TaylorMade Qi35 Driver Review

TaylorMade Qi35 Driver Key Features:

• Fourth-generation carbon twist face creates maximum energy transfer with enhanced alignment benefits
• Trajectory adjustment system includes two moveable weights(13g x1 / 3g x1)
• A near zero CG projection with incredible MOI creating efficient launch and spin over a larger area of the face

Following on from the huge success of the Qi10 driver, the Qi family lives to fight another day and the younger brother Qi35 has been given a fresh modern face lift in time for the 2025 season. 

The Qi10 driver was utilised with great effect by the best players in the world last year. Nelly Korda had a career year as did Scottie Scheffler. 

Can TaylorMade and their stable of players rely on the Qi35 for continued success? Only time will tell. 

One thing we do know, though, is that the American brand has left no stone unturned in the quest for continued dominance. 

The Qi35 Is packed full of new features and some old favourites that have been relied on for years. 

The most interesting innovation is the lowering of the balance point in the head. When a ball is struck above the balance point on the driver, it has less spin and goes further, if the ball strikes below the balance point on a driver, more spin is generated and a lower launch, resulting in a shorter carry distance. 

This year TaylorMade has managed to lower the balance point on the Qi35 by optimising the weight in the head, and as a result it should be easier to hit above the balance point for longer drives. 

To find out if the new balance point made a difference to our long game, myself and Alex Lodge took the driver out on the course, before putting it through its paces with a GC Quad launch monitor at Foresight HQ.

Let's get into it.

Player Level

The Qi35 is an ideal blend of speed and forgiveness, making it a fantastic all rounder that could be utilised by golfers of all handicaps. 

TaylorMade Qi35 Looks and Feel

The Qi10 was a bit of an outlier in TaylorMade's driver lineup because it offered incredibly simple and classic aesthetics. The Qi35, however has gone back to TaylorMade's roots, offering a very futuristic design. 

TaylorMade has opted for a light grey multi material construction for the Qi35, that the brand claim has been inspired by supercars and fighter jets. 

The inspiration is clear to see as soon as you pull off the headcover, with the driver's sole looking more like something out of Star Wars than something you would expect to see on the first tee. 

The sharp lines, carbon texture and green accents all add up to make something that looks straight out of a Transformers film. 

Do I like it? Well I have to say I'm somewhat sat on the fence with this one. I was a huge fan of the Qi10, so seeing TaylorMade go in the complete opposite direction has me scratching my head. 

The crown offers the same carbon finish, which looks superb, however the additional detailing around the perimeter is not for me.

The profile of the head has also been slightly lengthened, and although it's only 8mm, you can really tell the difference when compared to the core Qi10. 

The slightly larger footprint is very confidence inspiring, and the black carbon face also looks superb. I would argue, this is the best looking face TaylorMade has ever made.

In terms of feel, the Qi35 is very similar to the Qi10, the fourth generation Carbon face feels punchy while still offering plenty of feedback.

When you stripe one out of the middle with this driver, it delivers a long lasting and very satisfying feeling through the hands, which has been vastly improved since the Stealth and Stealth 2 models. 

TaylorMade Qi35 Performance and Forgiveness

Myself and GolfMagic's Equipment Editor Alex Lodge both his the Qi35 during testing, and the results were very impressive. 

As you can see from the data above, this driver is fast. Is it faster from the middle than the Qi10? No, but where it has certainly taken a step up, is on shots from the heel and toe. 

I hit some shots with this driver, that based purely on data alone, seemed absolutely fine, but when I looked down at the face to see where I had made contact, I was shocked at how poor the strike was. 

The Qi35 core has 9K MOI, and It really showed during testing. 

From the heel or the toe, this driver still manages to do a fantastic job keeping spin and speed very consistent. 

There are some shots no driver will be able to save, but there were honestly some shots where I almost missed the ball entirely, and yet it still managed to find the fairway.

Granted, I still delivered the club square, but some of the strike marks were truly mind boggling, considering where the ball finished. 

Like almost all drivers we've tested this year, from the middle of the face, the performance is going to be impressive. TaylorMade are no mugs when it comes to drivers, and as a result they deliver elite performance when optimised with a good swing. That's news to nobody. 

Where this driver has really impressed us, and where it will make a difference for amateur golfers, is the shots that don't come out of the middle of the face, and that's where the Qi35 really does excel. 

It's also worth noting, this driver produces quite a neutral flight, but spin did stay quite low, which meant we were really able to max out distance during testing. 

There is an option to adjust the two weights on the head, but we found for optimal forgiveness we kept the setup as standard, with the 13g weight at the back and the 3g weight at the front. 

All in all it's another very impressive driver from TaylorMade. Has it improved enough to upgrade from the Qi10? Not in my eyes, but it's a fantastic offering that will undoubtedly be in the hunt for major success in 2025.

Should you buy the TaylorMade Qi35?

The Qi35 is a very good driver, there's no two ways about it. The looks are modern, the feel and sound are fantastic, and the performance Is unquestionable. 

If you have a Qi10 then keep a hold of your money, but even if you're a Stealth or Stealth 2 user, then the Qi35 could certainly be considered a sizeable enough upgrade to validate the outlay.