Can TaylorMade's Qi35 'core' driver top last year's Qi10? We let a robot decide

A robot can't swing the golf club for you, but it can give you a good idea of how a driver performs against the competition. In a new equipment series from Golf Digest, we tested the latest drivers from every major manufacturer on the Golf Laboratories swing robot to determine if they were noticeably better than their predecessors.

The testing process is identical for each driver: we use the same 95 mph swing speed, attack angle and shaft (Fujikura Ventus VeloCore+) for every model. We also gather data from 9 distinct impact locations on the face — 90 percent of the surface area — to see how the ball performs on even your worst miss.

It's all about taking an unbiased approach to product testing. The robot can't tell you how the drivers looks, sounds and feels — that's what player testing is for — but it can give you an honest assessment of what makes a driver great, and who it could benefit.

We're kicking off the series with a driver that stood out from the pack during testing: TaylorMade's Qi35 "core" model.

1. Similar spins

Spin generally offers a preview of what we can expect from a new driver. If the spin rates are lower than the previous version, there's a good chance you'll see more distance. Lowering spin is one of the quickest ways to add a few more yards off the tee.

The swing robot revealed that the spin ranges between Qi35 and Qi10 are nearly identical, down to the low and high ends of the data chart. It's spooky how similar they are.

Looking at spin in a vacuum, one would assume that carry distances would also be nearly identical. (Don't forget, these spin ranges account for all 54 shots the robot recorded at 95 mph across 9 strike locations on the face. We also use the same shaft for a true apple-to-apples comparison.)

But here's where assuming can sometimes get you in trouble.

2. Big gains

We've confirmed Qi35 and Qi10 spin rates are identical at 95 mph, but the carry distances don't follow the usual trends we're used to seeing from most drivers in the marketplace.

The red dots running along the box plot are the 54 shots recorded by the robot. As you can see, there's a clearly defined improvement in carry distance that translates to almost 10 extra yards. This can be attributed to fewer bad shots on the low end and a higher concentration of the 54 shots ending up around 215-230 yards.

The tighter you can get these box plots, the less likely you'll see a bad miss wind up 30 or 40 yards short of your best shot. Remember: It’s all about making your bad shots look more like your good shots, which is what Qi35 is able to accomplish.

3. Keeping it on the map

The dispersion data tells a similar story: We’re still seeing a left bias, which is a good thing for golfers battling a slice, but the pattern is getting tighter and closer to the yellow center line.

In this case, you're going from the left rough with Qi10 to winding up down the left fairway (at worst the fringe) with Qi35.

Not only is Qi35 improving carry distances on off-center strikes, it's reducing the size of the dispersion pattern to minimize the potential for a big miss that goes off the map. These are meaningful metrics for golfers with inconsistent contact.