Rory McIlroy has made major changes to his bag, now playing 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 during the TGL event by playing 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 triumph 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’
The Northern Irishman usually lands near-perfect shots, and even when McIlroy mishits a ball, these would still be some of the best shots for most players. However, at the professional level, centimeters can decide birdie or par, victory or defeat. These small differences have now caused McIlroy to switch his clubs.
‘If there’s help, I’ll definitely take it. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now,’ McIlroy said Thursday after his opening 66 at the Dubai Invitational. ‘Even late last year in Dubai, I hit some 5-irons slightly off, and instead of coming up five or seven yards short, they were more like 10 to 15 yards short.’
TaylorMade 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 – alongside his regular 4-iron, he also has P760 2- and 3-irons in utility versions. 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 turf better than blades,’ he said. ‘And since then, I’ve 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 the irons this week in Dubai.
The Trend Towards More Forgiving Clubs
The switch to the more forgiving P7CB irons continues a trend increasingly seen at the highest levels of golf. More and more pros are moving away from blades towards more forgiving cavity-back irons. New technologies ensure that despite their forgiving design, these clubs don’t sacrifice distance nor lose too much spin on imperfect hits. Although the new clubs may not give McIlroy more yards, they will result in better errors, which can be the deciding factor between winning and losing.
<