Nick Dunlap gets tongues wagging using new TaylorMade ‘Proto’ iron

Nick Dunlap tested a brand-new TaylorMade “Proto” iron at the Rocket Mortgage Classic – and it’s very different to the model spied earlier this year.

Rory McIlroy debuted a TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron Iduring the Valero Texas Open in April, citing its superior launch and intended feel, and he has used it at every tournament since.

Shortly after, Collin Morikawa did the same at the Heritage, using a TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron, before Michael Block used the first-ever complete set of “Proto” irons from the same maker at the 2024 PGA Championship.

The “Proto” irons were later discovered to be brand-new TaylorMade P-7CB cavity-back irons, which LPGA star Nelly Korda had since debuted.

But Dunlap has now been spotted testing a completely different TaylorMade “proto” iron at Detroit Golf Club that has set tongues wagging.

Because of the screw hole in the toe portion and the thru-slot in the iron’s sole, there has been early conjecture that the iron is hollow-bodied. Compared to TaylorMade’s earlier P7CB “Proto,” its design is very different, and if it is a new hollow-bodied construction, it may provide a little increase in ball speeds across the face.

Given TaylorMade hasn’t disclosed any details about the internal design, this is just conjecture at this time. Until further details and comments are made public, all we have to go on for now are pictures.

Dunlap had previously deployed the TaylorMade P7MC irons as his standard.

With precision playability and a hint of forgiveness, P7MCs cater to the game’s best ball strikers. These irons are marketed as a club that ‘celebrates all the work you’ve put in to get to this point and be the perfect tool for the continued grind’.

These are cavity back irons and they have a very similar look to the Prototype that he was spotted using in Detroit.

Dunlap announced that he was turning professional and had accepted PGA Tour membership, a week after his American Express triumph.  He also became the second-youngest winner on the PGA Tour in the past 90 years with that great triumph.

He isn’t currently signed to TaylorMade as a staffer having formerly held an NIL agreement with the company while he was a collegiate golfer on the Alabama Crimson Tide golf team.

His bag is still dominated by TaylorMade, although he does also use a Srixon 3-iron and an Odyssey O-Works #7 Tank putter as well as Titleist Pro V1 balls.