“Give us more forgiveness,” goes the unanimous cry of the world’s top amateur players with regard to irons.
“But don’t compromise on feel and playability!”
It’s a message that’s been received loud and clear by premium manufacturers. But striking that balance is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and no one can fully lay claim to having had that ‘Eureka’ moment just yet.
Well, the manufacturers themselves do, but for critics, the chase continues.
In the latter half of 2017, it has been the turn of TaylorMade to stake their claim with the launch of the P770 irons, a more user-friendly alternative to the P750 Tour Protos (released at the same time). Our job was to determine whether gold had finally been struck…
We reviewed the Taylormade P770 Irons as part of our Best Golf Irons, read more here.
If you already own the Taylormade P770 Irons please leave your review in the customer review box at the end of this article.
Taylormade P770 Irons
Our Assessment
The TaylorMade P770 irons offer a more forgiving alternative to their P750 Tour Proto counterparts, without relinquishing much of their playability.
Boxes such as performance, distance and launch are all comprehensively ticked, while they also retain the compact, stylish look which is essential when targeting better players. However, we felt that there were a couple of flaws, such as control with shorter irons and a lack of subtlety in the cavity backs.
Minor criticisms, perhaps. But at a price of $1,300, expectations are set high, and you hope to be blown away. TaylorMade fanatics will probably cry blue murder, but our take was that, in a competitive niche, we think these irons haven’t done enough to stand out from the crowd – at least in terms of value for money anyway.
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Pros
Cons
Key Facts
Features | Details |
|---|---|
Launch RRP | $1299.00 |
Gender | Men’s |
Handicap Range | Low |
Hand Availability | Right Hand |
Set | 4-PW (3-iron & GW also available) |
Lofts | 20.5° to 51° |
Lie Angle | 60.5° – 64.0° |
Swing Weight | D2/D3 |
Shaft Type and Name | KBS Tour FLT 120 (S/ XS) |
Grip | Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 |
Manufacturer's Website |
Official Video
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Taylormade P770 Irons Detailed Review
Design & Appearance
Let’s call a spade a spade – there isn’t much in it between these and the P750 Tour Proto irons in terms of aesthetics, other than the digits on the badging.
That’s not an insult, as they’re pretty, classy-looking clubs. What’s not to like about the blend of black and silver? The matte finish of the carbon steel adds to the smooth look and feel. I’m also a fan of the reflective chrome lining above the muscle back section.
Two significant differences are in the sole and the top line – both of which are thicker. The length of the blade is also 2mm longer than the 750s, although that takes nothing away from the compact look.
The only thing that nagged at me in this respect was that, even with the long irons, you could catch a glimpse of the cavity back when you put the club down at address.
Understandable for short (or even mid) irons, but it seemed a bit strange for a long iron aimed at better players.
Image Credit: Official Taylormade Image
Build Quality
The TaylorMade P770 irons are manufactured from forged 1025 Carbon Steel, with a cavity back design.
There is a clear split between long and short irons in that the 3-7 irons make use of a “Tungsten Back Bar” on the rear of the sole, which serves to boost MOI and lower the CG. There’s that emphasis on forgiveness! The 8-iron to pitching wedge, however, do not sport this tungsten component.
The irons also make use of progressive offset – 1.6mm in the gap wedge, increasing to 3.6mm in the 3-iron. However, this doesn’t necessarily detract from their position as a blade.
It just fits the profile of a more forgiving, modern-style blade, which still looks very compact at address.
The stock shaft is the KBS Tour FLT 200 (Steel), which, as the name suggests, weighs in at 120g. There’s no way of saying for sure, but it was our take that this lighter shaft played a significant role in upping clubhead speed.
Control & Performance
The aim has been to boost forgiveness, and the P770s are an unqualified success in that regard. With the mid-irons in particular, you’ll feel the more-generous launch, while the ball flies with a comparatively greater trajectory than the 750 Tour Protos.
The offset also helps to give you that extra injection of confidence at address, and there is a considerable amount of forgiveness with off-centre strikes, paving the way for distance control and consistency.
The sound and feel for the most part are quite crisp, albeit slightly dull. The fact that there is a thicker sole adds to the oomph you get, but it doesn’t disrupt the feedback to any great extent.
Despite the added cushion for mishits, you’ll still know about it when you catch it thin.
One criticism we had was with the short irons, which didn’t match the sort of zip and feel we’d hoped for. Not awful, by any means – but there are more playable wedges and/or 8/9 irons out there.
Image Credit: Official Taylormade Image
Value for Money
These are expensive irons, priced at the very top end of the spectrum. The core aim for TaylorMade with these irons has been to strike that ultimate sweetspot between playability and forgiveness, and it would be remiss of us not to acknowledge the advances they have made in this respect.
Clearly, these irons have more buffer in terms of launch and distance consistency with mishits, while still retaining the feel and control you’d expect of a set of irons aimed at low-handicappers.
But the right to ask you to pay more than a grand-and-a-quarter should be contingent upon a certain “wow” factor – a real game-changer in the forgiveness/feel equilibrium.
We believe TaylorMade have fallen short in this regard, and, with that in mind, we believe better value may be found elsewhere.