Taylormade Qi Vs Taylormade Stealth Irons

With updated features, can the new Taylormade Qi irons outduel the Stealth irons? Let’s find out.

Taylormade Qi Irons Overview

Taylormade Qi Irons

“The Taylormade Qi irons feature an updated hollow cap-back design, progressive CG and HYBRAR Echo dampers.”

The profile of the Qis are almost identical to the Stealth irons: same sole width and nearly identical top line width.

But the Qi irons’ progressive CG made for great distance in the long irons and better launch control in the short irons.

The new hollow-body cabp-back design also made them longer by 6.1 yards. The Taylormade Qi irons cost $1,100.

Taylormade Stealth Irons Overview

“The Stealth irons feature toe-wrap construction, cap-back design and Speed Pocket.”

The Stealth irons have less of their cavity filled by the cap-back so they have a more traditional GI look.

But I was noticing more of a rightward miss with the Stealth irons. I had to be extra careful to draw the ball or risk missing wide right.

The Stealth irons currently retail for $800.”

“The Stealth irons are significantly cheaper than the Taylormade Qi’s and are still really forgiving GI irons. But the Taylormade Qis offer tighter dispersion and better distance.”

Taylormade Qi First Impressions

“I really liked the clean looks of these irons right away.”

There is nothing busy or flashy about them. And they look plenty forgiving too. They strike a good balance of face depth and blade length but they aren’t bulky and cumbersome.

After a couple of warm-up swings, I was finding the right tempo for these irons which usually takes me longer to do.

I attribute this to the moderate blade and head shape. And of course, the Taylormade Qi irons feature the Speed Pocket which covers your low-face mis-hits.

And as a player who hits the ball thin more often than I like to admit, this is a game-changer for me.

I was also impressed with the effortless stability of these irons. Without much of an adjustment period, I was seeing lower than average side-spin rates and my cut spin was all but eliminated.

So I was getting straighter than normal flight with almost no adjustment to my swing.

The progressive CG (lower in the long irons and higher in the short irons) allowed for excellent stopping power on approaches and at least adequate distance off the tee.

Taylormade Stealth First Impressions

The Taylormade Stealth irons have a striking design that we didn’t really know what to make of at first.

These are some of the most uniquely designed game improvement irons we ever tested. The cap back system that wraps around the rear toe area looks striking but it didn’t make sense to us at first.

Then we started playing with this set. One of the first things we noticed was that even with the 4 iron, it was very easy to find the sweet spot. The offset helps yes, but more than anything, that extra mass in the sole beneath the sweet spot helps to square up.

It’s like a giant target for your alignment. And since the face was designed to flex to a ridiculous degree, you don’t need a fast swing speed to get decent distance out of these irons.

With the 5 iron in the Taylormade Stealth set, our testers were able to establish an average distance of 161 yards. Of course, as game improvement irons, they suffer from the typical short-game pitfalls.

With the shorter irons, spin is very hard to control. Roll distance was a problem on short approaches and if you are playing a particularly fast green, you will need to rely on your wedges for longer shots.

Taylormade Qi Selling Points

Speed Pocket
Progressive CG
Variable face thickness
Bonded badge design
Hollow cap-back system
Strong-lofted

Taylormade Stealth Selling Points

They have an innovative cap back design
They do work to soften harsh vibration to a moderate degree
Reduced toe mass
Increased sole mass under the center of the face
They feature Taylormade’s inverted Cone Technology (ICT)
450 stainless steel face

Who Are the Taylormade Qi Irons for?

The Taylormade Qi irons are excellent for high handicap players who typically find themselves 20 yards or more to the right of the target.

They were designed to correct possibly the most common type of mis-hit among high handicappers and beginners and they do a great job of it.

By helping to dampen the effects of high, toe-side misses, the Taylormade Qi will also help players who are losing out on total distance because they are diverging too far to the right.

The progressive CG and the hollow cap back design will also help you squeeze more distance out of the long and mid irons.

This means that the Taylormade Qi irons would also be good for players who are struggling to get adequate distance out of their longer irons.

The Qi irons are the latest from Taylormade so they currently retail for $1,100 for a complete set.

The Taylormade Qi Irons Family

Keeping with the modern trend of offering higher-lofted versions of new irons, the Taylormade Qi irons also have an HL version.

The standard Taylormade Qi irons are strong-lofted while the Taylormade Qi HL’s have weaker lofts to help the kinds of players that struggle to get the ball in the air.

They may also be more forgiving for players who have slower swing speeds.

Distance: 96/100

Accuracy: 97/100

Forgiveness: 97/100

Feel & Control: 97/100

Taylormade Qi Irons

Overall Score: 97/100

Who are the Taylormade Stealth Irons for?

The Taylormade Stealth irons would primarily benefit high handicap players who are struggling chiefly with distance.

While they offer a moderate degree of forgiveness, it’s clear after testing these irons that most of the R&D went into improving ball speed and distance for players with slower swing speeds.

Most of the testers in our party with swing speeds under 90MPH were keeping up remarkably well with testers with faster swing speeds. Just don’t expect impeccable feel from these irons.

While Taylormade claims that the polymer cap back material gives these irons a “forged feel” we would classify this as a dubious claim at best. At the end of the day, there is simply no mistaking a forged iron and these are not forged irons.

The Taylormade Iron Family

While the Stealth irons are a stand-alone class, Taylormade makes a ton of iron sets. One of the most notable for beginners and high handicappers is the SIM2 Max irons that sport an oversized face profile so that it’s much easier to nail the sweet spot.

The SIM2 Max irons also feature the predecessor to the cap back system, the Speed Bridge. The Speed Bridge is a rear brace that connects the crown and sole, allowing the face to be disconnected from the body just like the Taylormade Stealth irons.

The result is the same: higher degree of flex and ball speed. However, the SIM2 Max irons will do more for you if you are struggling with iron accuracy. They offer comparable distance to the Taylormade Stealth irons; but with a higher emphasis on forgiveness.