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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 the TaylorMade Qi10 LS Driver
TaylorMade has a new driver this year, and the low-spin model has already made its way into the bags of a couple of players you may have heard of: Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. But how did we find it? Read our TaylorMade Qi10 LS driver review to find out.
This driver is probably the best-looking driver TaylorMade have ever released. The compact head shape with the new Infinity Crown and blue carbon face, it is the most classic driver on the market right now.
Don’t just come here for good looks; the TaylorMade Qi10 LS is powerful and forgiving, with off-centre hits performing better than any low-spin driver head I have ever used.
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As far as first impressions go, they do not get any better than pulling off the headcover of the new TaylorMade Qi10 LS driver. The head shape is beautiful, I love that we have moved away from the red face and I love how the face seems to just seamlessly merges into the crown and the rest of the head. Before even hitting the club I’d be quite happy to have this is my bag just for sex appeal.
Low-spin drivers have historically not been my thing. They look great but have always punished me on off-centre hits, so I’ve never managed to keep one in the bag for more than one round. I am not a robot, I hit the driver from many strike locations and I need the club to help me with that.
Now that I’ve got my deepest insecurities out for all to see, let’s talk about why the Qi10 LS is so good. Qi10 the name stands for quest for inertia 10,000, which is simply a measurement of the total MOI of the club. Still too complex? MOI is basically a measurement of how much the head twists on off-centre hits; the less twisting, the better. TaylorMade’s Qi10 range are the least twisting heads ever, which means more fairways and longer bad shots. Hopefully, that makes some sense.
TaylorMade have done this by pushing their carbon head further than they’ve been able to before. The new driver has an Infinity Crown, which is carbon all the way from the back of the head to the face. This saves mass and weight which can be redistributed to more optimal locations for launch and spin. This driver still has a twist face and a sliding weight on the sole for further adjustment and customisation.
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The data I collected using the Qi10 LS driver is pretty interesting. I found that even though this is a low spin driver the shots I hit were spinning more than enough, and a lot more on miss hits. This is the opposite of what I’ve experienced with bad strikes historically. More spin on bad hits means more fairways found, fewer penalty shots and lower scores. This is exactly what I want.
Out of the centre, the 162mph ball speed I achieved was the fastest I achieved on the day, but this driver isn’t about earth-shattering new ball speeds; it’s about control and accuracy and less tee box disasters. I can see why tour players have moved straight from the Stealth 2 driver to put this straight in the bag. Not that the Stealth 2 was a bad driver, but the miss-hit performance isn’t as good as the Qi10 LS produces, and at the level where fine margins matter most, it is an absolute no-brainer to put it in the bag.
Now, clearly, my numbers are not optimal, but a good custom fit would sort my spin and launch angle numbers out to give me more distance and a better flight. Out on the course, I love how the ball feels from the face. You can barely feel when you have hit the toe or the heel of the club, which is amazing.
I have no doubt that any golfers who currently use a TaylorMade driver will immediately move into the new Qi10 driver models, as it is a straight-up performance improvement. I can also see a lot of brand loyalists switching to this, too, especially if they prefer a classic-shaped head. This might be the best driver of 2024.
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Available: Now
RRP: £529 / $629.99
Right-handed lofts: (Degrees) 8, 9, 10.5
Left-handed lofts: (Degrees) 9, 10.5
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Limited Blue 65 – R, S, XS / Mitsubishi Tensei AV LimitedBlack 65 – S, XS
More information: TaylorMade website
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