Equipment

TaylorMade Qi35 driver review (all 3 models) – Club Junkie Reviews

Published

1 year ago

Jan 31, 2025

TaylorMade’s new Qi35 driver line utilizes a ton of carbon fiber to bring golfers longer and straighter drives. New weighting helps make the Qi35 drivers longer and straighter with better consistency.

Read our Qi35 launch piece here.

I was lucky enough to get fit for the Qi35 at TaylorMade’s Kingdom last year and since then have been hitting the drivers indoors at the range.

Here is my experience with all the Qi35, Qi35 LS, and Qi35 Max.

For the full review check out the Club Junkie podcast on all podcast platforms, on YouTube, and be sure to follow on Instagram.

Qi35

I was a big fan of the Qi10 core model last year but did find that in some windier conditions the spin would cause some distance loss or added curvature to my shots. The new Qi35 “core” seems to be lower spin for me and more consistent with that spin number. I liked the new look of the Qi35 as it has a little larger footprint that was used to move more weight to the perimeter for added forgiveness. The Qi35 was very stable on mishits and offered very good results on shots hit out on the toe and heel. A new weight up front allows players who need lower spin to swap the heavy weight upfront to reduce some spin as well. Feel off the face is nice, I have been a fan of the carbon, and feels like it is a little softer than Qi10. Sound also seems to be a little muted compared to the Qi10 with a slightly lower-pitched sound at impact. I felt the ball speed numbers were great on center shots and held onto a good amount of speed when I hit it on the heel or toe. Spin did seem a little lower than Qi10 as I didn’t see as big of a spike when hitting it lower on the face and balls that carried further on those low misses. Launch was pretty effortless and while the launch number doesn’t seem high, I tend to hit a little more of a low draw shot shape. To me, the Qi35 is a great blend of forgiveness and distance that will probably fit a wider range of players this year.

Qi35 LS

Keeping the traditional TaylorMade shape, the low spin model is back but more adjustable and playable this year. For me, the Qi10 LS was just too low spin and I struggled to keep spin in the low 2,000 area. With the added moveable weights this year you can add some spin and forgiveness with the heavy weight in the back or push that heavy weight forward for a spin-killing setup. I tried the driver with the heavy weight up in the toe, which the folks at TaylorMade nicknamed “beast mode” setting! I noticed the spin come down to those low 2,000 numbers, even dipping below on a toe draw for my swing. But with the weight back I was able to hit some of my best shots from the three drivers and when I did connect on the low heel the spin number stayed down resulting in a more powerful shot that carried further. Solid strikes were easy to get in the air and even though the launch number was the lowest, you can easily get this in the air. The biggest surprise was how straight the ball went on non-perfect shots. Usually a lower-spinning, tour-style driver will go pretty far right or left but the Qi35 kept the ball in bounds on all but the worst swings. I saw my best ball speed numbers with the LS and I also found that I made center contact more consistently with it. This is the head I got fit into when I visited TaylorMade and I continue to hit solid shots with it here at home.

Qi35 Max

Last year’s Qi10 Max was a pretty big hit, and it seems like 10K drivers aren’t going anywhere anytime soon! TaylorMade updated the Qi35 Max with more carbon fiber and a lower CG location for increased distance on mishits. Some 10K drivers suffer from some excess spin and TaylorMade also dove into that and made the spin a little lower and more consistent compared to the Qi10 Max. Like last year, I found the Qi35 Max to be very straight; draws and fades just had very little curve to them. If your goal is to hit it straighter, the 10K Qi35 might be the answer. Now the head does launch and spin the most out of the group, so it might take a little testing to make sure you get the right loft and shaft to fit your swing dynamics. The spin was much more controlled compared to the Qi10 as I could play the 10.5 degree head with the launch and spin being lower and last year I had to use a 9.0 degree to get similar spin, but I never really got the launch dialed in. I feel like the Max, much like the standard Qi35, will fit a wider range of players this year.

For the full review check out the Club Junkie podcast on all podcast platforms, on YouTube, and be sure to follow on Instagram.

Whats in the Bag

Christiaan Maas WITB 2026 (June)

Published

9 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D LS (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold X100

Wedges: TaylorMade Prototype (50-SB09), TaylorMade MG5 (56-HB12, 60-LV07)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400

Putter: TaylorMade TP Juno

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Christiaan Maas’ clubs here.

Equipment

TaylorMade MySpider Tour and Tour X: More customizable build options now available

Published

9 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

TaylorMade Golf’s MySpider program underwent a substantial overhaul over the last month. Firstly, the company launched the option to customize the Spider ZT model, and now the program has returned with the MySpider Tour and MySpider Tour X.

The revamped page now gives golfers complete control over every visual and functional detail of their putter on the popular Tour and Tour X head, with every cosmetic idea thought of. In MySpider Tour, golfers can choose from four head finishes, 16 paint fill colors, nine Surlyn face insert colors, three aluminum insert options, six sightline configurations, and four hosel options — L-neck, small slant, double bend, center shaft. Six sightline options are available in MySpider Tour, including the optically engineered True Path alignment system. MySpider Tour X gives builders the option of four head finishes, four hosel configurations, and five sightline options, also including True Path alignment.

One of the more interesting features of the new MySpider program is the availability of three distinct face insert options. Along with the usual Surlyn Pure Roll insert trusted by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, which can be customized from nine colors, golfers can now also select firmer options. Two are offered with the black aluminum Pure Roll insert, slightly firmer than the traditional insert, or for the firmest feel, golfers can choose from two colors of milled aluminum inserts.

Another fun addition to the MySpider Tour is the ability to use the “Tommy Sightline.” The custom alignment aid design, which was first drawn onto Tommy Fleetwood’s putter by PGA Tour Rep James Holley, is based on the milled sightline on his Spider ZT head. There are five shorter lines on the left and right of a longer central line serving as the traditional short line alignment aid.

See below for the full specifications sheet for MySpider Tour and Tour X:

MySpider Tour

MySpider Tour X

Equipment

Then and now: Comparing Rory McIlroy’s current setup to his record-breaking 2019 Canadian Open victory

Published

12 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

In Rory McIlroy’s first appearance at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, he crushed the record books to earn his 16th PGA Tour title in dominating fashion, winning by seven shots over Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy’s score of 22-under-par 258 is the lowest 72-hole score to date at the Canadian Open, and his closing 61 is also the best final-round score in the history of one of golf’s oldest tournaments. Finally, with his win in 2019, McIlroy became only the sixth player to win the career Triple Crown, adding to his victories at the U.S. Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014, joining Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods in a coveted list.

So, with that, why not compare his current setup to the clubs he used to break all the records?

Driver

2019: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees @8), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45 5/8 inches)

McIroy led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2019; he’s doing the same in 2026. Between now and then, McIlroy has switched from the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX (a shaft with slightly more feeling in the tip) to the original Fujikura Ventus Black 7X, having just made the change to the heavier version from playing the 60X.

What’s interesting about McIlroy’s 2019 setup is that the weighting on his driver is actually set in the high-draw setting, using the T-Track weighting system, whereas in the Qi4D, he’s currently using a heavily rear-weighted setup. (Two 13-gram weights in the rear and only two 4-gram front weights.)

The TaylorMade M5 driver he played in during his Canadian Open win was the company’s first head that they claimed to design to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit, and then injected with tuning resin to bring it back in bounds.

Fairway woods

2019: TaylorMade M6 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX; TaylorMade M5 5-wood (19 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X; TaylorMade Qi4D 5-wood (18 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9X

The TaylorMade M6 fairway wood that McIlroy was using during the 2019 season is still in the bag of some of the best golfers on Tour in 2026. Just check out Justin Rose’s winning setup from the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. This year, though, McIlroy has still been searching for his top-end-of-the-bag setup, having played both the new Qi4D and the Qi10, which he won the Masters with.

The same shaft swap can be seen in the fairway woods as the driver, along with slightly less loft on the 5-wood.

Irons

2019: TaylorMade P750 (4) Buy here, TaylorMade P730 (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
2026: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0

The biggest difference between McIlroy’s custom set and the stock P730s is the groove design. While the P730s were constructed with 14 MX-9 grooves on their milled faces, McIlroy’s proto heads instead use the higher-spinning, 16-groove layout of the TW2 grooves. Other big differences between the sets are that McIlroy’s 7- and 8-irons have thinner toplines, are 1 degree stronger in loft, and are 1/4 inch longer than the original P730 builds.

With McIlroy’s 4-iron, the switch from P750 to P760 sees a transition to a two-piece construction with Speed Foam in it, which allows McIlroy to launch the ball slightly higher, with more workability.

Wedges

2019: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48-09SB), TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09SB, 56-09SB, 60-LB09), Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
2026: TaylorMade MG5 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61), Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Between 2019 and 2026, McIlroy’s focus on his short game has been much more apparent. It was the reason why he switched back to the TP5 golf ball, to help with launch, spin and control with his wedges leading up to his career Grand Slam victory in 2025. The most apparent changes to McIlroy’s wedge setup are his lofts and bounce. He’s slowly delofted his pitching to a sand wedge, but has increased the loft on the lob wedge, bending his current 60-degree to 61. With that, adding more loft to his lob wedge also slightly increases the bounce and leading-edge sit point, so, as a result, he plays a lower-bounce lob wedge compared to 2019. The MG5 wedges are also softer than the first Milled Grind option from 2019. McIlroy also no longer plays the full-face grooves found on the Hi-Toe.

Putter

2019: TaylorMade Spider X
2026: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Notice anything similar. Yes, the copper finish on Rory McIlroy’s Spider X putter in 2019 is a slightly more reflective finish than the recently released torched PVD finish. McIlroy was using the True Path alignment system, but now uses only a single white sightline.

Ball

2019: 2019 TaylorMade TP5 (#22)
2026: 2025 TaylorMade TP5 (RORS)

As mentioned above, McIlroy had transitioned from the TP5 to TP5x golf ball since his victory in Canada in 2019, but now is black with the same style of golf ball as his victory at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

Grips

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
2026: Golf Pride MCC

Interesting, McIlroy actually used Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet Cord grips during his victory in 2019 (it was during a 2+ year switch to the corded TV) as opposed to his usual MCC grips, which he has played for most of his career.