One of the best looking game improvement irons on the market, outstanding all-around performance, first-class distance and forgiveness
Cons
Low spin on long irons proved difficult to stop on greens
TaylorMade Qi10 Irons: Key Features
Integrated System Design: a suite of technologies aimed at optimising each individual iron head
FLTD CG: easier launch with long irons and better control with short irons
Cap Back Design with Toe Wrap Construction: blends the advantages of a hollow-body iron with those of a traditional cavity back
HYBRAR Echo Dampers: reduces unwanted vibrations while maintaining a desirable sound and feel.
TaylorMade's new Qi irons are designed to deliver an optimal level of distance, forgiveness and feel in a shape that will appeal to the aspiring golfer.
One of the key innovations introduced with these irons is the integrated system design. The ISD, as we shall now refer to it, is aimed at optimising each individual head in order for it to perform at its best.
Put simply, each iron has been designed individually in order for it to provide the performance characteristics needed from it.
For example, the longer clubs in the set have a lower CG in order to allow them to be launched with greater ease, while the scoring clubs like the 9-iron and pitching wedge feature exaggerated heel-toe weighting for higher inertia, delivering enhanced forgiveness with the ability to control ball flight.
Put simply, the long clubs in the bag have become easier to hit, while the shorter irons are designed to be more workable and accurate.
The Qi irons have also been designed to have significantly less right bias. It's no secret that most amateur golfers tend to shape the ball left to right with fade spin, so in order to prevent that shape from being accentuated, these irons have been designed to keep the ball straighter.
To see how the irons performed, we took them to La Hacienda in Spain before putting them through their paces on a QC Quad launch monitor at Custom Golf Works in Woking.
Let's get into it.
Player Level
The Qi irons are best suited for high-handicap players looking for additional distance and forgiveness from their clubs.
Despite being aimed at high-handicap players, the Qi irons could also be blended very well with a set of P790s in order to provide added distance and forgiveness at the top end of the bag. We would happily use a Qi 4-iron in order to provide distance and ease of launch.
TaylorMade Qi Irons
TaylorMade Qi Irons: Looks and Feel
When it comes to game improvement irons, sometimes looks can be sacrificed in order to maximise performance; however, with the Qi Irons, we are pleased to report that is certainly not the case.
While they still have a relatively thick topline and additional offset, the overall appearance of these clubs is very sleek and modern.
Retaining a sleek profile while also maintaining the confidence-inspiring look high handicap players desire is a tough task, but these irons certainly tick both boxes.
We will be honest: regarding looks, TaylorMade's previous Stealth irons weren't winning any beauty pageants, but with Qi, you get considerably improved overall visuals.
The black panel that runs throughout the back of the club features subtle pinstripe and carbon fibre detailing, which cohesively rounds out the design and also ties in well with the overall design of the full Qi range, including driver, woods and hybrids.
The black panel also fills in the space typically held by a cavity, leading to a more sophisticated overall look.
While looks aren't everything, it certainly helps to have a set of irons that suit your eye, and both in hand and at address, these are some of the best-looking irons on the market in the game improvement category.
By streamlining the design, the Qi irons would also blend very well with TaylorMade's P790 irons for those players who prefer to use a combo set.
In terms of feel, these irons feel very solid and stable through impact. Due to the larger head size and greater MOI, there is considerably less movement at impact, and this stability was also well reflected in the level of forgiveness we experienced during testing.
The hollow body construction does sound and feels hollow. However, that doesn't take away from the hitting experience as much as you would expect. While these irons are never going to feel as nice as a forged blade, they still retain some level of softness when struck from the middle while also producing an appropriate amount of feedback from poorer strikes.
TaylorMade Qi Irons
TaylorMade Qi Irons: Performance and Forgiveness
TaylorMade Qi Irons
The Qi irons are designed to provide forgiveness and distance in equal measure for players looking to improve, and during testing, we experienced exceptional levels of both.
In the long irons, the strategically positioned CG allowed us to get them airborne with ease, producing a towering ball flight with relatively low spin. This resulted in a very long carry and total distance.
This added distance was a result of a few things: firstly, the hollow body construction provides a lot of power and secondly, the lofts. Set at 24 degrees, the Qi 6-iron is 2 degrees stronger than the P790 (26.5).
While this stronger loft did produce greater distance, it did come with a sacrifice, and that was stopping power. Due to the low-spinning nature of these irons we did find that they rolled out longer than we would have liked.
It should be noted those rollout figures were recorded on a launch monitor; however, during on-course testing on some fast and firm greens in Spain, we did notice that, especially with the longer irons in the set, our approach shots did trickle on a touch longer than we would have hoped for.
Removing the right side bias was another one of TaylorMade's aims during the design of these irons, and as far as we can tell, they have succeeded in their aims.
Both on course and on the simulator, these irons produced a very straight ball flight. Typically, with our longer irons, we do hit a slight fade, but we noticed only about 2 yards of deviation towards the right side throughout an extensive period of testing.
So, in terms of accuracy, we can give these irons a resounding tick. Forgiveness isn't just about accuracy, though. These irons are designed to be able to retain ball speeds across the face, so in order to test that, we intentionally hit some rank strikes out of the heel and toe to see how they performed.
While some strikes were appropriately punished more than others, as a general theme, these irons did an excellent job of retaining speed. We noticed a loss of about ten yards from some of the poorer strikes, which, in the grand scheme of things, is very encouraging.
While game improvement irons aren't renowned for being workable, one thing we did find slightly disappointing about this set was the level of control and feel we experienced with the scoring clubs.
TaylorMade has made a conscious effort to ensure that the nine iron and pitching wedge in this set provide a good level of workability and versatility. However, we did find them tricky to flight down and control, especially when the wind picked up.
It's fair to say these clubs aren't specifically designed for us, but with that being said, we were hoping for slightly more precision to be on offer.
TaylorMade Qi Irons
Should you buy the TaylorMade Qi Irons?
If you're looking to bring your scores down and want a set of irons that pack a hell of a punch and will keep your ball straight, then the Qi range could be just what you're looking for.
With a newly refined design and improved sound and feel, these irons offer the full package.
While those who have bought irons in the last two to three years may only see a marginal improvement in performance, for golfers who are looking to get started in the game, these would make an ideal first set.
