TaylorMade Improves Its Best Seller

Chances are good that in the past two years, either you’ve played TaylorMade’s P790 irons or know someone who has. The company’s top-selling players distance iron of all time has developed a devoted following.

It’s easy to understand why. The hollow construction has been a game-changer. Combined with an ultra-thin clubface backed by a polyurethane-foam filling that TaylorMade has appropriately dubbed “SpeedFoam”, it enhances speed, distance, forgiveness and feel. And then there are the gorgeous aesthetics -- a classic clean blade with a thin top line, silky matte finish, a face insert that wraps around the sole, and a subtle muscle on the back. With fantastic weighting and impact sound, to boot.

Now comes a fresh version of the iron – the all-new P790 -- that looks familiar yet cleaner, thanks to subtle refinements. There’s new shaping: The top line is thinner and taller at the toe, emanating an even more inviting look. While the long irons now have less offset, the short iron blade lengths are more compact. There’s an even thinner face -- 1.6mm as opposed to 1.75mm in the predecessor -- which creates a larger sweet spot and faster COR. Progressive Inverted Cone Technology is strategically located in each iron, which helps improve accuracy and protects off-center ball speed more so than the original. So you might see those shots that you didn’t quite catch before now carrying that bunker short of the green. There’s also 15 percent more tungsten weighting that’s been redesigned into a lower profile shape. This yields a lower center of gravity, most notably in the long irons, so you’ll launch shots higher. The forged hollow body construction remains, as does the thin wrap-around forged face and soft carbon steel body. All of that helps create forgiveness while delivering plenty of distance. Inside the clubhead remains the SpeedFoam™ ultralight urethane foam that jacks up clubface speed while simultaneously improving feel. Plus, TaylorMade’s most-flexible Thru Slot Speed Pocket™ maximizes ball speed and provides forgiveness on low face shots.

But what’s especially surprising is the iron’s wide appeal to golfers of all abilities. “Our fitting data shows that players with handicaps of +4 to 25 and beyond are playing P790,” says Mattieu Bovee, product manufacturing engineer at TaylorMade. “That is a true testament to not just how well the iron performs, but also how it looks and feels. Discerning better players get the shaping and design they like, and also benefit from added distance and forgiveness. Mid- and high-handicappers get the performance they expect and need in an iron, but with the look and feel of a players iron that they’re proud to play. The new P790 has something for everyone -- regardless of their skill set.”

PGA Tour pros have also gushed over the Ultimate Driving Iron (UDI) version of the all-new P790. After trying it for the first time at The Open Championship in Ireland, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods were among many players who immediately took to the new shaping, decrease in offset, and solid feel -- as well as to the higher ball flight that spins less to pierce through any wind.

Says Bovee: “Ultimately when you have a proven design formula, you don’t mess with what works. You work to make it even better. And we’re confident golfers will agree once they try this new iron.”