Rory McIlroy expands on ill-fated iron change: "I'm glad I'm back to my blades"

While Rory McIlroy made a number of off-season equipment moves we were expecting, one switch that caught the entire industry off-guard was his decision to switch out his long-beloved Rors Proto irons for a slightly more forgiving set.

McIlroy's TaylorMade blades are among the most famous in golf, made especially for the Northern Irishman back in 2017 and used by the multiple major-winner ever since, meaning many were left stunned when he arrived at the end of last year's DP World Tour season with a new set of TaylorMade P7CB cavity back irons in the bag.

McIlroy spent a few months experimenting with the irons, putting them into play at the Australian Open and keeping them in the bag throughout the Dubai Invitational and Dubai Desert Classic. However the experiment proved short lived, as he switched back into his old clubs to kick off the PGA Tour season in earnest at the AT&T Pebble Beach.

Explaining his decision that week, McIlroy cited the cavity-back design introduced a shot shape that didn’t fully suit his natural tendencies — particularly under tournament pressure. "It just didn't feel as familiar as I wanted it to," he explained.

Sky Sports pressed McIlroy further on his thought process behind the change at the Genesis Invitational, stating once again that his trusted blades simply gave him the familiar feeling he was looking for in the heat of competition.

"It goes back to Abu Dhabi and Dubai last year. I mishit a couple of 5 and 6 irons and they just went a little less [far] than I thought they were going to. So I tried the combo set in Australia and it felt pretty good, and then I started messing around with the shorter irons over the new year so I thought I'd put them in play for Dubai and see how they went. I'm glad I did the experiment, but I'm definitely happy that I'm back in my trusty blades."

His decision seems to have paid dividends, as he has started the PGA Tour season relatively strongly. He finished his season debut in a tie for 14th at Pebble Beach, and currently shares the lead at the Genesis Invitational after a career-best opening round at Riviera.

"You know, I've played these irons since 2017, so coming up on nine years now. You have clubs that just feel really comfortable in your hand and you have a lot of trust in them. Thankfully my iron play was pretty good last week and it's continued into this week. So it's nice to have blades back in the bag."