With so much attention given by golfers to their driver and putter, your irons are as important of a decision as any you will make when it comes to clubs.
Whether you are hitting an approach shot from 150 yards or you need to knock a straight and accurate tee shot about 220, your iron set is there for you.
When you need to chip with your 7-iron, hit it to a few feet on an important par-3, or you landed in the rough on a long par-5, your irons are there for you.
The P790 irons are some of the best out there. They have a clean and classic look that gives you confidence before you even get to the course.
They are long, forgiving, easy to hit, and they give you high end feel as well. The following is a TaylorMade P790 Irons review that will give you the pros and cons of these clubs as well as comparing them to a couple of their competitors.
Things to Consider Before Buying The TaylorMade P790 Irons
As far as players distance irons go, these are probably the most forgiving clubs out there.
The P790 irons are a great club if you are just starting the move from beginning to advanced irons or if you are more of a mid handicapper that still needs some game improvement features.
The hollow construction gives these irons the forgiveness and distance of a game improvement club, but the speed foam technology adds a lot of feel.
Speed foam technology is a very lightweight material that is injected into the club head to give it the feel of a forged club.
The ultra thin face of these irons makes the ball jump off at contact and produces some really high ball speed and distance.
The tungsten weight is no longer a disc, but a bar that runs from the heel to the toe and provides a high MOI and low center of gravity.
There is also an L-shaped steel insert in the face for more face deflection and increased forgiveness.
Pros
- The combination of the hollow construction paired with speed foam injection give you the best of 2 important features: feel and distance.
- The ultra thin face produces a lot of ball speed.
- Launches the ball as high as any other club on the list.
- Ultra thin, hot face that gives you some really high ball speeds.
- The tungsten weight is an internal bar that goes from heel to toe and gives you high MOI, low center of gravity, and increased distance.
- Low spin rates makes for straighter ball flight and more accuracy.
- Probably the most forgiving players distance iron out there.
- A classic and clean look that any golfer will enjoy.
Cons
- One of the more expensive options.
- Added forgiveness takes away some of the shot shaping capability.
- A “tweener” club that is not good for high handicappers, but is not the first choice of low handicappers either, more of a transitional club.
Features and Benefits of The TaylorMade P790 Irons
Construction (5 out of 5)
Head
The first thing you notice about the clubhead of the P790s is the look. There is something about a low profile iron with a classic look that just makes you want to swing it, and that is what these irons have.
After that, the technology is great. Here are the major technological things that set this club apart:
- Hollow Construction. The hollow construction features a 4140 wrap around face with a soft carbon steel body that gives you extra distance and good forgiveness.
- Speed Foam. The speed foam feels in the hollow body with ultra lightweight foam so that you get the feel of a solid clubhead and the performance of a hollow body.
- Tungsten Weighting. This lowers the center of gravity of the clubs which raises the launch angle and increases the ball flight.
- Speed Pocket. You get a little extra ball speed from this flexible speed pocket on the back of the club. It adds to forgiveness as well.
- Inverted Cone Technology. This gives you more accuracy on off center shots that would normally spin out of bounds or even worse. Your off-center shots with these clubs are often straight and have some pretty good distance as well.
Shaft Options
The steel stock shaft option is the True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 VSS. You can get this shaft in R, S, and X flexes and it is a really good steel shaft. If you want a graphite shaft, your choices are the UST Recoil 780 with SMACWRAP and UST Recoil 760 with SMACWRAP. You can get these shaft flexes in either S, R, or A if you are looking for a little more whip from your irons.
Club Specs
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- Golfer: Men
- Hand: Right or Left
- Club Makeup: 3-PW, AW
| CLUB | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | PW | AW |
| LOFT | 19.0° | 21.0° | 23.5° | 26.5° | 30.5° | 35.0° | 40.0° | 45.0° | 50.0° |
| LIE | 60.5° | 61° | 61.5° | 62° | 62.5° | 63° | 63.5° | 64° | 64° |
| OFFSET | 3.5mm | 3.4mm | 3.1mm | 2.9mm | 2.7mm | 2.4mm | 2.1mm | 1.8mm | 1.6mm |
| LENGTH (STEEL & GRAPHITE) | 39.00″ | 38.50″ | 38.00″ | 37.50″ | 37.00″ | 36.50″ | 36.00″ | 35.75″ | 35.50″ |
| SWING WEIGHT (STEEL/GRAPHITE) | D2/D0 | D2/D0 | D2/D0 | D2/D0 | D2/D0 | D2/D0 | D2/D0 | D3/D1 | D3/D1 |
- Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 VSS, UST Recoil 780 with SMACWRAP and UST Recoil 760 with SMACWRAP
- Shaft Stifness: A, R, S, X
- Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360
Performance (4 out of 5)
Forgiveness
The forgiveness features of these irons are probably their biggest strength. When you buy a performance set, you expect less forgiveness because you know you will make better contact.
The general rule is that the more forgiveness you have, the less feel, and players who are moving to performance irons are looking for more feel. With the Speed Foam and Hollow Forged Construction, you actually get both.
Control/Shot Shaping
If forgiveness is the biggest “Performance” strength of the P790 irons, shot shaping is the biggest weakness. They are very controllable clubs in general, but if you are looking to draw and fade the ball around the course, then there are better options for that out there and in this category. The P790s give you great distance, feel, and forgiveness, but the lack of spin makes it a difficult iron in terms of shapability.
Distance
The hollow forged construction is both unusual and highly effective in terms of distance. You get a really hot face with a high transfer of energy rate. You do not lose out on feel because of the speed foam, so you get the best of both.
The speed pocket does a couple of things in terms of distance as well. It makes your face more flexible which immediately adds to distance, but it also gives you some additional clubhead speed.
With the higher speed and the good energy transfer, you have a really long set of irons.
Looks/Feel/Sound (5 out of 5)
I have mentioned the looks of this club a few times already, but it is worth noting again. If you have played a lot of golf, then you know how important aesthetics are to the game.
When you can picture the contact and your shot prior to taking it, it means a lot. These clubs look great.
They look great in your hands, in your bag, and resting behind the ball. The Speed Foam adds to the feel of the club so that you get a great combination of distance, forgiveness, and feel.
Cost (4 out of 5)
These are fairly expensive irons, but they are not overly priced for the category of players distance irons. You will pay a little over $1000 for a full set, and that is what you can expect to pay for most of the competitors as well.
Alternatives to The TaylorMade P790 Irons
Callaway Mavrik Pro
Callaway’s Mavrik Pro uses innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to create a unique cup face for each iron.
The purpose is to get the most distance, forgiveness, and feel from each iron by creating the face specifically for the loft.
That 360 Face Cup Technology gives these player’s irons some of the best distance in its category while maintaining great feel and forgiveness at the same time.
In fact, the Mavrik Pro uses the same face technology as their game improvement line because it is so long and forgiving.
The tungsten weight is placed in the optimal position for a high ball flight and good distance without losing feel.
These are not forged irons, but they have they feel and perform like they are without the price tag that comes with it.
These are one of the most innovative performance irons out there.
Pros
- The urethane microspheres provide some of the best feel on the market.
- The shorter irons produce a lot of spin.
- You get plenty of distance.
- Some of the most forgiving irons on this list.
- The tungsten weight is placed to produce optimal ball flight without losing feel.
- A great price for what we consider the highest performing player’s distance iron.
- The AI technology has created one of the most innovative clubs on the market by building each club face and weighting system separately.
- A traditional head design looks great at setup.
- Plenty of ball speed and distance to go with the feel and shot making features.
Cons
- Some of the forged irons produce the more traditional feel that some player’s prefer.
- A pretty small sweet spot.
- Almost a game improvement iron though with enough feel and spin features to be considered a players iron.
Cobra King Forged TEC
One of the things that sets these clubs apart is that they have all of the advantages and features of a player’s club with some game improvement aids as well.
The hollow body construction gives some added distance and forgiveness while the traditional compact head and relatively thin toplines make this an obvious player’s iron.
The metal-injected tungsten toe weight makes the center of gravity in line with the center of the face for more distance and higher ball flights.
These clubs have great feel as well in part because of the foam microspheres infused to the hollow cavity.
The club face is ultra thin for increased distance and face flex at impact, but you also have the flexibility and feel to shape your shots.
The Cobra King Forged TEC irons are great because you get the playability and feel of a player’s club with the distance and some of the forgiveness of a game improvement iron.
Pros
- If not the best, at least one of the best when it comes to distance.
- Performs well overall because of its length combined with feel and playability.
- The feel is as good as any other set of irons out there.
- There is a “one length” option that is growing in popularity.
- The hollow cavity of the long and mid irons is infused with foam microspheres to fine-tune sound and soften feel at impact.
- Has some game-improvement qualities that will appeal to a wide audience.
- You get a lot of distance and decent forgiveness without losing feel.
- The tungsten weighting is perfect for a higher MOI, more distance, and a lower center of gravity.
- Blade look, feel, and performance but with a hollow design.
Cons
- Thicker top line is not appealing to the target audience.
- A lower spin rate than most on this list can make it more difficult to hit a draw or fade and can affect playability around the greens.
Final Thoughts on The TaylorMade P790 Review
(Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5)
The TaylorMade P790s are a great players distance iron or transitional club for players who are more than beginners but not yet ready for a set of blades.
You get a lot of forgiveness and distance features which is great, but the best thing is that you get them without losing the feel that most players are looking for.
In short, this is a great set of irons if you want to hit the ball long and straight with great feel, low spin, and a lot of accuracy.
They are not great for shot shaping, but there are a lot of good things about these irons that make them one of the best in their category.
