TaylorMade's Qi4D Drivers Improve Spin Consistency... But What Does That Mean For You?

Hearing about improved spin consistency might not get your pulse racing, but the thought of hitting longer, straighter, and more consistent drives definitely will – and that’s exactly what it means for you.

TaylorMade set out to make the Qi4D family the fastest and most fittable drivers in the world. They’ve delivered, and that means you get a club that performs just as well on the course as it did during your fitting, and that can help you eliminate those costly mishit drives.

“If you hit it higher on the clubface, you get high launch and low spin, so the ball falls out of the sky and you lose control,” explains Andrew Oldknow, TaylorMade’s Director of Product Creation – Woods and Putters.

“If you hit it low on the face, it’s the opposite, low launch and high spin, so you get ballooning shots that are usually very short. These are typically areas of the clubface where you don’t get the best results.

Well, what if you could find a way to change the geometry of the face so we could eliminate some of these spin discrepancies? That’s exactly what we’ve done because we’ve changed the roll (the vertical curvature of the face from the sole to the crown) to make sure we get really good spin characteristics.

When you look at the Qi4D head, we’ve eliminated about 40% of those spin numbers, so you get very consistent spins across a large area of the face. The difference has dropped from 1,500-1,800rpm to 750-800rpm. That means much better results from your mishits.”

But spin isn’t the only dynamic that’s protected on off-centre hits. The carbon face also delivers faster ball speeds and greater shot accuracy across a larger area. 53% of the face is high-COR – effectively, more than half of the face is the sweet spot. That’s because the new and improved Speed Pocket allows the face to flex more at impact and transfer more energy into the ball, especially low on the face.

You’ll get tighter dispersion thanks to the 60x Carbon Twist Face design that has less loft in the heel and more loft in the toe. The result is a driver that delivers spin, ball speed and direction that are closer to your optimal launch conditions even when you mishit it – and that means better drives.

TaylorMade is able to design and produce a face that does all this because of the materials and manufacturing process. Carbon fibre is light, durable and extremely efficient at converting swing speed into ball speed. It can also be manufactured using a tool that ensures every face is identical, so the numbers and shots you produce on the course will be identical to what you saw during the fitting.

Four Dimensions To Speed

The 4D in the club’s name stands for the four dimensions to speed. The clubface is one, and the other three are the head, shaft system and fitting.

Head

There are limits on how fast the face can be, but there are no limits on how fast you can swing the club. The shape of the head has been tweaked to improve aerodynamics, while maintaining a confidence-inspiring profile. Each head was developed through hundreds of simulations to find the optimum marriage of speed and forgiveness. They are now about 0.75mph faster, which equates to about 1.2mph of ball speed on average.

Shaft System

After analysing more than 11 million driver shots over the last 20 years, TaylorMade discovered that golfers generally fall into three categories when it comes to the rate of head rotation at impact. Matching the correct shaft to your rate of rotation helps you hit it longer and straighter. Roughly 20% of golfers are high rotation (active through the ball), like Charley Hull, and suit the HR REAX shaft with a softer tip.

The 60% majority are mid rotation, like Rory McIlroy, and need the MR REAX shaft with a mid-tip flex. The remaining 20% are low rotation (hold off through the ball), like Collin Morikawa, and want the LR REAX shaft with a stiffer tip section. There are numerous flex and weight options in all three shafts.

Fitting

Across the four driver models, fitters are able to manipulate CG using moveable TAS (Trajectory Adjustment System) weights to dial in a preferred ball flight. The Qi4D driver, for example, has four weight ports housing two 9-gram weights and two 4-gram weights, which can be repositioned to alter shot shape and spin profile, optimising both distance and accuracy.

A 4° loft sleeve adds another level of adjustability for loft, lie and face angle to optimise ball flight and get the driver performing exactly how you want it to. Reflective markers that are compatible with Foresight Sports GCQuad launch monitors are built into the face of the LME (Launch Monitor Enabled) versions, so you know the data captured during a fitting is accurate.

Shaft options, moveable weights, and hosel adjustability enable you to quickly and easily hone your set-up to maximise your performance.

Four Head Options

Qi4D

The core head was designed with extensive feedback from Tour players. The quad weighting system has four moveable Trajectory Adjustment System (TAS) weights – two are 9g, and two are 4g. Putting the heavier weights in the front boosts ball speeds, while moving them to the back increases stability and forgiveness. A heavy weight in the heel adds draw bias, and a heavy weight in the toe creates fade bias. A 4° loft sleeve allows you to adjust loft, lie and face angle.

Qi4D LS

This is the fastest, lowest-spinning head thanks to an even more aerodynamic head shape. It has two TAS weights – one 15g and one 4g – and the adjustable loft sleeve.

Qi4D Max

This is a lighter and more forgiving head courtesy of aircraft-grade 7075 aluminium in the forged collar. It’s the first Max driver with TAS weights – 13g and 4g – and also has the adjustable loft sleeve.

Qi4D Max Lite

It’s the same design and technology as the Max, but in an ultralight package that’s ideal if you’re looking to increase clubhead speed.

To try the Qi4D driver for yourself and find out which model will best suit your game, visit the TaylorMade website.