Rory McIlroy has made significant changes to his bag, now playing a new set of irons. He discusses the reasons behind his switch.
Rory McIlroy surprised the golf world at the beginning of the year at the TGL by playing a completely new set of irons, making this the first change since 2017. After making some adjustments in his bag in late 2025, only his putter and 4-iron from his Augusta win remain. At his season opener in Dubai, he spoke about the reasons and thoughts behind his change.
‘If There’s Help, I’ll Definitely Take It’
The Northern Irishman’s shots usually land nearly perfect, and even when Rory McIlroy misses a shot, these would be the best shots in the lives of most players. However, at the professional level, centimeters decide between birdie or par, victory or defeat, and these small differences led McIlroy to switch 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 at the end of last year, I hit some 5-irons that I caught 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 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 configurations. 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 over the weekend he also used the 7-, 8-, and 9-irons. ‘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, unreleased 2026 TaylorMade TP Proto golf ball. He debuted the new setup last week, kept his P760 4-iron, and officially played those irons in Dubai this week.
The Trend Towards 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 pros are moving away from blades in favor of more forgiving cavity-backs. New technologies ensure these forgiving designs do not lose distance and maintain control even on imperfect shots. While these new clubs might not directly add strokes to McIlroy’s game, they help produce better misses, which can be the difference between winning and losing.