TaylorMade has unveiled the second generation of the P·790 irons, a meticulously crafted set which combines performance, feel and aesthetics.
The release follows on from the resounding global success of the irons that catapulted the model to among the best selling in company history.
By way of its forged face and soft, hollow body construction with SpeedFoam™ and the debut of the Thru-Slot Speed Pocket, speed and forgiveness were the key performance attributes that helped the first-generation P·790 rise to the upper heights of the players distance category.
Making the Best Better
To improve on an iron as successful as the original P·790, engineers faced the challenge of taking everything learned from its design, refining and emphasising many of the unique design elements that made it so successful without drastically changing its DNA. The result is a forged iron that continues to deliver remarkable distance and playability combined with exceptional feel in a medium-compact head design with a refined topline, more compact blade length and reduced offset preferred by discerning players.
Performance
The original P·790 was – and still is – widely considered one of the highest-performing irons in the industry. The all-new 2019 P·790 features a 7% thinner face designed to produce a faster COR and for the first time includes Progressive Inverted Cone Technology (PICT) designed to improved accuracy throughout the set, minimising the right tendency often found in the long irons. The thinner face also maintains sound and feel but enhances feedback regardless of where the ball is struck on the face.
Behind the face of the new P·790 is one of TaylorMade’s most advanced technologies to date: SpeedFoam, a proprietary construction which serves a dual purpose of generating ball speed as well as the management of sound and feel. Injected into the clubhead, SpeedFoam provides the face support and damping properties that make the performance of the P·790 unlike any other iron in the TaylorMade family.
Inside the P·790, a larger mass of tungsten – 15% more than first generation P·790 – has been reshaped to deliver a deeper centre of gravity. This was accomplished through the mass savings in the thinner face as well as by removing mass in the iron frame (high toe area) and repositioning it by way of the larger, low-profile tungsten design. The new tungsten design helps to lower the CG and increase the launch angle of the new 2019 model.
Shaping
The product creation team implemented some refined shaping changes to the new generation P·790 in the continued pursuit of the perfect players-distance iron shape. Working from the ground up, the designers tweaked the sole radius for less propensity to dig. The long irons (6-3i) have progressively less offset and the blade length was shaved down slightly in the scoring irons (7-AW) for more compact players-iron proportions. Finally, the topline shaping was refined by increasing the face height in the toe for a cleaner progression through the set. The result is a visually appealing shape proportion preferred by better players without being visually intimidating for those who appreciate the forgiving nature of the P·790 design.
Specifications, Pricing and Availability
Available at retail end September, the new P·790 irons will be offered in 4-PW equipped with True Temper’s Dynamic Gold 105 VSS steel shafts or UST Mamiya’s Recoil 760/780 ES SmacWrap graphite shafts with Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips.
Numerous other custom shaft options are also available.
TaylorMade P·790 irons RRP: R20,999.99 for steel or R23,999.99 for the graphite option.
