Rory McIlroy has made major changes to his bag and is playing a new set of irons. Now, he explains the reasons behind his 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 iron change since 2017. After making some modifications to his bag in autumn 2025, now only his putter and 4-iron remain from his Augusta triumph. At his season start in Dubai, he spoke about the reasons and thoughts behind his switch.
\”If There’s Help to Be Had, I’ll Definitely Take It\”
The Northern Irishman’s shots are almost always near perfect, and even when Rory McIlroy mishits a ball, for most it would still be one of their best shots ever. But in professional golf, centimeters decide between birdie or par, victory or defeat, and these small margins have now driven McIlroy to change his clubs.
\”If there’s help to be had, I will definitely take it. I’ve been thinking about it for a while,\” McIlroy said Thursday after his 66-opening round at the Dubai Invitational. \”Even in Dubai late 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 Provides Custom P7CB Irons for Rory McIlroy
TaylorMade crafted him a custom set of P7CB irons with a similar leading edge to his P760 long irons – alongside his regular 4-iron, he also has P760 2- and 3-irons in utility configuration. The 4-, 5-, and 6-irons from this set were used in the opening rounds of the Australian Open last month and impressed him so much that he also used the 7-, 8-, and 9-irons over the weekend. \”On the firm turf there down under, I felt these irons better cut through the turf than the blades,\” he said. \”And since then, I have been practicing with them at home.\”
McIlroy also played with a new, yet unreleased 2026 TaylorMade TP Proto golf ball. He debuted the new setup last week, kept his P760 4-iron, and officially played with the irons in Dubai this week.
The Trend Towards More Forgiving Irons
The switch to more forgiving P7CB irons continues a trend increasingly observed at the highest levels of golf. More and more pros are moving away from blades in favor