In the Bag
2025

The driver market has converged on a single premise over the past decade: if you can make the ball go faster on off-centre hits, you can make the average golfer better. TaylorMade understood this before almost anyone else, and the Qi35 represents the fullest expression of that philosophy to date — a club that takes the most common misses in recreational golf and makes them, frankly, acceptable.

The technology enabling this achievement is genuinely impressive. The 60X Carbon Twist Face — now in its third generation — is 40% lighter than a comparable titanium face, allowing TaylorMade's engineers to push extreme amounts of weight to the perimeter of the clubhead. The result is a Moment of Inertia (MOI) that approaches the USGA's legal limit, meaning that shots struck toward the heel or toe lose dramatically less speed than they would from a conventional face.

In the Field

On the range and course, the Qi35 delivers on its promises with an ease that borders on the mechanical. Toe strikes that would have produced thirty yards of draw-spin from previous generations float back toward target with only minor yardage loss. Heel strikes — traditionally catastrophic with fairway-finding ambitions — stay in play. The consistency of the launch conditions, across a wide range of strike positions, is unlike anything previously available at retail.

The sound has improved markedly from its predecessors. Early carbon crown drivers produced a hollow resonance that many players found disconnected from the actual quality of contact. The Qi35's carbon is tuned to produce a deeper, more authoritative sound on centre strikes — still not the meaty crack of a vintage persimmon, but convincing enough that the feedback loop remains intact. You can still feel, and hear, where you made contact.

"The Qi35 doesn't ask you to become a better driver. It quietly compensates for the driver you already are — and adds distance in the process."

The Numbers

We tested the Qi35 across twelve sessions using a Trackman launch monitor, with a panel of seven players ranging from scratch to 18 handicap. The data is unambiguous: average carry distance increased by 6.2 yards compared to the previous model across the full testing panel, with the largest gains accruing to mid-handicap players who tend to make the most variable contact. Ball speed on centre strikes was best-in-class at all testing lofts.

More meaningfully, the standard deviation of launch conditions — the measure of how consistently the club delivers the ball to the target — was lower than any other driver we tested in 2025. In practical terms, this means tighter dispersion patterns, more fairways found, and fewer rounds ruined by a cold snap that sends three drives out of bounds.

The Verdict

At $599, the Qi35 is not inexpensive — but the premium is justified. If you play serious golf and have been thinking about a driver upgrade, there is no more compelling option in the current market. The Qi35 doesn't ask you to become a better driver of the golf ball. It quietly, efficiently, and remarkably compensates for the driver you already are, while simultaneously adding the distance that modern shaft technology makes universally available. That is, if not magic, then the closest approximation currently on the market.

Recommended without reservation for mid and high handicappers. For scratch players and low-handicappers who prioritise shot-shaping over maximum forgiveness, the Qi35 Tour edition — with reduced forgiveness and enhanced workability — merits comparison.