Nelly Korda Jumps On a Surprising New Iron Trend — Tour Report Reveals What’s Behind Her Bold Switch 😱⛳
Welcome to GOLF’s Fully Equipped’ weekly Tour equipment report. Each Friday of PGA Tour weeks (plus other times, if news warrants), GOLF equipment editor Jack Hirsh will run you through some of the biggest news surrounding golf clubs on Tour, including changes, tweaks, and launches.
Nelly Korda may not be dominating the LPGA Tour with a seven-win season like she did a year ago, but she’s still statistically one of the tour’s best ball strikers.
While the World No. 2 is winless this season and has played a little putter roulette this year, she ranks fourth on the LPGA in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green and 17th in Approach.
But clearly, Korda felt there was room to get better because she made a change this week at the Annika, dumping the TaylorMade P7MCs she used to dominate the first half of last season for a new 6-PW set of larger and more forgiving P7CBs.
Korda was apparently looking for a higher launch and spin out of her mid- and short-irons. She kept her 2022 P770 5-iron and her AeroTech SteelFiber i80 cw shafts.
“I was playing the MC TaylorMades and now I’m in the [P7]CBs,” Korda said before the tournament. “Just have maybe a little bit more height to them so the descent angle is a little a little steeper and should land a little softer.”
Korda already played a setup that many amateur players would shy away from, with a player’s distance option for the 5-iron and a 5-hybrid instead of a 4-iron altogether, but it highlights an interesting trend that’s present among all levels of the game.
Players are seeking more forgiveness, and they want to hit the ball straight up in the air. Today’s game is played on firmer and faster greens than ever before, and pros seem to be buying into the idea that the only way to hold your ball on those greens is to hit it higher.
With higher launching and spinnier irons also comes more forgiveness and ball speed retention because of the larger chassis sizes used to boost that launch. You’re seeing more blade and shallow cavity players switch to full cavity backs because they will typically spin more than hollow-bodied irons.
TaylorMade P7CB Custom Irons
BEST-IN-CLASS FEEL Using Tour feedback and modal analysis, we’ve 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. PRECISE CONTROL Precise milled face and grooves combined with a constant CG, the P•7CB is designed to deliver an optimal launch and spin combination for the ultimate control and precision. CONSISTENCY Created to maximize accuracy and consistency. The P•7CB optimized perimeter weighting and co-forged tungsten are designed to deliver a beautiful blend of stability and workability. COMPACT TOUR SHAPING Every 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.
We saw it a few weeks ago when Billy Horschel returned from injury by inserting a full set of Titleist’s T100 irons after playing blades for much of his career. Aldrich Potgieter also made a similar move just before he broke through at the Rocket Classic.
The change seems to be paying dividends so far for Korda this week. After a 71 on Thursday, she roared back with a bogey-free 63 in Round 2, missing just one green all day. She heads into the weekend just three shots off the lead as she seeks her first victory of the year.
With companies focused on providing more and more forgiveness benefits in smaller packages, don’t be surprised if this trend continues and we see lots of players going for more forgiving irons with a focus on peak height and mis-hit mitigation.
The 1-iron is back this week on the PGA Tour.
With high winds forecasted for this week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship, a few extra players added utility and long irons to their bags as options off the tee at the 6,828-yard Port Royal Golf Course, which is the shortest on the PGA Tour schedule.
Titleist again led the count with 47 utility irons in play this week (53 percent), with several players opting for their new 2025 U505 and T250U options.
But two that jump off the page are Trey Mullinax and Rico Hoey.
U505 plays like an iron but performs like something more. From threading the needle off the tee to getting home from unfathomable distances, U505 gives players the speed and control to hit clutch shots with confidence. Pure Muscle Look : A hollow high-strength steel body concentrates immense power in a pure package. Long-Range Speed A new forged L-Face design heightens ball speed and launch to take on distant targets with confidence. Consistent Performance Improved Max Impact Technology helps generate consistent launch, speed, spin, and carry to expand your shotmaking ability. Controlled Trajectory Split high-density tungsten produces optimal CG with high stability for more forgiving shotmaking. Iron Set Blending The U505 and T250U feature a player-preferred profile with minimal offset, allowing you to blend into the top end of a mixed setup seamlessly.
Mullinax, a non-Titleist staffer, added the rare U505 1-iron this week with a Ventus Black HB shaft.
The U505 1-iron isn’t totally extinct on the PGA Tour, with Ben An gaming one regularly in place of a 3-wood, and Justin Thomas tested one at the Scottish Open, but it’s still a very niche club.
But with a short track at Port Royal this week and more high winds with forecasts calling for gusts above 30 mph this weekend, the 1-iron could get some more action this weekend after Mullinax fired a 67 on Friday to cut. He’ll need a solid finish to the year to retain his PGA Tour status, as he’s currently 158th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings.
The other unique utility belongs to Rico Hoey — also a non-staffer — who is playing Titleist’s T350 prototype 3-iron.
There was a T350 prototype 3-iron in the last T-series generation, and the shape of that club ended up inspiring the shaping of the 3- and 4-iron lofts of the 2025 U505.
We don’t know much about the design intention of the current series T350 prototype, but we can assume it likely has less offset than the retail T350 game-improvement irons to appeal to better players.
Odds and Ends
Some other gear changes and notes we’re tracking this week.
Harrison Endycott became the latest player to add Ping’s S259 wedges … Charley Hull (8.0), Esther Henseleit (10.5), and Julia Lopez Ramirez (9.0) are all using the new TaylorMade Qi4D LS head this week at Pelican. It’s the second week in a row of big conversions for TaylorMade, who saw six DP World Tour players (including Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood) switch into the 2026 driver last week … Titleist continued a huge fall in terms of counts with 77 percent of the ball count in Bermuda (more than 10x their nearest competitor), 46 percent driver usage and 58 percent of the gap, sand and lob wedges in play.
