Player Irons

The P790 transformed TaylorMade’s iron business. The original was the brand’s biggest-selling forged iron ever (the face was forged); it was also THE iron that ignited the whole hollow body iron market back in 2017.

Last year, though, TaylorMade revealed this new thinner-faced 2019 model with extra internal tungsten weighting, reduced offset in the long irons and more compact short irons. And, believe us, they nudge the bar upwards in terms of what’s expected of a players’ distance iron.

These are all-round beauties. They’re our second- longest players’ iron of 2020 (without the strongest loft), and, thanks to heads filled with SpeedFoam, they sound and feel great, while creating plenty of face flex and ball speed. They also control drop-offs on mishits nicely, too.

For the third year in a row, the P790s are right at the cutting edge of the very best players’ and hollow body irons available.

We’re big fans of hollow irons at TG – they bring something new and different to the iron party, filling a gap between players’ and game improver irons that was really difficult to bridge a few years ago. And the MP-20 HMB is right up there with the best of them.

How do you choose between Mizuno’s cavity back MMC and the HMB? Some golfers struggle to love hollow irons, as they feel shot consistency (spin and distance control) is compromised, which makes it difficult to score. We reckon the tech has moved on, but if you’re that type of player MMC should be your choice. If, though, you want fast-faced irons to add speed and distance to your game, we’re fans of the HMB’s profile, sound and feel.

Honma T//World 747 Vx – £969 (steel) / £1,249 (graphite)

With the exception of the Cobra King Forged Tec, Honma’s Vx was the strongest lofted 7-iron in our players’ iron category. That means it should be fast and long. But our data has the Vx down as not only more than capable of competing with any forged iron (it was our longest fully-forged model by three yards from the Srixon Z785), but it holds its own against fast- faced, hollow body models, too.

It’s not just all about power, either. Our data has the Vx beating our test average (5.7% vs 6.49%) for carry drop-off, which should make it a consideration for golfers looking for a degree of forgiveness from their forged irons.

A brilliantly powerful forged iron from a brand that’s making some big waves for the consistent quality of its products.