TaylorMade P•790 Irons & UDI Preview

[Jman]

So nice they did it…thrice?



OK, maybe that was a bit of a stretch, but when it comes to TaylorMade’s flagship iron series, the P•790 the company is indeed unveiling their third iteration of the namesake. In a world where naming conventions are all over the place, with TaylorMade historically at the forefront of that, it’s clear that they are content to continue with a name that is one of the most recognizable in golf clubs.

TaylorMade P790 Irons



So yes, it’s time for the newest versions of the P•790 irons and UDI, and unlike last time, though the name has stayed the same and the looks feel familiar, there is a pretty legitimate tech advancement in play. Read on to find out more. 



TaylorMade P•790...

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[Jman]

Im most curious to see these in action and if they’re still insanely lower spin like bother of the previous iterations are. It continues to be the thing I’ve not seen them truly address.

One thing is for sure though, the looks have come a LONG way, softening the lines has done wonders.

 

[JB]

Im most curious to see these in action and if they’re still insanely lower spin like bother of the previous iterations are. It continues to be the thing I’ve not seen them truly address.

One thing is for sure though, the looks have come a LONG way, softening the lines has done wonders.

I like the look of this version and it is head and shoulders above the previous two. My struggles with those lines have been the feel/sound and while the last one wasn't terrible, it hasn't stacked up to others on the market in the same class. Mainly the Forged Tec from Cobra and the Mizuno HMB both were significantly better in the feel department.

 

[Jman]

I like the look of this version and it is head and shoulders above the previous two. My struggles with those lines have been the feel/sound and while the last one wasn't terrible, it hasn't stacked up to others on the market in the same class. Mainly the Forged Tec from Cobra and the Mizuno HMB both were significantly better in the feel department.

Agreed, and now the move to an even lighter speed foam has me perplexed how they will truly handle the sound/feel this time as in my head a less dense material means more vibrations. But, maybe I’m wrong.

 

[Puttmaster]

I may be the only golfer on the planet that just can’t get excited by anything from TaylorMade. And I’m not quite sure why.

I once gamed their original No. 1 metal wood as well as a set of their beautiful, original blade irons. But, somewhere along the way, they totally lost me.

My guess is that it’s somewhat related to the current tech/marketing discussion in another thread. Something about the TM marketing of yesteryear became a complete turnoff.

Maybe I will listen more closely this go round.

 

[Jman]

I may be the only golfer on the planet that just can’t get excited by anything from TaylorMade. And I’m not quite sure why.

I once gamed their original No. 1 metal wood as well as a set of their beautiful, original blade irons. But, somewhere along the way, they totally lost me.

My guess is that it’s somewhat related to the current tech/marketing discussion in another thread. Something about the TM marketing of yesteryear became a complete turnoff.

Maybe I will listen more closely this go round.

I will say, their marketing has toned down a lot. In that other thread I made people are still hung up on the 17 yards campaign, but that’s not what TM is doing now. That said, I think they’ve gone t the opposite end of the spectrum now, which is almost an over correction, ya know?

I do believe you’re not at all alone in how you feel though about TM.

 

[Chef23]

I will be interested to see how these perform. My son has the current version and I am kind of underwhelmed by them. I like the looks at address but they don’t seem to go anywhere for him or me. I don’t know if it is the shafts (DG 105) but we both hit them shorter than the Ping i200s that I have. He did only do a loose fit on them but neither of us has been in love with them.

 

[jfrigo1003]

gotta say they nailed it in the looks department. Id have a hard time picking between these, Cobra Forged Tec, and Mizuno HMB..... I had the first version of p790's and they were insanely low spin for my game before I really knew much about numbers. It was fun hitting my irons so far but my game suffered. I think thats where Cobra Forged Tec really separated themselves in the players distance irons department creating an acceptable spin rate for higher swing speeds

 

[Jman]

gotta say they nailed it in the looks department. Id have a hard time picking between these, Cobra Forged Tec, and Mizuno HMB..... I had the first version of p790's and they were insanely low spin for my game before I really knew much about numbers. It was fun hitting my irons so far but my game suffered. I think thats where Cobra Forged Tec really separated themselves in the players distance irons department creating an acceptable spin rate for higher swing speeds

Fun fact on the first iteration, they were so low spin one of their R&D guys played his 4 weak just to try and add spin.

 

[jfrigo1003]

Fun fact on the first iteration, they were so low spin one of their R&D guys played his 4 weak just to try and add spin.

wow thats just crazy but I believe it

I remember going to my first ever iron fitting. With the p790 6i and Project x 6.5 shafts I was carrying 210 with 3700 spin lol. I remember hitting one that carried 220+ and I look at him and said "wow ive never hit one so far before." He said yea thats a big problem theres not enough spin. This was about 5 - 6 years ago before I took golf serious and had no idea what any of the numbers meant other than distance. Learned very quick they were a bad fit for me

 

[Molten]

Best looking of the trio for sure. The feels of the previous generation never bugged me too much but the low spin fliers from well struck shots always got them removed from the bag. I hope they fixed that!

 

[Briton G]

I like the looks of these irons and always been intrigued to feel how they play. The new UDI 2 iron looks great also.

 

[McLovin]

p790 has always looked good. but the unplayable low spin and harsh sound/feel have been a turnoff for me since day 1. i’m not reading enough here to get me excited.

 

[foreputt]

I played the 1st generation and they were ok, this version looks so much better that I may give them a try, although I have moved away from the hollow body construction in general as I didn't like the lack of feel.

 

[Templet0n]

Putting in some writing work today there @Jman

Having tried these I still feel they are pretty firm and clicky. Not P770 clicky but still up the charts a bit.

 

[Jman]

Putting in some writing work today there @Jman

Having tried these I still feel they are pretty firm and clicky. Not P770 clicky but still up the charts a bit.

No rest for the weary

That’s what I was afraid of. At some point they HAVE to fix the sound/feel

 

[Templet0n]

No rest for the weary

That’s what I was afraid of. At some point they HAVE to fix the sound/feel

It’s really sound right? Feel is sound. It also fairly personal. What I feel is clicky someone else maybe coming from a different head or set up may perceive as pretty soft.

I still love @JB question to Vosh about sound and why some can’t seem to get it right..

 

[Jman]

It’s really sound right? Feel is sound. It also fairly personal. What I feel is clicky someone else maybe coming from a different head or set up may perceive as pretty soft.

I still love @jb’s question to Vosh about sound and why some can’t seem to get it right..

There is no perceiving the historical sound/feel of TM 790’s as soft, by anyone, ever

 

[Templet0n]

There is no perceiving the historical sound/feel of TM 790’s as soft, by anyone, ever

Just trying to be nice.

 

[Jman]

Just trying to be nice.

Haha, well, truth hurts sometimes

 

[BuffaloPlunger]

This is a huge win for Taylormade. These irons are already super popular and it looks like the changed the shape which seems like it should appeal to an even wider range of golfers. My issue with them was they also seemed so chunky and that doesn’t seem to be the case here

 

[Templet0n]

Haha, well, truth hurts sometimes

As long as there is improvement. The performance has been there. The P790 has always performed well for the category.

 

[Canadan]

Nicely done, James.

There are some clearly improved lines on the irons - deal breaker for me was always sound so it should be fun to hit them and experience. I'm continuously baffled at the carryover naming convention. Wonder why they don't change it at all.

 

[skywaterbanjo]

I currently play a set of both of the previous generation. I'm older and don't have the swing speed anymore but I really enjoy these clubs. After 4 years with the 1st gen, I might have to look at these.

 

[OldandStiff]

I wonder how many times they're going to dip into this well. They perform and sell well, but this has to be the last time without more significant changes, right?

I love how every new club is 'more refined/sleek' too. Lol Satin doesn't automatically make something more refined. In fact on this top line, it took it the other direction. The rest of it looks really good. Tuned into the TXG vid while driving just now and it took Ian less than a minute to say the top line is boxy, which was my first reaction to seeing them. It's more boxy. Looks more squared off and bigger partly because it's full satin. At least on the UDI.

The UDI did feel a little different when I hit it than the previous version. Assuming it's mostly the slightly different stuff behind the face. I'm not entirely sure how much most people would even notice though. I don't think the sound/feel people are their market.