TaylorMade Qi10 Drivers - 2024 Forum Member Review

[Parshooter36]

I just got the QI10 Max and I am really impressed so far. I always shied away from "max" drivers in the past because they usually have draw bias built in and I tend to have a low left miss. I've only got 1 round outside and a couple of rounds on the simulator, but I am hitting consistent nice high fades and loving it.

[GolfSpy_APH]

@EMacK1961 your swing speed matches my father in laws and he was curious about some of your findings. 

How would you rate it compared to your previous driver at the moment? Where are some of the early strengths and weaknesses? 

He will do a fitting, but since so much of your games matched he wanted me to ask here first!

[jbern]

21 hours ago, Jeff in the Mitten said:

Whelp!  I made the switch to Qi10!  I was honestly pretty happy with my Stealth Plus, however these Qi10 drivers just have another gear in speed off the face.  I gained almost 10 yards with pretty much identical CHS...so the TM team figured something out with this lineup over the predecessors under the Stealth name. 

HOWEVER...I wasn't in love with the "infinity crown" look and always loved the "framing" that the Stealth gave me at address.  Plus, I wasn't loving the bright TM logo on the Qi10 LS that I was gaming.  

So here's one for the community...what do you think of the custom leading edge I added to my Qi10 LS???  I know some will hate it, and that's fine since I'm the one playing it.  I'm just curious what others think about the overall look.  Should the "players" version of drivers and fairway woods come with a top logo or clean and simple?  That goes for ALL brands?  I love the clean "blank" look, but what do you think???

I have never had a driver that didn't have the alignment dot or X or logo, so I don't know what I would prefer. I do like the look you gave your QI10 though! You might have your own thread topic with this question. I would be curious what actually performs better. Do people actually perform better without the alignment dot or with...?

[CFreddie]

2 minutes ago, jbern said:

I have never had a driver that didn't have the alignment dot or X or logo, so I don't know what I would prefer. I do like the look you gave your QI10 though! You might have your own thread topic with this question. I would be curious what actually performs better. Do people actually perform better without the alignment dot or with...?

Good question - I've never had one either, but as a sample size of one here, I only use the alignment aid on the top of the crown to help place the ball off the face of the driver.  Said another way, I typically place the ball a tiny bit towards the toe, using the alignment aid to ensure I'm positioned correctly (I've found I typically hit the ball more towards the heel, so I'm just adjusting for that).  Without an aid, I think this could be a bit more challenging (for me, at least).  But I do like the clean look of @Jeff in the Mitten's driver!

[jbern]

1 minute ago, CFreddie said:

Good question - I've never had one either, but as a sample size of one here, I only use the alignment aid on the top of the crown to help place the ball off the face of the driver.  Said another way, I typically place the ball a tiny bit towards the toe, using the alignment aid to ensure I'm positioned correctly (I've found I typically hit the ball more towards the heel, so I'm just adjusting for that).  Without an aid, I think this could be a bit more challenging (for me, at least).  But I do like the clean look of @Jeff in the Mitten's driver!

I'm not sure that I actually use the alignment dot or at least I haven't ever thought about it being there. I'll give it some conscious thought the next time I play!

[TylorJudd]

2 hours ago, jbern said:

I'm not sure that I actually use the alignment dot or at least I haven't ever thought about it being there. I'll give it some conscious thought the next time I play!

Once I got the Paradym TD, not having one is so much nicer. Very subjective anyways

[ZackS]

On 4/3/2024 at 1:43 PM, Jeff in the Mitten said:

Whelp!  I made the switch to Qi10!  I was honestly pretty happy with my Stealth Plus, however these Qi10 drivers just have another gear in speed off the face.  I gained almost 10 yards with pretty much identical CHS...so the TM team figured something out with this lineup over the predecessors under the Stealth name. 

HOWEVER...I wasn't in love with the "infinity crown" look and always loved the "framing" that the Stealth gave me at address.  Plus, I wasn't loving the bright TM logo on the Qi10 LS that I was gaming.  

So here's one for the community...what do you think of the custom leading edge I added to my Qi10 LS???  I know some will hate it, and that's fine since I'm the one playing it.  I'm just curious what others think about the overall look.  Should the "players" version of drivers and fairway woods come with a top logo or clean and simple?  That goes for ALL brands?  I love the clean "blank" look, but what do you think???

That looks nice, what did you make that out of?

[EMacK1961]

4 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

@EMacK1961 your swing speed matches my father in laws and he was curious about some of your findings. 

How would you rate it compared to your previous driver at the moment? Where are some of the early strengths and weaknesses? 

He will do a fitting, but since so much of your games matched he wanted me to ask here first!

My old driver is the TaylorMade R15. Compared to that, the Qi10 is lighter feeling and the carbon fiber composite makes it more forgiving. I have found that I have hit more fairways with that than the R15. I would get fit for all three versions just to make sure. Off center shots are not as penal with the Qi10. Good luck with your fitting and I hope you come away with a great fit.

[GolfSpy_APH]

Thanks for the response!

[HikingMike]

6 hours ago, jbern said:

I have never had a driver that didn't have the alignment dot or X or logo, so I don't know what I would prefer. I do like the look you gave your QI10 though! You might have your own thread topic with this question. I would be curious what actually performs better. Do people actually perform better without the alignment dot or with...?

The Ping G10 driver I played previously had kind of a wide crescent shape there, but it was dark against glossy black and very subtle and barely visible to the point I didn't actually look for it. I guess that worked fine for me. 

[Michael.Sandoval33]

Took the Qi10 Max out today and played all 18 at Green Tree Golf Course in Victorville, CA. The winds were between 20-30mph so I made the choice to loft back down to the standard 10.5 setting. I ended up shooting +25 on a par 72 for the gross total of... 97! (Could be a fluke but I will take it and run away with it). Below is the Arrcos data from my driving today as I hit 10/14 fairways where the driver was used.

 

[Jeff in the Mitten]

5 hours ago, ZackS said:

That looks nice, what did you make that out of?

@ZackSits actually just standard matte black spray paint from the hardware store. Just had to take extra care in masking to get a crisp clean final look. 

[jbern]

15 hours ago, Michael.Sandoval33 said:

Took the Qi10 Max out today and played all 18 at Green Tree Golf Course in Victorville, CA. The winds were between 20-30mph so I made the choice to loft back down to the standard 10.5 setting. I ended up shooting +25 on a par 72 for the gross total of... 97! (Could be a fluke but I will take it and run away with it). Below is the Arrcos data from my driving today as I hit 10/14 fairways where the driver was used.

 

Great round and it looks like you can get the "Broke 100" badge! Congrats! 

It's very nice that your drives were either fairway or a miss right! Very playable drives, which is a big part of starting to scoring well. Seems like the Qi10 Max worked well for you! I understand you reduced the loft to help keep the flight lower because of the with, but do you find any noticeable difference with address or strike when you move the loft up or down?

[Michael.Sandoval33]

1 minute ago, jbern said:

Great round and it looks like you can get the "Broke 100" badge! Congrats! 

It's very nice that your drives were either fairway or a miss right! Very playable drives, which is a big part of starting to scoring well. Seems like the Qi10 Max worked well for you! I understand you reduced the loft to help keep the flight lower because of the with, but do you find any noticeable difference with address or strike when you move the loft up or down?

I definitely want to break 100 a couple more times before the forum badge, but I agree, with the Qi10 Max it is definitely obtainable.

I really haven't noticed much difference between changing lofts at address, but I could tell the difference in the ball flight. It seems like I gained a few yards from lofting down since it was not travelling towards the sky as much and cut through the wind better. 

[IndyBonzo]

TaylorMade Stealth 2 versus TaylorMade Qi10 (Standard)

I am excited to share the results of the TaylorMade driver comparison test. 

Both heads are 9*.  The loft sleeve was set at the lowest loft/lowest spin setting, which reduces loft to 7* and opens the face 4*.

The test was conducted on a Foresight GC2 launch monitor with GS Pro driving range software using Bridgestone Tour B RX balls.  I hit about 10 shots with each, and picked the best 5.  The shaft was an Otto-Phlex model, i.e., ACCRA iSeries M2.  I think the distances are a bit inflated by the monitor, tbh, but if so they are consistently so.  Here are the results:

Results were very similar in most respects.  As expected, the Qi10 was more accurate, and yielded about 200 rpm more spin.  The Qi10 also launched the ball higher.  The Stealth provided about 2 yards more distance and 2 mph ball speed, which are minimal differences.

In other words, comparing the standard models year over year, TaylorMade managed to make the club more accurate and forgiving without sacrificing distance.  That is an impressive achievement IMO.  The Qi10 is an excellent driver, without question.

Personally, I struggle with keeping spin down.  My current gamer is the low spin Paradym TD, which helps me in that regard.  I also hit the Paradym in this test, with the same conditions, but at 9* loft and with an Accra FX 3.0 M0 (Otto-Phlex) shaft.   While both Accra shafts I used are excellent, high quality shafts, the shaft in the Paradym is more "premium" than that used in the Qi10 and Stealth 2.  Here are the Paradym results:

As expected, spin was lower, launch was lower (due to the shaft?), and speed and distance were greater as a result.

Tentative plans are in the works to allow me to try the Qi10 LS head after reviews are posted. I am excited to see if it can match the Paradym's distance performance and forgiveness.

I plan to game the Qi10 standard again Saturday and will report back with more results!

Edited April 5 by IndyBonzo

[TJ Hall]

19 minutes ago, IndyBonzo said:

TaylorMade Stealth 2 versus TaylorMade Qi10 (Standard)

I am excited to share the results of the TaylorMade driver comparison test. 

Both heads are 9*.  The loft sleeve was set at the lowest loft/lowest spin setting, which reduces loft to 7* and opens the face 4*.

The test was conducted on a Foresight GC2 launch monitor with GS Pro driving range software using Bridgestone Tour B RX balls.  I hit about 10 shots with each, and picked the best 5.  The shaft was an Otto-Phlex model, i.e., ACCRA iSeries M2.  I think the distances are a bit inflated by the monitor, tbh, but if so they are consistently so.  Here are the results:

Results were very similar in most respects.  As expected, the Qi10 was more accurate, and yielded about 200 rpm more spin.  The Qi10 also launched the ball higher.  The Stealth provided about 2 yards more distance and 2 mph ball speed, which are minimal differences.

In other words, comparing the standard models year over year, TaylorMade managed to make the club more accurate and forgiving without sacrificing distance.  That is an impressive achievement IMO.  The Qi10 is an excellent driver, without question.

Personally, I struggle with keeping spin down.  My current gamer is the low spin Paradym TD, which helps me in that regard.  I also hit the Paradym in this test, with the same conditions, but at 9* loft and with an Accra FX 3.0 M0 (Otto-Phlex) shaft.   While both Accra shafts I used are excellent, high quality shafts, the shaft in the Paradym is more "premium" than that used in the Qi10 and Stealth 2.  Here are the Paradym results:

As expected, spin was lower, launch was lower (due to the shaft?), and speed and distance were greater as a result.

Tentative plans are in the works to allow me to try the Qi10 LS head after reviews are posted. I am excited to see if it can match the Paradym's distance performance and forgiveness.

I plan to game the Qi10 standard again Saturday and will report back with more results!

Nice data and results…love it!

[jbern]

1 hour ago, IndyBonzo said:

TaylorMade Stealth 2 versus TaylorMade Qi10 (Standard)

I am excited to share the results of the TaylorMade driver comparison test. 

Both heads are 9*.  The loft sleeve was set at the lowest loft/lowest spin setting, which reduces loft to 7* and opens the face 4*.

The test was conducted on a Foresight GC2 launch monitor with GS Pro driving range software using Bridgestone Tour B RX balls.  I hit about 10 shots with each, and picked the best 5.  The shaft was an Otto-Phlex model, i.e., ACCRA iSeries M2.  I think the distances are a bit inflated by the monitor, tbh, but if so they are consistently so.  Here are the results:

Results were very similar in most respects.  As expected, the Qi10 was more accurate, and yielded about 200 rpm more spin.  The Qi10 also launched the ball higher.  The Stealth provided about 2 yards more distance and 2 mph ball speed, which are minimal differences.

In other words, comparing the standard models year over year, TaylorMade managed to make the club more accurate and forgiving without sacrificing distance.  That is an impressive achievement IMO.  The Qi10 is an excellent driver, without question.

Personally, I struggle with keeping spin down.  My current gamer is the low spin Paradym TD, which helps me in that regard.  I also hit the Paradym in this test, with the same conditions, but at 9* loft and with an Accra FX 3.0 M0 (Otto-Phlex) shaft.   While both Accra shafts I used are excellent, high quality shafts, the shaft in the Paradym is more "premium" than that used in the Qi10 and Stealth 2.  Here are the Paradym results:

As expected, spin was lower, launch was lower (due to the shaft?), and speed and distance were greater as a result.

Tentative plans are in the works to allow me to try the Qi10 LS head after reviews are posted. I am excited to see if it can match the Paradym's distance performance and forgiveness.

I plan to game the Qi10 standard again Saturday and will report back with more results!

Very interesting comparisons and results. Have you had any issues with getting the spin too low and the balls going shorter or all over the place? Under 1800rpm is pretty low.

[chisag]

29 minutes ago, jbern said:

Very interesting comparisons and results. Have you had any issues with getting the spin too low and the balls going shorter or all over the place? Under 1800rpm is pretty low.

 

... Always interesting reading about spin, trajectory and distance. My Cobra Speedzone did not produce enough spin and a fitting confirmed the OG Sim gave me better numbers even though it was just a little too much spin. That said my next several drivers all produced more spin than I needed/wanted but for most golfer a little too much spin is better than too little spin, as long as there is no ballooning. For me the Qi10 finally unlocked that perfect combo as my Stealth2 HD was one of the best drivers I have played, but cost me a few yards in certain conditions with just a little too much spin. 

... Add to that the standard Qi10 is even more forgiving than my S2 HD and it will be very difficult to find something better for my swing. With most clubs, especially drivers there are usually one or more things that aren't "perfect" whether that is trajectory, spin, distance, sound, feel or a certain look. For me the Qi10 simply has no weakness and I absolutely love the classic look at address. 

Edited April 5 by chisag

[IndyBonzo]

17 minutes ago, jbern said:

Very interesting comparisons and results. Have you had any issues with getting the spin too low and the balls going shorter or all over the place? Under 1800rpm is pretty low.

I'm tempted to mimic @cksurfdude and say, "Of course I have issues hitting the ball short and all over the place.  Dude, we G-O-L-F!"  LOL.

I do think maybe I am getting too little spin and perhaps not enough loft on some Paradym shots.  The super low spin ones in my dataset were not the shortest or the most inaccurate, however.  I think more testing with different loft settings is in order.  But at 9* loft and my current shaft, a seemingly low 1800 spin may be optimal.  

I am going to wear myself out hitting driver all the time.  My approach game and putting need the attention!

[ILMgolfnut]

5 minutes ago, IndyBonzo said:

But at 9* loft and my current shaft, a seemingly low 1800 spin may be optimal.  

Interesting. At one of my recent demos (might have been the Ai Smoke), the fitter commented that he thought I needed a little more spin to increase my carry. I think I was getting 2200 on sweeping hits but it wasn't staying in the air very long. He thought 2800-3000 might be my target.

[jbern]

7 minutes ago, IndyBonzo said:

I'm tempted to mimic @cksurfdude and say, "Of course I have issues hitting the ball short and all over the place.  Dude, we G-O-L-F!"  LOL.

There only needs to be one @cksurfdude around these parts.

[EMacK1961]

My "On the course" review of the Qi10 is a journey. Much like the one Scotty Scheffler made - https://golf.com/gear/drivers/scottie-scheffler-taylormade-qi10-driver-masters/?utm_campaign=forecast&utm_source=golfcom&utm_medium=email&utm_content={date(

The Qi10 is far and away the most advanced driver I have had in my hands. With the Thru-Slot Speed Pocket, lower CG, Twist Face Tech and the Carbon Crown, this thing is a beast. But how did it perform? Ah, that is the question.

In order to test the driver, the MGS staff wanted us to really put the Qi10 through its paces. That we did. I have the Qi10 Standard model. The adjustable hosel either gives the driver head a higher or lower loft setting. My driver head is at 10.5 degrees. It adjusts from 10.5 to 12.5 degrees higher and from 10.5 to 8.5 degrees lower. MGS had us try all the settings and report our findings.

Well, I golf in Mexico, essentially on the Pacific Ocean, where we get about a 10-15 mph onshore breeze every day. On the course, I found that with the higher loft settings, the ball ballooned a bit. The lower loft settings had a more penetrating ball flight. Now I have my driver set at 1.5 degrees lower than standard, essentially giving me a 9 degree driver.

As far as playability, the Qi10 with the Twist Face Tech beats my old TaylorMade R-15. The Twist Face Tech helps bring off-center hits more online. With our course lined with pesky olive trees, the Twist Face Tech has made a big difference. On shots where I would be headed into the treeline with my R-15, my Qi10 saves the day.

I usually work the ball from right to left (I'm a right-hander). I found that my draw was not as pronounced with the Qi10. Now with an off-center hit to the toe, which is my usual miss, the Twist Face Tech helps bring the shot back toward center. Actually, more like the right third of the fairway. I do lose a little distance but I'm still in play.

A big test will come this Sunday. I'm playing in the 2024 Golf Fore The Animals tournament at Baja Country Club. We'll see how the club, and my swing, hold up under pressure.

To date, I would give the club a score of 20 out of 20. I'm playing with the club 3 times a week with extra range time in there as well. I don't have access to advanced analytics like Trackman, etc. The only thing I use is my Voice Caddy Swing Caddy SC100. It produces carry numbers that are legit 15-20 yards better than with my old R-15.

IMHO, who wouldn't want a Qi10 in their bag if distance and accuracy were improved? I know I would. That's why if TaylorMade wants this driver back after this test, they'll have to pry it out of my cold, dead fingers.

[CFreddie]

Good stuff @EMacK1961!  I'm sure you can appreciate the adjustability of the collar on the Qi (especially with the conditions you are playing in currently).  Do you feel the shaft choice (apologies, can't remember which one you went with) help / hurt trying to achieve that desired ball flight?

[EMacK1961]

I went with the stiff, low launch shaft to help me.

[Wib081]

21 hours ago, IndyBonzo said:

TaylorMade Stealth 2 versus TaylorMade Qi10 (Standard)

I am excited to share the results of the TaylorMade driver comparison test. 

Both heads are 9*.  The loft sleeve was set at the lowest loft/lowest spin setting, which reduces loft to 7* and opens the face 4*.

The test was conducted on a Foresight GC2 launch monitor with GS Pro driving range software using Bridgestone Tour B RX balls.  I hit about 10 shots with each, and picked the best 5.  The shaft was an Otto-Phlex model, i.e., ACCRA iSeries M2.  I think the distances are a bit inflated by the monitor, tbh, but if so they are consistently so.  Here are the results:

Results were very similar in most respects.  As expected, the Qi10 was more accurate, and yielded about 200 rpm more spin.  The Qi10 also launched the ball higher.  The Stealth provided about 2 yards more distance and 2 mph ball speed, which are minimal differences.

In other words, comparing the standard models year over year, TaylorMade managed to make the club more accurate and forgiving without sacrificing distance.  That is an impressive achievement IMO.  The Qi10 is an excellent driver, without question.

Personally, I struggle with keeping spin down.  My current gamer is the low spin Paradym TD, which helps me in that regard.  I also hit the Paradym in this test, with the same conditions, but at 9* loft and with an Accra FX 3.0 M0 (Otto-Phlex) shaft.   While both Accra shafts I used are excellent, high quality shafts, the shaft in the Paradym is more "premium" than that used in the Qi10 and Stealth 2.  Here are the Paradym results:

As expected, spin was lower, launch was lower (due to the shaft?), and speed and distance were greater as a result.

Tentative plans are in the works to allow me to try the Qi10 LS head after reviews are posted. I am excited to see if it can match the Paradym's distance performance and forgiveness.

I plan to game the Qi10 standard again Saturday and will report back with more results!

I’m loving my LTDx at the moment but looking at those results I really gotta find a way to get this in my bag lol. 

[Michael.Sandoval33]

1 hour ago, EMacK1961 said:

I went with the stiff, low launch shaft to help me.

I think it was the Aldila Rogue Silver, wasn't it @EMacK1961? I could be mistaken.

[EMacK1961]

17 minutes ago, Michael.Sandoval33 said:

I think it was the Aldila Rogue Silver, wasn't it @EMacK1961? I could be mistaken.

Yes. I really like the combo.

[GolfSpy_KFT]

Great stuff, guys! Have really enjoyed seeing your results so far and @Michael.Sandoval33congrats on breaking 100 man! I see that becoming more and more the norm for you this year!

[Michael.Sandoval33]

19 minutes ago, GolfSpy_KFT said:

Great stuff, guys! Have really enjoyed seeing your results so far and @Michael.Sandoval33congrats on breaking 100 man! I see that becoming more and more the norm for you this year!

Thanks Jason! That has become my goal (along with a few others) for 2024. Consistently stay under the 100 mark. It was a task getting to that 97 for sure, so I hope to continue the gradual trend towards 90 and then go from there. I think mentally it was really good to get where I know "Okay, I CAN do this".

The Qi10 has played a major role in that mindset. 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

43 minutes ago, Michael.Sandoval33 said:

Thanks Jason! That has become my goal (along with a few others) for 2024. Consistently stay under the 100 mark. It was a task getting to that 97 for sure, so I hope to continue the gradual trend towards 90 and then go from there. I think mentally it was really good to get where I know "Okay, I CAN do this".

The Qi10 has played a major role in that mindset. 

Getting over the hump of doing it once is what helps break the ice to it becoming more consistent. You’ve proven to yourself you can do it, you can look back on a round and see what you did well and work to repeat that while focusing on one other area to improve. You’ve got this no doubt!