2024 was an interesting year for TaylorMade in the driver department. The Qi10 range was a real hit both at retail and on professional tours around the globe. However, most success on the men's side - notably with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy - came with the standard Qi10 model as opposed to the LS driver. Looking to address that and sit amongst the best drivers of 2025 is the Qi35 LS…
WATCH: Joe Ferguson takes an in-depth look at the TaylorMade Qi35 driver range
In terms of the technology offering from TaylorMade this year, it seems to be all about CG projection. Now, if you’d like to read more detail on that tech, head over to my Qi35 driver review where I go into it in slightly more depth, but in basic terms TaylorMade has shifted CG lower and further back in the head throughout the Qi35 range. In doing so, users are going to experience more strikes above the CG projection on the face and see higher launch with less spin.
In the LS model, we wave goodbye to the moveable weight track which has been replaced by three ‘pinpoint’ adjustable weights. The engineers felt that the infrastructure required to house the sliding weight took up too much weight which could be better used elsewhere.
The visual of the Qi35 LS is absolutely brilliant. The light grey carbon finish is really distinctive and offers the kind of sophisticated, premium visual you might normally expect on the interior of a terribly expensive car. The branding has been used sparingly, but not as sparingly as the light green accent colors which are barely perceptible to the naked eye. This is a seriously futuristic-looking head that will have mass appeal.
From the playing position, the pear-shaped profile that has become synonymous with TaylorMade drivers such as the Stealth 2+, and Qi10 LS remains and is highlighted even more this time around due to how rounded the Qi35, and Qi35 Max are. I for one lean a little more toward the rounder profiles nowadays, but that is totally a personal preference.
With regard to the performance, I did my data collection on the Qi35 LS at the Foresight Sports UK HQ using the GCQuad launch monitor, and Titleist Pro V1x golf balls.
I found the ball speed and overall distance output to be exceptional, and the spin profile is as low as anything on the market which will be music to the ears of the excessive spinners amongst you. However, it must be said that I found the LS to be a particularly volatile driver. Maybe in the last year or two, I have become soft and coddled by the increasing number of super-high MOI drivers, but I really struggled to find an acceptable dispersion with the Qi35 LS, particularly from off-center strikes.
I think a big problem for this driver will be the sheer quality and versatility of the Qi35 ‘standard’ model. From my testing, I found I could get pretty close to the spin numbers of the LS by moving the heavier of the two sole weights to the front, but with night and day levels of forgiveness. Unless you are just completely in love with the pear-shaped head profile, I genuinely can’t think of a compelling argument to choose the LS model over the Qi35. This was reflected last year in tour usage, and I believe has only become more obvious a decision with the improvements of Qi35, and the even lower-spinning Qi35 LS which also feels slightly more ‘needy’ in terms of strike than Qi10 LS.
That said, there will always be that player out there needing or wanting the very lowest-spinning product available, and when put into ‘beast mode’ as TaylorMade calls it internally, the LS certainly fits that bill. In its neutral setting with the heaviest of the three weights back, the LS offers a 7.7k MOI and a very low CG projection, however, move that heavier weight into the forward toe slot, and the MOI drops under 7k, and the CG projection actually drops below the center of the face, meaning seriously low spin numbers even on fairly low impact locations.
In its own right, this is a good solid low-spin driver offering with stunning looks. It may suffer somewhat at the hands of its sibling the Qi35 but will still find a place - and do a great job - in certain players' bags.
The Qi35 LS will be available for an RRP of £529/$649 with a choice of Mitsubishi Kai’li Blue DarkWave or White DarkWave as the stock shaft offering.
