Gear: TaylorMade Qi10, Qi10 Max, Qi10 Tour Rescue clubs
Price: $299 each with Fujikura Speeder NX TCS shaft, Fujikura Ventus Blue TR shaft or Mitsubishi Tensei AV Limited Blue shaft and Golf Pride Z-Grip grip.
Specs: Carbon fiber crown with Speed Pocket and stainless steel face for the Qi10 and Qi10 Max; stainless steel crown with adjustable hosel for the Qi10 Tour.
Available: Feb. 2, but available via pre-order NOW
Who They’re For: Golfers who want to maximize forgiveness and distance off the tee and from the fairway (Qi10, Qi10 Max), or accomplished ballstrikers who want adjustability and ball speed from an iron-style hybrid (Qi10 Tour).
The Skinny: The standard Qi10 and Qi10 Max rescues benefit from a carbon fiber crown that lowers the center of gravity and a fast face design to make them extremely forgiving and easy to launch high into the air. The Qi10 Tour has a compact shape and an adjustable hosel, making it a long-iron replacement for golfers who put a premium on control and shot-making.
The Deep Dive: It has been more than two decades since hybrids gained acceptance and earned a spot in many golfers’ bags. Since that time, the category has been segmented. Some hybrids are miniature fairway woods and some are designed with better players in mind, so they resemble the irons they replace more closely.
As with the Qi10 family of fairway woods, TaylorMade is offering three rescue clubs that share several technologies but are made for three different types of players.
The Qi10 Rescue’s carbon fiber crown helps reduce weight on the top of the head and lower the center of gravity. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
The standard Qi10 rescue has a large carbon fiber crown that helps reduce weight on the top of the club and lower the center of gravity to encourage higher-flying shots. A significant amount of the weight saved by opting for a carbon fiber crown has been repurposed inside the head and split between the front and back areas for better overall performance. The standard Qi10 is available in 19 (3), 22 (4), 25 (5), 28 (6) and 31 (7) degrees of loft.
The Qi10 Max rescue is bigger from front to back and has a lower profile than the standard Qi10, and it also has a carbon fiber crown to help lower the center of gravity. Designed for golfers who prioritize forgiveness, the Qi10 Max has extra internal weight in the back area, increasing the moment of inertia to make the club more forgiving. The Qi10 Max comes in 20 (3), 23 (4), 27 (5) and 31 (6) degrees of loft.
The Qi10 Tour has a compact head and boxy shape that accomplished golfers tend to like. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
The Qi10 Tour has been made with better players in mind. It has a forged C300 stainless steel face and a stainless steel crown, a hosel that allows players and fitters to increase or decrease the loft, and it is the smallest of the three rescue clubs.
The Qi10 Tour has a boxy-shaped face that is taller than the hitting area of either the Qi10 or the Qi10 Max, and it also has the highest center of gravity. That means while its hollow-body design allows the face to flex more for increased ball speed and distance, shots should have an iron-style trajectory. At the same time, TaylorMade added extra weight in the heel and toe areas to make this club more stable on off-center hits.
The Qi10 Tour is available in 17 (2), 19 (3) and 22 (4) degrees.
Below are several images of the Qi10 rescue clubs:
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