Rory McIlroy has made significant changes to his bag, switching to a new set of irons. Now he explains the reasons behind his change.
Rory McIlroy surprised the golf world at the start of the year at the TGL as he appeared with a completely new set of irons, marking his first iron change since 2017. After making some changes to his bag in autumn 2025, only his putter and 4-iron from his Augusta victory remain. At his season opener in Dubai, he now spoke about the reasons and thoughts behind his change.
\”If There’s Help, I’ll Definitely Take It\”
The Northern Irishman usually hits nearly perfect shots, and even when he mishits, these shots would still be the best of many amateurs’ lives. However, on the professional level, centimeters decide between birdie or par, win or loss, and these small differences have prompted McIlroy to change his clubs.
\”If there’s help, I’ll definitely take it. I’ve been thinking about it for a while,\” McIlroy said after his opening 66 at the Dubai Invitational on Thursday. \”Even in Dubai late last year, I hit some 5-irons slightly off, and instead of coming up maybe five or seven yards short, they came up 10 to 15 yards short.\”
TaylorMade Custom Clubs for Rory McIlroy
TaylorMade made him a custom set of P7CB irons with a similar leading edge as his P760 long irons – alongside his regular 4-iron, he also has P760 2- and 3-irons in utility form. The 4th, 5th, and 6th irons from this set were used in the opening rounds of the Australian Open last month, and he liked them so much that he also used the 7th, 8th, and 9th irons on the weekend. \”On the firm turf down there, I felt these irons ran through the ground better than the blades,\” he said. \”And since then, I’ve been practicing with them at home.\”
McIlroy also played with a new, unreleased 2026 TaylorMade TP Proto golf ball. He debuted the new setup last week, kept his P760 4-iron, and officially played the irons this week in Dubai.
The Trend Moves Towards More Forgiving Clubs
The switch to the more forgiving P7CB irons continues a trend increasingly observed at the top level of professional golf. More and more pros are moving away from blades in favor of more forgiving cavity-backs. Thanks to new technologies, these clubs do not sacrifice distance despite their forgiving design and retain spin well even on imperfect shots. While the new clubs won’t necessarily add strokes for McIlroy, they will help produce better misses, which can ultimately be the crucial difference between victory and defeat