TaylorMade officially launches new irons, wedges and putters

On Monday, TaylorMade officially launched a slew of new products – some that have already been launched on TOUR, and some that have never been seen before.

Included in this release is a new line of P790 irons, featuring a standard P790 model, a P790 Ti (Titanium) version, and a UDI (“Ultimate Driving Iron”) option. The new P790 UDI clubs were first unveiled at the Open Championship, and players such as Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson have already put them in the bag.

The Milled Grind 2 wedges, which first popped up at the 3M Open and later in Tiger Woods’ bag, are now officially coming to the public, as well. That’s not the only wedge release from TaylorMade today, however. The company has also launched a Milled Grind Hi-Toe “Big Foot” wedge, which is tagged as a game-improvement club.

Lastly, TaylorMade has announced TP Patina putters coming to retail; the line of putters includes three blade models and four mallet models.

Below, we look at each of the new TaylorMade products in depth.

TaylorMade P790, P790 Ti and P790 UDI

The original P790 irons were launched in March of 2018, and what made those irons different was their multi-material constructions. The P790 irons had forged faces, hollow-body constructions that were filled with SpeedFoam, and they had Thru-Slot Speed pockets.

The 2019 P790 irons still have SpeedFoam behind the faces, but a few things have changed. The faces are constructed 7% thinner to increase COR (coefficient of restitution), and 15% more Tungsten was added for a deeper center of gravity (CG). Also, a new Progressive Inverted Cone Technology (PICT) was introduced to help eliminate a right-bias in the long irons of the original P790 designs. The long irons have progressively less offset, and the short irons have a more compact look due to shaved-down scoring lines.

Compared to the original P790 UDI, the 2019 P790 UDI has reduced face thickness in order to increase flexibility of the face and increase ball speeds. Also, CG (center of gravity) placement has been adjusted to increase MOI (moment of inertia).

A new addition to the P790 family is the P790 Ti. As the name suggests, the bodies of the P790 Ti irons are made of Titanium, which TaylorMade says has a high strength-to-weight ratio. By using the Titanium material in the bodies, the company says it was able to increase Tungsten weighting up to 119 grams; the dense Tungsten material is placed in the sole of the head for low CG. TaylorMade says the CG in these irons is the lowest of any P-series irons. The P790 Ti irons also have lighter faces, larger sweet spots, the “most flexible Speed Pocket to date,” and an additional Speed Pocket on the 8-iron for gapping purposes.

The standard P790 irons (3-PW, AW) will sell for $1,399.99 with steel shafts and $1,599.99 in graphite. The P790 UDI irons (2-iron, 17 degrees) will sell for $229 per club, while the P790 Ti irons (4-PW, AW) will sell for $2,799.99 with steel shafts and $2,999.99 with graphite shafts.

The P790 and P790 UDI clubs will hit retail on September 6, and the P790 Ti irons will be available on November 8.

Milled Grind 2 wedges

Like the original Milled Grind wedges, the Milled Grind 2 wedges are CNC-Milled, making the manufacturing tolerances tighter and replicating exact wedge specifications easier. There are a few main differences with the new wedges, however.

First, the faces of the MG2 wedges are raw; TaylorMade says this allows for more precise geometry design and optimized spin and feel. Also, the faces have what the company calls ZTP Raw Grooves that lead to a rougher face surface and deeper, sharper grooves to increase spin.

“Our TOUR Players have long benefited from the performance raw wedges offer, and it’s great to now be able to offer these performance gains to golfers of all levels,” said Bill Price, TaylorMade’s Senior Director of Product Creation Putter and Wedges, in a press release. “We’re confident they will enjoy the look, feel and performance that a raw face has to offer.”

In order to keep new wedges from rusting before purchase, the faces of the Milled Grind wedges come with an adhesive sticker. Since the faces are raw, once that sticker is taken off after purchase, the wedges begin oxidizing and starting the rusting process.

As previously used in the design of its metalwoods and irons, TaylorMade has used “Thick-Thin Head Design” to make its Milled Grind 2 wedges. Using an optimization tool, TaylorMade found having a “thicker backing combined with a thin outer section optimized frequency and duration for the desired sound and feel,” according to a press release. Therefore, TaylorMade increased head thickness from 5.1 mm in the original Milled Grind wedges to to 6.5 mm in the Milled Grind 2 wedges.

The Milled Grind 2 wedges also have a TPU (thermoplastic urethane) insert in the back cavity that acts as a vibration-dampener to enhance sound and feel.

Available in LB (low bounce) and SB (standard bounce) head models, the Milled Grind 2 wedges will hit stores on September 6 selling for $169.99 in two finishes: Satin Chrome and Matte Black.

As part of the new product release, TaylorMade has also introduced a new Hi-Toe “Big Foot” wedge. It is a wedge option that’s designed for game-improvement players who need help in various course conditions and getting out of bunkers. It has a wider sole, a leading edge designed not to dig, and a higher bounce. There’s also added bounce on the toe for those who swing over-the-top. The wedges have “Deep CG pockets” to increase spin and flight control, and these pockets allowed the company to construct the sole wider, according to TaylorMade. The Hi-Toe design helps to raise CG in order to keep launch low and spin high.

The Hi Toe Big Foot wedges (58 and 60 degrees) will sell for $169.99 each starting on September 6.

TaylorMade TP Patina putters

TaylorMade combined properties of Black Nickel and Copper to achieve the “naturally tarnished patina finish,” as the company describes it, of its new TP Patina Collection putters. The new putters also have a thicker aluminum Pure Roll inserts with grooves designed to impart less backspin on the golf ball at impact to improve roll. Screws in the soles help secure the inserts into the putter head to improve feel and reduce air pockets. TP sole weights also allow golfers to control swing weights of the putters, with weights ranging from 2.5 to 20 grams.

The TP Patina putters are available in seven different models: 3 blade options (Soto, Juno and Del Monte) and four mallet options (Ardmore 1, Ardmore 2, Ardmore 3 and DuPage).

The putters will sell for $249.99 each, and they will come stock with SuperStroke Pistol GT 1.0 grips and KBS CT Taper Stepless Chrome putter shafts.