The end of another year means one thing – the anticipation of new driver launches got everyone on social media in a frenzy.
Generally, the big brands do a good job of keeping their latest and greatest tech under wraps, but they eventually have to show their hands for the 2026 season – this has now happened with the Qi4D driver already in the hands of Tour professionals.
Rory McIlroy had it in the bag, together with the Qi4D fairway woods, when he claimed his 4th consecutive, 7th in total, Race to Dubai Rankings victory.
Will it be a permanent feature in his bag moving into 2026? Only time will tell, but for now it is in there.
Rory is a TaylorMade staffer and so golfers will be keen to see if he is going to permanently move from the Qi10 to the new Qi4D – having tried the Qi35 but deciding to go back to the trusty Qi10.
Though Rory was seen with the Qi35 in his hands it seemed he was sticking with the Qi10 model – until the week of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill where he introduced the new Qi35 woods and Proto 3-iron.
However, before the final round Rory wished to return to his faithful Qi10 driver and fairway woods, so got them Ubered 200 miles, at a cost of $995, so he could play the final round with them!
So, it seemed that the Qi10s were back in the bag and were very much in play as he won The Masters and claimed the grand slam! So, will be interesting to see if the Qi4D becomes his permanent driver or not.
