2021 TaylorMade P790 Irons Review

Your golf experts: Jordan Fuller & John Marshall.
Updated November 1, 2023. This article was thoroughly audited by multiple golf experts and coaches for its accuracy. You can read more about our rigorous testing protocol here.

The 790s irons from TaylorMade have long carried the reputation of one of the best players irons on the market. With previous versions of this set boasting a sophisticated design with a few patented TaylorMade features such as the Thru-Slot Speed Pocket and SpeedFoam Air, golfers are wondering if the newest version can match or even exceed expectations.

With that in mind, this review plans to answer some of the most burning questions that players have with this TaylorMade set. Are the 790s forgiving? Do these irons deliver distance and workability? What handicap level should play the TaylorMade p790 irons?

In this review of the TaylorMade p790 irons, I’ll promise to answer every question as I run through each worthwhile feature, helping you save time to find out if these golf clubs can help your game.


TaylorMade P790 2021 Irons Review

Best Players Distance Iron for Mid Handicappers

TaylorMade P790 4-P/Rh S (Set of 7 total clubs: 4-PW, Right Hand, Stiff Flex)
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Specs

  • Loft: 21°-45°
  • Lie: 61°-64°
  • Length: 35.75″-38.5″
  • Weight: D2, D3

Pros

  • Solid forgiveness on off-center hits
  • Distance without sacrificing feel
  • Leading edge delivers exceptional turf interaction

Cons

  • Tighter blade makes consistency difficult for higher handicaps

Taylormade P790 2021 Irons Features

SpeedFoam Air

The cavity of each iron is filled with TaylorMade’s patented new SpeedFoam Air feature. The latest version of this foam is 69% lighter than the previous model. The foam also helps improve sound and feel at impact.

TaylorMade claims the latest SpeedFoam Air filling removes 3.5 grams of weight from the head to produce improved launch conditions.

Thin Wall Construction

Along the face, TaylorMade has included a thin, but powerful carbon steel face that lowers CG to increase flexibility across the entire hitting area. The reduction in face width also produces faster ball speeds for better distance readings on the launch monitor.

With forged iron sets, the thinner the face the better shot speed you can expect, and these 790s deliver low penetrating flight with a steep landing angle in large part to the hot, thin face.

Forged Hollow Body Construction

Most golfers note how lightweight the p790 irons feel and that’s largely in part to the hollow body construction. By thinning out in the interior cavity, TaylorMade can increase club head speed for more swing velocity.

Along with the hollow body, TaylorMade included tungsten weighting with the SpeedFoam Air. Positioned lower along the bottom of the interior chamber and toward the toe, the weighting increasing stability and forgiveness.

Thru-Slot Speed Pocket

The redesigned Speed Pocket helps produce more ball speed than the previous generation of 790s. The Speed Pocket also preserves ball flight on strikes lower on the face, where most advanced golfers make impact. The Pocket also works in concert with the Flash Face Cup to increase the solid feel while generating more speed with each swing.

The feature also improves face flex to increase forgiveness and boost overall ball speed.

Enhanced Sweet Spot

Compared to the previous model, this version of the p790s has a 60% larger intelligent sweet spot. The intelligent sweet spot also has been moved lower on the face to capture more strikes and offer better performance for advanced players.

On strikes that leak toward the toe, the expanded hitting area helps maintain speed and reduces side spin for better accuracy and tighter dispersion.


Taylormade P790 Irons Review

Looks

Sophisticated and sharp, the TaylorMade p790 iron remains one of the best designed golf clubs on the market. As TaylorMade says, the 790 is “an iron more than metal,” and that slogan shines through once you cast your eyes on this impressively crafted golf club.

Compared to the 2019 version of the p790s, I enjoyed the redesign of the latest version in particular. TaylorMade has removed some of the distracting lines along the back of the head of past versions. The choice allows the shaping to pop and the shine of the chrome to enhance the appearance of these first-rate irons.

I’ve always felt like the irons that attract your gaze with peaked interest are the ones that share the same characteristics of a fast car. Here, TaylorMade has smoothed and rounded the edges to give the TaylorMade p790 irons the appearance of clubs that slice through the air and deliver maximum swing speed to the point of impact.

Feel

When it comes to feel, the 790s are among the best you’ll find in the golf industry. If you haven’t played with forged irons before, you might find that your brain can’t quite adjust to how small the blade looks with how light the clubs feel while swinging.

But these players’ distance irons offer outstanding feel throughout the swing, especially as they pass through the impact zone. The front edge of the face moves smoothly through the turf to provide clean divots and crisp, engaging contact.

Compared to previous models of the 790s, this version feels more spry and capable. I found the outstanding feel and responsiveness provided a boost of confidence to my game, especially when you are working the shots in all directions.

And as a footnote, the Golf Pride ZGrip360 stock grip does a superb job of providing tackiness for better hold during the swing.

Sound

Unlike other irons that can sound heavy at impact, these p790 irons offer a smooth, crisp sound that instills confidence and remains pleasing to the ears even on thin or off-center strikes.

Since these irons are compact, you can’t expect them to sound poorly, but that also doesn’t mean they’ll sound good as you are hitting the ball. But I can safely say as expertly crafted as these irons are for all golfers from all angles, the p790s don’t disappoint in the sound department.

When compared to previous versions of the p790 irons, I think you can point to the lighter, revamped SpeedFoam providing the difference when it comes to sound.

Performance

The new version of the TaylorMade p790 irons offer high ball speed, with premium stopping power due to its high spin, especially with the short irons. For advanced golf irons, the p790s provide a lightweight club head that generates impressive launch angle that extends carry to maximize length.

When it comes to increasing your ball speed, improving your carry distance, and getting lower spin with your long irons, the TaylorMade p790 irons checks those boxes.

From the fairway and even the tee box, I found these irons are extremely workable. If I wanted to move the ball from side-to-side or even raise or lower the shot height, the 790s delivered my intended shot with regularity.

I did question how much forgiveness these irons could actually provide golfers when I first had these clubs in my hands, especially since I’m playing these off the shelf without a custom fitting or quick club fitting. But after spending some time on the range and the golf course with the 790s, I must admit they are very forgiving despite their compact shape.

If you are into using the stock graphite shaft with your irons, the Mitsubishi MMT is available through TaylorMade.

For advanced golf equipment, the p790 irons deliver unmatched accessibility for a wide range of golfers. If you are a low to mid handicapper wanting to upgrade their game improvement irons with a forged set, the p790s should be at the top of your consideration list.


What do other golfers think?

With 47 reviews on Amazon, reviewers gave the Sim Max irons a 4.5/5-star rating. 86% of those reviewing the clubs on Amazon gave 5-star reviews.

On PGA Tour Superstore’s website, respondents gave the p790 irons a 4.9/5-star average rating with over 635 reviews. Out of the entire set of reviews, a whopping 587 gave the set a perfect 5-star rating.

The irons also received the distinguished gold medal from Golf Digest on their 2022 Hot List in the players’ distance category.

What Golfers Like

  • Incredibly lightweight and easy to move through golf ball
  • Outstanding distance control with mid-range height
  • Reduced spin helps create penetrating flight
  • Extended carry with high ball flight, even on thin strikes
  • Offers solid forgiveness for set in player’s distance iron category

What Golfers Don’t Like

  • Doesn’t offer much forgiveness
  • Better for experienced, low handicap golfers

Conclusion

After spending time with the TaylorMade p790 2021 set, I found they offered a nice mixture of premium sound, impressive feel, and produced the workable results I wanted from this advanced iron collection.

I can confidently say there’s not another players’ iron that delivers the distance and forgiveness of the TaylorMade p790 set. You’ll get the fast ball speeds you’d expect from an iron built for distance, with the perimeter forgiveness of a game improvement iron.

And when it comes to spin rates, I frequently found the irons offered total spin control, especially with the shorter irons. Even from the rough, the irons delivered clean contact with spin.

If you were to ask me what handicap these p790 irons would fit the best, I would say the 5-12 handicap range. Anything lower and you are playing with the p770s or more advanced TaylorMade forged iron sets.