the shaft companies would dive into such a study….but then again…..being in bed with club manufacturers may prohibit this……

    • AM

      Sep 26, 2017 at 12:29 am

      It’s all a scam….. it’s the jacked up lofts where a 8-iron is now a 6-iron ….. and gullible golfers want to believe it’s club magic.

    • Rano

      Sep 26, 2017 at 3:25 am

      Agree, they should have put each player’s gamer heads back on the new shaft to see if the swing speeds were still lower.

      • Brian

        Sep 26, 2017 at 1:51 pm

        That’d take a lot of work, considering their gamers were epoxied into the shaft rather than just a screw-on head like a fitting club.

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (3/29/24): Mint Miura MB 101 irons

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a set of Mint Miura MB 101 irons.

From the seller: (@Citixen): “MINT Miura MB 101 5-PW KBS $1700 + Shipping. Miura MB 101 irons 5-PW with KBS C-Taper Lite X Stiff shafts +0.5″, Standard Loft and Lie. Mint condition, includes magnetic head-covers.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Mint Miura MB 101 irons

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Whats in the Bag

Chesson Hadley WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70 TX

3-wood: Titleist TSR2+ (14.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist 620 CB (4, 5), Titleist 620 MB (6-PW)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG 2-Ball
Grip: Odyssey

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Check out more in-hand photos Chesson Hadley’s clubs here.

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Whats in the Bag

Gary Woodland WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Cobra Darkspeed X (8 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 70 M5

  • The white circle that appears at the top of the face a removable sticker that’s used for launch monitor tracking, and Woodland removes it for competition!

3-wood: Cobra Darkspeed X (14 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

7-wood: Cobra LTDx LS prototype (20 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

Irons: Wilson Staff (18 degrees), Cobra King MB (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X

Wedges: Cobra SB (48), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-08F, 56-14F), Cobra King (60)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X (48 degrees), KBS Tour V-Ten 125

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 3.0P

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

See more in-hand photos of Gary Woodland’s WITB in the forums.

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