TaylorMade P790 vs
Srixon ZXi7

The 2025 P790 dramatically improved feel over the 2023 model with the new 4340M forged face, but it’s still a hollow-body iron. The sensation is explosive and fast — you know when you hit it well — but the feedback is about speed rather than the tactile purity of a single-piece forging.

The i-FORGED S15C steel with expanded PureFrame delivers what multiple reviewers independently called the best feel in the player’s iron category. Today’s Golfer described it as ‘oh-so-soft.’ GolfMagic said the ball felt like it was ‘melting into the club.’ This is the ZXi7’s signature advantage.

SpeedFoam Air and tungsten weighting create a 24% larger sweet spot compared to the 2023 model. Off-center distance retention is best-in-class for a player’s iron — mishits still carry close to pure strikes. The hollow-body construction provides a structural forgiveness advantage that compact cavity backs can’t match.

Surprisingly forgiving for a compact cavity back — MyGolfSpy rated it best for forgiveness among player’s irons tested. Tungsten toe weighting helps on off-center strikes. But the single-piece forged construction simply can’t match the P790’s hollow-body sweet spot expansion.

The thinnest-ever face generates explosive ball speeds that consistently measure 2–3 mph faster than the competition. This is the longest player’s iron on the market. The SpeedFoam Air hollow-body design maximizes COR across the entire face, and the strong-but-reasonable lofts (30° 7-iron) add carry without going to game-improvement territory.

MyGolfSpy ranked the ZXi7 seventh for distance among player’s irons. The traditional 32° 7-iron loft prioritizes precision over raw yardage. Golfers switching from the P790 will notice meaningfully less carry — this is a precision instrument, not a distance machine.

The hot face can make delicate distance control harder — the ball tends to come out fast regardless of input. Shot shaping is possible but the P790 rewards power swings more than finesse swings. The hollow-body design prioritizes speed consistency over the nuanced feedback that shot-shapers rely on.

The compact muscle-back cavity construction responds precisely to shot-shaping inputs. Draws, fades, and trajectory manipulation feel natural and predictable. Multiple sources described it as a shotmaker’s iron that gives low handicappers the control they expect. The traditional lofts help with distance gapping on shaped shots.

The 2025 P790 has improved significantly with the Tour Satin Scratch finish and slimmer topline. It looks like a player’s iron despite hiding game-improvement technology inside. Very good — but the slightly thicker topline and marginally more offset are visible at address next to a true compact cavity back.

Thin topline, minimal offset, short blade length, and a refined muscle-back cavity earned near-universal praise. MyGolfSpy’s testing pool rated it best for looks among all player’s irons tested. Plugged In Golf called them ‘beautiful, clean, and minimal.’ This is what a player’s iron should look like at address.

At $1,199 for a 6-piece steel set, the P790 is $100 cheaper than the ZXi7 while delivering superior distance and forgiveness. It also carries the higher consensus score (9.5 vs 9.4). The combination of lower price, more distance, and more forgiveness makes the value equation favor TaylorMade.

At $1,299 for a 7-piece steel set (4-PW), the ZXi7 includes one more club in the standard set. MyGolfSpy’s #1 ranking validates the investment. But the $100 premium over the P790 is hard to justify on pure performance metrics — you’re paying for feel, aesthetics, and precision craftsmanship.