Rory McIlroy has made major changes to his bag and now plays with a new set of irons. He shares the reasons behind his switch.
Rory McIlroy surprised the golf world at the beginning of the year during the TGL by playing a completely new set of irons, marking his first 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 start in Dubai, he spoke about the reasons and thoughts behind his switch.
‘If There’s Help to Be Had, I’ll Definitely Take It’
The Northern Irishman usually hits near-perfect shots, and even when Rory McIlroy mishits a ball, those shots would still be the best many golfers ever play. However, at the professional level, centimeters decide between birdie or par, victory or defeat, and it is exactly these small margins that have prompted McIlroy’s club change.
‘If there’s help to be had, I’ll definitely take it. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now,’ McIlroy said Thursday after his opening 66 at the Dubai Invitational. ‘Even in Dubai late last year, I hit a few 5-irons slightly off, and instead of coming up five or seven yards short, they were more like 10 to 15 yards short.’
TaylorMade Crafts Custom Clubs for Rory McIlroy
TaylorMade created a custom set of P7CB irons for him with a similar leading edge to his P760 long irons – alongside his regular 4-iron, he also has P760 2- and 3-irons in utility versions. The 4th, 5th, and 6th irons from this set were used last month in the opening rounds of the Australian Open and impressed him so much that he also used the 7th, 8th, and 9th irons over the weekend. ‘On the firm turf down there, I felt these irons cut through the grass better than blades,’ he said. ‘Since then I’ve practiced with them at home.’
McIlroy also played with a new, unreleased 2026 TaylorMade TP Proto golf ball. He debuted the new setup last week, keeping his P760 4-iron, and officially played the irons this week in Dubai.
The Trend Toward More Forgiving Irons
The switch to more forgiving P7CB irons continues a trend increasingly seen at the highest levels of golf. More and more pros choose cavity-back irons over blades. Thanks to new technologies, these clubs offer forgiveness without sacrificing distance or spin control on less-than-perfect strikes. While the new irons may not necessarily add strokes to McIlroy’s game, they help him make better mistakes, which can ultimately be the difference between winning and losing.