The Iron Set That Won't Die

A six-year-old iron set is outperforming most current-generation iron sets from competing brands on trade-in value retention.

That's the TaylorMade P790, and it's the cleanest single-model story in our 2025 trade-in dataset.

For fitters and pro shops, this matters in practice. When a member walks into a fitting with P790s of any vintage, the trade-in math is meaningfully different from any other iron set on the floor. Recognizing that changes the conversation, the credit calculation, and how the upgrade is framed.

What the data shows

Across 50,000+ trade-in transactions from 600 facilities in 2025, the P790 stands alone in its category.

The 2019 P790, six years old at the time of our reporting, accounted for 7.19% of total value in the 6-to-10-year old iron set cohort, on just 3.98% of count. That's 181% relative value, meaning the model carries roughly 1.8 times its proportional share of trade-in dollars. For context, the comparison models in the same cohort look like this:

• Callaway Rogue (2018): 3.71% value, 3.75% count (proportional, ~99% relative value)

• Ping G410 (2019): 5.02% value, 2.78% count (strong retention)

• Titleist 718 AP3 (2017): 3.39% value, 2.56% count

• Mizuno JPX 900 Hot Metal (2016): 1.58% value, 1.59% count

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A P790 from the 6-to-10-year cohort outperforms most current-generation iron sets from competing brands on trade-in value retention. That's not normal. Most iron sets that old are deep in the depreciation curve and contribute marginal dollars to an upgrade conversation. The P790 contributes real ones.

The pattern holds at the front of the cycle too. The 2023 P790 leads the newest iron set cohort with 9.94% of value on 6.61% of count, which is the highest single-model figure in that window. It's not just that older P790s hold value. New P790s capture more value per unit than any other current-generation iron set in the dataset.

Why this matters at the fitting

Most fitters treat all iron set trade-ins roughly the same way. The conversation centers on age, condition, and brand desirability, and the trade-in number comes back from the portal accordingly.

P790 owners require a different conversation, because the data behind their trade-in is structurally different.

A member walking in with 2019 P790s is not in the same position as a member walking in with 2018 Callaway Rogues, even though both sets sit in the same cohort window and both are well-maintained. The Rogue owner's trade-in math is proportional to volume. The P790 owner's trade-in math is 181% of proportional, meaning the credit will be meaningfully higher than the surface-level comparison suggests.

The operational implication: when a P790 trade-in value comes back, lead with it rather than with the upgrade pitch. The credit value will likely surprise the member in a positive direction, and that credit becomes the foundation of the upgrade conversation rather than the afterthought.

For a 2023 P790 owner, the same logic applies even more strongly. The 2023 model leads the newest iron set cohort in our dataset on both value and count. If they're considering an upgrade, the trade-in math justifies it on its own.

What this means for the conversation

None of this requires your staff to memorize model years or study residual curves. The portal does that work. A member's irons get entered, the trade-in value comes back, and for P790s that value is consistently strong across generations. The portal even displays a photo of each item, so the member can confirm the match during the quote and the staff member can confirm it again at drop-off. No one has to tell a 2019 P790 from a 2021 by sight.

What matters is what happens next. When the number comes back higher than the member expected, that's the moment the upgrade conversation opens on its own. The credit is the hook. A fitter doesn't need to sell the P790's value; the member sees it the moment the quote populates. The only move is to let the strong number lead, rather than treating the trade-in as paperwork at the end of the sale.

What this tells us about the category

The P790 is the exception that proves the rule. Most iron sets behave like depreciating assets.

The P790 behaves like a blue-chip holding, with value that holds across generations and a current-generation model that captures outsized value per unit.

For fitters, that's a specific operational signal. For the broader category, it's a reminder that the trade-in conversation isn't generic. Some models reward the member for waiting. Most don't. Knowing which is which is the difference between a fitting that closes on momentum and one that closes on math.