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What’s new? How much does it cost? And how does it perform? Jack Backhouse brings you the low down on TaylorMade Qi35 MAX driver.
The MAX model was the most popular from TaylorMade’s Qi10 range. As a result, the brand had to introduce one as part of the latest line-up, which they say is even better.
What does the review team at NCG think of TaylorMade’s new maximum forgiveness driver? Find out in my TaylorMade Qi35 Max driver review…
I now understand why the MAX driver is TaylorMade’s most popular driver. It is incredibly forgiving and not once when I was stood over the ball did I feel like I was going to miss a fairway.
The profile of the head is so inviting and is confidence inspiring for all golfers to be able to launch the golf ball into the air. Distance isn’t scarified for forgiveness, players will still be able to fly it a strong distance.
PROS
CONS
As is the case with the core and LS head of the Qi35 driver range, the MAX option also has asymmetric aerodynamic design. Expectedly this has a large profile, front to back, and looks even longer than the core head.
Stood over the ball you have plenty of confidence to be able to get the ball in the air with ease. It has the feel of a club that would rarely miss a fairway off the tee.
Unlike the other models from TaylorMade Qi35 driver range this driver doesn’t have any adjustable weights on the back of the club head. This is because the driver is already operating at 10K MOI and doesn’t need to be moved.
Interestingly, tour players have been putting the Qi10 MAX driver in play. Nelly Korda had a record breaking year on the LPGA tour last season using that driver. This shows that the driver isn’t solely designed for golfers who need more assistance with accuracy off the tee, players of all abilities can use this club. Amazing levels of performance are still offered from this driver.
This isn’t the driver I would tend to put in play as the spin is a little too high to optimise my distance. However, everything else about this driver I loved and the high spin rate shouldn’t concern golfers looking for extra forgiveness.
Let’s take a look at the data to piece together the performance benefits of the driver.
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Great ball speed and club speed throughout testing, which were consistent on good strikes and mishits. The club also feels incredibly solid off the face and you really get great feedback from the club.
I was getting decent carry distances for a high spinning driver. But, it was the forgiveness and performance of poor strikes that impressed me the most. The first two strikes weren’t struck out the centre of the club face and as you can see by the dispersion graphic, they still went straight down the middle.
This is a credit to all the technology in the head of the driver, the really high MOI and the heavy tungsten weight positioned low and back in the driver head. Additionally, the TaylorMade Qi35 MAX has a low centre of gravity projection to help deliver balanced performance without having to sacrifice on distance.
In truth, this is an incredibly fun driver to hit and use. It feels as though a golfer is able to strike the ball as hard as one could swing it and it still would never go offline.
During their player and robot testing, TaylorMade discovered that the increased moment of inertia (MOI) leads to a dispersion that is 15% tighter compared to previous driver models. This improvement is significant; over an entire season, a 15% tighter dispersion can greatly reduce the chances of hitting trees or rough, helping golfers stay on the fairway and save several strokes.
Overall, this probably produces too much spin for me to put this in my bag. For those looking for more forgiveness in their driver, without sacrificing distance then I would certainly recommend testing it out.
A 262 yard carry average and a 162 average ball speed are great performance returns for my game and numbers I would be happy with.
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It is one fun driver to hit. If I wasn’t trying to squeeze out all the performance I could possibly gain then I would be inclined to give this some serious thought. Standing on the tee during testing, I felt like I could never miss a fairway with it. Knowing that no matter how I’m swinging the club I will find the fairway is a big boost and huge benefit for recreational golfers.
It’s easy to hit and feels great. There’s not much else a club golfer could need from a big stick.
Available: Pre-sale from the 7th of January. Retail from the 30th of January.
RRP: £529 / $599.99
Shafts: 2025 Fujikura AirSpeeder and Mitsubishi Diamana T+ 60.
Lofts: 9.0° 10.5° and 12.0°
More information: TaylorMade website
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