Rory McIlroy has made major changes to his bag, playing a new set of irons. Now he talks about the reasons behind his switch.
Rory McIlroy surprised the golf world at the start of the year at the TGL when 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 win remain. At his season start in Dubai, he spoke about the reasons and thoughts behind his change.
\”If There’s Help, I’ll Definitely Take It\”
McIlroy’s shots are usually near perfect, and even when he mishits a ball, these shots would be some of the best many golfers ever play. However, at the professional level, centimeters can decide between birdie and par, victory or defeat, and these small differences prompted McIlroy to change clubs.
\”If there’s help to be had, I’ll definitely take it. I’ve been thinking about it for a while,\” 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’s Custom Clubs for Rory McIlroy
TaylorMade built him a custom set of P7CB irons with a similar leading edge to his P760 long irons — in addition to his regular 4-iron, he also uses P760 2- and 3-irons in utility versions. The 4-, 5- and 6-irons from this set were used in last month’s opening rounds of the Australian Open, and he liked them so much that he also used the 7-, 8- and 9-irons during the weekend. \”On the firm turf down there, I felt these irons went through the grass better than the blades,\” he said. \”And since then, I have been practicing with them at home.\”
McIlroy also played with a new, yet unreleased 2026 TaylorMade TP Proto golf ball. He debuted the new setup last week, keeping his P760 4-iron and officially playing the irons 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 pros are moving away from blades in favor of more forgiving cavity-backs. Thanks to new technologies, these clubs retain distance