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By independent reviewer Martin Hopley

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best and the TaylorMade Qi35 driver personifies this. Over recent years TaylorMade has given us new faces, new shapes of faces and moveable weight tracks. However in the Qi35 driver the key factor is the placement of weight in the head.

You may have heard this before, but TaylorMade is trying to break the trade-off between forgiveness and ball speed when you move the CG back. They do this by using multi-materials in the crown of the head to save weight and then simplifying the weight systems in the sole to redistribute this low and back. This lowers the CG point below the equator on the face, but in a way that keeps the speed.

The head has a chromium carbon crown with steel, aluminium, titanium and tungsten combining with tungsten weights in a clean and straightforward design to deliver the best performance possible.

Old favourites like the 4^th generation Twist Face, Thru-Slot Speed Pocket and adjustable 4° hosel are still part of the package and it is the sum of these parts that makes the Qi35 driver stand out.

The are 4 models in the range, with 3 main ones aimed at different types of golfers and I took them on Trackman in the Lyle Studio with Titleist ProV1 balls hit outdoors to put them through their paces.

TaylorMade Qi35 Driver Review

Visually there are two big changes to the TaylorMade Qi35 driver and the first of them is the shape. For many years, TaylorMade’s mainstream drivers have featured a pear shape, but now in the spirit of maximum forgiveness they have moved to a more rounded shape at address.

For me this is a welcome development as it looks more balanced and the TM alignment ‘bug’ logo on the crown looks more central at address. The shape is more in tune with competitor drivers in this sector so if you have never considered TaylorMade drivers in the past, then now is the time to take another look.

The second change is the gunmetal finish which really catches the eye. It’s not black like most drivers and there is a tiny flash of green on the side, but otherwise the lighter shade is meant to stand out. There is a lot of attention to detail in the style, finish and even the look of the weights on the sole and this is reflected in the premium feel.

On Trackman using the same shaft across all the heads, the Qi35 felt a little lighter to swing than the TaylorMade Qi10 Driver and the performance actually improved with that larger foot print of a head.

What do Trackman numbers mean?

As part of the comparison I kept the lofts at 10.5° for each of the heads but as you can see the Qi35 was a little spinny for me at this loft. Using a 9° head and using the adjustable hosel to adjust it up to 10° gave even better results as the spin dropped 400rpm and the carry went up to 243 yards. This is a fast club and whatever TaylorMade has done with the weighting is delivering in performance.

TaylorMade Qi35 Max Driver Review

The TaylorMade Qi35 Max driver also has the more rounded shape, but this is drawn back a little more to create a deeper centre of gravity.

The Qi35 has weights in the sole you can swap front to back, but in the Qi35 Max, the single rear 34g tungsten weight is fixed and a little on the inside. This should give the head a little draw bias but it was hardly noticeable in testing

Again the sound and feel of the Max was excellent and the weight set up did give a much higher flight so this club will be ideal for mid to slow swing speed players.

One of the other heads in the range is the Qi35 Max Lite, which has the same shape as the standard Max, but the head, grip and shaft have been on a diet so it is much lighter. The Max Lite is very easy to hit so if you are average to slow swing speed then it will probably come down to the Max Lite or a higher lofted version of the Max as they probably offer all the forgiveness you need.

TaylorMade Qi35 LS Driver Review

Tour players love a good pear-shaped driver so the Qi35 LS retains that look to create a more compact head that is not as deep front to back as the standard model. This keeps the CG closer to the face and the spin down hence the Low Spin initials.

There is also a third sole weight to enable you to move the CG even further forward if you want to vary spin further in conjunction with varying the face loft and the adjustable hosel setting.

And so it proved in testing with a lower launch and spin, but very good distance. For my swing speed I could get this going and got some very good results, but it was a little harder work and the variation in dispersion was not as tight as the standard Qi35.

TaylorMade Qi35 Driver Review Summary

I think I can summarise this review very succinctly by saying that having hit every TaylorMade driver over the last 20 years, I feel the Qi35 is their best model since the 2016 M2.

Not only does it perform very well, but the more rounded shape of the head creates a more balanced look which I think will appeal to more players. The technology story is simple, makes sense and delivers, which doesn’t always happen in threes with drivers. And it looks pretty good too.

With a choice of three Qi35 heads and a variety of adjustability options, a driver custom fitting at SGGT fitting at SGGT should enable you to get the most from the Qi35, which is going to be one of the drivers to beat in 2025.

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