TaylorMade Qi10 Driver Review
Are you looking for a new driver and want to know if the Qi10 is worth the premium price?
In this article, I will share my TaylorMade Qi10 Driver review after getting my hands on this sleek-looking club. I thoroughly enjoyed hitting its predecessor, the Stealth 2 driver, and will dive into how the Qi10 felt.
Continue below to find out my thoughts on how the Qi10 driver performed in this honest review.
TaylorMade Qi10 Driver Review in Short
The Qi10 driver held its own in terms of being very forgiving on mishits. My swing during my testing session was the perfect candidate to test the forgiveness feature.
The design is beautiful, and I liked it even more in person. Some subtle design touches on the crown make it look even more premium than the Stealth 2.
I found the Qi10 driver to be a great driver, and although the distance was very good, I couldn't get it as high in yards on my really good swings as I did with the Qi10 MAX. Overall, the Qi10 forgiveness is phenomenal.
Pros and Cons of the TaylorMade Qi10 Driver
Pros
Well designed and modern looks.
Fantastic forgiveness.
Solid distance.
Crisp sound.
Enjoyable swing.
Cons
Price tag.
TaylorMade Qi10 Driver Performance
Specs of the TaylorMade Qi10 driver I tested: 9.0 Loft, Standard Lie, Standard Length, Regular Flex, Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 5 Graphite shaft.
I tested it indoors on Trackman and hit 51 drives. I used Pro V1 RCT (Radar Capture Technology) golf balls to get accurate data. Here is the data from my testing session:
Avg Carry Yards | Avg Total Yards | Avg Swing Speed (mph) | Avg Ball Speed (mph) | Avg Smash Factor |
219.11 | 243.87 | 95.53 | 136.68 | 1.43 |
Appearance: A+
The Qi 10 has a nice look, and you notice a slightly different driver head shape from the Stealth 2. That said, you can see much of the Stealth 2 design that has been iterated to create the Qi10.
I love that the “Infinity Carbon Crown” now covers “97% of the total crown area,” as per TaylorMade. This is noticeable as the excellent design goes all the way to the edge of the crown just above the face, whereas in the Stealth 2, it almost looks like a snap-on piece on the top.
The blue carbon face is also a nice differentiator from the previous popping red of the Stealth and Stealth 2 lines.
I was pleasantly surprised when I took it out of the box versus what I saw online when the first pictures were released. It looks much better in person.
One last point on appearance that I did really like was that I thought the weight was more well designed on the Qi10 than it was on the Stealth 2.
I found the Stealth 2 weight to be a bit too wide and clunky, where the Qi10 seems to have the weight more naturally designed into the sleek shape.
Sound: A
There is not a lot to say about the sound. It sounds very similar to the Stealth 2. It is just an overall solid, what I describe as a muted crispness, sound on contact, especially if you are hitting center-face.
Forgiveness/Feel: A+
The feel of the Qi10 is nice; it was smooth and effortless to swing, but I didn’t think it was AS electric as the Stealth 2. If you hit the center of the sweet shot, you do get a charged feeling on contact.
I was the perfect candidate to test forgiveness when hitting with the Qi10.
My swing was wildly inconsistent during testing, so I took full advantage of any forgiveness offered.
The misses I did have were more on the toe, and unless I had a REALLY bad swing, the Qi10 did its best to avoid penalizing me on distance and accuracy.
Distance: A
Even though it was forgiving, it didn't feel like "blow other drivers out of the water" distance. That said, it was still very good and consistent, especially if you hit it square off the center of that carbon face.
Yes, if you check out my testing session, my swing was a bit of a mess during. Even so, when I got my swing speed decent and a square club path/face-to-path, I could only get in and around 260 yards.
The one thing I did notice, when I DID get my club path and face-to-path square on, even if my swing speed was slower the ball exploded off the Qi10 face. My longest drive was 265.3 yards, and my swing speed on that drive was 95.1mph. My club path was +1.5 degrees, and face-to-path was +0.6 degrees, so squared up it rocketed off the face for 265.3 yards.
However, compare that to some of the other drivers I have recently hit (like the Aerojet MAX driver), where I got similar swing speeds/ square contact up into the high 260s and a few in the 270 yard range.
I didn’t think any new addition made it feel like leaps and bounds improved over the Stealth 2 in distance.
Accuracy: A
The Qi10 is a pretty accurate club.
My dispersion was wide, but that was more me messing around with my mediocre swing that day. I was trying to hit draws after leaving the club face open on many of my initial swings, causing some pushes.
Combined with the forgiveness, I was getting many of my mishits to still end up in a decent position on the fairway.
That part of the Qi10 performance I was impressed with.
Overall Swing Enjoyment: A
I’m going to be fair to the Qi10. It is a nice and well-designed driver with added features, including the 97% area covering of the carbon crown. I did enjoy swinging the Qi10, but I didn’t enjoy my own swing while swinging with it.
Value: Is the TaylorMade Qi10 Driver Worth it?
The performance was solid overall, aiding in a higher level of enjoyment when hitting with it. Forgiveness and distance will not disappoint you overall.
I do think that with the expectations of the drivers now, it’s almost like the space race between manufacturers releasing new tech as fast as they can; it is becoming increasingly more challenging to meet those expectations.
The $600 price tag makes it less alluring, especially when many drivers are on the market for less but can still deliver great performance.
That said, if you’re upgrading your driver after a decade and want one of the latest drivers or have a lot of disposable income to keep buying the updated models, you won’t be disappointed with the Qi10.
Qi10 Driver Technology
A lot of the same technology that TaylorMade had in the Stealth 2 is implemented into the Qi10. The design looks similar, but the finishing touches on the Qi10 raise the premium level.
Some of the carryover tech in the Qi10 includes:
Carbon!
The theme of carbon is constant with the latest TaylorMade drivers. The Qi10 is no different, where the highlight feature is the “Infinity Carbon Crown,” with 97% of the crown area covered in carbon. It does look very premium, so no complaints there.
The Thru-Slot Speed Pocket is also included in the Qi10, which has been a constant in the TaylorMade driver tech.
This tech is charged with preserving ball speed and forgiveness on hits on the lower part of the face, still providing that big energy transfer to the ball in an optimal way.
60X Carbon Twist Face
The third generation of this TaylorMade driver face is engineered to reduce forward weight and maximize energy transfer at contact. The goal is to give you better ball speeds and forgiveness on hits that aren’t center-face.
Like the Stealth 2, it’s a nice looking face but in a navy blue.
FAQ
When was the TaylorMade Qi10 Driver Release Date?
The Qi10 driver was released for sale in the North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom in early February 2024.
Who Should Play the Qi10 Driver?
The Qi10 is a solid driver for low and mid handicap golfers. You can get away with it if you’re a high handicap golfer with a relatively consistent driver swing, but the Qi10 MAX is probably the better driver to test as a beginner.
Check out my TaylorMade Qi10 Driver vs Qi10 MAX comparison for how I faired with each.
What does Qi10 Stand for?
It stands for “Quest for Inertia” 10,000 (MOI). When I found out what it stood for, I thought it was a bit "try too hard"; I enjoyed the name a lot more when I thought it was just nomenclature.
How We Test and Our Methodology
Golferperformance.com is a 100% independent publisher aiming to provide tips to improve your golf game and bring more relatable equipment reviews after first-hand club testing.
At Golfer Performance, we personally purchase the products we test, ensuring that our reviews are not influenced by any company or manufacturer. This commitment to independence guarantees the integrity of our opinions and decisions.
After purchasing the products, we conduct hands-on testing in our Trackman studio and/or out on the course to report statistical performance and a first-hand feel for each product.
Jeff K is our resident expert and author. He has 20+ years of experience playing golf and solving swing problems that everyday golfers deal with, bringing his game to mid-handicapper status and shooting scores in the low-to-mid 80s.