There\u2019s still plenty of golf left this season, but take a look at some of the biggest gear switches of 2026 so far. <\/p>\n
Rory McIlroy dabbles with cavity backs<\/p>\n
Rory McIlroy kicked off the year strong by gaming a set of TaylorMade P7CB cavity-back irons<\/a> both at TGL and his first DP World Tour starts of the season in the Middle East.<\/a><\/p>\n Just a month earlier at the Australian Open, McIlroy first forayed into the cavity-back long irons, the first non-blades he\u2019s played in competition, and liked them so much he switched to the rest of the set by the weekend.<\/p>\n That set was still in the bag for his first TGL matches and again at the Dubai Invitational. <\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s help to be had, I\u2019ll definitely take it,\u201d McIlroy said after an opening-round 66 in Dubai in early January. \u201cAnd even in Dubai at the end of last year, I hit a couple of 5-irons that I mis-struck slightly, and instead of it maybe coming up five or seven yards short, it was coming up more like 10 to 15 yards short.\u201d<\/p>\n But while the early results were promising, the new cavity-back irons didn\u2019t stick, and he was back in his custom RORS Protos by his first statestide start<\/a> at Pebble Beach.<\/p>\n He revealed the rationale didn\u2019t necessarily have anything to do with performance, but rather his familarity with what his blades did versus the cavity backs.<\/p>\n \u201cSo whatever way the weight of the head was or whether it was the blade length,\u201d McIlroy said in February, \u201cI\u2019d make swings that I feel like I\u2019d make with my blades that would be a very neutral ball flight, and then with the cavity backs, they would just like start to tail off to the right.<\/p>\n TaylorMade P7CB Custom Irons<\/a><\/p>\n BEST-IN CLASS FEEL View Product<\/a><\/p>\n ALSO AVAILABLE AT:\u00a0PGA Tour Superstore<\/a>,\u00a0TaylorMade<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt made me feel like I could fully release like my iron shots, which is great in theory and great in practice, but then once you get on the course with a card in your hand, for so many years I\u2019m used to feeling that like held-off position through impact, and then to go from that to trying to release it, it just was a different feel, especially under pressure or in the heat of competition,\u201d he said. \u201cJust didn\u2019t feel as familiar as I wanted it to.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, McIlroy was gaming the RORS Protos when he won his second straight Green Jacket in April, but he seemed like he left the door open on using a cavity back iron in the future.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll stay tuned on that one.<\/p>\n Wyndham Clark finds \u2018the one\u2019<\/p>\n It\u2019s rare that a gear free agent falls in love with a club so much that they end up signing with the company that makes it, but that was a match made in heaven for Wyndham Clark and Ping\u2019s Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset<\/a> putter.<\/p>\n Clark, newly a free agent to begin the year, started playing putter and driver roulette at the beginning of the season, trying five drivers in as many weeks to start the year and then moving on to putters.<\/p>\n He later joked that he was \u201cdating\u201d a lot of golf clubs as he explored options.<\/p>\n It even got to the point where Clark showed up to the Players Championship with a putter he bought at his home club\u2019s pro shop.<\/p>\n But ever since Houston, he\u2019s stuck with Ping\u2019s Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset putter and later moved to a new counterbalanced build of the head. Since then, his putting stats have returned to the all-world level that saw him win three times in nine months, including his first U.S. Open.<\/p>\n View Product<\/a><\/p>\n ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA TOUR Superstore<\/a><\/p>\n Clark and Ping formalized their relationship on Wednesday of the U.S. Open week, and that deal couldn\u2019t have been timed better as Clark won his second U.S. Open title, cementing his comeback and giving a ton of publicity for their new putter line.<\/p>\n McLaren debuts with big Justin Rose splash<\/p>\n McLaren Golf launched with much pomp and circumstance at the end of April, but no move was flashier than the announcement that Justin Rose was coming on board<\/a> as both an ambassador and an investor.<\/p>\n Rose had won twice in the past eight months and finished top-3 at the Masters for the second straight year. At 45, Rose could have easily continued on his free agent ways, but instead he\u2019s gone all in with the super car maker\u2019s new venture into golf equipment.<\/p>\n The former World No. 1 debuted a combo set of McLaren\u2019s Series 1<\/a> and Series 3 irons<\/a> that utilize Metal Injection Molding technology<\/a> at the Cadillac Championship.<\/p>\n \u201cMcLaren Golf has been something that\u2019s been on the back burner for a good number of months,\u201d Rose said at his pre-tournament press conference that week<\/a>, his first comments after the announcement. \u201cObviously, to launch a brand out of the ground obviously has been going for a lot longer than a year. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve been involved with from the outset, really helping the engineering team, really testing the very first editions of the club. So yeah, I\u2019ve been kind of working with the project for well over a year, probably.\u201d<\/p>\n McLaren Golf Series 1 Custom Irons<\/a><\/p>\n A Tour blade with the feel you expect and the forgiveness you don\u2019t. View Product<\/a><\/p>\n Since his debut in Miami, Rose has continued to make tweaks to his iron setup and teased that more clubs are coming down the road.<\/p>\n In his past five events, Rose has finished outside the top-25 just once.<\/p>\n The author welcomes your comments at\u00a0Jack.Hirsh@golf.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Want to find the best clubs for your game in 2026?\u00a0Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Six months into 2026 and the PGA Tour season is nearly over as we approach the final major…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":792494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-792493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=792493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/792494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=792493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=792493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=792493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n ![\"TaylorMade](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TM24IRN-TC566-V9873309-P7CB-7-Iron-3Q-v1_1.jpg\")
\n <\/a><\/p>\n
\nUsing Tour feedback and modal analysis we\u2019ve strategically designed mass placement for best in class feel. Crafted using Compact Grain Forging and 2000 tons of pressure to deliver the purest feeling 1025 soft carbon steel possible.
\nPRECISE CONTROL
\nPrecise milled face and grooves combined with a constant CG the P\u20227CB is designed to deliver an optimal launch and spin combination for the ultimate control and precision.
\nCONSISTENCY
\nCreated to maximize accuracy and consistency. The P\u20227CB optimized perimeter weighting and co-forged tungsten designed to deliver a beautiful blend of stability and workability.
\n COMPACT TOUR SHAPING
\nEvery aspect of shaping in this iron was intended to meet the needs of discerning ball strikers. A compact blade length and thin topline create a confident, clean look in the playing position while the sole camber and progressive bounce profile provide consistent turf interaction.<\/p>\n
\n ![\"PING](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/tecallyblue2.jpg\")
\n <\/a><\/p>\n
\n ![\"McLaren](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/series1iron1.jpg\")
\n <\/a><\/p>\n
\nSeries1 is a modern Tour blade, engineered through Metal Injection Molding. It delivers a level of forgiveness traditional forging can\u2019t achieve, while maintaining the feel and workability often lost in cast designs.
\nThe result is performance without compromise \u2013 a blade for elite players who demand more from their irons.<\/p>\n