Equipment
2019 TaylorMade P790Ti Irons: Pure Premium Power
Born from the quest to make great, greater, the 2019 TaylorMade P790Ti Titanium Irons go way beyond the original P790 in both materials and pushing the limits of speed. 2019 Taylormade titanium irons been the buzz on the street. By pairing some of the lightest and strongest materials with some of the most mass dense in one club, the engineers at TaylorMade have created a premium iron for the player looking for premium performance.
The body of the P790-Ti is iron is cast from 911 titanium—this is an important note because when you compare (in general terms) Ti vs. steel, their mass properties are vastly different.
Let’s do some science!
Stainless steel comes in around 8 g/cm3, Whereas titanium is 4.5 g/cm3. That makes steel 43 percent heavier than its titanium counterpart, which means the P790Ti is saving a TON of weight in its construction by using it as the whole body of the head including the face, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
If you think about a solid steel clubhead played at 37″ (usually a 7-iron), the head weight will be around 268g. If you use the above math, then the same clubhead made from titanium would only weigh 153g (rounded up). So how do we get that mass back to where it needs to be without making the head enormous? Tungsten: one of the most (stable) mass dense metals around.
The TaylorMade P-790Ti iron has up to 119g of tungsten in each clubhead to push the limits of forgiveness and drive the center of gravity as far back and as low as possible—that’s why the titanium has been placed on the exterior of the club’s frame.
So now to that face.
Supported by TaylorMade’s SpeedFoam, the machined titanium face is thin to produce maximum ball speed. By machining it, rather than casting, TaylorMade can precisely control the dimensions to save every last bit of weight.
With a face this fast and a CG going so far back, Chris Berman would have to actually take a breath when telling you about it.
You need stronger lofts—it’s physics and function rather than playing a numbers game. Without the stronger lofts, each iron wouldn’t hit the proper window for its trajectory. The other part of this that is often overlooked is the target market for these styles of irons—players NOT at the top end of clubhead speed; players wanting a higher flight and longer distances. Yeah, it’s fun to watch tour players mash 7-irons 220 yards for the cameras—I wish I could do that—but that’s not who these clubs are designed for.
This leads us to the rest of the package.
Obviously, the term “stock” is now a loose reference to a suggested final build based on player testing, but this sheds light on the what TaylorMade wants to accomplish with these irons. The paired shafts are, for steel, the new Nippon NS Pro 950 GH Neo (an update to their extremely popular 950 GH). For graphite, the shaft of choice is the Mitsubishi MMT available in varies weight options—see below.
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Whats in the Bag
Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)
- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird
With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.
On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.
Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?
Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’
So that’s why I went back.
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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?
It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.
Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.
It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.
Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.
Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.
So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?
Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.
Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play?
Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.
There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.
It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.
Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.
And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?
Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’
If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’
My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’
I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”
And you’re going with it this week?
Hundred percent.
Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week.
Thanks, man.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
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Aaron
Aug 13, 2019 at 7:45 am
4.5g to 8g is not 43% heavier.
It’s 43% lighter
the truth
Aug 13, 2019 at 6:29 am
$400 per club AND you need more wedges?
Andy
Aug 13, 2019 at 5:26 am
The AW has finally broken through 50 degrees and 43.5 degree PW. Wow.
Pillow Talk
Aug 13, 2019 at 4:07 am
$2700? That’s all? 😀
Moses
Aug 12, 2019 at 10:30 pm
Wow I can probably hit the 9 iron 150 yards.
Eric
Aug 12, 2019 at 7:52 pm
I’d like to see the P790Ti UDI, with the same aesthetics and 14-17* of loft. Looks so much better than the GAPR in my opinion. Just change where the tungsten is placed to get High/Mid/Lo equivalent of GAPR.
Stewart
Aug 12, 2019 at 5:16 pm
These look great but I’m not likely to buy at this price.
I’ve no issue with companies having a product at this level.
KC
Aug 12, 2019 at 5:00 pm
$2700 for a 7 club set of irons. Go home Taylormade…you’re drunk.
JP
Aug 12, 2019 at 9:39 pm
Drunk and stupid at the same time.
Clay
Aug 12, 2019 at 4:47 pm
5.5 degree gaps in the short irons? yikes
Travisty
Aug 12, 2019 at 4:17 pm
Pure Premium Pricing—fixed that for you
jason
Aug 12, 2019 at 12:30 pm
look how the masacred my boy.
Bushwood Caddie
Aug 12, 2019 at 11:30 am
Running out of ideas to have a different type of club for every release? Their big tech is ICT (inverted cone technology) which they had back several years ago. Nice irons, but not at that price!
dat
Aug 12, 2019 at 10:37 am
NO. Please for the love of Golf stop with these joker clubs.
Ted
Aug 12, 2019 at 9:24 am
Ugly
JP
Aug 12, 2019 at 9:08 am
And the price? A gazillion dollars a set?
.
And the face is cast THEN machined. Do t let the wording confuse. It’s cast.