Taylormade Qi10 Driver vs Qi10 Max Driver Comparison – Expert Tested w/ Premium Golf Balls

This is Golfer Geeks’ Taylormade Qi10 Driver vs Qi10 Max comparison. 

Summary: The Qi10 and Qi10 Max performed remarkably similar for our expert tester. (see below) Ball speed, carry distance, total distance. Everything important. The Qi10 Max is more forgiving and produces more distance on mishits – specifically off the heel in our testing. The Qi10 Max also spun about 300 rpm more on average than the Qi10.

In this comparison of the Taylormade Qi10 vs Qi10 Max drivers, we discuss our experience with each driver, unique features and benefits, and my suggestions on which you should buy.

Club Testers

Clubs Tested

How We Tested

On the course: We took both drivers, a bag full of ProV1x left-dash golf balls, and my Garmin R10 launch monitor to the 17th hole at Sterling Country Club in northwest Houston.

Wes is an absolute Stick and the best driver I’ve been around. He literally doesn’t hit bad drives. Oh, he may not be happy with every drive, but he’s always in good position and usually in the fairway.

So, he’s the perfect guy to get a lot of testing done in a relatively short amount of time.

Note – Launch monitor numbers are from my Garmin R10.

Average Launch Monitor Numbers

Club	Club Speed	Ball Speed	Carry Distance	Total Distance	Vertical Launch	Peak Height
Qi10	118	169	283.7	304	*10.8	101 ft
Qi10 Max	118	170	283	304	*8.5	88 ft

Are there big differences between the Qi10 & Qi10 Max drivers?

Not for old Wes, our human “Iron Byron”.
I hit balloon-high spinny and short drives on some of my misses with the Qi10 Max. That didn’t happen with the Qi10.

Category	Qi10	Qi10 Max
Looks	B	B
Sound/ Feel	A	A
Forgiveness	A	A+
Distance	A	A
Flight/Playability	A	B
Value	A	A

Looks – A Draw

Nothing special going on for either in the cosmetics department. The Qi10 and Qi10 Max both have classic driver head shapes and look nearly identical at address. The Qi10 Max is slightly longer from the face to the toe. The crown color is glossy black with a barely perceptible carbon weave beneath the surface.

Sound/Feel – A Draw

They both feel springy and solid, but not as solid as the Stealth 2 drivers felt to me.

Forgiveness – Qi10 Max

The Qi10 is plenty forgiving, but the Qi10 Max is a max-forgiveness driver and lived up to its billing in our testing. It took really bad swings to make it miss the fairway.

Distance – A Draw

Carry and total distance were less than a yard apart in our testing.

Flight/ Playability – Qi10

You can shape the Qi10 either way and play with trajectory. The Qi10 Max – being a draw-bias driver made to prevent slicing – is harder to tinker with trajectory and/or shapeing.

Adjustability – A Draw

Neither has a movable sole weight, and both have the same hozel adjuster.

Value – Draw

Qi10 – $599.99
Qi10 Max – $599.99

Taylormade Qi10 Driver

The Qi10 sits smack-dab in the middle of forgivness, distance, and playability. If you’re accurate enough and don’t need help with added spin, this is likely the choice for you.

Taylormade Qi10 Max Driver

The Qi10 Max is Taylormade‘s max forgiveness model and is built to be extremely stable on mishits and to prevent or reduce a right miss. The bugaboo of most high handicaps.

Taylormade says don’t be fooled into thinking the Max is only for high handicappers though. They say Colin Morikawa and Nelly Korda play the Qi10 Max. ₍₁₎

Final Verdict on Our Taylormade Qi10 Driver vs Qi10 Max Comparison

In General, we recommend the Taylormade Qi10 Driver for you if:

• You want a driver you can work off the tee if need be.
• You want a driver that’s long and forgiving.

In General, we recommend the Taylormade Qi10 Max Driver for you if:

• You need max forgiveness off the tee.
• You’ll want plenty of help with launch and carry.
• You don’t spin the ball excessively with your driver robbing you of distance.

Which driver would I get if I were coming out of my pocket?
I’m leaning toward the Qi10 – I would have said the Qi10 Max before I tested them. I produce high, very spinny drives with the Qi10 Max on some of my mishits and lose a ton of distance.

So…My #1 suggestion for you is to test both clubs before you buy. Either at your local golf store or take advantage of Global Golf’s Utry trial program. I use it and recommend it. 

Thanks for checking out our Taylormade Qi10 Driver vs Qi10 Max comparison.