Robot data confirms TaylorMade's P770 iron shines in 1 surprising area

The compact shape and thin topline on TaylorMade’s P770 might scream, “You are not that guy.” Players' irons are designed for golfers with above-average ball-striking, and maybe your ball-striking isn’t consistent.

But there’s always an exception to every rule — and P770 is it.

Before the P770 came along, there was P790. The iron ushered in the beginning of a new player's distance category that took the industry by storm. The iron looked like a blade, but a hollow cavity packed with tungsten and other materials for speed and off-center forgiveness made it perform like a game-improvement iron.

The rise of P790 eventually led TaylorMade to create a compact P770 boasting heel-toe weighting, including tungsten in the toe for off-center performance.

How much off-center performance are we talking?

Take a look at this spin rate chart that was compiled with the help of the Golf Laboratories swing robot. P770 recorded the tightest spin range of any player iron we tested across all manufacturers at just 700 RPMs. Remove the single shots recorded at 6,000 and 6,800 and the range drops to roughly 400 RPMs. And this is accounting for heel, toe and center strikes along the face where spin tends to fluctuate on misses. In some cases, the spin range was 1,200-1,400 RPMs for other brands.

Not only is the spin range tight, but it also hovers around 6,000-6,700 RPMs with a 20-degree launch, ideal metrics for a 7-iron.

Off-center performance is there as well. The average carry distance loss of just 5.4 yards on heel and toe misses was the lowest we saw from a player iron during testing and came dangerously close to taking the overall crown for all models. This further confirms even the compact P770 shape won’t harshly penalize inconsistent contact.

Need more convincing? Dispersion came in at half-a-yard — the best we saw from a players iron. So it’s consistent, forgiving and accurate.

If there’s a knock on P770, it’s that it wasn’t the longest. In some cases, it was 10 yards shorter than the competition. But if you’re a single-digit or an aspirational single-digit, adding more speed likely isn’t something you’re seeking.

You want consistency and reliability across the board — and maybe even a bit more forgiveness. And if that’s the case, the data confirms P770 should be in the testing conversation.