Taylormade P790 Vs. Ping i59 Irons Comparison Overview
Muscle back irons look great; but they can be like sirens. They allure you with their good looks and promises of peak performance but unless you are equipped to handle them, they can leave you dashed on the rocks like so much ship wreckage.
To help you navigate the waters of trumped up manufacturer claims and marketing, we have composed a comparison article that goes over only the most important aspects of the Taylormade P790 and the Ping i59 irons.
Taylormade P790 Irons Overview
The Taylormade P790 irons offer a good combination of premium feel and distance which, may be perfect if you have just broken into the mid handicap territory.
We like the familiar feel you get with these irons. When we tested them, they almost felt like distance irons but they certainly had the look and feel of premium player’s irons.
At point of address, they don’t scare you off. The head is compact but not too compact – bigger than both the P770’s and the Ping i59’s.
Still, the Taylormade P790 irons sport a soft carbon steel body and forged 4140 steel face insert so they feel buttery when you pure them.
The combination head and face material has a metal-wood type of effect as well – pushing the ball and earning more distance.
Our only gripe – and it is kind of a biggie – was with the trajectory control on short approaches. Even the 8 and 9 irons in this set created fliers that sailed past the green on short par 4’s.
Ping i59 Irons Overview
The Ping i59 irons do a better job of checking trajectory in the short irons – but perhaps at the cost of distance.
Right off the bat, we need to say that the Ping i59 irons play shorter than the Taylormade P790 irons – about 8 yards shorter to be exact. However, they do a much better job around the green.
You get tight shot dispersion and superior feel thanks to the machined face grooves.
You can spin and work the ball pretty much any way you want with these irons. They offer plenty of forgiveness too. We were getting good ball speed on off-center shots with the Ping i59’s.
Both of these iron sets offer something different. If you want more forgiveness, pick up the Ping i59’s. If you want more distance, the Taylormade P790’s will be your safe harbor.
Ping i59 Irons
Category: Player’s Performance
Taylormade P790 Irons
Category – Forged Irons
Ping i59 Irons First Impressions
The Ping i59 irons felt good off the deck thanks to a strong aluminum insert that enhances feel while pushing the ball for better speeds.
What we were most surprised at though was the forgiveness of these player’s performance irons. Even though the i59’s are smaller, they are comparably forgiving on off-center shots.
A lot of weight is saved at the center of the heads of these clubs thanks to the super thin aluminum. That weight is displaced around the perimeter so you get more distance on strikes away from the sweet spot.
While you still need to be able to make consistent contact with the ball, you get a lot of help at that point even if you aren’t square up to it.
The Ping i59 irons are a good mixture of forgiveness, distance and short-game control. They don’t feel too bad either.
Taylormade P790 – First Impressions
The first thing to notice about the P790 irons is the compact, forged heads that come in a shape and style that will suit the better players.
Despite the players feel of the irons, they also come packed with technology that will add distance and forgiveness like the Thru Slot speed pocket, speed foam and inverted cone technology which allows more flex on impact.
The forged irons are actually a hollow construction, filled with speed foam which allows much greater distances to be achieved than the original P790’s and the tungsten weighting keeps the CG low for an easy launch for an iron of this type.
The original P790 irons, released in 2017, were definitely for the players but with the remodelling in 2019, these can also be used for mid handicappers looking to test the waters of players irons.
All in all, definitely not for the high handicappers.
Ping i59 Irons Selling Points
- These irons have a superior feel with a forged carbon steel body
- They feel soft on full swings
- Incredibly tight spacing
- The machined grooves provide for excellent control
- Insane MOI for a player’s iron
- Clean muscle back design
P790 Irons – Selling Points
- 2 Tungsten Weights For Low COG
- Co Molded Cavity Badge For No Vibrations
- Lots Of Loft In The Clubs
- Flexible Hinge And Variable Face Thickness
- Forgiving And Consistent
Who are the Ping i59 Irons for?
The Ping i59 irons would be a good fit for anyone looking for a solid combination of forgiveness and greenside control.
This is a very unique set – and for this reason, we feel like the market for them might be rather small. You have to be able to strike the ball consistently with a smaller head but the MOI is ridiculous in these irons.
So they will be great for a smaller niche of players who are probably hovering around the 7, 8 9 handicap range.
The i Family
Of course, the counterpart to the Ping i59 irons are the Ping i210 irons. The bottom line is that the i59 irons have the superior feel and more compact heads.
Ping i59 Irons Final Assessment
Distance: 93/100
Accuracy: 95/100
Forgiveness: 92/100
Feel & Control: 94/100
Overall Score: 94/100
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Who Are The P790 Irons For
The P790 irons will be most effective for the better players and certain mid handicappers who want to work the ball a bit more.
If you are looking for a blend of feel and distance, these are going to be the perfect irons for you.
If you are just starting out in the game, you would be better off with a game improvement iron.
Taylormade P Family Of Irons
The P790 UDI is a driving iron with minimal offset and a straighter top line for incredible distance.
The P790 TI range has more distance and forgiveness built in, so worth a look for those more on the mid handicapper side of the scale.
Distance: 92/100
Accuracy: 95/100
Forgiveness: 89/100
Feel And Control: 96/100
Overall Score: 94/100
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