The new TaylorMade drivers are upon us with familiar hype! Many of you will already have seen the new Qi10 range in the hands of Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler before Christmas, but now it is time to take a more in depth look at what this new family has to offer.
WATCH: Joe Ferguson compares the performance of all three Qi10 drivers
The family consists of the Qi10 LS, the Qi10 Max and sandwiched in between is the subject of this particular review, the Qi10. Sitting in the middle of the range in terms of its spin and forgiveness levels, in theory the Qi10 will appeal to the broadest range of players and will hope to take its place as one of the best golf drivers on the market.
The tech story is pretty simple, TaylorMade has aimed to maximise the MOI without compromising ball speed. This has been achieved with a re-engineered 60X Carbon Twist Face and a new supporting structure to promote faster ball speeds and improve the durability of the face. Coupled with a brand new, larger address footprint and a lower CG projection than Stealth 2, TaylorMade believes it has hit the brief.
From a visual standpoint, I have to say, the improvement from Stealth 2 is significant. Firstly, and most obviously, the red face has been replaced with a more subtle and less garish navy colour which I couldn’t be happier about. Furthermore, the new ultra rounded shape of the Qi10 is a real delight for me. I have always preferred a rounder profile than a pear shape in a driver and the Qi10’s proportions are just about perfect to my eye.
TaylorMade has also introduced a really handy but unobtrusive white accent line along the top edge which significantly helps the alignment process.
The multi-material banner strip that has adorned the top edge of TaylorMade drivers for years has also disappeared, being replaced by a new gloss black infinity crown that covers the entirety of the top of the driver. I don’t have any particularly strong views about this change as I didn’t mind it previously, but it certainly looks clean and more minimalist now.
In terms of performance, the Qi10 hits the mark again. The data numbers show a clear improvement from the Stealth 2 for me personally in terms of ball speed and distance output, and the stability is very evident. Dispersion numbers were tight and I feel that this would only become more apparent over the course of a longer time period.
I tested the Qi10 on the driving range in warm conditions in South Carolina, and also back at home in a chilly, windy North Devon at Saunton Golf Club. Data was collected using a Trackman 4 Launch monitor and Titleist Pro V1x golf balls.
Spin numbers were relatively low at around 2100rpm in my normal 9 degree loft and coupled with a decent 11 degree launch angle, this produced a lovely mid-height but penetrating ball flight that would be playable in any conditions. Mishits were apparent from a feel point of view, but any ball speed drops were easily gobbled up by the high MOI of the Qi10.
To compare directly to Stealth 2, the feel is a touch more lively in the new Qi10 and I found my dispersion patterns notably tighter, giving me a real sense of security on tighter tee shots.
With performance gains becoming harder and harder to come by in the driver category, TaylorMade has definitely moved things forward for me with the Qi10. Not only has there been significant cosmetic improvements, there is undoubtedly a jump forward in the overall performance and user-friendliness here.
