2019 P790 Iron vs. 2017 P790 Iron Comparison Blog | TaylorMade Golf

The original P·790 irons took golfers by storm in 2017. The combination of an ultra-thin face, hollow-body construction and SpeedFoam provided a forgiving route to maximum distance and playability – all packaged in a beautifully crafted players iron.

While amateur golfers drooled over the combo of aesthetics and power throughout the set, one tour pro after another began replacing long irons and utility clubs with P·790.

TaylorMade’s own Tomo Bysted – Senior Director of Product Creation – still remembers when he first introduced P·790 to Team TaylorMade staff Jason Day.

Jason hits it and I’m reading out the numbers for him — 256 carry, 275 total, crazy numbers — and he’s not even really trying to hit it that far,” Bystedt explained. “He’s shaping the ball, hitting a couple low shots, a couple of high shots. I mean you could see it in his face. Like, really? He hits a few more balls, walks over to his bag, takes out his old long iron, hands it to me and says, ‘I don’t need this anymore.’”

Day slapped his signature on his old iron and handed it to Bysted – the memorabilia still sits in Bysted’s office as a symbol of triumph for the P·790.

Day wasn’t alone, his reaction to P·790 was mirrored by many top-level players on the world tours. Other staffers, like Beau Hossler, even opted for full sets of the new, breakthrough iron line.

It was a phenomenon. A unicorn. Afterall, it’s rare that an iron has mass appeal among amateurs and tour professionals alike.

The new 2019 P·790 tackles the challenge of improving upon one of the most successful and technologically advanced irons our company has ever made.

The process began with making the face 7% thinner, which resulted in enhanced forgiveness and a 20% larger sweet spot. For the first time, P·790 now includes Progressive Inverted Cone Technology (PICT), which improves accuracy throughout the set and minimizes the right-miss tendency often found in long irons. The thinner face also maintains sound and feel while enhancing feedback regardless of where the ball is struck on the face.

“The new P·790 is the perfect blend of hidden performance in a players package. While the original will always be a great iron, there were some design elements that we weren’t able to get into the first design,” said Matt Bovee, Senior Category Manager for Irons. “The 2019 model has been nipped and tucked into a more traditional players iron shape with higher launch and more forgiveness.”

Under the hood, the new P·790s feature the same proprietary SpeedFoam that powered the original model. Injected into the clubhead, SpeedFoam provides the face support and dampening properties that make the performance of the P·790 unlike any other iron in the TaylorMade family.

The question remained: Would players pick up on the subtle yet impactful changes?

“I introduced Rory to the new P790 at The Open in 2019. He immediately started commenting on the new design; acknowledging the cleaner look and less offset at address,” said Bovee. “It only took one or two shots before he turned to me and said, ‘I feel like its hotter and launching higher?’ I was stunned. Without even getting a chance to explain the new design changes, Rory picked up on everything within two swings.”

McIlroy, who games a P·790 UDI 2-iron that moves in and out of his bag week-to-week depending on course set up, picked up on both the aesthetic and performance changes in the new model. Because we Earthly golfers aren’t nearly as discerning, below we detail all the enhancements that make to the new P·790 iron a step above its predecessor.

2019 Upgrades

• A 7% thinner face to produce a faster COR, enhance forgiveness and increase the sweet spot
• Introduction of Progressive Inverted Cone Technology into the club, designed to improve accuracy across the face
• A larger mass of tungsten – 15% more than the first generation – delivers a lower center of gravity and promotes a higher launching ball flight
• Long irons (6i-3i) have progressively less offset
• Scoring irons (7i-AW) have a shaved down blade length for a more compact look at address
• Topline shaping was refined for cleaner player’s profile at address

2017 Features

• Forged face and hollow-body construction
• SpeedFoam Technology serves the dual purpose of generating ball speed as well as managing sound and feel
• Speed Pocket for better performance on shots struck low on the face
• While tungsten was in the original, the 2019 model’s insert has increased in mass and a new low-profile tungsten design

Under the hood, the new P·790s feature the same proprietary SpeedFoam that powered the original model. Injected into the clubhead, SpeedFoam provides the face support and dampening properties that make the performance of the P·790 unlike any other iron in the TaylorMade family.

The question remained: Would players pick up on the subtle yet impactful changes?

“I introduced Rory to the new P790 at The Open in 2019. He immediately started commenting on the new design; acknowledging the cleaner look and less offset at address,” said Bovee. “It only took one or two shots before he turned to me and said, ‘I feel like its hotter and launching higher?’ I was stunned. Without even getting a chance to explain the new design changes, Rory picked up on everything within two swings.”

McIlroy, who games a P·790 UDI 2-iron that moves in and out of his bag week-to-week depending on course set up, picked up on both the aesthetic and performance changes in the new model. Because we Earthly golfers aren’t nearly as discerning, below we detail all the enhancements that make to the new P·790 iron a step above its predecessor.

2019 Upgrades

• A 7% thinner face to produce a faster COR, enhance forgiveness and increase the sweet spot
• Introduction of Progressive Inverted Cone Technology into the club, designed to improve accuracy across the face
• A larger mass of tungsten – 15% more than the first generation – delivers a lower center of gravity and promotes a higher launching ball flight
• Long irons (6i-3i) have progressively less offset
• Scoring irons (7i-AW) have a shaved down blade length for a more compact look at address
• Topline shaping was refined for cleaner player’s profile at address

2017 Features

• Forged face and hollow-body construction
• SpeedFoam Technology serves the dual purpose of generating ball speed as well as managing sound and feel
• Speed Pocket for better performance on shots struck low on the face
• While tungsten was in the original, the 2019 model’s insert has increased in mass and a new low-profile tungsten design