Low handicaps using p790

Just wondering if there any low handicaps using the p790 and what are their thoughts on them? Cheers

I’m a +1 using the P790 3-PW for a year now. Love the 3 iron! struggled with yardage and big gaps between some clubs. 7 iron was 165 with AP2’s and with P790’s it went to 185 on trackman. Not giving up with them yet.

good luck!

IMO the P790 is rather unique in that it doesn’t have, or need, a narrow user skill window. Anyone in the 12 handicap or better range can use it successfully. What they do have, which most don’t take into consideration, is a swing speed window. The faster you swing, the greater the gaps you create, particularly with the 7-9 irons. Chris, the poster above, is the classic case on the upper end of the window. My previous irons gave me the classic 150-155 yard 7 iron. The P790 150 club is now a smooth 8, and the descent angle is far greater. It’s a significant advantage.

The other ‘error’ I think is the use of active/distance shafts. You really need to control trajectory, and a stiffer, lower launching model may be required. Something like the AMT series may be useful.

Nothing to do with handicap and everything to do with whether they fit your needs/delivery.

I agree it is do they fit you. Go get a good fitting and then if they fit you will have great success with them.

Don’t know what you consider low but I’m a +5 and really liked the look and idea behind the 790s. Had a really short poor fitting and after 8 rounds I switch back to my 770s. Had some trouble fitting distances in with my wedges. Also would get a handful of “flyers” that would sail 10-15 yards long, assuming I was catching it high on the face and spinning way to little but never had that problem with my last set of irons. If you properly get fit and need the distance they’re great though, imo

While I am not a plus, again, now sure how low you are looking for. I finished the season at a 7 and ball striking is one of my strengths. Putting holds me back, common I know, but it’s the truth.

I was fitted for the new 790s late August and have probably 25 rounds with them so far. The right shaft fit is what makes or breaks this set. Sure, I gained a club of distance but I am fairly certain that is due to the loft of the club more than anything. For example, I was in an off the rack Titleist 718 CB. The 7 iron in that set was 35 degrees and flew 175 for me. My 8 iron is now 35 degrees and it flies the same 175. No so called fliers and I hit my numbers. When I hit a green I get a perfect one hop and stop. It’s a great set.

If you are a low spin player, you may very well not get along with the p790 no matter what shaft you use. I am a low handicap high spin player so the p790's work great for me.

While he is far from relevant on tour anymore, Mike Weir used the 2017 model in his most recent WITB. Sure he doesn't have the game for the PGA Tour anymore but I would strongly bet he is still a + handicap. All of that talent (major winner, multiple PGA winner) doesn't just float away overnight unless something very critical goes wrong in the swing or psyche.
But at the end of the day @neath2nd all that matters is if they fit you. These player's distance irons get a bad wrap by a lot people on here because of supposedly low spin fliers (even a couple examples here in this thread). These are designed for players who add dynamic loft and as a result have excess spin, launch, and height. They are not designed for the player that plays off a 31* 6iron who still hits that thing 180 carry because they deloft it a ton (i.e. Adam Scott, Tiger Woods levels of delofting at impact). I've fit numerious handicap players into P790s, no scratch or better yet as they TYPICALLY are a little big for their liking. However, these are for sure the hottest irons in junior golf right now, I literally can't think of a junior I didn't fit into these or something similar over the last few years...all of them LOVING them as well, they can't stop raving about how good they are. These are also players who have some serious speed as well. Some notables are a young lady who was 96mph on her 6i all the way to some older gentlemen who slice the ball 25 yards on average, both can't thank me enough for recommending them and played some of the best golf they have ever done with them...so they can fit whomever they need to fit for sure, regardless of speed and talent

I'm a 6. Long hitter and have been using player distance irons for a while (tour burner, then CF16). Thought I'd give tour cavity back irons a try for a season and went to '18 X forged. Absolutely hated them mainly because I lost my distance advantage, and I had to practice a lot more to hit them solid, and I wasn't hitting nearly as many greens as I used to. Switched to 2019 p790s a few months ago and absolutely love em. Yardage gaps are fairly large and the faces are hot so you need to learn to control the distance and trajectory, but with the right shafts it's been no problem for me.

My distances for reference (4-PW): 225/210/195/180/165/150/135

Owned them briefly and the 105 shaft and wider soles didn't work for me.

Have hoovered between +3 and (currently) 0 ... ball striking has always been a strength. Started playing them in the Spring of '18 - was lured by the distance (albeit most of it by the stronger lofts) and the fact that I don't play and practice as much anymore so the extra forgiveness was nice. Did not get fit for them. Have played Titleist CB's in some form or fashion forever.

I never really struggled with the fliers that others have stated. I certainly didnt have as good of distance control with these but I never ran into the 8 iron that flew 20 yards over the green or anything. Always had plenty of spin and stopping power on the greens too.

My biggest issue was turf interaction. I tested them on mats (my stupidity) and never got comfortable with the way they went through the ground. Much wider sole than I was used to playing. Contact especially with the short irons suffered as a result. I am more of a 'picker' but as I took more divot with a short iron I did not like the interaction and feel of contact. 4 iron through 7 or 8 iron was awesome as I didnt really take much of a divot with those clubs.

Ended up trading them in halfway through this year and went back to my old Titleist 714cb's and have been happy ever since. Loved the concept but I wish I tested them outside (or waited until the P760 came out although I have never hit those).

Certainly not the worst irons I've ever hit, they just didn't work for me.

I'm currently a 5 and would consider myself a long hitter of the golf ball with a high spin rate. I have the PX LZ 6.5 in them. It took me a solid 3-4 months to get used to the distance but I am comfortable now (have had them for just over a year now). I do have one significant gap in my bag between my PW (150y) and 50* (125y, although more like 130y lately). I think I plan on fixing this by weakening the PW to 45* (from 44*) and switching to a 48* Vokey.

I do absolutely love the long irons (the 4i is a 210y club for me). If I didn't have so much $ invested in them I would consider switching out the shorter irons to something else.

Reality is that a low handicapper can play basically anything on the market. It comes down to individual preference and performance. I can hit a "shovel" or a blade or anything in between. The differences will be ball flight, spin, carry distance, dispersion and total distance (maybe I missed a couple of factors). Of course, if you feel you need to work the ball, certain head designs will help with that or hinder that. I haven't hit the P790 but have heard good things about them. During a recent iron fitting, I thought I wanted the P790. But, after trying a variety of heads I asked "Why not the P790?". The fitter indicated it wouldn't get the results we were looking for.

Hit the P790 and others and see what works best.

I have played the p790's for the past 2 seasons and I have really liked them. In fact, this past season was my best golfing season to date. I had more rounds in the 70's than ever before and had my first round in the 60's. I haven't had any flyer issues and will keep these irons in the bag for this coming season as well. I haven't played a set of irons for 3 seasons in a row, in a very long time, so that means something, at least for me.

Im a 3.4 index and have the 790's and love them. I was properly fit and the ball flight and distances are consistent through out the set. When I got the 790's as they released i was a 6.8 index. After two seasons and working with them I have shaved 3 strokes. I recently purchased the 2019 790's so I can have a bag that stays at home and a bag that I travel with. They wont be leaving my bag anytime soon. IMO they live up to the hype and are not just for mid to high handicaps.

... For quite awhile now I have thought the best all around irons for better players was the Cobra Amp Forged/Fly Z+/Forged Tours. They just check every box with a thin topline, excellent sole, beautiful look at address and pretty dammed forgiving for a Players Iron. Some of the WRX Golf Fashionista's poo poo'ed the original Amp Forged because the cavity was pretty in your face with orange accents and two visible weights in the sole giving them a KMart look. When I saw them on Demo Day at the PGA Show I had to laugh and thought these will never compete with AP2's. This is one of the reasons I LOVE Demo Day because I was so wrong. Better than AP2's in every way with a better shape at address, thinner topline, a little more forgiving and a much better feel. I fell in love on the spot and played every generation since. I just could not imagine a better all around players iron until I hit the P790's.

... At 64yrs old and in good shape I was not quite ready for a Distance Iron so the P790's were not on my radar. But they looked just about perfect to my eye at address and they really nailed the short irons where I find many OEMs struggle a little. So what the heck, I hit them for fun and was blown away by their performance. For a multi material, hollow headed iron they felt very good, just a notch below a fully forged iron. The higher trajectory with slightly reduced spin produced a perfect trajectory for windy Chicago and of course they were longer by 1/2 club compared to my Forged Tours. But what really impressed me was the forgiveness, especially in the long irons. Two back surgeries in the 90's means constant stiffness in my back with some days unaffected and others a struggle. On my good days MB's are not a problem but on my bad back days I tend to hit the ball a little thin and toward the toe and this is one area where the P790's really shine. Many of you have heard me say this before but I am a firm believer that everyone should play the most forgiving irons they can effectively play, which means different things to different players depending on ball striking and trajectory control. For me, that iron is the P790 because they gives me everything I want as a + index player and everything I need when I'm having a bad day. I left my 4 iron as is but bent my 5-pw 1* weak which helps with gapping and as an added bonus reduced the offset, which was minimal to begin with.

... I will say last year in Phoenix I found the P790's were not holding greens in the wind on a few desert courses with very hard and fast greens I played, where they rarely showed a slight dent let alone an actual ball mark. Now out of over 40 courses I played, there were only a couple, but they were ones I played the most so I picked up a set of P760's to use on those courses and ended up playing them the rest of the season on all the courses. Coming back to Chicago in the late spring I went back to my P790's. The reduced spin make these the best wind irons I have played and if you have the skill, knockdowns can be a staple into the wind. Long story short I picked up a set of 2019 P790's. I will take both sets to Phoenix this winter and try the new 790's with Steelfiber 95's instead of Recoil Proto 95's to see if they produce a hair more spin. If not I will use the 760's on the few hard and fast courses and the 790's on all others. I would also obligatorily add I have never experienced a flier from a good lie with the 790s but then again I have never seen a Mermaid or a Unicorn either.

I game a blend of P770s with the OG 790 5/6 for some added forgiveness for the 165-180 shots. Bent them 2d weak gapping is peachy.

I bought my P770s 2 weeks before the P790 was introduced. Had the P790s been out, I likely would have gotten them vs the P770. Sure the P770s are softer but lets be honest with ones assessment of their game, and making the bad shots less bad helps the handicap go down for little ole me.

Having spent 2 years playing with other clubs at demo days I am personally a big fan of blending sets for maximum performance and forgiveness and the P790 blends great just like T series, MP series, Srixon etc... Play 'em all, or blend as you like. Choices are good :D

I couldn't agree more! I'm a +3 and when I tried the P790 I would catch fliers out of the middle of the fairway so I went back to my P770 and my iron game came right back. Now I play the P760's which I love and are forgiving, but with consistent yardages.

I have several buds who have switched to p790’s. A 2 index, 3 index, a 5, 7 and a 12 (who says he is a 7). All of them love these irons.

The 2 hits his 8i 185 while I am hitting my 6i. Worst part about it the par 5 where this happens is surrounded by overhanging trees and branches. I have to keep the 6i under the limbs while his 8i goes up and above all the trees, completely disapears from view and falls out of the sky onto the green for eagle.

I have hit these irons of theirs many times. They are impressive, but they do have some flaws like mentioned above. All of these guys get fliers or hot spots. Most of them won’t admit its their precious p790’s but the 2i does and he gets extremly upset.

But they also have issues from Gap wedge to PW. 150+ pw to a 120- gap wedge. So just as mentioned above or like what Titleist did in AP1’s they need a 48* gap wedge. As scary as that is. Here is the other BIG issue. The sweet spots wear extremly fast on 790’s. Like faster than the old Titliest 710-712 CB’s. Still exceptional irons just as the Titliest were. But will be ugly and feel cheap only upsetting perspective buyers or new owners. I have already seen wear spots on almost all of these guys mid irons and its only been 2-3 seasons with 60-80 rounds a year.

But as also mentioned, correct fitting and practice will help. Combo sets are even better because even the Titliest TMB’s and PXG’s have the same issues. Fully forged mid-low irons will wear much slower.

All and all an amazing iron and huge step forward in technology. Funny too because that “speed foam” is simply the gue TM was putting into their sneakers. Its a super cheap polymer rubber hat TM had millions of extra pounds of.

Thanks and best of luck. I have a set of Ping iBlades and i500’s being built. Hope its a nice fit like these would be.

Love them so far, extra disctane even bent back to a bit more "normal" is considerable. Knowing wedge distances makes all the difference in the world, and eliminates so called "gapping issues". I'd rather be 100yds in vs 150 so no issue for me. We all hit fliers, but no one has talked about the misses that go 20 yards short with all clubs, let's be honest. It's not the club in most cases.

Get fitted and see what you are most comfortable with.

While not a low handicapper, I'll echo whats on here. Fliers on the scoring irons was an issue, switched out to the P760 in 8, 9, PW. Solved the flier issue, but a very different club, have to consciously adapt.

If a club works for you then why not use it? P790 was a huge seller and probably still is. It checks a lot of boxes for the golfers out there

definitley a great feeling/ looking iron set. Would just find myself scratching my head a couple times a round wondering why I flew an 8 iron 15 yards over the green when it felt like a good shot. Obviously it’s me as the golfer and has everything to do with strike but with my 770’s if I sailed 15 yards past the green it’s because I hit a terrible shot and bladed it.