Over the past 10 years, TaylorMade fairway woods have been the most played on the PGA Tour and with the new launch. Qi4D roads and hybridsI’d be shocked if 2026 doesn’t produce similar results.
I emphasize this for two reasons. Well, two and a half actually.
First, it doesn’t happen unless you make a damn good wood. And secondly, since we’ve seen less direct investment from brands “buying” numbered gear, you only achieve this level of dominance when non-pay-to-play players trust your gear enough to put it in their bag.
The “half” reason is that sometimes what makes a piece of equipment attractive to tournament players also benefits competitive amateurs and recreational players.
So the design imperative becomes “make it better, but don’t change anything.” In practice, this becomes “keep everything golfers want and change only what they can’t see or explicitly ask for”.
Qi4D Fairways – What is the competitive advantage?
TaylorMade’s proven recipe of size, shape and performance depends largely on the competitive edge of its proprietary Speed ​​Pocket technology.
Yes, many of you are already muttering, “Don’t other brands have basically the same thing?”
Similar? Of course. But not exactly the same.
The basic principle of any face-slot technology is to influence the way the sole and face behave, especially on off-center and low-face shots. No one is looking to give up performance on the center face, but it’s not really where the battle is won with freeway woods (and, to a lesser degree, hybrids).
Primarily, what TaylorMade’s Speed ​​Pocket allows is to become an openwood with a deeper face that performs similarly to a shallower face. In general, a deeper face is favorable for tee shots and a shallower face is preferable for shots from tighter lies and fairways. TaylorMade contends that, in the absence of its IP-protected slot-face technology, competing products are likely to be better suited for one condition over another.
with Qi4Dit’s an “have your cake and eat it too” scenario where there’s plenty of versatility without any apparent compromise.
Qi4D Fairways – Three models
Two of the three Qi4D freeway models (core AND MAX) work with a similar construction, using a lightweight carbon crown, stainless steel body and C300 face with inverted cone topology.
Titanium face Qi4D tour is built for maximum adjustability with a lower CG projection (higher launch). All models sit on the infinity crown with many of the SKUs featuring the adjustable loft sleeve (+/- 2°). Why every company doesn’t offer some level of loft/false adjustment on at least every standard model or base SKU baffles me. Then again, if you’re looking to cut costs, going with a connected sock is a reasonable place to save a few bucks.
At 185cc, Qi4D core model it offers a moderate footprint and, again, given its popularity, the theme of this release is subtle improvements. If you look closely, you can notice more extensions of the heels and toes. Now that I’ve taken the extensions into consideration, I’ll also note that the face sits a little more open at address and the standard lie angle is 1.2 degrees flatter than Model with Qi35 core.
Both of them Qi4D MAX AND MAX Lite are all in maximum forgiveness and high release. The larger 200cc footprint allows for more mass around the perimeter, which is good for increasing MOI and stability on off-center shots. of MAX Lite version is, as the name suggests, a less important version of the Qi4D MAX. Simply put, the MAX Lite uses lighter components (head, shaft, grip) to reduce weight to help maximize head speed.
Compared to Qi35, Tour model (175cc) has seen the most significant design improvements. Gone is the heavy weight of the slide sole (aka “garage”) in favor of 65 grams of concentrated tungsten sitting directly behind the titanium face.
Why, you may ask? Well, the lightweight carbon crown and titanium face frees up a massive amount of discretionary weight. On the Stealth 2 Plus, Qi10 Tour and Qi35 Tourthe thought was to take the weight savings and invest them primarily in a heavy sliding weight to manipulate the CG (and thus trajectory and roll). But because movable weights require extra structure, parts and pieces, the native CG was always a bit higher than desired.
So to get the CG projection as low as possible and generate higher launch with fractionally more spin, the slide weight and “garage” housing had to be removed. However, this gave TaylorMade room for three movable TAS weights (one 15-gram weight and two four-gram weights) to moderate impact-shaped bias.
This story will sound remarkably similar to what you just read about Qi4D freeways. Substitute “salvage” for “fairway” and you should have the gist of it. With Qi4D hybrids, the recipe calls for a lightweight carbon crown, 450 stainless steel body, Twist Face inflation and rotation, and an adjustable loft sleeve on every SKU.
Beyond that, the main difference between Qi4D fairways and hybrids is the lack of a dedicated “touring” salvage club. That said, the Qi4D Rescue Core has a slightly thinner topline, giving it an aesthetic that’s more likely to appeal to top players looking for a sleeker, more tournament-inspired, long-iron replacement.
core Rescue Qi4D features a TAS weight of eight grams and overall neutral flight bias. If you want more forgiveness and higher initiation, Qi4D MAXwith a bigger footprint and deeper CG, it will be a better choice. As with freeways, Qi4D MAX Lite it has similar performance to the Max, albeit with lighter components.
A little about the axles
Drive shaft mounting protocols that rely primarily on lock rate don’t have exactly the same application in woods and freeway hybrids. In the future, they may be more applicable. However, golfers do strange things when the ball is on the ground. Some golfers increase their closing rate, while others see it drop with too little data to suggest any consistent pattern.
My $0.05
TaylorMade fairways stand on their merits and have for quite some time. When TaylorMade rolled out the faces of carbon drivers, starting with the Stealth, each generation (Stealth, Stealth2, Qi10, Qi35) faced a lot of criticism, some self-inflicted. However, fairway woods remained popular on tour and at retail.
Now, there’s reason to believe that with the Qi4D, TaylorMade has a metalwood franchise where drivers, fairways and hybrids are all on a solid footing and, if the drivers hold up their end of the bargain, it could be a massive year for the brand that’s largely been synonymous with
Price and availability
Qi4D fairway woods and hybrids are available for pre-order now and at retail locations on January 29th.
The Qi4D fairway stick will retail for $379. The free Qi4D Tour will retail for $449.99.
All Qi4D hybrids are available to consumers for $299.99.
All TaylorMade Qi35 and Qi10 free way AND HYBRID up to $70 off while supplies last.
For additional information on specifications, stock options and availability, visit taylormadegolf.com.
Post I can put them right in the bag Qi4D Fairways and new TaylorMade hybrids appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
