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By independent reviewer Martin Hopley

The TaylorMade Qi10 driver gets its name from the 'Quest for Inertia' for 10,000 g/cm2, which is the combined vertical and horizontal MOI of the head. In English that means it is very forgiving as the MOI, or resistance to twisting of the head, is maximised so that if you hit it off centre the shot will be straighter.

The other main aim of this driver is to improve the carbon face from the TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver and this 3rd generation does that through a new supporting structure for the face. At tour level swing speeds, there were some issues with the Stealth 2, so this stronger structure should provide more support. And the face is now blue which looks better too.

The carbon crown now covers 97% of the top of the club which gives TaylorMade some weight to play with and the new darker look creates a more stealthy looking driver, even if not in name.

The TaylorMade Qi10 driver comes in three models and I put them through their paces in the Lyle Studio against each other and the previous Stealth 2.

TaylorMade Qi10 Driver Review

The TaylorMade Qi10 driver is 8mm longer front to back than before, but it still retains a good look at address and is not as toe heavy in shape as recent TaylorMade drivers. You can just see the blue and white line of the face which is a bit more subtle than the Stealth 2 red face.

On Trackman using Titleist Pro V1 balls, the TaylorMade Qi10 driver created more ball speed than the Stealth 2 and with less spin was carrying nearly 8 yards further which is significant.

The sound and feel were also better and with better forgiveness the Qi10 is the best of the carbon faced drivers that TaylorMade has done. Compared to other 2024 models on test it was competitive without being the longest for me. However the Stealth models have been reasonably player specific, so if your swing results in your SGGT custom driver fitting recommends the Qi10 then it will be a good choice.

TaylorMade Qi10 Max Driver Review

As it sounds the TaylorMade Qi10 Max driver is the bigger footprint driver with a 32g weight in the back and the sole weight more in the heel to promote a little more draw bias. This does give it a longer look at address, but again it is better than the previous Stealth 2 HD driver.

The performance is similar to a Stealth 2 HD and compared to the standard model, the Qi10 Max performed well given that the deep head sees the spin and launch increase. If you are a mid to slow swing speed player, or have a raging slice, then this is probably the head for you.

TaylorMade Qi10 LS Driver Review

Finally the Qi10 LS driver is the lower spinning option for high swing speed players which is not me. The head is still 460cc but the shape is taller to bring the CG closer to the face and lower spin and launch. It has a more compact head and style that elite players will prefer.

In the sole there is a sliding 18g weight behind the Speed Pocket slot to adjust the CG to the preferred position and I found the best results when the weight was closer to the heel to enable the face to close more.

The 9° head on test was adjusted up 2° to get the optimum conditions and compared to the previous Stealth 2 Plus, I gained a couple mph of ball speed and a few extra yards of carry.

As this is the Tour player model, I was not expecting performance to be radically different from the Stealth 2 Plus as their players don't like to see too much change, but it was good to see the speed gains from the other models appear in the Qi10 LS too.

TaylorMade Qi10 Driver Review Summary

Overall the TaylorMade Qi10 driver is a positive step forward with improved ball speed and forgiveness in a package that looks better than before. The whole carbon face thing is probably still work in progress, but this feels like a the start of big things for this technology. In addition the look is a bit more classy and the shape is less toe heavy making the TaylorMade Qi10 driver one of the best models they have done in recent times.

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