TaylorMade unveil update of P790s and introduce new P790 TI

TaylorMade Golf have unveiled a refresh of the P700 Series Irons Lineup with Introduction of New P790 & P790 Ti Players Distance Irons

TaylorMade Golf have announced the second generation of their best-selling P790 irons, in addition to a brand new a new uber-premium option – the P790 TI – designed with even more forgiveness.

Improving the most successful TaylorMade forged iron ever sounds like a monumental task. But it’s a challenge that’s been facing TaylorMade’s iron engineers for two years, since the P790s started flying off pro shop shelves in 2017.  A task which was made even more daunting thanks to the likes of DJ, Rory and Jason Day loving their P790 long irons…

So, to ensure they don’t upset the apple cart and scupper what has been an extremely successful original P790 with a wildly different design, TaylorMade has approached the redesign really carefully. So carefully, in fact, the name hasn’t changed in the new version, and neither have the looks.

Instead, TaylorMade has taken the opportunity to expand the P790 into a two-model family: The newly updated P790, and the P790 TI.

TaylorMade P790 Irons

• RRP: £1,299 steel, £1,399 graphite
• Available: September 6
• Offering: 3-PW, AW
• Shafts: True Temper’s Dynamic Gold 105 VSS steel shafts or UST Mamiya’s Recoil 760/780 ES SmacWrap graphite shafts
• Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips

The original P790 hit the sweetspot for LOTS of club golfers as it ticked all the boxes which irons sitting on the fence between players’ and game improver models really need – speed, forged feel and players’ iron cosmetics.  

With that in mind, TaylorMade asked their most trusted retailers what they’d change with a new model before they started the redesign; many said nothing, which didn’t make the redesign any easier!

The final updates amount to a little less offset in the long irons and a shorter, more compact blade length in the scoring clubs, dialling the shape more directly into a players’ eye.

GEAR TEST: New TaylorMade P790s vs M5s, P760s and old P790s

By raising the toe depth a fraction, TaylorMade says the new P790 also inspires confidence, as does a more rounded toe and heel shaping.

The multi-material construction remains the same  (8620 cast body with forged 4140 face), but the face has been thinned by 7%. That frees up extra weight which has been positioned in a 15% heavier internal tungsten weight behind the face, designed to help to lower the CG and increase the launch angle of the new 2019 model.

TaylorMade are also using a progressive inverted cone, designed to improved accuracy throughout the set, while minimising the right tendency often found in the long irons. The tech, which protects ball speed, progresses out towards the toe in the longer irons, the typical mishit location for longer irons. 

A final update is the new Dynamic Gold 105 VSS steel shafts. TaylorMade changed their standard shaft lengths at the start of the year, which means that this shaft is shorter than in the previous model. In our testing, we discovered that despite a shorter shaft aimed help players gain more control, the new irons still gained 1mph ball speed over the previous version of the P790s.

TaylorMade P790 UDI 

• RRP: £229
• Available: September 6
• RH only models as a 2-iron (17°) 
• Shaft: Project X’s popular HZRDUS Smoke Black shaft 90g (S) or 105g (X) flexes – Grip: • Grip: Golf Pride TV 360
• Loft: 17° | Lie: 60° | Offset: 3.2mm | Length: 40″ (steel 39.25″) | Swingweight: D2

In addition to the regular set of P790s, TaylorMade have also updated their UDI (which proved popular on Tour), a forged driving iron designed with Tour-inspired shaping and a multitude of TaylorMade technologies that includes SpeedFoam. 

Like the other irons in the set, the P·790 UDI is constructed with a soft, 8620 carbon steel body combined with high-strength forged 4140 carbon steel with a wrapped-face construction in a hollow body design. 

The new P·790 UDI also features an ultra-thin forged face with Inverted Cone Technology for an expanded sweet spot within a slightly smaller face area. Similar to the first generation P·790 UDI, the new, smaller Inverted Cone in the new P·790 UDI allows for reduced face thickness at the edges of the face, thus increasing flexibility from heel to toe and low on the clubface and optimizing ball speed across the entire face.

Once again, the Thru-Slot Speed Pocket is engineered to increase ball speeds and forgiveness for exceptional playability for those desiring additional options off the tee or fairway. For forgiveness and playability, the new P·790 UDI features the re-engineered internal metal-injection-molded (MIM) tungsten weighting for precise CG placement and higher moment of inertia (MOI).

TaylorMade P790TI

• RRP: £2,699 steel, £2,899 graphite
• Available: November 8
• Offering: 4-PW/AW
• Shafts: Nippon 950GH NEO steel shafts or Mitsubishi’s MMT graphite shafts in 75g (S), 65g (R) and 55g (A) flexes
• Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 Numerous

The success of the original P790 coincided with a growing trend for premium irons that showcase “design without cost constraint” tech (Callaway, PXG and Titleist have all done it). It was a perfect storm for TayorMade, who fused the two themes in the brand new P790 Ti. It brings game-improving performance to the P series in a players’-style iron.

It’s completely different to any modern TaylorMade iron. For a start, the head is made from titanium. It’s not the brand’s first titanium iron (there was a Bubble Ti iron back in the 1990s), but it is golf’s first hollow-body titanium iron. It creates an ultra-light body (titanium is 44% lighter than steel) which is combined with a low, deep and dense tungsten weight (up to 119g), which accounts for 50% of the entire head weight. That amount of weight low down in the head makes it much easier to launch it higher and have a long, penetrating ball flight.

According to TaylorMade, the construction pushes titanium as a material to the limit, and the head is quite a feat of engineering. The Ti heads have 0.5mm more offset (than new P790), the heads are 2mm longer and a fraction taller in the toe, and they’re primarily aimed at players who need a bit more forgiveness than P790 offers.  

The exotic construction comes at a price that will be a deal breaker for many, but anyone who can find the £2,699 for a set will own a slice of history as the P790 Ti is the most high-tech iron TaylorMade has ever made.