Regardless of brand, the advice at the close of the video is the key. The subtle variety of tech available means getting fit is the only real way to get the optimum club in our bag. Thx for sharing, Chris.
Great video Chris, I’ll be in the market for a new big bat this year, TM were on my list of drivers to test. Your video has opened my eyes and I certainly will go open minded. Thank you.
yep same thing happened to me... I got fitted today. Coming from a Stealth Plus and got fitted into the Qi10 Max 9 degree moved up to 10.5 to shut the face a bit. Couldn't miss the fairway with it. Lost a few yards and added a bit more spin but more fairways is a god send.
I think this is what we will see more of going forwards, ball speeds are limited from the face, but I believe that these drivers can keep getting more forgiving, performing better from poorer swings, which is good news for us 😁
Great review, very interesting to watch. Amazing club when I tried it, wish I had gone to a proper Taylormade fitting facility last week now as my local club couldn't keep the spin rate down so ended up with a tsr4.
Nice, thank you. I also don't like looking down at draw bias clubhead, main miss is left.... would love to see the top down view of the max head in the variable positions. Thanks.
@@ChrisRyanGolfinteresting. I always figured that because my club head looked closed it was a setup issue. My current driver does have a draw bias to it (even though I can’t hit draws) and when I set it up at address I primarily focus on getting the club head square to the target and then I adjust my feet position. Is that correct?
Perfect example of why you need a fitting. I bought the max slightly used for a ridiculous $300. Not a mark on it. Anyway I assumed it would be my best option, however it was an absolute disaster for me. First off the shape was not for me eyes. I hated the look of it and for some reason I just couldn’t hit the damn thing. I’m not gonna act like I’m great with driver, but my burner mini and my old school 580xd work fantastic for me. This max was slice after slice. I’m planning on demoing the core, cause the shape seems much more familiar to me, and see how it goes. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll go for a full driver fitting. But I’ve always played TaylorMade and almost every club I own is TM except my Scottie Squareback 2 and my vokey 54 10s. All woods are TM, irons, most wedges, and my current driver and mini. Who knows maybe the carbon face doesn’t work for me, I don’t know what it is. But it wasn’t the shaft, cause I had my own in it and I tried the stock shaft. My shaft helped a little, but not enough. I’ll be interested to see how it goes. Maybe I’ll end up with a driver from someone else… but I hope not. The one positive to my experiment, was selling it for $80 more than I paid for it!
Really impressed because given the concepts of their marketing, I would have figured someone of your caliber would have been best with the LS, not the max!
I got fitted as well and the standard and Max worked the same for me. I had a hard time with the Max head at first, so initially the standard performed better, but after a few strikes we went back and performance wise was about the same. I'm unsure if I should get the Max and eventually I'll get used to the head or just take the standard model. The only problem is it feels like I'll eventually be missing out on a tighter dispersion. Before I saw your video I was about 90% sure I was going standard, now I wanna try em both again.
Maybe wroth seeing if you can hit them both again then, you have to be 100% with the driver. If they are close then personally I’d opt for the max, the extra forgiveness will be beneficial imo
Ive been playing a max type driver for the last few years. If its set up correctly it makes so much sense. Dont think ill ever go LS again. Its all about the bad shots and LS types are wild when hit bad
A bit infomercial like considering the partnership and clearly TM pushing the Max hard this year which is strange when in reality is more draw bias than the Stealth 2 D as per Tomo Bystedt. Opposite results for myself, I’m a 17 HC and was fit into the standard Qi10 head. I felt it was easier to swing, easier to turn over and it was faster, longer and straighter. Just went up to 12 degree however which was the part I didn’t expect. High launch, low spin and ample forgiveness for me…great improvement over previous TM models IMO.
Had a driver fitting two days ago. I hit the core model and went with it. Watching this is making me wish I had chance to try the max version 😕. Maybe it would have been better for me
Chris, did you try hitting the core model at a lower loft to bring the spin down and open the face? It worked for the max head going down 2°, wasn’t sure if you swung the core model at 9° or lofted down to 7°
Yeah we got the Qi10 set up giving me good numbers, very similar to the MAX, it’s just wasn’t quite as good on the miss hits so we opted for the MAX head
Interesting thing about that Max... because Chris says he rarely hits out of the toe, and if anything is slightly more in the heel. That QI10 Max being effectively half an inch shorter (or however much) I'm guessing is just enough to offset those shots back to the center and away from the heel. Makes me wonder... if they cut the shaft slightly shorter in the Qi10 or Qi10 LS - would Chris have seen the same center face hits?
Yeah good point, I think taking the shaft a little shorter would help those drivers, but can’t see it being matched to the MAX head, great thought though
Chris, great video. I am interested in the Qi10 Max, but I usually play my drivers at 45 inches. In prior times, I would just add weight to the head to get the swing weight that I lost when I shortened the shaft. With the Qi10 Max, I believe adding weight to the head would make it non-conforming. Do you think playing the Qi10 Max at 45 inches would make it feel significantly lighter? I know it is only a half inch, just want to hear your opinion. Thanks!
Hey, I think you could add weight to the head no problem, doing it correctly may be tricky but pretty sure it would still be conforming Unfortunately I’m not that qualified to answer about weight etc, plenty of people smarter than me when it comes to club fitting and swing weight Would definitely make it feels little different if you increased the length,
That's a very fair point, Mike, and it's a shame if that facility isn't available for some people, but I will maintain, for those of us fortunate enough to have custom fit availability it's crazy that anyone would even consider buying clubs off the shelf.
Then again, hitting off a mat is totally different than real-life golf unless you are fitted outside playing/hittimg off grass fittings are false reading's.. For a driver off, you always use a tee, so i agree that fitting helps with a driver as you play off the same tees and normally on a good flat surface same as in a fitting serting. That said i have a qi10 max and can not hit it at all i was lead towards a stiff shaft and the last few rounds have been terrible so much so that i took my old m4 and have put that back in my bag the qi10 made my driving look terrible i may try swaping shafts with the m4 and trying a few settings before i sell the max as i really dont like it
Given that you said you usually hit the Centre/Heel, do you think you were striking the middle of the MAX more often because it 'plays shorter' from it's neck design?
Hi Chris, do you think this could potentially be like the Stealth, where the 2 is better and perhaps wait for the update? My Stealth 2 Plus Driver isn’t anywhere near due for an upgrade so I’ll just watch this space.
Really tough to say Marcus, I’ve got no idea what the next driver will be, or even when it will be, always worth trying new gear though even just for peace of mind
@@ChrisRyanGolf The key, as you explained, is getting fitted by a professional as the numbers do tell the story. Especially considering it’s the most expensive club in a set. Interestingly, I’ve just received an email to go and try these out. Possibly best for me to leave all forms of payment at home. Otherwise my CFO (AKA Wife) will change the locks. 😂
Kind of off topic: I’m a high handicap golfer and I’ll be going to my first fitting. Is there anything I should know or questions I should ask? Basically, how can I get the most out of this fitting?
Yeah definitely a few things to note. Firstly make sure you take your own driver, so all the clubs you try you can relate bank to your current driver. Be open minded, you can certainly have preferences but it’s best to just go with the best performing driver Pace yourself, I used to fit for clubs many years back and so many golfers were incredibly nervous, tempo got quick, they would hit ball after ball very quickly, so try to pace yourself, take short breaks if you need to and just try to be as relaxed as you can Finally don’t look at the data too much, so easy to get fixated on club speed or distance and that can affect your swing, let the fitter look at the data and just focus on making good swings. Hope all goes well 🙏🏻
I know 3 low single figure players who were initially intrigued by the Max and put it in play - each one of them went back into the standard model. In each case actual ownership on-course didn't match up over time with the initial fitting results. And this doesn't include Colin Morikawa who initially put Max in play and moved back into the standard "core" model also. Im seeing that with the PING 10k also. Sometimes it's just taking the entire bottle of aspirin. Avoid extremes. The standard models are immensely forgiving.
If the Max plays shorter and you hit it more in the center while you hit the others toward the heel then wouldn't it make sense to hit the others with a shorter shaft?
We did test the std head and LS head a lot, more than what was shown in the video and we discussed this as an option, ultimately though the MAX head was so much more usable for me it jus made sense to go with that
Why doesn't Taylormade include a discussion about the torque of the club shaft as another mechanism to ensure club face stability? The shaft surely has an impact on the face angle (and stability) as the shaft/head is an integral, moving unit.
They almost certainly would in most fittings, Danny put me in this shaft last year and it’s been great so that was a bit less of a discussion for us this time around
Safe to say anyone not carrying the ball over 300yds should probably go with the max head? I understand the advice but find it hard to believe anyone would be fitted into an LS or regular head when the max can perform at that level with that forgiveness.
Afraid that’s just not the case, that was the message in the video, don’t assume a certain golfer will use a certain head. Following me someone else had a fitting who carries far less than 300, thought he’d be in the max but ended up in LS, all about the ball flight
Hey Jeff, no not in itself, however typically in the past the things that would increase the MOI would often cause the ball to leave slower, but not due to the moi just how they had to construct the club, so this new one with the high moi and high ball speed is pretty impressive
I was really surprised, surprised that I was in that head and surprised at just how great it looked, felt and performed, can not wait to get it out on the course this season
Had fitting last weekend, expected to walk out with the ai smoke fantastic club, but the Qi10 amazing hit every fairway, as a high hcp loose most of my strokes from bad driver tee shots 2/3 a round must cost me 10+ shots hopefully arriving this weekend 💥🏌🏻♂️
Regardless of brand, the advice at the close of the video is the key. The subtle variety of tech available means getting fit is the only real way to get the optimum club in our bag. Thx for sharing, Chris.
Couldn’t agree more, every single club performs differently and the only way to know is to test them 🙏🏻
Really great explanation of all factors under consideration. This vlog had the best and clearest criteria for selecting a driver. Thanks!
Thanks so much 🙏🏻
That was great Chris. I agree with you, if you need new clubs a fitting with an expert is a must!
Great video Chris, I’ll be in the market for a new big bat this year, TM were on my list of drivers to test. Your video has opened my eyes and I certainly will go open minded. Thank you.
Thanks Graham, so good to go with that mindset and walk out with the best driver
Fitting process seems great, guy is class at his job!
I did a fitting yesterday and thought I’d be in the max model. I ended up doing much better with the standard.
yep same thing happened to me... I got fitted today. Coming from a Stealth Plus and got fitted into the Qi10 Max 9 degree moved up to 10.5 to shut the face a bit. Couldn't miss the fairway with it. Lost a few yards and added a bit more spin but more fairways is a god send.
It’s amazing isn’t it! Such a good driver
Thank You for explaining the qi10
I have it and I didn't understand it but I do now
That is great. I don't see how the technology can get any better. Great driving.
I think this is what we will see more of going forwards, ball speeds are limited from the face, but I believe that these drivers can keep getting more forgiving, performing better from poorer swings, which is good news for us 😁
Great review, very interesting to watch. Amazing club when I tried it, wish I had gone to a proper Taylormade fitting facility last week now as my local club couldn't keep the spin rate down so ended up with a tsr4.
Yeah maybe there were other options to get that spin down, but can also be swing related
Fantastic video Chris and thank you for sharing your fitting
My pleasure, thanks for watching
I was the opposite of you! I went into my fitting thinking I’d walk out with a QI10 max but I ended up being the best fit with the LS!
Because you’re ego talked you into it big mistake you’re gonna wish you went with the max😂😂
Same here, not ego. But the Numbers from the Taylormade fitter. Distance, spin and dispersion was best with a LS
Nice, thank you. I also don't like looking down at draw bias clubhead, main miss is left.... would love to see the top down view of the max head in the variable positions. Thanks.
I’m the same, anything that looks closed really doesn’t work for me, but this looked great in behind the ball
@@ChrisRyanGolfinteresting. I always figured that because my club head looked closed it was a setup issue. My current driver does have a draw bias to it (even though I can’t hit draws) and when I set it up at address I primarily focus on getting the club head square to the target and then I adjust my feet position. Is that correct?
Perfect example of why you need a fitting. I bought the max slightly used for a ridiculous $300. Not a mark on it. Anyway I assumed it would be my best option, however it was an absolute disaster for me. First off the shape was not for me eyes. I hated the look of it and for some reason I just couldn’t hit the damn thing. I’m not gonna act like I’m great with driver, but my burner mini and my old school 580xd work fantastic for me. This max was slice after slice. I’m planning on demoing the core, cause the shape seems much more familiar to me, and see how it goes. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll go for a full driver fitting. But I’ve always played TaylorMade and almost every club I own is TM except my Scottie Squareback 2 and my vokey 54 10s. All woods are TM, irons, most wedges, and my current driver and mini. Who knows maybe the carbon face doesn’t work for me, I don’t know what it is. But it wasn’t the shaft, cause I had my own in it and I tried the stock shaft. My shaft helped a little, but not enough. I’ll be interested to see how it goes. Maybe I’ll end up with a driver from someone else… but I hope not. The one positive to my experiment, was selling it for $80 more than I paid for it!
Great video. Really enjoyable to watch.
Really impressed because given the concepts of their marketing, I would have figured someone of your caliber would have been best with the LS, not the max!
Yep I thought I’d leave with the LS too, so interesting to hit them all though and see the differences
I got fitted as well and the standard and Max worked the same for me. I had a hard time with the Max head at first, so initially the standard performed better, but after a few strikes we went back and performance wise was about the same. I'm unsure if I should get the Max and eventually I'll get used to the head or just take the standard model. The only problem is it feels like I'll eventually be missing out on a tighter dispersion. Before I saw your video I was about 90% sure I was going standard, now I wanna try em both again.
Maybe wroth seeing if you can hit them both again then, you have to be 100% with the driver. If they are close then personally I’d opt for the max, the extra forgiveness will be beneficial imo
Wow that’s very interesting Chris, I may have to go try them now! 👍🏻
Certainly worth trying David
Ive been playing a max type driver for the last few years. If its set up correctly it makes so much sense. Dont think ill ever go LS again. Its all about the bad shots and LS types are wild when hit bad
Agreed, I’m definitely more after accuracy and forgiveness in a driver, I get that from the MAX
Over a season the average will be better as the bad shots are not as bad.
Well done Chris 👏 i still have the stealth 2 in my bag
Thanks Roy 🙏🏻
A bit infomercial like considering the partnership and clearly TM pushing the Max hard this year which is strange when in reality is more draw bias than the Stealth 2 D as per Tomo Bystedt. Opposite results for myself, I’m a 17 HC and was fit into the standard Qi10 head. I felt it was easier to swing, easier to turn over and it was faster, longer and straighter. Just went up to 12 degree however which was the part I didn’t expect. High launch, low spin and ample forgiveness for me…great improvement over previous TM models IMO.
Had a driver fitting two days ago. I hit the core model and went with it. Watching this is making me wish I had chance to try the max version 😕. Maybe it would have been better for me
Same here.
@@JuanSSanzR I ended up trying the max and the LS. Thankfully I preferred the core version which is what I had ordered.
Chris, did you try hitting the core model at a lower loft to bring the spin down and open the face? It worked for the max head going down 2°, wasn’t sure if you swung the core model at 9° or lofted down to 7°
Yeah we got the Qi10 set up giving me good numbers, very similar to the MAX, it’s just wasn’t quite as good on the miss hits so we opted for the MAX head
Interesting thing about that Max... because Chris says he rarely hits out of the toe, and if anything is slightly more in the heel. That QI10 Max being effectively half an inch shorter (or however much) I'm guessing is just enough to offset those shots back to the center and away from the heel. Makes me wonder... if they cut the shaft slightly shorter in the Qi10 or Qi10 LS - would Chris have seen the same center face hits?
Yeah good point, I think taking the shaft a little shorter would help those drivers, but can’t see it being matched to the MAX head, great thought though
Great watch and info
Thanks James 🙏🏻
Chris, great video. I am interested in the Qi10 Max, but I usually play my drivers at 45 inches. In prior times, I would just add weight to the head to get the swing weight that I lost when I shortened the shaft. With the Qi10 Max, I believe adding weight to the head would make it non-conforming. Do you think playing the Qi10 Max at 45 inches would make it feel significantly lighter? I know it is only a half inch, just want to hear your opinion. Thanks!
Hey, I think you could add weight to the head no problem, doing it correctly may be tricky but pretty sure it would still be conforming
Unfortunately I’m not that qualified to answer about weight etc, plenty of people smarter than me when it comes to club fitting and swing weight
Would definitely make it feels little different if you increased the length,
Anyone buying clubs these days that don't go for a fitting need their heads looked at. It's a brilliant worthwhile experience
Very true, and in most cases it’s a free service if you buy the club, always worth it
Hmm - let’s disagree. In some regions of the world you cannot get fitted at all
That's a very fair point, Mike, and it's a shame if that facility isn't available for some people, but I will maintain, for those of us fortunate enough to have custom fit availability it's crazy that anyone would even consider buying clubs off the shelf.
@@johnmcintyre8724 If you can do it. Doesn't cost much and worth it.
Then again, hitting off a mat is totally different than real-life golf unless you are fitted outside playing/hittimg off grass fittings are false reading's.. For a driver off, you always use a tee, so i agree that fitting helps with a driver as you play off the same tees and normally on a good flat surface same as in a fitting serting. That said i have a qi10 max and can not hit it at all i was lead towards a stiff shaft and the last few rounds have been terrible so much so that i took my old m4 and have put that back in my bag the qi10 made my driving look terrible i may try swaping shafts with the m4 and trying a few settings before i sell the max as i really dont like it
Given that you said you usually hit the Centre/Heel, do you think you were striking the middle of the MAX more often because it 'plays shorter' from it's neck design?
100% it just felt more comfortable right form the start, think probably a combination of head design and yep that fractionally shorter shaft
Hi Chris, do you think this could potentially be like the Stealth, where the 2 is better and perhaps wait for the update? My Stealth 2 Plus Driver isn’t anywhere near due for an upgrade so I’ll just watch this space.
Really tough to say Marcus, I’ve got no idea what the next driver will be, or even when it will be, always worth trying new gear though even just for peace of mind
@@ChrisRyanGolf The key, as you explained, is getting fitted by a professional as the numbers do tell the story. Especially considering it’s the most expensive club in a set. Interestingly, I’ve just received an email to go and try these out. Possibly best for me to leave all forms of payment at home. Otherwise my CFO (AKA Wife) will change the locks. 😂
Kind of off topic: I’m a high handicap golfer and I’ll be going to my first fitting. Is there anything I should know or questions I should ask? Basically, how can I get the most out of this fitting?
Yeah definitely a few things to note. Firstly make sure you take your own driver, so all the clubs you try you can relate bank to your current driver.
Be open minded, you can certainly have preferences but it’s best to just go with the best performing driver
Pace yourself, I used to fit for clubs many years back and so many golfers were incredibly nervous, tempo got quick, they would hit ball after ball very quickly, so try to pace yourself, take short breaks if you need to and just try to be as relaxed as you can
Finally don’t look at the data too much, so easy to get fixated on club speed or distance and that can affect your swing, let the fitter look at the data and just focus on making good swings.
Hope all goes well 🙏🏻
I know 3 low single figure players who were initially intrigued by the Max and put it in play - each one of them went back into the standard model. In each case actual ownership on-course didn't match up over time with the initial fitting results. And this doesn't include Colin Morikawa who initially put Max in play and moved back into the standard "core" model also. Im seeing that with the PING 10k also. Sometimes it's just taking the entire bottle of aspirin. Avoid extremes. The standard models are immensely forgiving.
If the Max plays shorter and you hit it more in the center while you hit the others toward the heel then wouldn't it make sense to hit the others with a shorter shaft?
We did test the std head and LS head a lot, more than what was shown in the video and we discussed this as an option, ultimately though the MAX head was so much more usable for me it jus made sense to go with that
Thanks!
that was some good stuff.🤔
Why doesn't Taylormade include a discussion about the torque of the club shaft as another mechanism to ensure club face stability? The shaft surely has an impact on the face angle (and stability) as the shaft/head is an integral, moving unit.
They almost certainly would in most fittings, Danny put me in this shaft last year and it’s been great so that was a bit less of a discussion for us this time around
@@ChrisRyanGolf Thanks, Chris 👍
What shaft did you use for all these tests?
Safe to say anyone not carrying the ball over 300yds should probably go with the max head? I understand the advice but find it hard to believe anyone would be fitted into an LS or regular head when the max can perform at that level with that forgiveness.
Afraid that’s just not the case, that was the message in the video, don’t assume a certain golfer will use a certain head. Following me someone else had a fitting who carries far less than 300, thought he’d be in the max but ended up in LS, all about the ball flight
Does a higher moi head mean less ball speed on center hits?
Hey Jeff, no not in itself, however typically in the past the things that would increase the MOI would often cause the ball to leave slower, but not due to the moi just how they had to construct the club, so this new one with the high moi and high ball speed is pretty impressive
Looks a great club and boy does it go. Max Homa had better watch out
😁 I think the tour players are safe
Great review Chris, your in good company as both Tiger and Rory are both playing the Qi10 Max 👍
Thanks Dave hope you are well
Tiger is playing the LS and Rory is playing the standard core model
Max heads are better for faster swing speeds than slower swing speeds
Great and surprisingly ... I didn't expect you to choose the MAX Model ... that's really interesting. But that's GOLF.
I was really surprised, surprised that I was in that head and surprised at just how great it looked, felt and performed, can not wait to get it out on the course this season
Larget ?
Was there a typo in the video?
Yeah the low spin is too low spin
Yeah was for me, just couldn’t get it going like the MAX head
'Promo sm'
Too much spin
Had fitting last weekend, expected to walk out with the ai smoke fantastic club, but the Qi10 amazing hit every fairway, as a high hcp loose most of my strokes from bad driver tee shots 2/3 a round must cost me 10+ shots hopefully arriving this weekend 💥🏌🏻♂️
Did you go with the max? Or the standard qi10?
@@SDM0722 the max just picked it up 👌