Rory McIlroy has made major changes to his bag and is playing a new set of irons. He now reveals the reasons behind his switch.
Rory McIlroy surprised the golf world early this year at the TGL when he arrived with a completely new set of irons, marking his first change since 2017. After already making some adjustments to his bag in autumn 2025, only his putter and 4-iron from his Augusta triumph remain. At his season start in Dubai, he now spoke about the reasons and thoughts behind his change.
\”If There Is Help, I’ll Definitely Take It\”
The shots of the Northern Irishman are usually near perfect, and even when Rory McIlroy mishits a ball, it would still be the best shot for most players. Yet in professional golf, centimeters decide birdie or par, victory or defeat, and it is these small differences that have driven McIlroy to change clubs.
“If there is help, I will definitely take it. I’ve been thinking about this for a while now,” McIlroy said Thursday after his opening round 66 at the Dubai Invitational. “Even late last year in Dubai, I hit a few 5-irons that I slightly mishit, and instead of coming up maybe five or seven yards short, they were more like 10 to 15 yards short.”
TaylorMade Provides Custom Clubs for Rory McIlroy
TaylorMade crafted 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 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, 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 Irons
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. Thanks