Rory McIlroy has made major changes to his bag, switching to a new set of irons. He now explains the reasons behind his switch.
Rory McIlroy surprised the golf world at the start of the year during the TGL when he appeared with a completely new set of irons, changing them for the first time since 2017. After already making some adjustments to his bag in fall 2025, only his putter and 4-iron from his Augusta triumph remain. At his season opener in Dubai, he now spoke about the reasons and thoughts behind his switch.
‘If There’s Help, I’ll Definitely Take It’
The shots of the Northern Irishman nearly always land perfectly, and even when Rory McIlroy misses a shot, for most golfers, these would still be their best shots ever. But in professional golf, centimeters decide birdie or par, win or loss, and these small differences led McIlroy to change his clubs.
“If there’s help to be had, I’ll definitely take it. I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” McIlroy said on Thursday after his 66 in the opening round at the Dubai Invitational. “And even in Dubai at the end of last year, I hit some 5-irons slightly off-center, and instead of coming up 5 or 7 yards short, they were 10 to 15 yards short.”
TaylorMade’s Custom Clubs for Rory McIlroy
TaylorMade crafted a custom set of P7CB irons for him with a similar leading edge to his P760 long irons – in addition to 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 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 during the weekend. “On the firm turf down there, I felt these irons passed through the turf better than blades,” he said. “And since then I’ve been practicing with them at home.”
McIlroy also played with a new, not yet released 2026 TaylorMade TP Proto golf ball. He debuted the new setup last week, kept his P760 4-iron, and played with the irons officially this week in Dubai.
The Trend Towards More Forgiving Irons
The switch to more forgiving P7CB irons continues a trend increasingly seen at the highest level of golf. More and more