Two years ago TaylorMade released its first carbon fiber-faced driver, the original Stealth. Last season came the arrival of Stealth 2. This morning the club that appears to be the third carbonwood was added to the USGA’s Conforming Driver list, the Qi10 LS, making it legal for use in tournaments such as this week’s PGA Tour event, the RSM Classic.
TaylorMade has not released any details about the club, but there are several things we can learn about it from the image on the USGA’s website.
- Lofts: According to the USGA, the Qi10 LS comes in 8-, 9- and 10.5-degree versions. That means it has been tested in all three of those lofts, and each conforms to the Rules of Golf.
- Carbon face: The USGA’s notes say the face is made from carbon fiber, which is not a surprise. TaylorMade told Golfweek two years ago it had no future plans to use titanium in driver faces. It is not clear whether the crown is made from carbon fiber, but TaylorMade has featured drivers with carbon fiber for several years, so it would be surprising if the Qi10 LS did not feature a carbon fiber crown.
TaylorMade Qi10 LS driver (USGA)
- Sliding weight: In the photo, a sliding weight can clearly be seen in the front of the sole behind a Speed Pocket slot. The word “Fade” can be seen on the toe side of the weight, and “Draw” is on the heel side. Unscrewing the bolt in the center of weight would appear to allow players and fitters to slide the weight and shift the center of gravity to create a draw or fade bias.
- Back weight: The USGA notes mention a weight port in the back of the sole. As more and more brands use carbon fiber in the crown and in the center of the sole, several drivers have featured weights in the front and back of the head.
- More Qi10 drivers coming: The USGA notes mention that “Qi10 LS” is printed on the sole, and we can see it in the image, but “Qi10” is printed on the heel. In recent years LS has come to mean low spin, so it would not be surprising if a standard Qi10 and a Qi10 HD model were also made available at retail.
- Release date: We don’t have an official retail release date for the Qi10 LS, but now pros can use it in PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LPGA events. Historically, TaylorMade has released its new drivers to the public in early January.