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In this review, I’ll be taking a look at the TaylorMade Qi35 driver.
With the Qi35 family, TaylorMade carries forward their latest cutting-edge technologies including the Infinity Carbon Crown and Carbon Twist Face, but makes several enhancements and introduces new innovations such as a “near-zero” CG projection.
The standard Qi35 model, in particular, is designed to provide a blend of forgiveness and distance, thus appealing to a wide range of golfers.
How does the Qi35 driver actually perform when put to the test? How does it compare to the previous generation Qi10 drivers? Who is it best suited for? Is it worth putting in the bag?
Here’s what will be covered in the review:
Read on to learn what you need to know to make an informed purchase.
Note: Unless otherwise stated, stock shafts and stock grips are used when evaluating this club. In most cases, the golf clubs reviewed on Golfstead are acquired temporarily for testing purposes and are not purchased. The review that follows is based on the personal experience and research of the author. Because everyone’s swing and body are different, results with a particular club may differ from person to person.
What are the reviews like?
The Qi35 driver won a gold medal on the Golf Digest 2025 Hot List and enjoys wide praise from critics and consumers, with a 4.9/5 (95% recommended) rating on the official TaylorMade store.
What People Like
- consistent results
- long & forgiving
- beautiful looks
- solid feel with great sound
- good workability
What People Don’t Like
- doesn’t stand out in any particular category
The Features
Near-Zero CG Projection
The main innovation of the Qi35 family of drivers is what TaylorMade calls a near-zero CG projection.
The CG (center of gravity) projection of the driver refers to the CG, or balance point, of the head projected onto the clubface. Balls that strike the face above the balance point typically launch high with low spin, which is what you want with your driver off the tee.
With the Qi35, TaylorMade’s engineers have lowered the balance point, and hence the CG projection, to unprecedented levels, hence the term “near-zero”. The intent of this is for a larger area of the face to produce the high-launch and low-spin flight that leads to the longest drives.
Multimaterial Construction
The Qi35 driver is made of five different materials: tungsten, steel, chromium carbon, titanium, and aluminum.
These materials are meant to distribute the weight of the driver, precisely positioning the CG low and sufficiently deep for high MOI and forgiveness, but also sufficiently forward for low spin. They all contribute to a complete performance package.
Trajectory Adjustment System
The sole of the Qi35 driver has two interchangeable weights, one in the back (13g) and one in the front (3g). These weights can be swapped to alter the CG and flight characteristics.
With the heavier weight back, you get the most stability, MOI and forgiveness. With the heavier weight forward, you get lower spin.
Player testing suggests that dispersions are around 13% tighter with the weight back and distance is around five yards greater with the weight forward compared to the Qi10 driver.
Other tech to note includes:
- Infinity Carbon Crown: this special carbon crown design extends virtually all the way to the top line to cover nearly all of the top of the driver, enabling weight savings that are redistributed to increase MOI.
- Thru-Slot Speed Pocket: this flexible pocket increases sole flexibility, leading to increased ball speed and forgiveness low on the face.
- Carbon Twist Face: 60 layers of carbon sheets are strategically arranged to maximize energy transfer and ball speeds in all regions of the face.
Stock Info
The Qi35 driver is available in 9°, 10.5°, and 12° standard lofts at 460CC.
Included is a 4° loft sleeve that allows you to adjust loft, lie and face angle. There are 12 possible sleeve variations that can increase or decrease the loft and lie angle by ±2°, and the face angle by ±4°.
In addition to a Chromium variant, the Qi35 is also available in a special Designer Series colour scheme that consists of a deep glossy black finish with subtle green accents.
The stock graphite shafts are the Fujikura VENTUS Blue and Mitsubishi Diamana T+. The stock grip is the Golf Pride ZGRIP.
If you’re interested, full information on the driver, shafts, grips, their specs, and any custom options can be found here.
Below are the specs of the Qi35 driver. Click or zoom to enlarge.
The Performance
In the sections that follow, I’ll talk about my experience with the Qi35 driver. Let’s jump right in.
Distance
I wasn’t blown away by the Qi35’s ball speeds and carry distance during my field test.
They’re very good and competitive with other 2025 season drivers from other OEMs, but the distance data was similar to last year’s Qi10 and I didn’t see a clear improvement in this area.
This is just my experience, and it’s worth mentioning that some people get monster distance with the Qi35, so it really comes down to the individual.
Forgiveness
Depending on the sole weight configuration, the MOI of the Qi35 driver ranges from just over 8000g/cm² (heavier weight forward) to 9000g/cm² (heavier weight back).
With the weight back, the driver is objectively more stable and forgiving than the Qi10: less variability in ball flight, more consistency from shot to shot, and solid ball speed preservation on mis-hits.
This driver won’t be as forgiving across the face as the Qi35 Max, and you can expect bad swings to result in many missed fairways. However, given the lower RPMs when the heavier weight is forward, I was generally impressed with mis-hit performance during my test.
Playability/Trajectory
TaylorMade classifies the Qi35 as having a mid launch and mid-low spin.
I more or less agree with this based on my testing, although I should mention that both launch and spin are modestly higher than the Qi10 (by around 0.5-1° and 200-250 RPMs) with the heavier weight back. With the weight forward, spin drops by about 200 RPMs.
The flight bias is pretty neutral. Penetration and performance in the wind is good when the heavier weight is forward.
I do appreciate the swappable sole weights as it allows for more adjustability and room to dial in your flight compared to the Qi10. At the same time, the Qi35 doesn’t seem as conducive to shaping shots as the Qi10, which isn’t that surprising considering the driver has the same “Max” head shape as the Qi35 Max.
The Look
The Qi35 driver has a clean, modern look with a shape that is more elongated from front to back than the Qi10. This is indicative of a very high MOI and forgiveness, although I was expecting more of a pear shape given the fact that this is the main model in the Qi35 family.
The Chromium version of the Qi35 has a mostly monochrome colour scheme (matte) with the main focus being a lighter grey, punctuated with a few light green accents. The carbon texture of the driver is clearly visible on the crown and on most of the sole.
The fourth generation of the Carbon Twist Face has a new futuristic geometry that I think looks superb; it’s one of the best-looking faces I’ve seen in a modern driver. The high-contrast alignment line returns for this generation, and it works with the alignment logo on the crown to make setting up square easier than ever.
One thing I’ll say is that I think the white graphics and markings on the driver don’t contrast super well with the surrounding chrome colour. While I’m sure the Chromium version will be very appealing to many, the Designer Series version provides better contrast for the various aesthetic elements.
The Sound & Feel
With the balance point of the Qi35 lower than previous TaylorMade drivers, I was expecting a different feel this time around.
However, I found it to be largely the same as the Qi10 and Stealth 2 drivers, particularly in and around the sweet spot. That’s certainly not to say it’s bad — quite the contrary, it’s a powerful, responsive feel that has a satisfying solidness to it.
The sound can be described as a sharp “snap” at impact that is perhaps a little bit louder than the Qi10.
This sound is pretty consistent across the face, and one thing I did notice was that the feel of mis-hits resembles center strikes a bit better than the standard models of previous TM generations. Nonetheless, there is a loss of responsiveness in moderate or severe mis-hits that will give you solid feedback on the strike.
Where To Buy This Driver Online
You can order a Qi35 driver with your choice of loft and shaft, or optionally do a full customization, on TaylorMade’s official store.
Another option is Global Golf. They offer a performance guarantee, a try-before-you-buy program (UTry), club trade-ins, and other incentives designed to enhance the buying experience.
You can also buy the Qi35 driver from PGA TOUR Superstore and Amazon.
Don’t forget about eBay, where you can often find unbeatable deals on new and used golf equipment.
Final Thoughts
The more rounded, larger profile of TaylorMade’s Qi35 driver, as well as the new sole weight system, make it somewhat of a different offering to the previous generation Qi10 beyond just a tech upgrade. For this reason, it may be worth putting in the bag if you already own the Qi10.
While the Qi35 produces similar ball speed and distance numbers, it has better forgiveness (owing, in part, to the lowered CG projection) and more adjustability, which means it should appeal to a wider spectrum of players.
Golfers of pretty much any handicap could have success with the Qi35, but if your handicap is north of 20, I suggest trying out the Max or Max Lite models as well.
Are you interested in the Qi35 driver? Have you played it? What’s your experience? Tell us about it in the comments below.
