From the outside, it appears not much has changed on the latest iteration of the P790 iron. It’s understandable when you have such a great looking players distance iron. But TaylorMade hasn’t been sitting around twiddling its thumbs, it has in fact been busy reconstructing the inside of every iron within the latest set to provide more consistent performance.
For 2023, the fourth generation of P790, all the heads are completely unique with a bespoke amount and position of the tungsten weighting to create something TaylorMade call FLTD CG, or Flighted Center of Gravity. In layman’s terms, this refers to the center of gravity in each head being optimised to produce the best launch conditions and ball flight. So the CG progresses from being lowest in the long irons to highest in the short irons. It’s not a new concept, but one that should certainly produce more predictable ball flights and consistent land angles.
In the bag, the new P790 iron is a stunner, much like the 2021 P790 iron. The shiny, curved notch section on the has been replaced by a straight strip with a satin finish but the rest of the head, including the T—Bug logo and toe screw, remain amongst the pearl satin finish. Down at address, the sole looks to be wider but have more camber while the head size does look a little more generous, but only fractionally.
The lofts remain unchanged, with the 7-iron coming in at 30.5°. Having tested this iron on three separate occasions, we’ve built up a decent picture as to the performance package. Besides the looks, this irons main redeeming feature is the feel. The impact experience is one of the leading choices among the best golf irons from any category frankly - really stirring the senses with its satisfying ‘thud’ when you connect with the sweetspot along with the short, metallic acoustics. It feels better than the previous P790 iron and while it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why or how, a generally more stable and powerful feel is likely the conclusion most testers will come to.
This lively feel did also translate into above-average distance. For example, when testing against the new Titleist T200 iron, which has the same loft, the P790 was over 1mph quicker in ball speed with all the other parameters being very similar. Our average carry was 177 yards and it rarely deviated significantly away from that apart from when the strike or club face angle delivery was particularly poor. The spin numbers were also very consistent.
It was also interesting to see the peak height remain comparable when testing the 5- and 9-iron in the P790 set versus the 7-iron. The apex zoned in on around 36 yards, which is an appealing window for a ball to be flying in given the launch and spin on offer, combining with a descent angle pushing 49° to ensure the ball is able to stop quickly if the conditions allow.
In truth, the new P790 isn’t a giant leap forward on what came before but it is sure to not only be a top contender against its compact mid handicap iron competitors but also produce a more predictable, consistent experience for the serious golfer seeking the extra speed this category of iron offers along with a relatively compact look behind the ball. Available in 3-AW for £172 per iron with a True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 and 95 as the stock steel shaft offerings.
