Rory McIlroy has made major changes to his bag with a new set of irons and now explains the reasons behind his switch.
Rory McIlroy surprised the golf world at the start of the year at the TGL by playing a completely new set of irons, changing them for the first time since 2017. After making some changes to his bag already in autumn 2025, only his putter and 4-iron remain from his Augusta triumph. At his season start in Dubai, he now spoke about the reasons and thoughts behind his switch.
\”If There’s Help, I’ll Definitely Take It\”
The shots of the Northern Irishman usually land nearly perfectly, and even when Rory McIlroy mishits a ball, for most these would still be the best shots of their lives. But in the pro circuit, centimeters decide between birdie or par, victory or defeat, and these small differences have led McIlroy to change his 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 a few 5-irons that I struck slightly poorly, and instead of coming up maybe five or seven yards short, they came up 10 to 15 yards short.\”
TaylorMade’s Custom Clubs for Rory McIlroy
TaylorMade manufactured a custom set of P7CB irons for him 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 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 grass better than the blades,\” he said. \”Since then, I’ve been practicing with them at home.\”
McIlroy also played with a new, not yet released 2026 TaylorMade TP Proto golf ball. He debuted the new setup last week, kept his P760 4-iron, and officially played with the irons this week in Dubai.
The Trend Toward 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 professionals are moving away from blades in favor of more forgiving cavity-backs. Thanks to new technologies, these clubs do not sacrifice distance despite their forgiving design and retain good spin even on imperfect shots. While the new clubs won’t necessarily add more yards for McIlroy, they will help him make better mistakes, which