This is one of the best drivers TaylorMade has released in years. The stunningly futuristic aesthetic is complemented by a sound technical story and huge versatility with the weight ports on the sole. Produced great launch monitor numbers combined with a solid feel and genuine playability, making it a formidable offering for 2025.
For
- Incredibly forgiving and stable
- Neutral flight bias
- Lots of shelf appeal
Against
- The higher spin profile may limit its appeal to quicker swing-speed players
This is a predictably strong product from Ping that is going to find its way into lots of golf bags in 2025. The addition of the Carbonfly Wrap crown gives a more premium feel than ever before and the spin/launch profile will make this accessible to a broad spectrum of golfers.
For
- The addition of the Carbonfly Wrap crown looks excellent
- Strong data across all parameters
- Improved ball speed off low strikes
Against
- The sole aesthetic will divide opinion
TaylorMade Qi35 vs Ping G440 Max Driver: Read Our Full Head-To-Head Verdict
It's that time of year when most of the game's top manufacturers release their brand new drivers onto the market, which means as Golf Monthly's chief driver tester I'm working like the proverbial Trojan! I wouldn't have it any other way though, as there's always a buzz about new driver launches and I'm privileged to be able to get my hands on them early and give them a thorough testing.
It also means I can test them out head to head against eachother, as well as comparing them with the outgoing models they are replacing. The 2025 range of TaylorMade drivers is the Qi35, which succeeds the roaring success that was the 2024 Qi10 range . That really is a tough act to follow as both of the number one players in the world - Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda - used Qi10 drivers to dominate the competition last year, while in terms of the average golfer we would say that the standard Qi10 was one of the most forgiving drivers around.
Ping operate slightly differently to many of their competitors and they have a two year cycle for new drivers, which if anything makes a Ping launch even more exciting. Kind of like how the Ryder Cup wouldn't be as special if it was every year. A longer wait builds the anticipation.
For 2025 Ping has released the G440 range which replaces the fantastic G430, which for many led the way when it comes to the best golf drivers on the market last year.
So how do these two new drivers compare against eachother? We tested the standard heads in each range, which are aimed at the broadest range of golfer and look to provide the best combination of distance and forgiveness. Because of this, both of these drivers are suitable for single-figure players all the way up to higher handicappers.
Both the Qi35 and the G440 Max drivers have been rigorously tested by Golf Monthly, so without further ado let's take a look at the performance head-to-head to see which one might be right for you.
Technology
With the Qi35 range of drivers the clubhead has been engineered so that the CG projects out to the face as low as possible, to increase what TaylorMade is referring to as ‘the area of opportunity’. This refers to those occasional strikes we experience when the ball comes slightly high off the face, launching high but with minimal spin, and then goes absolutely miles. Those shots happen because the ball has struck the face slightly above the CG projection, thus creating a vertical gear effect that boosts launch and knocks off spin.
If that CG projection is lower, it increases the chance of seeing those optimal flight conditions. To try to achieve this TaylorMade has saved and subsequently moved weight around the club head (specifically from the crown, the ring, and the hosel sections) to bring that balance point or CG projection as low as possible.
Additionally, two adjustable weights in the sole can be switched to fine-tune launch and spin, while the Qi35 also features a multi-material construction that includes chromium carbon, steel, aluminum, tungsten and titanium as well as a fourth-generation carbon twist face. In other words, it's ram packed with tech and is certainly one of the best TaylorMade drivers in years.
The G430 Max was such a success story for Ping that it was always going to be difficult to improve on it, but the tech story here is an interesting one and is also centered around CG location, or more specifically lowering the CG location. Similar to what TaylorMade achieved with the Qi35, Ping has done this through multiple weight-saving advancements higher up on the head. A combination of a shallower face, lightweight carbon crown, and a technology Ping is referring to as Free Hosel design, which helps save significant weight in an attempt to align the CG closer to what Ping calls the 'force line' for faster ball speed, optimal spin and higher launch.
Essentially lowering the CG will give you more chance to hit those high-launching, low-spinning flights mentioned above that we know offer maximum distance. The G440 Max is the most forgiving model of the G440 range and comes in at 460cc. It is engineered with a 29-gram, three-position adjustable back weight for dialling in your ball flight requirements.
In summary, there's not a great deal of difference here in terms of the tech as both have set out to achieve a very similar thing, and based on my testing both have succeeded.
Looks
Starting with the Ping G440 Max this time, and in terms of the looks from the sole perspective I am a little undecided on this. From asking around other golfers, it seems the general opinion is also divided. The blue colorway harks back to the original ‘G’ range and some people love it. For me though, it dates the look a little and the rest of the sole is a touch on the basic side to my eye at least. As I often say though, that perspective is nearly irrelevant to me personally, as I am more concerned with how a driver looks in the playing position, and from here I think it is excellent.
The new Carbonfly Wrap crown has upped the visual significantly from the G430 Max in my opinion and for some reason, it seems to have a slightly neater footprint although this is likely an optical illusion from the new crown. The somewhat divisive turbulators remain, but I have to say I have become totally desensitized to them over the years and barely notice them nowadays.
As far as I'm concerned, the new visual TaylorMade has created in the Qi35 is spectacular. The predominantly light grey carbon head wouldn’t look out of place as the interior of a supercar, and the minimalist way TaylorMade has executed the overall finish is as good as I have ever seen. I love it. There is the merest hint of accent color with just a handful of tiny pale green splashes on the sole that you have to look extremely closely to even notice.
From the playing position, things have once again moved on from the extremely successful Qi10 driver. The shape at address is significantly rounder, so much so that the Qi35 is now the identical playing profile to the higher MOI Qi35 Max product. One of the reasons I chose the Qi10 last year as my gamer driver was due to the roundness of the head which is a look I have become very keen on in recent years, but the Qi35 has taken that on another level and is perhaps the roundest driver head I've ever seen.
Looks are subjective of course, but for me TaylorMade definitely wins this one.
Feel
Onto feel and sound now, which I think are very closely linked. The sound you get at impact really influences how you think the driver feels. Try hitting some shots with headphones on and it's really difficult to ascertain the feel of the driver because sound is so important.
I like the lively feel and noise at impact from the G440 Max. The G430 range was also very good in this regard but I did notice a bit of vibration at impact throughout the models, whereas with the G440 Max strikes feel a little smoother and more stable.
As for the TaylorMade, we're still in their carbon era so as you would expect it's more of the same, with a dull muted thud that many people really like. I also like it, but I think I slightly prefer the more solid solid feel and sound of the G440 Max, specifically on those shots when I didn't find the center of the club face. The Ping edges this one.
Performance
The thing that massively stood out to me with the Qi35 was just how much of a difference changing around the adjustable weights made to the performance of the driver. It is basically two completely different drivers depending on which setting you go for, making this very appealing to a wide range of golfers.
For example, in the neutral setting you are served up a 9k MOI reading, which makes it an incredibly stable and forgiving driver that gives real peace of mind at address. This will suit the golfer who may be a bit erratic and needs to find more fairways.
However, if you switch that heavier weight to the front you are looking at an entirely different animal as the MOI output drops slightly (to 8.1k) and the CG projection drops considerably. In this 'beast mode' setting, my spin dropped around 250 rpm, and my overall distance went up a considerable amount. My dispersion did suffer slightly, as you'd expect, but certainly not as much as I would have anticipated.
I found it interesting that in 2024, many of TaylorMade’s tour staff - including Scheffler and Rory McIlroy - gamed a version of the standard Qi10 as opposed to the LS (low spin) version, presumably because if a very similar spin profile was achievable with a more forgiving head, then why would you make life more difficult for yourself? That may be even more prevalent this year thanks to the ‘beast mode’ option offered in the Qi35.
Onto the Ping now, and I found the G440 Max to be predictably strong, gobbling up mishits with ease and producing some really nice numbers. To be honest, the only noticeable change in data from G430 Max was in the launch angle category where the G440 Max produced around a degree more for me. This is to be expected from the CG location change. Ping is even suggesting that players may well be able to drop down in loft a touch from what they are used to, thus producing higher ball speed without compromising height.
The back weight works nicely in terms of dialling in flight and has been executed fairly discreetly from a visual point of view, and one other observation I had was that, if like me, you are someone whose miss tends to be low on the face, you will love the entire G440 range because (as with the Qi35) the CG has been moved so much lower, meaning I was seeing much less drop off in ball speed when I caught one a little on the thin side.
Both performed excellently overall. I would say the G440 Max just edged it on forgiveness, mostly due to how it compensated for those low off the face mishits, but in terms of distance it was lagging way behind as I was hitting the Qi35 a whopping 14 yards further (with a 12 yard increase in carry).
So for me personally I would say the TaylorMade Qi35 just shades this category due to the lower spin which gave me that extra distance and a lower, more penetrating flight. However, I should point out that this will not necessarily be the same for everybody and some golfers will benefit from the increased spin of the G440 Max and may even find that they get more distance from it as a result of that.
Which one should you choose?
Choose the TaylorMade Qi35 if...
- You value adjustability and regularly fine tuning your driver
- You want more distance without sacrificing much forgiveness
- You prefer a rounded profile at address
Choose the Ping G440 Max if...
- You prefer slightly more spin and a higher flight
- You want extra forgiveness, especially on thin strikes
- You prefer a more lively sound and feel
