Rory McIlroy has made major changes to his bag, switching to a new set of irons. Now he reveals the reasons behind his decision.
Rory McIlroy surprised the golf world at the start of the year at the TGL by playing a completely new set of irons, marking his first iron change since 2017. After already making some adjustments in his bag in autumn 2025, now 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 equipment change.
‘If There’s Help, I’ll Definitely Take It’
The Northern Irishman’s shots are usually nearly perfect, and even when he mis-hits a ball, for most players those would still be their best shots of their lives. But at the professional level, centimeters decide between birdie or par, win or loss, and it is precisely these small differences that led McIlroy to change his irons.
“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 round at the Dubai Invitational. “Even in Dubai at the end of last year, I hit a few 5-irons slightly off, and instead of coming up maybe five or seven yards short, they were more like 10 to 15 yards short.”
TaylorMade Crafts Custom Irons for Rory McIlroy
TaylorMade made 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 has P760 2- and 3-irons in utility form. The 4, 5, and 6 irons from this set were used last month during the opening rounds of the Australian Open, and he liked them so much that he played the 7, 8, and 9 irons on the weekend as well. “On the firm turf down there, I felt these irons went through the grass better than blades,” he said. “And since then, I have been training 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 used the new irons this week in Dubai.
The Trend Towards More Forgiving Irons
The switch to more forgiving P7CB irons continues a trend increasingly observed 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 maintain distance and do not lose much spin even on imperfect hits despite their forgiving design. While these new irons might not add more shots to McIlroy’s game, they do create better errors,