TaylorMade Qi10 Drivers - 2024 Forum Member Review

[Jmikecpa]

Hit some balls on Trackman tonight with both the Qi10 and the TSR3. One thing that is starting to stand out for me with the Qi10 is the deviation in spin. When it is good it is really good….but when it is bad it is really bad. I removed three balls on my set with the Qi10 and still had close to 1,000 rpms in spin deviation compared to less than 300 rpms with the TSR3. Keep in mind I am not all over the face with either driver so it is a bit concerning. The three that I removed were not missed poorly just had numbers that were so far out of the norm that it was further skewing the data. 
 

Just for fun I hit three balls with both drivers toe side and high. The TSR3 was playable and carried out on average 277 yards. The Qi10 had two that were playable and one that fell out of the sky and spun at 1,400 rpm’s. The toe miss is really starting to scare me as that is my normal miss and just can’t have that one fall out of the sky. More testing to do but my swing is about where it needs to be and the speed is building so more to come. 

[chisag]

... This is really a MGS Tester thread and I don't wanna steal any tester's thunder. So I will keep this brief. After about 15 rounds with my Qi10 I have three words about my experience. 

Best. Driver. Ever.

Disclaimer: Objects in the fairway may be much farther away than they appear. 
 

[Tincuptim]

Was this the only 10k driver you hit? Heard the Ping G430 is a great product as well. Not sure about the lower launch for my game but love the lower spin characteristic. Time to do a fitting and see what the results show!

[Jmikecpa]

Just got back from the range and man was it cold….why in the hell did I move back north????

Aside from that the results were good and for the rest of this testing period the only numbers I am going to focus on are Arccos numbers. I recreated the toe shot from last night that was falling out of the sky on Trackman outdoors and it was completely different. Temps are high 30’s straight into a 10-15 mph breeze and I was clearing the end of the range at 235 with a 35 foot net with no issue. My sense is somewhere around a 260ish carry with a cold range ball …not bad at all. I know everyone wants numbers and data as do I but the fact of the matter is this driver performs (for me anyway) a lot better hitting shots than beating balls to get data. I hit maybe 25 drives and only about two were on the unacceptable scale and 16-18 were an A+. Playing Sunday in the cold and wind and very excited to see how it performs in fairly awful weather. I was going to play tomorrow in the rain for that comparison but I am just not that crazy or dedicated. 

[rkj427]

@Jmikecpa just curious about where the Trackman was utilized? Indoors or actually at an outdoor range or course?

Interesting that the data showed differently than what you saw on the range.

Just curious is why I am asking.

[Jmikecpa]

1 hour ago, rkj427 said:

@Jmikecpa just curious about where the Trackman was utilized? Indoors or actually at an outdoor range or course?

Interesting that the data showed differently than what you saw on the range.

Just curious is why I am asking.

It was indoors at a shop near me on Long Island.  Not saying anything was wrong with the machine just seeing different results outdoors than I am indoors. 

[Michael.Sandoval33]

Headed out to Bixby Village today and was able to use the Qi10 Max on 3 of the 9 holes. It was a wet morning, and on the 8th hole I was able to use the Driver on a 300 yard par 4 while it was raining steadily. Not much change in distances but I was able to rope the fade in a good amount by taking the advice I was given on adjusting to create a more closed face on impact. According to Arrcos data, I was 1/3 on fairways hit. The 2 "misses" according to Arrcos were semi-intentional as I was aiming to be closer to the hole and in good set-up position after each shot. Below are the view from Arccos of the 3.

Edited March 23 by Michael.Sandoval33

[Hook DeLoft]

We've had a bunch of rain in the last couple of weeks, but I was able to get in some range time this week and played 18 this morning.  On the range, I played with adding lead tape and that really helped.  Even though I am a slow swinger, I seem to actually create more speed with a higher swing weight.  On the course, all but 3 drives were playable draws.  The other 3 broke down into 2 nasty hooks into the left rough and one fade that stayed in the fairway.  All in all, I am very pleased with my accuracy with this club.  I didn't pay much attention to distance this morning.  The temperature was in the mid 50's and the wind was blowing 15mph with higher gusts.  As a result, I averaged about 10 to 15 yards less than my usual.  I'm posting an update to the test post.

[Jmikecpa]

Tons of rain today so hoping to be able to play tomorrow but right now not looking promising. I did however decide to try and experiment with this driver that I will give a go either on the range or golf course tomorrow. Bought a shaft today that would be the lightest driver shaft I have ever played from a manufacturer that I have played a bit in the past. Going to keep the specs under wraps until I get out and see if it has any promise. The idea is to introduce a touch more speed and some launch to see if I can really unlock the potential of this driver. Just got done with the build so it will be ready to go by morning. 

[HikingMike]

9 hours ago, Michael.Sandoval33 said:

Headed out to Bixby Village today and was able to use the Qi10 Max on 3 of the 9 holes. It was a wet morning, and on the 8th hole I was able to use the Driver on a 300 yard par 4 while it was raining steadily. Not much change in distances but I was able to rope the fade in a good amount by taking the advice I was given on adjusting to create a more closed face on impact. According to Arrcos data, I was 1/3 on fairways hit. The 2 "misses" according to Arrcos were semi-intentional as I was aiming to be closer to the hole and in good set-up position after each shot. Below are the view from Arccos of the 3.

I like that shot. That's one pretty driver. Hey you still have the sticker on the shaft

[Michael.Sandoval33]

2 minutes ago, HikingMike said:

I like that shot. That's one pretty driver. Hey you still have the sticker on the shaft

I know! I always mean to remove it and then next thing I'm out the door with it in the bag. I'll get to it ASAP

[GolfSpy_APH]

How many of you guys have fooled around with the settings to see what the overall capabilities or these are? Fade, draw bias? Low and high and everything in between?

[Jmikecpa]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

How many of you guys have fooled around with the settings to see what the overall capabilities or these are? Fade, draw bias? Low and high and everything in between?

I now have mine set at standard loft and in the upright setting. The weight is all the way towards the heel and getting some good results. 
 

This was from my range session this morning and finally getting the window I want with some tweaks.  The shaft experiment is also showing promising results.

I did play with the weight a little bit today and went center to toe to heel with varying results. For me it seemed to affect club delivery more than shot shape. Weight in the toe was just not great at all and I felt like I had to smother the ball to get what I wanted out of it. Center is fine but heel just allows me to turn it over a bit easier and I can still hit a fade if I have to.  

[Michael.Sandoval33]

2 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

How many of you guys have fooled around with the settings to see what the overall capabilities or these are? Fade, draw bias? Low and high and everything in between?

I have so far raised the loft/lie settings but have not lowered them yet. Was thinking of trying it for a few shots at the range to check for any different results. For me, I still have a fade bias but upping the settings did help with the severity of the fade.

[GolfSpy_BEN]

2 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

How many of you guys have fooled around with the settings to see what the overall capabilities or these are? Fade, draw bias? Low and high and everything in between?

In the handful of range sessions, I have had it in the states loft, stated loft upright, +.75*, +1.5*, and the setting that worked best during my fitting with Tensei black shaft, +2* with the weight in the heel setting. 
 

The Kai Li white shaft didn’t perform quite the same in this setting, so hence the tinkering. When the replacement gets here, hopefully by next weekend, and the Ventus shaft arrives I will be running through the various settings that fit with my swing to optimize that combination. I will likely stay away from the fade bias settings as my primary miss lately has been to the right. 

[KarlNacho]

I did try the qi10 max and I liked it.  The spin was too high for me though.  Went with the 430 10k based on lower spin.

[bens197]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy_BEN said:

In the handful of range sessions, I have had it in the states loft, stated loft upright, +.75*, +1.5*, and the setting that worked best during my fitting with Tensei black shaft, +2* with the weight in the heel setting. 
 

The Kai Li white shaft didn’t perform quite the same in this setting, so hence the tinkering. When the replacement gets here, hopefully by next weekend, and the Ventus shaft arrives I will be running through the various settings that fit with my swing to optimize that combination. I will likely stay away from the fade bias settings as my primary miss lately has been to the right. 

Does that say 4* closed??

As long as it works right

 

[GolfSpy_BEN]

30 minutes ago, bens197 said:

Does that say 4* closed??

As long as it works right

 

It does indeed. Lately I’ve been fighting a tendency to go OTT when I try to get after it. 
 

I work on path and face a lot in my practice sessions, but inevitably all of that goes out the window on the course, so setting up an overly draw biased club helps straighten me out

[chisag]

7 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

How many of you guys have fooled around with the settings to see what the overall capabilities or these are? Fade, draw bias? Low and high and everything in between?

 

... Having played Taylor Made as my last 4 drivers, I was pretty familiar with the hosel settings. I have played with a little lead tape on the toe with lighter weights in the heel of my Sim2 Max and Stealth 2 HD but not needed with my standard Qi10. Based on my preferred trajectory and spin, the turned down twice for -1.5* loft and 3* open face also look best at address. That is a nice bonus because I play a straight ball to soft draw and an open face gives me the confidence to swing freely without fearing a bigger draw or hook. I did try the standard and turned down once before settling on the turned down twice setting.  

Edited March 24 by chisag

[bens197]

46 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BEN said:

It does indeed. Lately I’ve been fighting a tendency to go OTT when I try to get after it. 
 

I work on path and face a lot in my practice sessions, but inevitably all of that goes out the window on the course, so setting up an overly draw biased club helps straighten me out

I love it. 

[Hook DeLoft]

6 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

How many of you guys have fooled around with the settings to see what the overall capabilities or these are? Fade, draw bias? Low and high and everything in between?

I have tried pretty much every hosel setting.  I find the differences to be recognizable but somewhat subtle.  Except for the -1 degree setting.  At my swing speed and the way I deliver the club, 8 degrees is just not enough loft.  The Max driver doesn't have moveable weights, so that doesn't come into play.  I did add about 4 grams of weight in the heel area to bring up the swing weight which gave me good results in strike location and club speed.

On the subject of hosel adjustments, I think most know that adding loft closes the club face and lowering loft opens the club face.  But that understanding is not quite right in my opinion.  If you add loft and look down at the club at address, the face will be closed.  In that case, you haven't really added loft, you have simply closed the face.  However, if you are careful to rotate the face to a square position at address, then you have added loft and have not closed the face.  I say all that to point out that hosel adjustments work only to the extent that you address the ball correctly.

[IndyBonzo]

I have tinkered with loft and lie quite a bit.  I find that the loft changes are very accurate, and they impact spin and launch angle exactly as described.  As a result, I have been playing the Qi10 at the lowest loft/lowest spin setting, but it has not helped my misses right at all, so I think I need to consider trying to play the face more closed like @GolfSpy_BEN suggested and see if I can still manage the spin that way.

In playing on Saturday I hit a few nice drives with the Qi10, but again struggled to find distance.  I hit my Paradym on one hole, and @CudaKota66's Paradym on another, and both went longer than the Qi10, in one case 15 yards longer.

That said, I started finding some good distance during a quick sim session yesterday afternoon, so I am not making a verdict on Qi10 distance yet.  In just a few hits, I also found the 2023 Stealth 2 to be longer than the standard Qi10.  Unfortunately I had to cut the session short, but I intend to do a repeat this week and provide some data here.

[Michael.Sandoval33]

At the range today, I choked down quite a bit (need to mark the grip with tape next time) and I found a ton of success in both closing the face and gaining distance. Unfortunately the trackman was down today so tomorrow I will have a visual, but the dispersion was much tighter and it made a big difference. It does make me wonder why more fitter's choose not to have different shaft lengths available. But that is something I will continue to test out as the days pass. But overall, much better Qi10 Max, much better.

Edited March 25 by Michael.Sandoval33

[Shrek74]

3 minutes ago, Michael.Sandoval33 said:

At the range today, I choked down quite a bit (need to mark the grip with tape next time) and I found a ton of success in both closing the face and gaining distance. Unfortunately the trackman was down today so tomorrow I will have a visual, but the dispersion was much tighter and it made a big difference. It does make me wonder why more fitter's choose not to have different shaft lengths available. But that is something I will continue to test out as the days pass. But overall, much better Qi10 Max, much better.

I'll be curious to know your final playing length you found. One of my issues with driver has been length, so I'm curious.

[chisag]

5 minutes ago, Michael.Sandoval33 said:

At the range today, I choked down quite a bit (need to mark the grip with tape next time) and I found a ton of success in both closing the face and gaining distance. Unfortunately the trackman was down today so tomorrow I will have a visual, but the dispersion was much tighter and it made a big difference. It does make me wonder why more fitter's choose not to have different shaft lengths available. But that is something I will continue to test out as the days pass. But overall, much better Qi10 Max, much better.

 

... You can thank Sales Departments that need the Robot manipulated for their specific driver to be "the longest in our testing". A Robot hits a longer shaft farther every time. Golfers do not. I used to have this discussion with Cobra engineers and after the Fly Z and another of my reviews saying the stock shaft is too long for the average golfer the next year he said "Your gonna love this. We are offering a Tour Length driver on our website that is shorter than standard and has a heavier weight." Rickie Fowler was playing his Cobra driver at 43.5" at that time so DUH. I doubt I was solely responsible but like to think I had a little influence. 

... Two rules for drivers I think are critical. Play the softest shaft you can control, and to be sure for some that is an X Flex and tipped. And play the shortest shaft you feel comfortable playing. Usually 44" to 45" and most will find on average they hit the ball straighter and farther. Sure you have that one drive with a 45.75" shaft that is the longest on that hole, but your misses are shorter than average because you are missing the center. New drivers are making misses less penal so this general rule no longer completely applies but missing the center by .25" without a square face angle can lose 5-7yds. Missing by 1" which many do, will lose you 20-28 yards!   This explains the one big drive someone hits and laments "why can't I do that every time?" and the truth is if they hit the center of the face they could. And in most cases a shorter driver shaft helps players do exactly that. 

[Michael.Sandoval33]

28 minutes ago, Shrek74 said:

I'll be curious to know your final playing length you found. One of my issues with driver has been length, so I'm curious.

I will for sure keep you updated. It has been the topic of my research for the past few days with a lot of help from a few other members. I am thinking of trying the Qi10 with a shorter shaft if I can find a good one for the right price. It may be the answer.

And @chisag thank you for the insight. There is a lot to be learned from your posts and I appreciate the knowledge I have gained from you during the testing period this far. You're a

[GolfSpy_KFT]

31 minutes ago, Michael.Sandoval33 said:

I will for sure keep you updated. It has been the topic of my research for the past few days with a lot of help from a few other members. I am thinking of trying the Qi10 with a shorter shaft if I can find a good one for the right price. It may be the answer.

And @chisag thank you for the insight. There is a lot to be learned from your posts and I appreciate the knowledge I have gained from you during the testing period this far. You're a

@chisag felt appropriate 

[TJ Hall]

Any update on the replacement @GolfSpy_BEN?  Hopefully it is getting close!

[GolfSpy_BEN]

7 minutes ago, TJ Hall said:

Any update on the replacement @GolfSpy_BEN?  Hopefully it is getting close!

Yes, of a sort. I received an email from Taylor Made on Saturday indicating that the replacement head was shipping. When I click on the tracking link provided, FedEx states that the shipping label was printed on the Friday, the 22nd but that the package had not been received yet and that tracking info and a delivery date would be supplied once FedEx takes possession of the package. As of this evening, that is still the status. I would guess the head will be here by the 30th, which is what Taylor Made originally estimated. So on schedule, but by no means above and beyond. 

[TCUfrog]

 

Hope you get yours soon @GolfSpy_BEN

TaylorMade delivered mine this morning! Heading to the track man bar to test it out tonight.

Edited March 25 by TCUfrog