Rory McIlroy has made major changes to his bag with a new set of irons. He now explains the reasons behind his switch.
Rory McIlroy surprised the golf world at the start of the year at the TGL when he appeared with a completely new set of irons, marking his first switch since 2017. After making some changes to his bag in the fall of 2025, only his putter and 4-iron from his Augusta victory remain. Speaking at his season opener in Dubai, he explained the reasons and thoughts behind his change.
‘If There’s Help, I’ll Definitely Take It’
The Northern Irishman’s shots are almost always near perfect, and even when McIlroy miss-hits a shot, for most players, those would still be the best shots of their lives. But at the professional level, centimeters can decide between birdie or par, victory or defeat—small differences that led McIlroy to switch clubs.
“If there’s help to be had, I will definitely take it. I’ve been thinking about it for some time,” McIlroy said Thursday after his 66 opening round at the Dubai Invitational. “Even in Dubai late last year, I hit several 5-irons slightly off, and instead of coming up maybe five or seven yards short, they came up 10 to 15 yards short.”
TaylorMade’s Custom Irons for Rory McIlroy
TaylorMade crafted 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 uses P760 2- and 3-irons in utility form. The 4-, 5-, and 6-irons from this set were used during 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 turf better than blades,” he said. “And since then, I’ve practiced 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 used the irons this week in Dubai.
The Trend Towards More Forgiving Irons
The switch to more forgiving P7CB irons continues a trend increasingly observed at the highest level of golf. More and more pros are moving away from blades in favor of more forgiving cavity-backs. Thanks to new technology, these clubs do not sacrifice distance despite their forgiving design and also maintain better spin control on off-center hits. While the new clubs might not necessarily gain McIlroy more strokes, they will help him make better mistakes—which can