TaylorMade reveal P790 and P730 irons

TaylorMade have launched two brand new iron sets; the better player P790s, and the P730s – their first set of blades in four years

TaylorMade Golf have announced their expansion of its globally successful P700-series iron lineup with the addition of the P790 irons, a forged players distance iron engineered with new SpeedFoam Technology for golfers seeking the forged look and feel of a players iron with increased distance, forgiveness and playability.

The latest P790s are an upgrade on the TaylorMade P770 irons, and are targetted at the better player who is looking for an extra bit of distance. 

Any reasonable golfer will tell you their ultimate set of irons would combine the looks and feel of a forged blade with the playability and forgiveness of a cavity back. Until recently, the concept has been a pipe dream, but thanks to the introduction of hollow-body forged iron constructions, it’s all changing – and the TaylorMade P790 irons are the latest to fit in to that category.

TaylorMade have also announced the release of the P730 irons. The P730 was designed to build off of the company’s storied heritage of major championship winning blade irons, especially with the ’11 & ’14 Tour Preferred MB – which are still used by Dustin Johnson.

The P730s were constructed with tour inspired shaping, fine-tuned performance and best in class materials and craftmanship in mind – and TaylorMade worked closely with their tour stars (notably Justin Rose) to bring them to the market. In addition, Rory McIlroy is playing his own custom ‘Rors Proto’ version of the new irons (more info below).

Read Now: Review
TaylorMade P790 irons
TaylorMade P730 irons

TaylorMade’s P790 irons: £1,049 (s), £1299 (g)

Details: 
Availability: 3-PW, AW
Stock shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 (s) UST Recoil 760/780 ES (g).

TaylorMade’s new P790 irons are a distance iron for the better player- combining the best parts of a blade and cavity back iron by featuring a hollow body, forged face and Speedfoam. 

Designers have specifically targeted the look, feel and feedback of a true blade iron. But by teaming the muscleback styling with a decent sized internal cavity – they have filled the TaylorMade P790 with a new polymer called Speedfoam – meaning that you get the forgiveness and playability usually expected of a perimeter weighted iron.

A 8620 cast carbon steel body improveness forgiveness thanks to an intricate and precise internal structure, while a thin, forged 4140 carbon steel face maximises the flex at impact – giving you the feel of a forged iron. 

Elsewhere, an internal tungsten weight near the toe of the iron raises the MOI 20% higher than the previous P770 irons, a speed-pocket design in the sole helps improve flex and ball speed on shots hit lower in the face, and a lighter shaft delivers a lighter, faster overall feel.  

Tomo Bystedt, TaylorMade’s Senior Director of Irons, told us: “This is a distance iron for the better player. It combines the forgiveness and playability of a perimeter weighted design with the look and feel of a true player’s iron. It has a 20% higher inertia (more forgiveness) than the P770; its level of forgiveness is similar to the cavity backed M1 iron.

“Speed foam fills the internal cavity. That allows us to make the club face thinner (1.7mm thick) which improves ball speed, it also dampens sound and improves feel. It’s the most complex iron construction we’ve ever created. By wrapping the forged face onto the sole and combining it with our most flexible speed pocket, we’ve increased ball speeds especially for shots hit low in the face.

“Jason Day and Xander Schauffele both put a P790 long iron in play the first week it was available at the WGC Bridgestone, and both said feel was softer but more solid than the UDi (Ultimate Driving irons) they’d been playing.”     

Five things you need to know about TaylorMade P790 irons

TaylorMade P790 irons: Cast and forged two-piece head

The TaylorMade P790 ironsMaking the ultimate iron means taking the best bits from both the forged and cast camps. An 8620 cast carbon steel body means the TaylorMade P790 irons have an intricate and precise internal structure to help improve forgiveness. A super thin, forged 4140 carbon steel face maximises impact flex and you get the feel expected of a forged iron.

TaylorMade P790 irons: Speed foam

The TaylorMade P790 irons have a very special, secretive polymer which is injected into the internal cavity before expanding to fill the gap. TaylorMade says it helps reinforce the super-thin face, without hampering flex at impact. It also helps deliver great sound and feel. It’s a key ingredient in making hollow heads sound better than ever before.

TaylorMade P790 irons: Tungsten weighting

The P790 name refers to the blade length (79mm long) but you need more than just a longer blade to make a noticeable improvement in forgiveness. An internal tungsten weight (ranges from 13g to 8g) towards the toe of each iron raises the MOI to similar levels as TaylorMade’s current M1 iron and 20% higher than the P770s.  

TaylorMade P790 irons: Floating face

TaylorMade says the P790 irons have the most complex construction of any iron they’ve ever made. A Speed Pocket in the sole cuts through to the internal cavity, meaning the bottom of the face is literally unsupported. The design helps improve flex and ball speed on shots hit low in the face, which according to TaylorMade research is where lots of reasonable golfers miss.

TaylorMade P790 irons: Lighter shaft

Dynamic Gold has been the most played iron shaft on tour for years, but as more and more golfers are going lighter TaylorMade is fitting the P790s with a new slimmed down Dynamic Gold 105. It’s about 25g lighter than the original, with the same profile, so delivers a lighter, faster overall feel.

TaylorMade P730 irons: £1,049 (s), £1299 (g)

The latest P730 irons from TaylorMade are the company first set of blade irons for four years – and had input from tour stars throughout their process.

The best players in the world are very picky when it comes to their irons. The look at address, the feel, sounds, flight… every member of a brand’s tour staff can have different requirements.

That’s possibly why TaylorMade hasn’t launched a forged muscle-back blade since 2014 (Dustin Johnson’s still playing it), but they’ve worked closely their tour stars (especially Justin Rose) to create the new P730s.

The heads are forged from one piece of soft 1025 carbon steel. They’ve got the thinnest topline, minimal offset, a thin sole and ultra-compact head size to create that premium blade look.

TaylorMade says the MOI is deliberately low as the best players want maximum workability rather than distance; so unless you’ve got a world ranking, these probably aren’t for you.

Details: RRP: £1,049 (s). Availability: 3-PW. Stock shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold (s)

Read More: 
Review: What you need to know about the P730s

Rory McIlroy has his own brand of TaylorMade P730’s

Rory didn’t sign his TaylorMade contract until after The Masters, by which time Tomo Bystedt, TaylorMade’s iron supremo, says 85% of the design work had been done on the new P730s (largely with Justin Rose).  

But when he saw them before Augusta, McIlroy wanted a set (with some of his own subtle tweaks). So TaylorMade custom-machined him a one-off set at their HQ in Carlsbad. There’s only been one set of “RORS Protos” made in this way, which is probably a good thing – they cost around $15,000 a pop.