After an interesting couple years under the Stealth moniker, TaylorMade came back in 2024 with the Qi10 lineup of drivers. That name comes from the companies self-professed “Quest for Inertia” in creating the most playable driver possible, but the 10 comes from one model in the lineup in particular, and that is the Qi10 Max. As the season has gone on, the 10K MOI story has continued to be pushed, so we decided it was time to get one of these heads in our heads for a full THP testing.
Quick Take
The Qi10 Max is arguably the straightest driver that TaylorMade golf has ever made. The shape of the head is the biggest we have seen from the company, but it still looks like a TaylorMade driver. While the 10K story is one which marketing is paving the way for, the reality is this is a driver head for those who want to be in play more and are willing to give up a little speed while gaining more spin.
TaylorMade Qi10 Max Story
Obviously, the lead story in the clubhouse for the Qi10 Max driver is it being the first driver which TaylorMade has ever produced that cracked the 10,000 combined MOI measurement. While this isn’t the only 10K driver on the market, nor is it the first to ever break that threshold, it is an interesting direction change for TaylorMade.
The key here is both a material and shaping story. Sure, the 60X Carbon Twist Face is back, but beyond that there isn’t much in the new Qi10 line that remains of Stealth, which isn’t a bad thing. From the top, the “infinity carbon crown” is a stellar look and gets rid of the “frame” which the company had become synonymous with. This means more lightweight materials in the head, and 97% of the crown as carbon compared to 79% in the last generation.
In fact, there is only 71g of Titanium in the entire head, and there is no other company out there which can make such claims with their drivers. This combines with a new shape in the Max, and to be frank, its big. While the overall curvature of the shape still screams TaylorMade at setup, the “inertia shaping” has maximized the surface area visible at setup. Translation? It is 8mm longer from front to back. It is honestly a bit jarring coming from previous heads, as well as the other heads in the Qi10 lineup, but the curvature somehow keeps it more comfortable than anticipated.
If you don’t mind a little size and are the type of golfer who benefits from that, then the Qi10 Max will check a ton of boxes for you. Honestly, even as someone who doesn’t prefer that, looking down at the head during this review both on the course and monitor was strangely comfortable and confidence inspiring. However, the performance is of course the most interesting part of this story.
TaylorMade Qi10 Max Performance
We received the Qi10 Max driver head in 10.5 degrees for this review, while this is not usually the type of head which I would play, it is the story that we were interested in. So, to see if it does what it claims to do, the head was paired with a UST Mamiya LINQ White M40X in 65 F5. During testing on a launch monitor we also tracked data in both standard 10.5, as well as turned down to 8.5, but we will get to that soon.
Overall, the recurring feedback during testing is that the Qi10 Max simply wants to stay in play. Regardless of impact location, the stability which TaylorMade has touted stood up and stood out. Even some of the most egregious glancing shots were met with the ball wanting to stay on the grid. On top of that, despite being quite large, the sound (feel) was exactly what we would expect from a TaylorMade driver, especially with the 60X Carbon Twist Face. At impact, it is crunchy, punchy, and it seems powerful. So, with all of that, what is the rest of the story? Read on.
TaylorMade lists the Qi10 Max a mid-spin mid-high launch profile which they claim is playable for 0-30 handicap players. Was that seen during testing? Sure. The reality is that, like on any review, fitting matters, and from a personal swing perspective post review, seeing what we did out of the 10.5 left us extremely curious what might have been possible from the 9.5.
On the monitor, the Qi10 Max at standard was every bit of a mid to mid-high spinning setup with launch for days. As you will see in the data, massive peaks came with ease and the spin kept to the low-to-mid 3,000’s. When turned down, the head still offered ample launch, and spin remained around that 3,000 mark. In all, this means the head does what it claimed.
| SETTING | BALL SPEED | CLUB SPEED | LAUNCH ANGLE | SPIN | CARRY | TOTAL | PEAK | OFFLINE |
| STD 10.5 | 156 | 110 | 17.0 | 3338 | 262 | 278 | 44Y | 12Y – L |
| DWN 8.5 | 158 | 110 | 15.0 | 3057 | 268 | 288 | 40Y | 3Y – R |
With that data in mind, it is no wonder that the ball wanted to stay in play, after all, keeping spin in a range like that and combining it with an incredibly stable design thanks to the 10K MOI design story you have the ingredients for accuracy. With that said, though others out there have been able to get similar speeds out of the Max, we found it slower overall. Given the size and shape, the clubhead speed is going to suffer some, and with that it took a lot of effort to get the ball speeds up. In the end though, if you are a Max player, then speed is likely something you are willing to sacrificed for playability.
The Details
It will be interesting to see where TaylorMade goes from here as it pertains to the 10,000 MOI story behind the Qi10 and namely this Max model. There is certainly a space for it, though when other companies are hitting 10K and keeping spin down, maybe an evolution is to be expected next time around.
The entire Qi10 lineup is out in stores worldwide right now as well as on www.TaylorMadeGolf.com. Pricing for the Qi10 Max as standard is $599.99.
