While there is no denying that the P790 irons from TaylorMade practically revolutionized irons and brought the hollow body iron to the minds of a much broader audience than ever before, one could make the argument that besides that release, and the subsequent refresh of it under the same name, the options have left many wanting more. Once upon a time, not all that long ago, TaylorMade was at the forefront of creating entire iron lineups that not only performed but looked good too.
Well, perhaps we are about to see a return to form there from TMaG with this coming release announcement. The P790 will remain firmly in the lineup, but not only is there a “Sibling Rivalry” being introduced in the P770 which features the same design tech as its bigger beefier brother, but also two new fully forged players irons in the P7MC and P7MB. Not only does this hopefully open the door for TaylorMade to finally get on board with blending iron sets, but it is most definitely creating a flowing aesthetic throughout their irons, and boy do they look good.
While we don’t yet have all of the specifics yet, we do know enough to take a closer look at each of the models.
TaylorMade P770
With the marketing tagline of “Let the sibling rivalry begin”, you pretty much know what to expect with the P770’s. The P790 have been consistently one of the top selling irons on the market since their release, but the recent refresh left some of us wanting as even though a Ti version was released as well, they really didn’t offer anything breathtakingly new to set them apart from the original release. It would appear that TaylorMade has listened to the feedback.
The P770 is designed to essentially offer P790 performance through the same technologies but in a player’s profile. More compact heel to toe, less offset, and a thinner topline mark the aesthetic design features here, and you will also notice as we move to the other two releases there is a visual flow through all of the lines now.
At the forefront is a forged hollow body design featuring TaylorMade’s patented speed pocket as well as SpeedFoam application internally. This one is shaped for the player wanting something more compact, but still utilizes the forged wrap around face applied to a carbon steel frame that utilizes up to 46g of tungsten depending on the iron in hand. Internally, beyond the SpeedFoam there is a progressive “Inverted Cone Technology” that varies depending on the iron to improve the overall accuracy and ball speed retention.
What will be interesting to many is the P770 will play off of a 46° PW which might be tamer than most would anticipate. Hopefully, this has gone a long way to creating a more playable spin profile for a larger margin of golfers as the P790’s are notoriously low spin for many. With KBS Tour in 130g X or 120g S and Golf Pride Z-Grips as the stock offerings, it will be interesting to see how they are received.
TaylorMade P7MC and P7MB
In my humble opinion, these are the irons that are going to perk up the most ears and eyes, well maybe not the MB as much as the MC for us mere mortals, but still, a cohesive aesthetic release of players irons from TaylorMade has been a long time coming. Not only are these cohesive with each other in terms of design “geometry”, but also the previously discussed P770 which one could only hope means a chance at a true combo set makeup, time will tell how TaylorMade markets that, however.
These two are clearly the “Tour Inspired” profiles that they worked hand in hand with their PGA Tour staff to create. They both offer progressive offset blended with thin toplines and compact soles for the golfer who demands precision in all aspects. The P7MC is clearly going to offer more forgiveness than the P7MB since it has a cavity, but make no mistake these are both 100% player’s irons.
The new story here for TaylorMade is the fact that the 1025 carbon steel material, which these are made of, has been forged using a 2,000 ton press to make for what the company calls a “tighter, more compact grain structure” with the purpose of eliminating variances in the material and making more consistency in feel.
Both the P7MC and P7MB are based off of a 47° PW and as such should make the anti-loft-jackers rejoice, but realistically based on the designs it makes sense to have such traditional lofts. Like the P770’s, the stock offerings for both of these are also KBS Tour shafts in 130g X or 120g S paired with Golf Pride Z-Grips.
While we will most definitely have more on all three of these iron offerings to come, including pricing, the initial release information should garner some interest from those who have longed for TaylorMade to once again offer a more complete iron lineup for the more demanding golfers. What do you think about the trio of new irons? Love them? Leave them? Be sure to jump into the conversation with either a comment here or on the THP community and let yourself be heard!
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Particularly any noticable differences in feel, forgivness and distance?
Seriously thinking about it.
Couple swings with the MCs to confirm zero interest too. Don’t like the look and not drawn to them at all compared to other recent CBs.
The 6i being slightly larger than the 760’s iron was definitely much more confident inspiring. which if I were to combo I would probably keep the 7i iron in the 770 just for the extra help. 8i through PW definitely had more offset than I’m used to. Which is something new to my eye coming from the 760s. Nothing but a couple swings and I adjusted fine. But it was noticeable at first. Something I was interested about was Turf interaction because in my previous photos posted in this thread you could see the leading edge in the 760s Had some relief to it. But I was pleasantly surprised there was absolutely zero issues turf in action with these. Hit off grass and it was effortless. That’s another keyword here: “effortless”. Maybe it’s the slightly larger profile, could be the slightly extra offset Or all that combine, but these are just so much easier to hit overall than the 760s. Not that the 760s are hard to hit by any means, but these just give you that extra help. The range I Was hitting at was a water range and today was straight into the wind. Had A nice little breeze out there. I was able to Easily sit the ball back in the stance, and hit knocked down shots without any issues. Looking forward to hopefully getting on my maiden voyage round tomorrow for some more Feedback
They definitely are more demanding than the 790s – and that comes down to blade size/length. I tend to prefer a shorter blade size. My miss is usually due to face angle/face-to-path. I’ve hit a couple real low on the face and these absolutely let you know. But they still provide a good amount of help.
Definitely shorter than something like the Apex CF19, consistent with the lofts. Similar to the Ping i series I’ve played in the past – maybe with a bit more pop in the long irons. I’m in the middle of trying a few different iron sets, but I’ve been more consistent with these than my gamers (weirdly, especially in the long irons) and the T300s. But, that could come down to the KBS Tour shaft in them. That’s been an old standby for me that I got away from for a while, and I’m wondering if that was a mistake.
I’m not sure I’ve liked the look of an iron in the bag more than these in a while. It’s a nice combination of tech-forward and classic.
@OldandStiff ok maybe just a bit on the toe side of the p770s. They do turn over left a bit for me.
Where do you think you would spit that combo?
It’s hard to say exactly. In my other combo’s I have redundancies/overlaps a bit, because I’m particular about that and it usually takes some figuring out. I always seem to creep deeper in. My honma blades I tend to combo between the 6 and 7, but stock they’re a degree stronger than the p7mb’s. I honestly feel comfortable enough with the spin on the p770 7i that I could take it weak and let off when need be, and the MB 8,9 and PW a little strong with a good 50* wedge. I never regret having the bladed 7i in my bag though. Ever. So maybe take the 770 5 to 26, the 6 to 30 and push an MB 7i to 33? I don’t know. It should be interesting.
Aesthetically the 770 and the 7mb do pair really nice together! That’s where Mizuno nailed the looks of the MP20HMB and MB. With the Mizuno MMC and the TM 7MC in that middle slot. I’d figure the 2 middle sets would blend better looks wise from both companies but they don’t. It’s the HMB/MB and 770/P7MB that look the best together. Strictly talking looks here.
Tried the Mizzy 921F side by side and the 770’s were more accurate for me.
Just watched the new video of Matty hitting the 790 and 770 with equalized lofts and find this interesting. The big thing they talk about is the main thing that’s drawn me to the 770. Feel. Noticably different with the 770. So people have joked that they’re 790 ‘pros’, and I think that’s a pretty fair description.
Ian kind of describes exactly how I would combo them if I was someone who wanted to pair those two. I’ve actually thought about playing around with a 4 iron 790 in the 770/MB combo I want to do.
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Then the 770s came out and it was all over. Better launch, spin, carry and I prefered the feel over the mizunos. Not as soft, which is a good thing to me apparently. I have made some changes to my swing since I got fit for the 790s and the added spin on these equated to 14 yards more carry (total distance was about the same… which had become the issue and why I wanted to test some things out, wasn’t holding greens with my longer irons). Don’t think everyone will get that same result, but if you get the chance I can’t recommend testing these out more highly.
they are smaller than the 790, but nothing shocking. I am a GI player (I currently have a Cleveland Launcher HB 5I in the bag) and felt comfortable looking down at a 6I in these.
So good news is I have a set ordered (hopefully get them before the end of October) bad news is I haven’t told my wife what I bought myself for my birthday.
These have kind of been the holy grail for me in that they’ve got enough forgiveness while still retaining a solid feel – are they a pure forged blade? No. But, they do feel 1000x more solid than the P790 did.
I’ve loved the long irons off the tee. The 5i might be one of my favorite clubs in the set.
So you went all 770, correct?
I had the previous version of the 770s and they were great clubs.
No, I ordered a whole set of 770’s, but I’m going to combo the MB’s. They’re just going to take longer to get here. 770’s arrive in a couple days. Ordered 7-PW in MB. Ran through the sets again today and I’m confident I can make it work. Love the way they look together, and in a bag the size difference is kinda cool. Like you’re carrying a ton of precise wedges. I usually blade combo at the 7, but we’ll see. This one might end up at the 8.
Nice, those MBs are spicy looking…
Wanted to post these for anyone thinking of combo’ing 770 with existing 790 they have. I carry a 790 2UDI fairly often, and I think the next step down looks pretty decent for being 2 clubs off.
This is helpful, thanks. I am ok with the 4i from the set, but was thinking if the 770 win out in my club face-off, I might put the 790 in that spot at some point.
I am looking at going gapr in the next spot after 5I, but will be holding on to my 790s for a bit as the 5I might and up getting back into that spot, but I think the additional spin and loft (only a degree for mine) will get me better carry and more consistent distance despite being slightly less forgiving.. but we will see.
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Actually, I just ran through the shot log, and my misses weren’t nearly as big as I thought with them. Just seemed like it in the end. My near misses kept hitting the sidehills of elevated greens and ending up about doubly far away. If you were looking at the live round photos, most of the greens were punishing like that if you missed them at all.
The 770 shots were:
6i – 182 – 10′
7i – 171 – ~12′ ending 25′ (short right)
6i – 184 – ~35′ ending 58′ (right)
8i – 164 – 15′
9i – 147 – ~12-15′ ending 40 (short left)
9i – 135 – 20′
6i – 182 – 20′
8i – 180 – ~30′ ending 60′ (left)
5i – 201 – 15′
7i – 182 – 22′
7i – 177 – 5′
So yeah, maybe the round and those irons went as well as the scorecard showed (really good round).
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Anyway, they feel really nice on grass. I always feel like offset jumps out at me more outside, and I had hit them outside, but I did notice it a few times on those mid-iron shots. That’s where it bugs me the most and part of why I like to combo between the 6 and 7 to something smaller a lot of the time. Flight was mostly good. Or as expected. I did try to flight that first 9i because it was downhill and there were breezes swirling and I got a little bit of a ting in the hands when I caught it a little lower on the face. They have a pretty sharp leading edge. Distance ended just short enough to bounce way left. Definitely notice the cg pushing the ball flight up in the shorter irons. It’s a bit much for me. I’ve gotten used to more player-ish irons there, so that’ll be different until my MB’s get in. Reminded me of the Forged Tec short irons a bit. They wanted to go high. The shaft probably had some to do with it too though. Tours are a bit launchier for me.
They feel miles different than the 790 and click less than an Apex Pro. Really consistent on that sound and feel too. I had to check a couple times to see where I struck one, so I wouldn’t call them champs on feedback. Except on that low strike.
Long ramble.. They look great, felt good, and flew true when I let them. Good first go!!
He had played my Apex Pros some, and has CF’s, so I wanted to show him how the 770 are about the same size and get pretty decently compact in the short irons, just with a little thicker top line.
funny how different people’s perception can be. apex pro is on my mt rushmore of iron feel/sound. good pics too, interesting to see 770 have a shorter blade length. nice first outing!
I love the feel of apex pro. They’re on my mt. rushmore of just about everything. Thet just have a different pitch to me than some others. The 770 is muted in a different way. It’s a different flushed sound. You can feel that it’s a HB. Apex pro maybe crisper? I don’t know. Semantics are always at play in the differences, and I did hit a few shots with a couple different balls this afternoon and a harder one definitely felt a little sharper.
I haven’t hit the Apex Pro much in the long irons, but my gut says yes from my limited experience. The long irons in the 770s are pretty easy to hit for an iron in their category in my opinion.
Yeah, I don’t have a ton of time in with them, but so far I want to say.. more.
I slowed the process by sending in some bB&F ferrules to bling them out a little more, but not sure how much of a delay it really ended up being.
And I got an email today saying they are hoping to ship my build by the end of this week, but might be early next week…. so fingers crossed I get them in hand before next weekend.
Mostly for a winter experiment. I can’t see them kicking the Pros out of the bag but who knows.
Here’s a vid from today that shows the flight I’m getting. 205 carry into a breeze and finished at 206.
I feel like when I get the shafts right I’ll be able to lean into them if need be and still get them up enough, instead of flattening out.
man that is such a smooth, effortless swing for producing so much distance!!!
I decided to go a different route – I was getting better results with another set, but the 770 5i was addicting to hit. Loved taking it off the tee on tight par 4s or into longer holes.
What did you go with?
T300, which I was fit for. Went the more forgiving route. I honestly think it was the shaft setup more than anything – just making more centered contact. Weirdly… except with that 5i. Feel like I could aim 100% where I wanted and end up there every time with that one.
Was going to pit them against each other this weekend but was within 10 feet more times than I’d been in years, so made the call. I might, at some point, pick up a set of these with the CTL in there.
Yeah, sounds like you can’t beat those kinds of results. You probably don’t need to do the battle between the two of them, but that definitely wouldn’t stop me!