Rory McIlroy’s 2026 WITB: Why He Switched to Qi4D Driver & P·7CB Irons

When Rory McIlroy makes an equipment change, the entire golf world pays attention. Rory only switches his equipment when a new product delivers clear, measurable, undeniable performance gains.

That’s exactly what happened with *eight* clubs in his bag during offseason testing.

In this article we will breakdown Rory’s new WITB for 2026, including his switch to Qi4D driver and (click to jump to each section):

Qi4D 3-Wood and 5-Wood

P·7CB 5-9 irons

Rory Mc Ilroy Qi4 D Driver Testing at Dubai Invitational

Rory’s Honest Approach to Driver Testing

Rory’s reputation when it comes to testing equipment is that he is open and honest. If a club doesn’t look right, sound right, or outperform his current gamer, it does not stand a chance of going in the bag.

This made his feedback on Qi4D even more significant.

At the TOUR Championship in 2025, Rory spent nearly an hour studying the Qi4D and Qi4D LS models, different face options including those with launch monitor enabled reflective markers, and color tones with our tour fitters and R&D team. Thanks to the flexibility of Qi4D’s carbon face construction, our team could show him multiple visual variations quickly — a level of customization titanium can’t provide.

The moment the visuals matched Rory’s eye, the performance had space to shine.

“THE BEST DRIVER TESTING SESSION I’VE EVER WITNESSED”

Fast forward to late October, 2025 before the DP World Tour Play-Offs, TaylorMade’s engineering team dialed in his launch and spin conditions on a robot. The robot was set up to mimic Rory’s swing in hopes that when Rory himself took his first shot with Qi4D, it would produce the exact performance gains he was looking for.

After meticulous work at The Kingdom with the robot, our team suspected Rory would be seeing some serious gains.

They (and the robot) were right.

Rory Mc Ilroy Qi4 D 9 0 Driver Dubai Invitational

Rory’s Testing Session at a Glance:

According to Senior Tour Manager, Adrian Rietveld, Rory’s testing session was the best display of driving he had ever seen in his life during a testing session.

Rory’s Testing Session at a Glance:

Average of 2 MPH ball speed gains maxing out at 190 MPH

Carry distances were up to 330–340 yards

Produced an incredibly tight 117 RPM spin deviation

Missed his target only twice

Rory’s driver is set up with his usual Ventus Black 6X shaft with two four-gram weights in the front and two 11 gram weights in the back and the loft sleeve set to two towards lower.

SPIN STABILITY & OFF-CENTER FORGIVENESS

When dialing in a driver for Rory, sub 2000 RPM spin numbers immediately set off alarms. He wants control and dislikes unpredictably low spin.

Qi4D’s new eight-inch face roll and tightened spin tolerances allowed TaylorMade to:

Deliver a higher, more stable spin window

Reduce dangerous “low spin knucklers”

Improve performance on low face strikes

Maintain consistency across mishits

This spin stability was one of the biggest reasons Rory trusted the Qi4D right away.

RORY CHOSE TO PUT THE Qi4D IN EARLY

Perhaps the clearest sign of Rory’s confidence was this:

He chose to put the Qi4D driver into play at his next start at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the first leg of the DP World Tour playoffs.

Rory planned to revisit testing in January, but after his early sessions he said plainly:
“I want to play this driver.”

Rory has played it in every tournament since. In the first round of the Dubai Invitational, Rory finished third in Strokes Gained Off the Tee (2.08) and driving distance (319.4).

“IF THERE’S HELP TO BE HAD, I’LL CERTAINLY TAKE IT” – THE SWITCH TO P·7CB

The best way to tell you this story is to let Rory tell it himself. Here’s what he had to say after his first-round press conference in Dubai:

Rory Mc Ilroy P 7 CB Iron Swing Dubai Invitational

“If there’s help to be had, I’ll definitely take it,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. And 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 5 or 7 yards short, it was coming up more like 10 to 15 yards short.”

So, I asked the guys at TaylorMade to build me up a set. And I actually went down to Australia with them, and with that firm turf down there, I felt like those irons were going through the turf better than the blades. And I practiced with them at home since.”

At the Crown Australian Open in December, Rory started with just his 4-6 irons on Thursday and Friday and then put the full set in for the weekend. Initially he was a little bit worried about getting the occasional “hot one” with a cavity back, but P·7CB has provided great distance control and consistent spin which encouraged him to put the short irons in the bag too.

When our Tour Reps checked in with him on the range in Dubai this week, Rory also commented that he was holding his line a little better noticing they don’t curve as much when he hits a draw or fade.