Taylormade Qi35 Max Driver Review – How Good And Who Is It For?
Taylormade have been the biggest pioneers of carbon technology in the head of their drivers for the past couple of years, lets see how they got on with their newest range of the drivers, the QI35. Today we are looking primarily at the Max version.
What’s New?
More Shelf Appeal
The new QI35 drivers look a good bit better than the QI10 with its blue face. The shelf look of the QI10 was more like a part of a premium set off the rack.
Chromium Carbon Head
Now we have the grey, gun-metal colored Chromium carbon around the crown and the sole which blends perfectly into the black carbon twist face which looks much better than the gimmicky blue or red.
Weight Savings
The use of the new Carbon material saves weight which can be redistributed to optimize the CG sweet spot.
The Qi35 Max has done away with the adjustable weight of the QI10, probably because there would be an illegal setting where the MOI was above the 10k limit.
There is one fixed 34g weight at the back of the club with the optimal weight placement for most golfers.
Twist Face Remains
With the 10k MOI head holding the Twist face in place, we have a ton of stability in the head.
Taylormade also say that the twist face has become more responsive and more forgiving so we should see the dispersion tighten up against the QI10 Max
Performance Testing
The Qi35 Max is certainly an improvement on it’s predecessor, the QI10 Max.
We were getting a higher launch, more distance and less spin than the Qi10 Max.
The QI35 Max is very close in terms of performance to the Qi35 standard which also has the moveable weight.
Both of these drivers couldn’t compete with the Ping G440 Max and the Titleist GT2 in our testing.
These drivers sound and perform very well and will suit a ton of golfers. The jury is still out of the carbon face.
Get a fitting before committing to a driver this year.
Taylormade Qi35 Max Driver
In 20 Words or Less
A Large Profile with a beautiful carbon design and a black twist face coupled with premium performance in Distance, Spin And Forgiveness.
Taylormade Qi35 Max Driver – First Impressions
“The Black Carbon Twist really stands out as a premium looking driver and the Carbon Crow And Sole Screams, Hit Me.”
The QI25 Max is a driver you can pick straight off the rack and put into play and it has no adjustable weights to play around with and optimise for your particular strike. Indeed the standard version has lower spin and is almost just as forgiving.
Taylormade have managed to get this driver up to 10k MOI by lowering and deepening the COG for optimal launch and forgiveness.
The Crown and sole of the driver is wrapped in Carbon to reduced the weight and it also looks great at addres with a big forgiving profile and a massive face.
Twist face technology is used in the black carbon face to keep shots moving straight, long and far.
There is a fixed 34g weight at the back of the club that is not adjustable so minus changing the shaft, this is very much an off the rack driver.
There is a toss up between the QI35 and the QI35 Max which are very close in terms of performance and maybe Taylormade only needed to release one of these drivers in 2025.
Overall a very nice drive that sounds amazing and delivers on its promises of max distance and max forgiveness.
Taylormade Qi10 Driver
In 20 Words or Less
The Taylormade Qi10 driver combines accuracy with forgiveness. It looks great behind the ball and in the bag.
Taylormade Qi10 Driver – First Impressions
“I liked the depth of the face and the look of the crown right away.”
I could tell that this was going to be a very “user-friendly” driver and I was right. In fact, I had to open up my stance quite a bit to get a true mis-hit out of this thing. It’s very easy to find the sweet spot and even when you miss it, you aren’t punished nearly as much as you may deserve.
While the Taylormade Qi10 driver didn’t play quite as long as say, the new Callaway Paradym Smoke Ai Max, the dispersion was tight which is, I believe, more important for beginners and high handicappers. After all, distance will always follow accuracy – the inverse of that statement is not always true.
In any case, I loved the way the Taylormade Qi10 driver helped me produce favorable lies whether I was warmed up or not.
Taylormade Qi35 Max Driver Selling Points
- Carbon Crown And Sole Look Amazing
- Black Carbon Twist Face For Speed And Forgiveness
- Straight Shots Anywhere On The Face
- 10k MOI for Forgiveness and Ball Speed
- 34g Rear Weight Which Lowers The COG
- Large Profile To Inspire Confidence
Taylormade Qi10 Driver Selling Points
- Infinity carbon crown
- Third generation Carbon Twist Face construction
- Through Speed Pocket
- Higher MOI than previous Stealth models
- Multi-material construction
- Optimized head shape
Who is the Taylormade Qi35 Max for?
“The QI35 Max is for All golfer but especially high handicappers who want straight shots with decent forgiveness and a lot of distance”
There is 4 drivers to choose from and the QI35 Max will suit moderate to slighter faster swing speeds.
If you are somebody that struggles with slicing the ball, the twist face technology has been ramped up in the carbon face to ensure you get straight ball flights with tight distance dispersion almost all the time.
The QI35 Max is very close in terms of performance to the QI35 standard and that comes with an adjustable weight too allowing the club to be optimised for you particular swing and approach to driving the ball.
Overall a great looking, sounding and performing driver that lives up to the claims that Taylormade have made about it.
Distance: 97/100
Accuracy: 96/100
Forgiveness: 97/100
Feel & Control: 94/100
Overall Score: 95/100
Who is the Taylormade Qi10 for?
“The standard Taylormade Qi10 driver would be a good choice for handicappers in the 18-25 range.”
More to the point, if you are having trouble staying out of the rough with your current driver, the Taylormade Qi10 would definitely be worth the upgrade. The updated carbon fiber face construction works wonders towards coaxing favorable lies out of all kinds of mis-hits.
If you tend to hit the ball heavy or are a 25+ handicapper, the Taylormade Qi10 Max version would probably be better for you. But the standard is still plenty forgiving and accurate for most high handicappers.
Even as a brand new driver, the Taylormade Qi10 utilizes some of the most successful forgiveness features from past models like the Through Speed Pocket. And while distance could be enhanced a bit, I have to agree with Taylormade’s claims that the Taylormade Qi10 is the most forgiving driver in the company’s illustrious history.
Distance: 96/100
Accuracy: 94/100
Forgiveness: 96/100
Feel & Control: 93/100
Overall Score: 95/100
