I tested the latest TaylorMade P790 irons this time last year, as one of my first reviews for Golfalot and what a way to get things kicked off with the Golfalot team. I was very impressed by them and judging by the sales figures you lot were too.
Like many others who tested the P790s, I felt that they had taken the crown as the ultimate performance forged iron on the market. A year later and although a lot seems to have changed in the world, TaylorMade are keeping things fairly similar by introducing the new P770 as the 'sibling' of the P790. It is designed to be smaller but still pack a punch in terms of distance.
When the P770s arrived at Golfalot HQ I was intrigued to see how TaylorMade had gone about improving on their performance. It is designed to be smaller but still pack a punch in terms of distance.
What's It All About?
TaylorMade have changed the looks of this iron from looking like a P750 to now being a cross between P790s and the new P7MB irons. TaylorMade claim that P770 punches above its class and this more compact players iron can keep up with the heavy hitters. They have done this by using some of the following technologies we've all seen before...
Firstly, the forged hollow body is constructed of 8620 soft carbon steel with a thin 4140 steel face to promote fast ball speeds. Within the face is Progressive Inverted Cone Technology which we've seen before in the huge SIM Max and SIM Max OS irons earlier this year. ICT is positioned in the centre of the face on mid irons and more towards the toe on long irons.
SpeedFoam, which debuted in the original 2017 P790 irons, has been added and plays a pretty important role in the performance of P770 to give more face speed whilst keeping the premium feel within the head.
Again like the P790, with the new P770 forgiveness comes in the form of the Thru-Slot Speed Pocket in the 3-7 irons which is engineered for increased ball speed and distance.
TaylorMade has also boosted MOI by strategically positioning tungsten weights within each head. Present in the 3-7 irons and weighing up to 46 grams, the tungsten inserts are positioned towards the toe for precise CG placement and increased forgiveness.
So similar technology and similar looks to models we've seen before. What's actually new?
The Test
To see if the P770 looks and feels like a blade but performs as well as the P790s in forgiveness and distance, I tested these irons indoors at LSH Auto on Trackman using Titleist Pro V1x golf balls directly against the P790s, looking closely at both feel and the data.
As usual at Golfalot we believe you can't test a new set of irons without testing them out on the course. Simply playing a few holes, dropping some balls in the rough, hitting from a umber of different lengths... I took a visit to a wet and windy Stockport Golf Club and did just that.
TaylorMade P770 2020 Irons Review
Looks
The new P770s look 'pure', like a blade even - especially when they’re sitting in your golf bag. I am a huge fan of the simple back of the club as it looks so smooth. The brushed steel is a huge plus in my opinion and gives some serious shelf appeal.
There is a Thru Slot Speed Pocket on the sole from 7 to 3 iron and the logo doesn't seem quite as strong as on the P790s, so a 7 iron doesn’t look like a 5 iron when you address the ball, which is always a good thing. The heads are slightly smaller and a little sharper around the edges than the P790s also - these things are sexy.
Feel
The P770 is certainly not as hot off the face as its bigger brother/sister. It also makes a little quieter noise at impact.
In terms of manoeuvrability and shaping, I could work them from left to right but I did have to over exaggerate my draw and fade swings like I would with the P790s, which I was a little surprised by given the smaller head. I thought these irons would be easier to shape to be honest. The spin was up on the P770s which aided the shot shaping at it was nice to see a 6 iron have spin rate in the region of 6000rpm. This is a much more realistic spin rate with a mid iron and one that I like to see.
Consistency
There was definitely less forgiveness and length in these irons than the P790, no doubt. Thankfully though I didn’t get the one off 'hot one' that I'm not a fan of - the unexpected one that can feel like a flyer and carry that extra 10 yards with spin of around 4000rpm and 168 total distance with a 6 iron. This is a massive bonus as the hot one might look good on Trackman, but not on the golf course.
During my indoor testing I did however struggle to get a yardage over 150 yards carry, which is highlighted in the data. My findings followed a similar pattern: ball speed and distance down, spin, launch, and height up.
It was clear that the new P770s don’t pack the knockout punch that P790s do, more a solid upper cut.
On The Course
I loved the P770s on the golf course, they felt great and really nice to strike from the turf on a fairway and off a tee peg when using them on a tee box. I have to say that strike felt compact and solid but when I looked up the ball just wasn't travelling quite far enough for me. This was so annoying as I really did like the P770s.
Into the wind the strike wasn't quite strong enough for me either, resulting in a drop in distance when I really needed it. Downwind they performed distance-wise how I would like, but this is obviously more the conditions than my swing speed. I haven’t played too much golf recently and with the wind and soft conditions I was swinging within myself during the test.
Stability of the clubhead at impact out of the rough though was great. I really was impressed by this and in some thick and wet lies there was very little twisting of the head, on a couple of occasions I felt the head really helping me out not twisting when I thought it might have done. Having said that, distance was down but once again I'm not the strongest player out of wet thick rough.
TaylorMade P770 2020 Irons Verdict
These irons do just what TaylorMade are saying they should do: they are smaller, don’t go as far and are less forgiving than the P790s. They perform a lot more relatable to how you actually strike them rather than a surprise or it being saved by a load of club technology TaylorMade packed into the head of the P790.
In the simulator they were a bit underwhelming as I was hoping for more workability as this for me was the one thing I really wanted from the P790s, but couldn't quite get.
On the golf course however I preferred them a lot more, as they looked great and started to feel great once I started hitting them. It’s certainly worth taking irons onto the grass to see turf interaction as this is vital.
If you were a player that hit the P790s too long and didn’t hold enough greens with your approaches then my advice would be to try these, the chances are you'll fall in love.
Would I Use It?
In my tour playing days I could certainly see these in my bag but right now I would lean more towards the P790s due to the need for distance. I could possibly look to combo the two iron models by going through a proper fitting and tweaking some of the lofts to make sure they were consistent throughout the bag. I think this would be ideal for me right now.
I can see these clubs being used by single figure golfers and women professional golfers rather than spreading out into a handicapper in the double figures like the P790s, due to their more traditional lofts and less hot face. You certainly get the sound and feel which you don’t have with the P790s. The P770’s certainly fill a gap between P790’s and P7MC’s.
Pros
These irons look superb at address and in your bag
On-course they feel great at impact and have some great turf interaction
Refreshingly, for a modern TaylorMade iron - they don’t go too far
Loved the new Golf Pride Z-Grip
Cons
Not as workable in the air as I would have liked
Didn't quite have the distance to helper golfers with lower swing speeds out
Hefty price tag may put some golfers off