I played the TayloMade P790 Irons for 8 rounds of golf. I also tested them on the range and in the Office by Carl’s Place DIY Simulators. The combination of on course testing and FlightScope numbers proved they are some of the most consistent irons I’ve hit in 2023. It is a combination of length, forgiveness and accuracy that impressed me, along with their great looks and feel.
AI DESIGNED CONSISTENCY?
As TaylorMade was teasing about the new P790 irons they gave us an inside look at the AI designed inner frame. Each club is designed differently based on data about how golfers hit/miss shot with each iron. As you can guess we need the most boost in the long irons while maintaining similar and solid strikes in short irons. I certainly don’t want computers taking over the world, but sometimes they are genius. These clubs are some of the most consistent irons I’ve hit comparing 4-irons shots to PW. FLTD CG™ is the title that TaylorMade gives their design. This leads to improved performance. While the launch monitor circles aren’t exactly the same, they are similar size from 4-iron – AW. If iron consistency would help your game, the TaylorMade P790 Irons are the most consistent irons we hit in 2023.
PLAYERS PERFORMANCE IRONS
The TaylorMade P790 Irons are not new, but updated in 2023. They are one of TaylorMade’s most popular irons since they have incredible Players Irons looks while offering additional performance features like speed slots and foam filled heads which mean more forgiveness and distance. You see guys on tour playing these the same way you see amatuers having great success with this on the course. This category is growing with company’s ability to make players looking irons while sneaking in great performance for more forgiveness and distance.
FORGIVENESS
The TaylorMade P790 Irons might not look forgiving with their clean blade like appearance, but that hidden forgiveness is very apparent on the course. My swing is that of your average 4 handicap golfer. It can mostly get the job done, but some days is inconsistent. The forgiveness is very evident with these irons when the whole face gets used and yet the ball seems to end up near the intended target. The speed slots have a lot to do with long iron forgiveness, as well as the speed foam, tungsten weight, and AI design FLTD CG™.
POWER
The TaylorMade P790 Irons are in that Players Performance category which means they need to be a little longer than “standard”, (which is hard to categorize anymore) but these irons are not short. I’d put them a solid 1/2 club longer than what I normally consider my standard distances. This means more back of the greens or going down a club. It is nice to answer the “what club did you hit there?” question with a 7-iron instead of a 6-iron. Whether we want to admit it or not, we don’t like being the short hitter in our group. While there might not be a choice depending on who we play with, having irons that go just a little longer is nice to feel “strong”. I liked that these weren’t crazy long so I didn’t need to adjust my wedge game.
FEEL AND LOOKS
The TaylorMade P790 Irons have “non-performance” characteristics which are outstanding. As I already mentioned above, the technology is all hidden in what almost looks like a blade iron. They have just a touch of offset and not quite blade like top-line, but certainly look like players irons. They are a hollow shell forged iron with speed foam to create a pure feeling iron. These pass the sound/feel test with flying colors as very pure. The AI FLTD CG™ also means that mass is where you need it so that the feel is going to tuned in on every iron. You can’t tell major differences from the older models, but TaylorMade nailed the looks and feel category.
OVERALL PERFORMANCE
Playing the TaylorMade P790 Irons on the course over the course of 8 rounds, I found them to be easy to launch, very forgiving and straight hitting. I found myself making aiming errors with these clubs because they just hit straight. No need to aim a little right to swing one in, or no benefit from taking it up the left side to fade it back: aim at the target and execute. While these clubs can be “worked” a little, they work best just hitting straight, high, long shots. I hit some of the best long irons shots I’ve seen from myself. It is one of the best feelings watching a 4-iron drop next to the pin, like it was a 9-iron. I also really liked how these irons launched in that perfect window which is quick but flat. They don’t rocket to the moon, nor do they laser low, but up, strong, flat and down sharply. The Dynamic Gold 105 shafts are a very good compliment to these irons with just a few grams lighter yet super consistent.
IN THE BAG
The TaylorMade P790 Irons come stock 4-iron — Approach Wedge. This set is a perfect fit in the bag with a 3-hybrid, and 2 wedges (54 and 58). The gapping is excellent from top to bottom so that you can consistently score from any distance. I liked that these could drop right into my “gamer” bag and perform like champs. I like having the AW for shots too since I rarely every use a 50* wedge for anything other than a full shot so this blended in nicely with my shot making needs.
TAYLORMADE P790 8 IRON STATS
Data from Flightscope MEVO+ 2023 Launch Monitor
➜ Spin: 7739 rpms
➜ Launch Angle: 30.1*
➜ Dispersion: 2.3 yds
➜ Club Head Speed: 92.0 mph
➜ Ball Speed: 118.8 mph
➜ Total Distance: 156.2 yds
➜ Carry Distance: 151.9 yds
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