50 Words or Less
The TaylorMade P7CB irons have beautiful looks in the bag and at address. Traditional, forged feel that rewards pure strikes. Great shot control with moderate forgiveness.
Introduction
The most popular TaylorMade irons are designed for the recreational player. Irons like the P790 [review HERE] are among the best sellers for the distance and forgiveness they offer to players who need a little more help. But TaylorMade is no slouch when it comes to serving their Tour staff and the highly skilled amateurs, and you can expect to see the new TaylorMade P7CB irons picking up wins at all levels of golf in the coming years.
Looks
In the bag, the 2024 TaylorMade P7CB irons have some similarities to the most recent P7MC [review HERE], but the new matte finish makes them aesthetically distinct, and, in my opinion, better. The pronounced milled lines inside the cavity are still present, but on the P7CB they run horizontally across the entire cavity, only interrupted by a solid, centered trapezoid. All the branding is pushed to the periphery with the TaylorMade T on the toe and the P7CB tucked along the top of the cavity. In the bag, I think this is one of the best looking TaylorMade irons in recent years.
At address, the TaylorMade P7CB has all the hallmarks of a players iron. The top lines are thin, there’s very little offset, and the blade length is compact. My favorite thing about this set is the shape of face. These are more angular than similar sets from other makers, which I prefer. There is some progression through the set, but even the pitching wedge (above, right) has only a gently rounded leading edge.
Comparing the TaylorMade P7CB irons (above and below, right) to the new TaylorMade P770 [review HERE], the P770 is a touch larger. The top line of the P7CB is a hair thinner, though you might only be able to see this when the two irons are side by side. Similarly, the blade length of the P7CB is a bit shorter.
The more noticeable difference is that the sole of the P7CB is about 1/8″ thinner than the P770. That gap is consistent from 4I through PW.
Sound & Feel
Created with TaylorMade’s Compact Grain Forging process, the P7CB irons deliver the traditional forged feel that skilled players expect. When the 1025 carbon steel meets a urethane-covered golf ball, you get the feeling of connection all the way to your core. On center, these irons are very soft and sweet. Perfect shots have that addictive quality that keeps you hitting ball after ball.
The sound of the TaylorMade P7CB irons is quiet and traditional. There’s just enough response to rate them a “click” rather than a dull “thud.”
Feedback from the P7CB irons is precise and unequivocal, as you should expect from a forged players iron. Through your hands, you’ll get a clear sense of the impact location. If that impact location is too far from the center, the feel firms up noticeably. Bigger misses are also scolded with a louder, cranky impact sound.
Performance
Reading through the bullet points on the TaylorMade P7CB irons, you should get a clear message. There are no fancy tech buzzwords, no promises of more distance, and not a single use of the word “forgiveness.” You will find numerous mentions of “Tour” and words like “precision.” TM wants you to understand that these are Tour-style players irons designed for skilled ball strikers who want full control of their approach shots.
While these are designed for lower handicap players, I don’t want to underplay the forgiveness. While not comparable to the aforementioned P790, the classic cavity back design provides more forgiveness than you might expect. There’s also a co-forged tungsten weight that provides extra stability. Small misses will still find a corner of the green, and there’s enough weight low in the head to elevate a slightly thin strike. The big misses can get pretty ugly, but you don’t need to be perfect to get a good result. Overall, I think TaylorMade’s classification of “Low-Mid” forgiveness for these irons is spot on.
The more classic loft structure and traditional construction give the TaylorMade P7CB irons launch and spin that are mid to mid-high, about average for this style of club. Compared to the P770, the lofts are just a hair weaker, so combo sets are easy to put together. Looking at TaylorMade’s true blades, the P7MB [review HERE] and P7TW [review HERE], the P7CB’s lofts are about two degrees stronger throughout. You can still create a combo set with the blades and the P7CB, but you’ll likely need to do a little bending to create consistent distance gaps.
While all the talk of lofts and launch and spin is fine, let’s not miss the forest for the trees. The reason to bag the TaylorMade P7CB irons is shot control. With these irons, you can manipulate trajectory with ease. There’s ample spin to shape controlled fades and draws. You’ll never see the “jumper” that goes 10 yards beyond your number, and you’ll have the ability to take off yardage when the situation calls for it. If you want an iron that will allow precise approach shots, this is it.
Conclusion
The TaylorMade P7CB irons are a great set for the skilled or aspiring player looking to take full control of their approach shots. While the forgiveness shouldn’t be overlooked, the stars of the show are the stellar looks, feel, and the ability to hit any shot you can imagine. Make sure to be fit for the right specs and shaft, and you’ll never want to leave the range.
Buy TaylorMade P7CB Irons HERE
2024 TaylorMade P7CB Irons Price & Specs
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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5 Comments
They also offer multiple combo sets with the p770. It’s a pretty nice build up with flexibility as to when to stop the p770 and cross over the the MC
I agree with Matt’s comment that these provide “more forgiveness than you might expect.” I demoed the 7 iron recently and was really impressed — I have a full bag of P770s, but think I’ll probably end up going one club at a time into P7CBs, until I hit a point where I start to lose ball speed, height or too much forgiveness.
I will say, the P7CBs launched and flew a touch lower than Cobra King Tours or Ping i230s when I demoed them side-by-side. Not a huge difference — we’re talking about a degree of launch, and a few feet of peak height — but it’s there. That matches my previous experience with TaylorMade irons in this category; for example, I found P7MCs flew a little lower than JPX 921 Tours when both were fairly new.
Hey Matt,
You had high praise for PXG gen 4 0311 st’s and 0317 cb’s with similar comments regarding feel and forgiveness. Including the new P7CB’s, how would you rate these starting with what would go in your bag. I game both the aforementioned PXG’s preferring the st’s that seem more appealing at address and launch higher in the long irons. Could the new P7CB be the best of both?
Thanks
Eric,
The P7CB is comparable to the 0317 CB for forgiveness. I could easily game either of them.
Best,
Matt
These are gorgeous irons..it is nice to see some forgiveness baked in for is more “aspiring” types. :) The new p770s look great also, but the extra feel potential make these kinds of irons tempting. I play an older set of Honmas for that same reason and enjoy that preworn leading edge many Japanese models have. These look a bit more traditional camber, maybe slightly softened leasing edge? I do like the more satin type finish on these CBs…looks good!