Rory McIlroy has made major changes to his bag and now plays a new set of irons. 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 change since 2017. After making some changes in his bag in autumn 2025, only his putter and 4-iron from his Augusta triumph 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\”
Most of the shots from the Northern Irishman land almost perfectly, and even when Rory McIlroy mishits a ball, those shots would be the best of most players’ lives. But at the professional level, centimeters decide between birdie and par, victory and defeat – and these small differences have now 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,\” McIlroy said Thursday after his opening round 66 at the Dubai Invitational. \”Even in Dubai late last year, I hit a few 5-irons slightly off, and instead of being maybe five or seven yards short, they were more like 10 to 15 yards short.\”
TaylorMade Crafted Custom Clubs for Rory McIlroy
TaylorMade made him a custom set of P7CBs 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 form. The 4-, 5-, and 6-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 7-, 8-, and 9-irons over 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’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 officially played with the irons this week in Dubai.
The Trend Towards More Forgiving Irons
The switch to the more forgiving P7CB irons continues a trend increasingly seen at the highest levels of golf. More pros are moving away from blades in favor of more forgiving cavity-backs. This is also due to new technologies that, despite their forgiving design, do not compromise on distance and maintain spin even on imperfect hits. These new clubs won’t necessarily add more shots for McIlroy, but they will lead to better mistakes, which