Rory McIlroy has made major changes to his bag with 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 at the TGL by appearing with 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 opener in Dubai, he spoke about the reasons and thoughts behind his switch.
‘If There’s Help, I’ll Definitely Take It’
The shots of the Northern Irishman usually land nearly perfectly, and even when Rory McIlroy mishits a ball, those shots would still be the best many players ever hit in their lives. But at the professional level, centimeters decide birdies or pars, wins or losses, and these small differences led 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 now,’ McIlroy said Thursday after his 66-opening round at the Dubai Invitational. ‘Even late last year in Dubai, I hit some 5-irons slightly off-center, and instead of coming up maybe five or seven yards short, they came up more like 10 to 15 yards short.’
TaylorMade Provides Custom Clubs for Rory McIlroy
TaylorMade crafted him a custom set of P7CBs with a similar leading edge as his P760 long irons – in addition to his regular 4-iron, he also has P760 2- and 3-irons in utility form. The 4-, 5-, and 6-irons from this set were used last month in the opening rounds of the Australian Open, and he liked them so much that he also used the 7-, 8-, and 9-irons on the weekend. ‘On the firm turf down there, I felt these irons went through the turf better than the blades,’ he said. ‘And since then, I’ve 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, kept his P760 4-iron, and officially played the irons this week in Dubai.
The Trend Toward More Forgiving Clubs
The switch to the more forgiving P7CB irons continues a trend increasingly seen at the highest level of golf. More and more professionals are moving away from blades in favor of more forgiving cavity-b