Rory McIlroy has made major changes to his bag with a new set of irons. Now he reveals the reasons behind his switch.
Rory McIlroy surprised the golf world at the beginning of the year at the TGL by walking onto the course with a completely new set of irons, changing clubs for the first time since 2017. After making some changes to his bag in the fall of 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 switch.
‘If There’s Help, I’ll Definitely Take It’
The Northern Irishman’s shots are usually near-perfect, and even when Rory McIlroy mishits a shot, for most golfers that would be the best shot of their lives. However, in professional golf, centimeters decide between birdie or par, victory or defeat—this fine margin prompted McIlroy’s club change.
“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 opening 66 at the Dubai Invitational. “Even late last year in Dubai, I hit a few 5-irons slightly off-center, and instead of coming up maybe five or seven yards short, they came up 10 to 15 yards short.”
TaylorMade Creates Custom Clubs for Rory McIlroy
TaylorMade crafted him a custom set of P7CB irons featuring a similar leading edge to his P760 long irons – in addition to his regular 4-iron, he also uses P760 2- and 3-irons in utility form. The 4-, 5-, and 6-irons from this set were used in last month’s opening rounds of the Australian Open, 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 cut through the grass 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 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 levels of golf. More pros are moving away from blades in favor of more forgiving cavity-backs. Thanks to new technologies, despite their forgiving designs, these clubs do not sacrifice length and maintain spin even on imperfect strikes. While these new clubs may not necessarily add strokes, they help produce better misses — often the decisive factor between winning and losing.