by John Watchowski, Club Fitter
When looking at recently released golf clubs, every company seems to be intensely focused on distance with the traditional blade style iron starting to become a thing of the past. TaylorMade is bucking that trend with their new P Series iron line-up. The line-up features the P7MB, P7MC and P770. We have the irons, have done the testing and these clubs are not to be overlooked.
Let’s start by looking at the P7MB and the P7MC. These are your traditional player’s irons. Both are a solid forged iron with a thin top line and minimal offset. The lofts are more traditional with the 7 iron at 34 degrees and pitching wedge at 47 degrees while the 1025 Carbon Steel provides a soft buttery feel. Keep in mind that these irons are designed for low handicap players looking for more control and consistency. These irons are also designed to work together very well, meaning that you can create a combo set with these two irons without having to adjust lofts to match distances. The P7MC irons look great and offer a slight amount of forgiveness from the split cavity. With that split cavity, the P7MC has a slightly lower center of gravity than the P7MB. Having a slightly lower CG should promote a slightly higher ball flight. Both sets are clean and pure, so for the golfer looking for a player’s iron these should fit the bill.
Now we move into the third addition, the P770 with the focus back on distance. For the past two years, we have seen huge distance gains when fitting customers to TaylorMade’s P790 irons. With the thin face and soft forged feel in those hollow body irons the performance is amazing. The downside of the P790 is that they are strong lofted which can cause the performance to be low launching and low spinning for some players. Moving to the new P770, this problem has been addressed. The P770 has moved away from the strong lofts – P790 30.5-degree 7 iron vs. P770 33-degree 7 iron. They also provide a slimmer profile and less offset than the P790. These irons fit a wide range of golfers, with the smaller profile and weaker loft appealing to better players while offering the increased speed and forgiveness of a game improvement iron.
Since we now have a great idea of what these irons are supposed to do let us look at the actual numbers behind each. We hit all shots with the same Project X LZ 6.5 shaft and a TP5x golf ball.
| Club 7 iron | Ball Speed (MPH) | Club Head Speed (MPH) | Launch Angle (Degrees) | Spin Rate (RPM) | Carry Distance (Yds) |
| P-770 | 133.6 | 95 | 17 | 6128 | 191.5 |
| P7-MC | 128.1 | 93.3 | 17.5 | 6891 | 178.4 |
| P7-MB | 126.5 | 93.3 | 18.2 | 6814 | 176.1 |
Looking at the numbers, we can see a clear difference from P770 to the other two P7 iron sets. The main differences are ball speed and spin rate. Yes, the club head speed is slightly faster on the stats, but only marginally. The smash factor is also higher from the P770 as well. When combining that with the lower spin rate you can see why these are listed in more of the players distance iron category. Then we move into the MC and MB. Both clubs are similar with the only differences being a slightly higher launch angle and lower ball speed from the MB. These slight differences show that miss hits on the MB are punished a bit more than with the MC. Both the MC and MB performed very well, but for most players the slight cavity in the MC will be the better option. Now keep in mind the MB is the true players iron that offers the most shot making capabilities.
Overall, these irons have done exactly what they were designed to do. If you are looking for a little more distance and forgiveness, then the P770 is for you. If you want the super soft solid body iron, then focus on the P7MC and P7MB. Keep in mind that all these irons can be configured to form a solid combo set that will fit your playing style. To determine what set works the best for you, schedule a fitting today and let’s figure it out together.
