TaylorMade Qi35 drivers on conforming list—could Tiger put one in play?

TaylorMade just put three new driver models on the conforming list, perhaps in time for a certain 15-time major champion to put one in play. One current No. 1 already put it in play last week.

The TaylorMade Qi35, Qi35 Max and Qi35 LS showed up on last week’s update to the conforming list of drivers, published weekly by the USGA and R&A. And Nelly Korda, the No. 1-ranked player in the Rolex Women’s World Ranking, tried out the Qi35 Max during last week’s Grant Thornton Invitational. Korda previously had played the Qi10 Max. Another potential player to put a new TaylorMade driver in the bag might be Tiger Woods, who is scheduled to compete in this week’s PNC Championship, an event that Tiger and his son Charlie have played for several years. A year ago, Tiger and Charlie both debuted the Qi10 LS drivers at the PNC, a few weeks before the club was unveiled publicly.

The Qi35 lineup appears to continue TaylorMade’s trend of drivers with carbon-composite faces. According to the filing, the three new drivers all include the word “Carbon” on the face. In addition, the images also appear to show a large carbon-composite section on the sole of each model, while the LS model features what appear to be adjustable weights on the sole. All three also appear to feature another version of the company's cut-through channel in the sole, called "Speed Pocket," designed for better face flexing.

Another note is how the sole of the Qi35 Max features the phrase “10 kg-cm2.” That’s likely a reference to the driver’s moment of inertia, or stability on off-center hits. A moment of inertia of 10,000 grams-centimeters squared refers to the combined stability in the heel-toe direction and the crown-sole direction, a number only a handful of drivers have pursued over the last year, including the Qi35 Max’s predecessor, the Qi10 Max.

TaylorMade has yet to provide any details on the models, although they are expected to be formally announced in early January.