Spin Killers: Everything you need to know about TaylorMade Qi35 Drivers, Fairways, and Hybrids

TaylorMade launch the all-new Qi35 Woods family for 2025, which they say are their lowest-spinning woods yet… and there’s even a secret driver head!

The cat is out of the bag, and we can finally talk about the TaylorMade Qi35 family of golf clubs for 2025! With the drivers having been seen in the hands of Nelly Korda at the Grant Thornton Invitational, Tiger/Charlie Woods at the PNC Championship, and Rory McIlroy in ‘The Showdown’ at the end of last year, there’s been plenty of anticipation for the new Qi35 as TaylorMade aim to continue their reputation for producing the best golf drivers.

Jump to: Tech story | Qi35 Drivers | Qi35 Fairway Woods | Qi35 Hybrids

After the bumper 2024 the brand enjoyed, it’s no surprise there’s so much excitement for what’s ahead.

The Spider putter series was renewed to critical acclaim, the P770 and P7CB irons models generated a huge buzz from the moment they were spotted on Tour, and the weird and wonderful world of Mini-Drivers has been spearheaded by the company’s modern icon in the BRNR model.

All of this, however, has been nothing compared to the uninhibited success of the Qi10 (Carbon) drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, and irons. The Max driver model featured at-the-legal-limit forgiveness, built for golfers of every level, but more importantly, it represented a change in TaylorMade’s mindset.

They’ve always been a maker of fast drivers but help on off-center strikes never seemed like a priority in comparison. That’s not to say that there wasn’t anything offered for those of us with less than perfect precision (I’ve got fond memories of 2017’s second-gen M2, like many) but you knew what you were buying with TaylorMade.

Alongside the ultra-forgiving Max, the family featured the Qi10 LS driver for the golfer who wanted the traditional forward-weighted monster that the brand is historically known for, which produced the fastest ball speed from our 2024 Drivers Test, and the Core model. The Core straddled the middle ground between the two ends of the spectrum, acting as a jack-of-all-trades for golfers who launched the Max too high but couldn’t get the most out of the LS.

This short history ties in neatly to the 2025 Qi35 series, and how TaylorMade is taking a great family of woods and turning it into what could be an iconic one…

The Tech Story Behind Qi35

The ‘Quest for Inertia: Qi10 is a self-explanatory name for those who’ve been following the golf industry trends but, for the uninitiated, here’s a quick run-down of the tech story.

Moment of Inertia, or MOI as you’ll see it shortened to, is a measurement of a golf club’s ability to resist twisting from impact that isn’t in line with the Center of Gravity (CG). It’s measured in grams per centimeter squared and is limited by the governing bodies of the R&A and USGA to 5,900 g-cm2.

So how can anyone claim a 10,000 MOI rating? That’s because the 5,900 number only applies to the horizontal axis or heel-to-toe. The vertical axis (top-bottom) has a separate limit of 4,200, so by combining the two, you can achieve a 10K MOI rating.

That means the ‘Qi35’ doesn’t stand for 35,000 MOI. It’s not thirty-five but a ‘three’ and a ‘five.’

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Form. Function. Fit.

The ‘three’ in the new family name refers to the key tenants that TaylorMade are abiding by in their design for 2025 – form, function, and fit.

Form

Form is easy enough. TaylorMade have set out to make a product that not only performs, but looks outstanding from every angle, whether that’s on the shelf, in your hands, and most importantly at address.

The look is the starting point of most club design (it needs to appeal to you, after all) but TaylorMade are keen to point out that the incredibly modern feel of the heads was something that they had in mind from the very beginning. If you look at the concept art, you’ll see photos and inspiration from a variety of pursuits, like the latest Lamborghini Supercar or an F22 Raptor Jet Fighter, and that’s immediately reflected in the Qi35 head.

It’s a very different finish across the entire head than yesteryear, but it’s meant to stand out from previous models.

It’s not meant to feel the same. It’s meant to feel fast.

The carbon fiber crown has now been blended with chromium to produce a unique patterning across the golfer’s entire viewpoint from the address position. Chromium is used to protect Carbon Fibre from oxidation, but here it also added a silver-grey appearance to the top of the club. It’s also a satin finish, so you won’t find any glare coming back into your eyes as we head back into the summer season.

The rest of the multi-material head has been crafted to blend together with the rest of the body, with blacks and greys used in the weighting fixtures, the titanium and aluminum connection areas, and the additional carbon fiber on the sole of the head. In total, there are only five materials in use on these heads – chromium carbon, steel, aluminum, tungsten, and titanium.

You’ll also notice that the colors from the Stealth and the Qi10 faces have been replaced by a more traditional black, with white highlights to help you line up the product with your target.

The final aspect of form is the small green highlights or triangles you’ll occasionally spot on the head. These are purely aesthetic, but they point to the key technologies used in the design of Qi35.

Function

As we said earlier, 10K MOI is the legal limit, so TaylorMade aren’t talking strictly about forgiveness increases, at least not in the Max model.

The goal with Qi35 is still to offer the help golfers need from high MOI but now combine it with the distance that lies in their history. They’re doing this by utilizing something called CG Projection.

CG Projection relates to where the Center of Gravity sits inside the driver and it ties in with Moment of Inertia beyond how much twisting the head is able to resist.

As you pull weight further back in the driver to increase MOI, you also pull the CG with it, raising it higher above something called the Neutral Axis line. This line runs perpendicular to the face angle, or loft as we know it, and means that as drivers become more forgiving, they also increase in spin.

Striking a club above or below the CG (or high and low on the face) will change the way the head deflects, with a decrease or increase in spin, respectively. The general term for this in golf is Gear Effect and something you’ll likely have heard of at some point.

So if you can find a way to bring that CG lower down, you’ll get lower spin and higher launch across the entire face.

The traditional (and easier) way of doing this is by putting the CG further forward, where there is more space to also bring CG lower. Think about the side profile of a driver. There’s a lot of room directly behind the face and a lot less at the tail end where the size tapers down.

All those ads for drivers from a decade ago weren’t wrong, further forward and lower CG will decrease spin and create distance. The problem is that it will also massively drop MOI, creating a product that requires something close to perfect ball striking to get the best out of (see TaylorMade’s own notorious SLDR driver).

With Qi35, TaylorMade have removed further mass from the crown, and engineered a rear weight structure that comes in at 35 grams, to keep the CG rearward, as with Qi10, but also a lot lower, to reduce spin.

This combination means you’ll get the highest forgiveness possible, along with that extra distance from a more optimized ball flight. It’s a deadly pairing and one every golfer should appreciate.

This lowered CG is felt throughout the entire Carbonwood driver line and leads us neatly into the final ‘F’…

Fit

The last of the three Fs stands for Fit and it’s something that TaylorMade are encouraging you to do more than ever this year.

For that reason, we can also talk about the ‘five’ in Qi35’s name. TaylorMade have five different models available in the 2025 family: the Max; the Core, or standard model; the LS; the new Max Lite; and then one more secret head that we’ll get to in a minute.

Each head is designed for a purpose and a specific style of golfer’s requirements so you’ll be doing yourself (and the Qi35) a disservice if you don’t get fitted. While we have been discussing why forgiveness is important, it’s not necessary for every golfer, and it will actually end up costing some of you distance.

TaylorMade are aware of this and, as such, have created a varied product line with multiple balancing and weighting options built into them. We’ll discuss both the fitting process and the new app that’s been developed as a result, but first, let’s dive into the driver models.

TaylorMade Qi35 drivers

TaylorMade Qi35 Max Driver

Price $599.99 / £529
Launched and pre-sale Jan 7, 2025 | On sale Jan 30 2025

The Max is the true 10K model, as we’ve mentioned. This is the biggest head of the series, something done in an effort to create space for that CG to be moved backward, but with the new finish, it’s still a sleek-looking design. The max features a fixed rear weight, something that can’t be changed due to the 10K design, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something new here.

With the lowered CG, the Qi35 Max now has a CG Projection of 2.9mm above the Zero CG line (Neutral Axis), down 0.5mm from the Qi10 Max’s 3.4mm.

½ a millimeter may not sound like a lot but considering we were already only 3.4mm high before, that near-15% shift is big. TaylorMade says this will result in 200-300 rpm of difference, meaning you’ll get fewer spinny flights while also gaining distance from the rollout, all of which comes without a drop-off in forgiveness.

The stock shafts in Qi35 Max are the Fujikura Air Speeder 50g (A/R/S) and the Mitsubishi Diamana T+ 60g (S/X).

The stock grip for Qi35 Max is the Golf Pride Z-Grip Rubber Black/Silver.

TaylorMade Qi35 Max Driver specs

Read my full TaylorMade Qi35 Max driver review.

TaylorMade Qi35 Driver

Price $599.99 / £529
Launched and pre-sale Jan 7, 2025 | On sale Jan 30, 2025

The Core model has been upgraded in every way for 2025. To start, there’s a new adjustable weight system featuring a paired 13g and 3g that can help shift CG location within the head to either be more forgiving and higher spin or vice versa. There will also be an additional fitting option for two 8g weights to balance the CG somewhere in between.

Moving the 13g to the rear of the head will see CG Projection at 1.6mm, and forward weighting will be at 0.3mm – that’s even lower CG than Qi10 LS but at a higher MOI.

Speaking of MOI, the head has been reshaped to look closer to the Max model, increasing the forgiveness. The two positions offer 8.1K in the forward weight and it’s over 9000 for the rearward position.

For reference, the Qi10 Core model was locked at 8.4K MOI and 2.3mm CG Projection, so the Qi35 comes in at either 30% lower with weight back or a massive 89% with weight forward, while retaining similar or even higher MOI.

The stock shafts for the Qi35 Core are the Fujikura Ventus Blue 50g (A/R/S) and the Mitsubishi Diamana T+ 60g (S/X). You get a Golf Pride Z-Grip Rubber Black/Silver as standard.

TaylorMade Qi35 Driver specs

Read my full TaylorMade Qi35 driver review.

TaylorMade Qi35 LS Driver

Price $649.99 / £529
Launched and pre-sale Jan 7, 2025 | On sale Jan 30 2025

Qi35 LS is a classic TaylorMade model, and it’s where distance is being pushed to the limit. LS has a traditional pear-shaped head, with a deeper face for the golfer who misses high-low instead of heel-toe. The deeper face also allows for a bigger drop in CG location, for TaylorMade’s first-ever below-zero CG.

With its three-position adjustability (rear, heel, and toe) made up of two 5g and one 13g weights, the 2025 model can perform in line with the Qi10 LS’ MOI and CG, which sat at 7.6K and 0.8mm, or you can shift the 13g to either the front heel or toe position and drop CG to -0.2mm below that Neutral Axis. Both front weights will also be rated at 6.8K MOI.

That forward weighting position is being referred to as ‘Beast Mode’ due how the incredibly low spin it can produce, although this setup is not for the majority due to the large drop in forgiveness. If you’ve got serious speed and spin, this is what you’ll want to look at.

The stock shafts in the Qi35 LS are the Mitsubishi Kai’Li Blue DarkWave CB 60g (R/S/X) and the Mitsubishi Kai’Li White DarkWave 60g (S/X), with a Golf Pride Z-Grip Rubber Black/Silver as standard.

TaylorMade Qi35 LS Driver specs

Read my full TaylorMade Qi35 LS driver review.

TaylorMade Qi35 Max Lite Driver

Price $599.99 / £529
Launched and pre-sale Jan 7, 2025 | On sale Jan 30, 2025

Despite sharing the Max name, Qi35 Max Lite isn’t a 10K model. It’s a lightweight version designed for the slower swing speed golfer who is looking to maximize their strength. TaylorMade found that the standard Max, with the extra weight, was causing some loss of speed conversion so they’ve taken 12g from the rear Inertia Generator to lighten the feeling. It’s dropped five Swingweight points, from D5 to D0, which is not an insignificant change.

Because of the weight reduction, the CG is slightly further forward compared to the standard Max, but the MOI rating is still in the 9,000 range so you won’t lose much forgiveness in comparison.

To further help define the Max Lite, TaylorMade have added a white ring to the sole as well as using lighter components, including the shaft and grip choice.

The stock shaft in the Qi35 Max Lite is the Mitsubishi Vanquish 40g (A/R), while the stock grip is the Golf Pride Z-Grip Rubber Black/White.

TaylorMade Qi35 Max Lite Driver specs

The Secret TaylorMade Qi35 driver head

The final driver isn’t technically a single model, but it’s just as relevant as all of the above options – it’s TaylorMade’s SelectFit head. SelectFit is the company’s name for their fitting components that are used by their own, and their partners’, custom club fitters. With the Qi35 drivers, TaylorMade have installed six white squares onto every model in the fitting bay this year.

These reflective infrared markers are designed to be picked up by side-on launch monitors (think Foresight Sports’ models, like GC Quad) so these pieces of technology can accurately pick up where on the face the golfer is striking the ball, enabling a more accurate fit.

Trackman users haven’t been forgotten though, with a software update available to anyone who owns one of these units that will allow you to select the appropriate Qi35 model and give the radar a 3D model of the selected driver to create a clearer picture of strike location.

It’s a fantastic step from TaylorMade and one that provides clear intent on how they see the future of their products.

3-Step Fitting

Leading on from the unique fitting heads being provided to custom fitting partners, TaylorMade have worked with their fitting team to create a new free product to aid you in getting the best setup for your golf game.

This comes in the form of their Fitting App, MyFittingExperience, which will make their 3-Step Process even easier to understand.

Starting from the choice of head, the fitter and app will be able to define which model is best for your game from the four options, before diving into the right shaft for you and finishing the club’s performance by utilizing the adjustability.

This will come from both the weighting offered in the heads and TaylorMade’s loft sleeve adaptor, which can be moved to a more upright lie angle as well as 2º of loft in either direction – the 10.5º can be moved from 8.5º to 12.5º, for example.

TaylorMade Qi35 Fairway Woods

With drivers grabbing the headlines, fairway woods can often be overlooked when it comes to new families of woods.

It’s certainly harder to move extreme amounts of weight or provide more tangible differences than it is with drivers so they have sometimes been relegated to a sideshow.

TaylorMade have zero interest in doing that with their 2025 Qi35 fairway woods and have remained committed to the success of the entire line, an outlook that saw their Qi10 among the best fairway woods and dominate on the Tour in 2024, winning the ‘in-play’ count at seven of eight PGA Tour Signature Events, all four Majors, and the Olympics in Paris.

As far as proof of performance goes, you’d be pressed to argue against those statistics and TaylorMade are being careful not to mess with the formula that has put them so far in the lead.

Every model in the TaylorMade Qi35 fairway woods now comes with full Loft Sleeve adjustability, like the Qi35 drivers. This means you can change loft on the fairways by 4º (a 15º 3-wood can go from 13-17º), giving complete versatility whichever model you’re fitted into.

The fairways share materials with the Qi35 drivers, with the Qi35 and Qi35 Max models being made from chromium carbon, steel, and aluminum blended together seamlessly, while the Qi35 Tour fairway wood drops the aluminum in favor of additional tungsten and titanium.

The new weighting system has also been carried across from the drivers in every loft of the Qi35 fairway woods, helping to precisely balance each club, regardless of whether you pick up a stock product or order something custom from the company.

Let’s take a look at the four Qi35 fairway wood models.

TaylorMade Qi35 Fairway Wood

Price $349.99 / £309
Launched and pre-sale Jan 7, 2025 | On sale Jan 30, 2025

The core model of the Qi35 fairway wood range has had some tweaks beyond just the paint upgrade.

TaylorMade have spoken about lowering CG in the driver to give you a better chance of producing low-spin yet forgiving performance. In the fairway wood, lowering CG is more about moving the concentration of mass behind where the face and ball make contact. Most golfers will strike fairway woods lower on the face so, by dropping the skirts of the Core model to make a shallower profile, the company are bringing CG more in line with where golfers make contact.

This should result in a higher launch, more forgiveness, and a slightly lower spin.

The stock shaft in the Qi35 Fairway Wood is the Fujikura Ventus Blue 60g (S/X) and 50g (A/R), with a stock Golf Pride Z-Grip Rubber Black/Silver grip.

TaylorMade Qi35 Fairway Wood specs

Read my full TaylorMade Qi35 fairway wood review.

TaylorMade Qi35 Tour Fairway Wood

Price $449.99 / £379
Launched and pre-sale Jan 7, 2025 | On sale Jan 30, 2025

The Qi35 Tour comes with a flip-weight, as has been the case with the last few generations of TaylorMade ‘Tour’ fairways, but with an innovative change to the shape.

The 2025 edition’s weight is asymmetrical, with one end squared off and the other being more tapered. The idea is that you can completely remove the weight from the sliding mechanism, flip it over, and replace it with an even deeper and further forward weight if it’s required in your game. Conversely, the heavy side set rearward can now be further back than before.

The Tour model is deeper-faced, so slightly harder to find the center for a lot of golfers, but it’s the most adjustable of any in the line.

The stock shaft in the Qi35 Tour Fairway Wood is the Mitsubishi Kai’Li Blue DarkWave 75g (S/X) and 65g (R), with the Golf Pride Z-Grip Rubber Black/Silver as stock grip.

TaylorMade Qi35 Tour Fairway Wood specs

Read my full TaylorMade Qi35 Tour wood review.

TaylorMade Qi35 Max Fairway Wood

Price $349.99 / £309
Launched and pre-sale Jan 7, 2025 | On sale Jan 30, 2025

Like the Qi35 Max Driver, the fairway wood comes in slightly higher lofts to help optimize the flight of the golfer who will be putting it into play.

There’s a slimmer profile, again, to help improve launch conditions in combination with the lower CG position. The Max does have increased offset in comparison to its sister models in the Qi35 Tour and core heads, but TaylorMade have built it to accommodate a golfer looking for that assistance in both delivering the club to impact as well as the impact itself.

The Qi35 Max fairway wood has the Fujikura Air Speeder 50g (A/R/S) as its stock shaft and the Golf Pride Z-Grip Rubber Black/Silver as the stock grip.

TaylorMade Qi35 Max Fairway Wood specs

Read our full TaylorMade Qi35 Max fairway wood review.

TaylorMade Qi35 Max Lite Fairway Wood

Price $349.99 / £309
Launched and pre-sale Jan 7, 2025 | On sale Jan 30, 2025

There’s not as much to say about the Qi35 Max Lite Fairway vs the Max as there was in the driver line-up. Shape-wise, they’re the same, you’ll not notice the difference putting them down next to each other save for the white accenting on the sole of the Max Lite.

As before, the main reason for going into this head is to help improve club head speed for golfers who might struggle in that department. The Qi35 Max Lite has had weight removed from the chassis and uses lighter-weight components.

The stock shaft in the Qi35 Max Lite Fairway Wood is the Mitsubishi Vanquish 40g (A/R) with a Golf Pride Z-Grip Rubber Black/White as the stock grip.

TaylorMade Qi35 Max Lite Fairway Wood specs

TaylorMade Qi35 Hybrids

TaylorMade have always led the way when it comes to ‘rescue’ clubs since creating their first model in 1999 so it’s no surprise they haven’t taken their eye off the ball when it comes to the Qi35 models as they look to take best hybrid honours in 2025.

Like fairway woods, it’s a category where moving extreme amounts of weight or providing more tangible differences is far more difficult than it is with drivers, but TM have taken loads of the tech from their new big sticks into the new rescues.

The core model of Qi35 hybrid now comes with full Loft Sleeve adjustability, like the Qi35 drivers, allowing 3º of tweaks on the hybrids (a 22º 4-hy can go from 20.5º to 23.5º), giving complete versatility.

The hybrids also share materials with the Qi35 drivers, with the Qi35 and Qi35 Max models being made from chromium carbon, steel, and aluminum blended together seamlessly, and the new weighting system has also been carried across from the drivers in every loft of the Qi35 hybrids, helping to precisely balance each club, whether you go with off-the-rack or custom-fitted.

TaylorMade Qi35 Hybrid

Price $299.99 / £269
Launched and pre-sale Jan 7, 2025 | On sale Jan 30, 2025

The only hybrid in the TaylorMade Qi35 series to come with an adjustable sleeve, this model is made to cover the broadest range of golfers – something you can tell by looking at the loft options on show (17º-25º).

The only line with a 2-hybrid available, you’ll be able to create varied ball flight options thanks to the adjustable Loft Sleeve and the TSS weighting system also seen in both the drivers and fairways.

TaylorMade has expectations that some Tour Professionals will be adding this line to their bag as well as consumers at retail, so there’s a demand for performance across the board.

The stock shaft in the Qi35 Hybrid is the Fujikura Ventus Blue HB 70g (S) 60g (R) 50g (A), and there’s a Golf Pride Z-Grip Rubber Black/Silver as standard.

TaylorMade Qi35 Hybrid specs

Read my full TaylorMade Qi35 Hybrid review.

TaylorMade Qi35 Max Hybrid

Price $299.99 / £269
Launched and pre-sale Jan 7, 2025 | On sale Jan 30, 2025

We’re telling a similar tale between the Qi35 Max hybrid and fairway wood line with one exception – the Loft Sleeve.

TaylorMade say the golfer looking to play the Qi35 Max Hybrid wants simplified performance based around straighter shots from every lie and more help when they do mishit the ball.

As such, adding a hosel adaptor puts unnecessary weight onto a club where using discretionary weight will be able to craft an even better hybrid for the target market.

TaylorMade have included the TSS weighting system to balance out the club, regardless of shaft and setup that you go with.

The stock shaft in the Qi35 Max Hybrid is the Fujikura Air Speeder 50g (A/R/S) and there’s a stock Golf Pride Z-Grip Rubber Black/Silver.

TaylorMade Qi35 Max Hybrid specs

Read my full TaylorMade Qi35 Max hybrid review.

TaylorMade Qi35 Max Lite Hybrid

Price $299.99 / £269
Launched and pre-sale Jan 7, 2025 | On sale Jan 30, 2025

Changes between the Max Lite and Max Hybrids are kept to a minimum.

TaylorMade are using lighter-weight materials and components to help increase club head speed for golfers who are looking to add as much yardage to their game as they can.

The one other difference is that you won’t find the 3-Hybrid in the Max Lite loft options. The argument is that, if you’re struggling for speed, the lower loft won’t be better for an optimized ball flight in the slower-speed player.

The stock shaft in the Qi35 Max Lite Hybrid is the Mitsubishi Vanquish 50g (A/R) and you’ll get the Golf Pride Z-Grip Rubber Black/White as standard.

TaylorMade Qi35 Max Lite Hybrid specs

Are there TaylorMade Qi35 Irons?

No, there are no Qi35 irons for 2025.

TaylorMade is content with the performance of the Qi irons that debuted in 2024 and they’ll be continuing on for a two-year cycle – a much better proposition for the golfer who upgraded last year.

For those who didn’t invest last season but are considering both woods and irons for 2025, TaylorMade is updating the rear badging on the Qi irons to match the aesthetics of the Qi35 woods family, so you can keep the looks consistent throughout the line.

Read our full review of the TaylorMade Qi irons and Qi HL irons.

About the author

Lewis Daff – Equipment Writer

Lewis joined the Today’s Golfer digital team in 2024, having spent more than a decade in both big-box golf retail and independent stores working as a club fitter and builder.

Experienced with every level of golfer, from beginner to professional, he has achieved Master Fitter and Builder status with most major manufacturers, including Mizuno, Taylormade, and Callaway, helping him to cement both a wide and deep knowledge base, ideal for helping guide golfers towards the correct equipment for them. Lewis specializes in Clubs, Shafts, Training Aids, Launch Monitors and Grips.

In Lewis’ bag is Titleist GT3 Driver (9º) with Fujikura Ventus Black, TaylorMade SIM Max Fairway Woods (15º and 18º), Wilson Staff D9 Forged 3-iron, Srixon ZX7 MKii Irons (4-PW), Titleist SM9 Wedges (52º, 60º), Toulon San Diego Putter, and the Titleist ProV1X Left Dash.

Talk to Lewis about why steel shafts are now dead and graphite is the only way forward, or any other equipment you’d like to debate, via his email, Instagram, or Bluesky.