With new manufacturing abilities brings new equipment, and over the last few years the utility club has been all the rage. The category has expanded dramatically as popularity continues to rise for a product that is distance oriented, packed with forgiveness and created in a sleeker body than their hybrid counterparts. Hitting stores tomorrow, the new TaylorMade P790 UDI epitomizes the above with a design that will fit even the most discerning eye.
The new utility has already garnered some attention from their tour staff. Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day have all experimented with it already this year. Similar to the P790 irons that have been quite popular with THP forum members, the UDI’s hollow body construction is filled with what the company calls SpeedFoam. While the name is fun to say, and the jokes are endless, the company says SpeedFoam is used for two main reasons. The first is to generate ball speed, because the low-density material provides face support that previous generations of hollow body utility clubs did not offer. The second is for the all important feel and sound, and we can attest to the fact that it works here.
Inverted Cone Technology (ICT) is not new to TaylorMade Golf. Over a decade ago, the company brought ICT to metal woods and from there to their irons. The technology was developed to expand the sweet spot of the club face at impact to result in more distance on less than perfect strikes. It is covered through multiple patents and getting more technical is a specific variation of face thickness, but before we get too deep, let’s explain how it has been altered for this specific club head.
TaylorMade has re-engineered ICT for the smaller face area that the P790 line offers. Because of that, they have been able to reduce the face thickness at the edges and offer more flexibility from heel to toe and low on the club face. Ideally this would mean more ball speed no matter the location of the contact point.
Last year we heard a lot about metal injection molded tungsten weighting, or MIM, in irons. The process, and thus the material created, offers manufacturers a precision in center of gravity (CG) that was not been available just a few years ago. The UDI has continued with this trend and the result is a higher MOI (moment of inertia) for an increase in forgiveness and playability.
“After experiencing increasing demand from the best golfers on worldwide Tours, we’re excited to bring the Ultimate Driving Iron to golfers everywhere with the new P790 UDI. Offering SpeedFoam in a driving iron for the first time ever, the P790 UDI delivers distance and accuracy like never before seen in an iron.” –Tomo Bystedt, Senior Director, Product Creation
The Details
In Stores: 3/30 (tomorrow)
Cost: $219
Dexterity: RH Only
Loft: 17 degrees
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Black 85g (custom options available)
Lie Angle: 60 degrees
Offset: 3.2mm
Swingweight: D2
Looking for a chance to pick these up at a discount price? THP has a Budget Golf coupon on the right side of this page and you will find the new UDI on their store when it becomes available tomorrow.
Let us know your thoughts on the new utility in the comments below, or join us for the conversation on the THP Forum here.
Looks like a solid release. I’m intrigued at how the injection process translates into the driving iron.
I like the looks of this one. Back in the day when I carried a 2-iron, this would be a great club for that fill in the bag. If I needed it …. but I don’t have the game for one of these anymore. HA!
Interesting column. Thank you. I play the P790s and don’t love them, but don’t hate them either. I was fit into them and they work okay. I do have a gap and this would fill it, but it would mean committing to these too.
Have not experienced much past success with this type of clubs but this one looks and sounds fantastic.
Great write up JB. I might have to demo one locally to see if it will be a viable option off the tee.
Only RH and only a single loft. they must not think they will sell too many of them
Appreciate the insight into the technology that went into this. It is definitely on my radar and I love the pairing with the HZRDUS Black
Good release from them. The speedfoam and ICT tech should be very beneficial to golfers that fit this segment.
I’ve played around with a driving iron in the past. It would be fun to try this one with the HZRDUS Black.
good stuff thp. i will be testing one of these soon.
Great looking club.