Rory McIlroy has made major changes to his golf bag and is now playing a new set of irons. He explains the reasons behind this switch.
Rory McIlroy surprised the golf world at the start of the year during the TGL when he appeared with a completely new set of irons, marking his first change since 2017. After making some adjustments to his bag in autumn 2025, only his putter and 4-iron from his Augusta victory remained. At his season opener in Dubai, he spoke about the reasons and thoughts behind his switch.
\”If There’s Help to Be Had, I’ll Definitely Take It\”
Almost every shot Rory McIlroy plays lands nearly perfectly, and even when he mishits, those shots would still be the best shots for most players. But at the professional level, centimeters decide birdie or par, victory or defeat, and these small differences have 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,\” 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, and instead of falling 5 or 7 yards short, they were more like 10 to 15 yards short.\”
TaylorMade Crafts Custom-Made Irons for Rory McIlroy
TaylorMade created 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 form. The 4-, 5-, and 6-irons from this set were used in last month’s opening rounds of the Australian Open, and McIlroy liked them so much that he also played the 7-, 8-, and 9-irons over the weekend. \”On the firm turf down there, I felt these irons moved better through the turf than the blades,\” he said. \”And 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 played officially with the irons this week in Dubai.
The Trend Towards More Forgiving Irons
The move to more forgiving P7CB irons continues a trend increasingly seen at the highest level of golf. More and more pros are opting for cavity-back irons over blades due to new