If you’re looking for one of the easiest-to-hit fairway woods in 2024, then you’ve certainly arrived at the right place. Boasting a large 200cc footprint, the TaylorMade Qi10 Max fairway wood will have you brimming with confidence when stood over the ball, quickly gain a reputation for being one of the most forgiving fairway wood models released in 2024.
The Qi10 Max fairway wood is one of three new fairway wood models released from TaylorMade this year, the others being the standard Qi10 fairway wood, which promotes a blend of forgiveness and power, and the Qi10 Tour fairway wood - a more compact fairway wood, perfect for more confident ball strikers.
The TaylorMade Qi10 Max fairway wood has been created slightly larger than the other models in the family in order to create maximum forgiveness. The larger head has allowed TaylorMade to move mass to the perimeter of the club, in turn, creating the highest MOI fairway wood the brand has ever released. The new infinity carbon crown runs all the way to the face of this fairway which allowed for even greater weight saving and redistribution to truly maximize forgiveness.
In order to put this cleverly designed fairway wood to the test and see if it could be considered one of the best fairway woods on the market, I took it to My Golf Matters, Berkshire and tested it on a Trackman 4 launch monitor to gain some data, as well as then taking it onto the course and testing it in varying conditions with a Titleist Pro V1 golf ball.
TaylorMade has excelled in creating a fairway wood that is exceptionally easy to launch and optimize carry distance. While testing I spun this fairway wood a little too much, averaging 4066rpm which is around 1000rpm more than I would typically like to see when hitting a three-wood. That said, this fairway really isn’t built for golfers like myself who have good speed and launch the ball fairly high already.
The stated loft of this fairway wood is actually 16°, one degree higher than most traditional fairway woods. Because of the high-launching nature of this club, I struggled personally when hitting it from a tee as I lost distance and control of the ball, particularly when hitting into the wind. But for those with a slow swing speed or who typically have a downwards attack angle with their fairway woods, the Qi10 Max is certainly worth considering if you’re looking to add to your arsenal during the 2024 season.
As you can imagine, due to the high launch characteristics and forgiveness with this fairway wood, hitting from the rough and settled down lies on the fairway was made light work of by the Qi10 Max fairway wood. It produced a high, towering ball flight, much like it does when struck sweetly from the middle.
The feel itself was firmer and a more vibrant sound than TaylorMade fairway woods of the recent past, however for those who like a louder powerful sound at impact, this will certainly please you. I'm someone who prefers a more muted sound through impact and the change in acoustics from a TaylorMade fairway wood surprised me.
The TaylorMade Qi10 Max fairway wood will certainly rival those of the best fairway woods for high handicappers and best fairways for mid-handicappers thanks to how easy it is to get on with. There are few fairways that look premium and sleek as well produce the forgiving performance the Qi10 Max did.
The TaylorMade Qi10 fairway will come to retail at $349/£309 and will be available in 3,5 and 7-wood loft options. These fairway woods will be available to purchase at retail from February 2nd 2024.
