Well, this should be the last of it. With the 2025 TaylorMade Qi35 landing on the USGA conforming list, we’ve seen everything the big boys will be offering-up come January (or in one case, later this week).
The entries on the USGA list suggest that TaylorMade will release 3 driver models and that those 3 models will mirror what TaylorMade gave us with Qi10, though there are some notable changes.
Qi35 (the plain one)
Ironically, the least notable of TaylorMade’s three new drivers is the one that should fit the highest percentage of golfers.
For the standard Qi35, the most noticeable update here is the inclusion of a front weight port containing what the USGA shows as a 3g weight.
Unfortunately, the USGA doesn’t give us a rear view of the club, but given that 3g isn’t a particularly significant chunk of mass, it’s entirely possible, if not likely, that the Qi35 will offer a front-to-back weighting system.
Maybe it’s just for swing weighting, but I’m optimistic we’ll find a heavier chunk of mass mounted in the rear that can be swapped for trajectory control purposes, which would be a pretty sweet upgrade.
Qi35 MAX (the forgiving one)
We can safely assume that the MAX will again be TaylorMade’s highest MOI driver and that MOI will again push beyond the 10,000 barrier.
That’s evidenced by a sole marking that reads 10kg-cm².
At this point, it feels like we’re one release cycle from complete formulas being stamped onto clubs … at least when said clubs aren’t forged or don’t contain tungsten.
I digress.
It’s starting to feel like 10K is here to stay and while I’ll continue to remind you that not everyone needs to be chasing maximum MOI, I suppose it’s meaningful that as golfers come to terms with the fact that the days of big distance gains are behind us, forgiveness stories are starting to resonate.
I just wish they were more centered around the right amount of forgiveness instead of absolutely maximizing what is, in a sense, an arbitrary number.
Qi35 LS (the low spinning one)
Lastly, TaylorMade will again offer an LS (low spin) version of its flagship driver. The evolutionary note for the new LS is that TaylorMade has moved away from a full SLDing weight track in the front in favor of two discrete locations.
Like the changes Callaway appears to have made with Elyte, the two-weight system eliminates the need for all of the structure necessary to support the sliding weight system.
Again, I’d wager most golfers are moving weight to one side or the other, so it is probably worth compromising a little bit of fitting capabilities to free up some weight for other purposes.
My Qi35 Questions
Is going all in on gray a great idea? – The other photos we’ve seen of the Qi35 series suggest TaylorMade is going all in with a gray paint scheme. I don’t hate it myself, but it’s not lost on me that the market has traditionally preferred black crowns on its drivers.
It’s true that TaylorMade has succeeded in the past with both white and gray (SIM), but with its infinity crown design, it’s going to be interesting to see if golfers will love the clean look or feel like it’s just a little too clean (and gray).
Is spin under control in the MAX? – I thought the Qi10 MAX was a bit of a miss in that TaylorMade didn’t do the best job of addressing some of the pitfalls of extreme MOI. Specifically, the Qi10 MAX was one of the highest-spinning, if not the highest-spinning driver on the market last year.
And while, sure, there are players who need spin, it was a struggle to get Qi10 MAX below 3000 RPM for almost anyone.
My feeling is that if TaylorMade hopes to compete on performance in the 10K space, Qi35 needs to be significantly better than its predecessor.
So we’re sticking with carbon faces then? – admittedly, that’s more of a comment than a question, but after three generations of Carbon, I wondered if TaylorMade, despite assurances to the contrary, would think about moving away from Carbon.
Not this year.
With the USGA notes indicating CARBON on all three faces, it looks like TaylorMade is sticking with the material for another cycle.
Is that a mistake? (I guess that’s my question.)
The chatter is that not every tour player loves it. That’s definitely true at the consumer level.
Market response coupled with persistent, though improving, breakage and delamination issues, and I thought maybe it would be time for TaylorMade to walk away.
Not happening … at least not right now.
Our carbon-faced adventure continues for another season.
What’s the 35 for? –Last year, the 10 in Qi10 meant 10,000 MOI (even for the models that didn’t offer it). I think we can safely assume the Qi35 doesn’t offer 35,000 MOI, so what’s with the 35? Early word on the street was the new drivers were called NOVA, so maybe that was a code name or a clever bit of misdirection. Regardless, I’m sure there’s a story here.
How much will Qi35 cost? – As I noted with my last USGA piece, we’re in an interesting place right now. Titleist has pushed its prices to $650, and while we can talk about whether or not that’s justified, price is frequently conflated with quality, so I’m not sure the biggest competitors are going to be comfortable with the $50 difference.
There’s also little doubt that the potential for heavy tariffs weighs heavily on everyone and my thought is that the optics would be better raising prices now than trying to deal with cost increases mid-cycle.
Frankly, I don’t know what it will look like when the dust settles, but $600 is the absolute floor, and $650 is likely the ceiling.
More to come
Expect the TaylorMade Qi35 drivers to be officially introduced in early January. More details coming soon.
