50 Words or Less
The TaylorMade Qi Max irons are excellent at all the things a game improvement iron aspires to do. Fast and long. Easy to hit straight. High ball flight.
Introduction
TaylorMade calls their new Qi Max irons “our most complete game improvement iron, ever.” By combining enhanced distance and forgiveness with “aspirational” looks, sound, and feel, they believe they’ve given golfers everything they could want. I got to test a set to find out if that’s true.
Looks
TaylorMade makes plenty of irons that can rightly be called “player-preferred.” The P7MB [review HERE] inarguably fits that bill, as does the P770 [review HERE]. I’d even extend that description to the mega-popular P790 [review HERE]. But calling the TaylorMade Qi Max irons “player-preferred” is a bit too much for me. [See Price / Buy]
This is a game improvement iron. It has a medium-thick top line. The blade length is above average. There’s a healthy amount of offset. It’s well-shaped, far from ugly, but it’s there. TaylorMade describes the top line as “thinner,” the blade length as “shorter,” and the offset as “reduced.” All of that may be true, but the critical question is, “Compared to what?” In the grand scheme of irons, the TaylorMade Qi Max irons are game improvement irons. They look good for what they are, but what they are is game improvement irons.
In the bag, I think the TaylorMade Qi Max irons look very sharp. The branding is modest – “TaylorMade” written above the “Qi” badging with a small “Max” on the toe. While the cavity has a lot going on – numerous angles, levels, and shades of grey – the simple color scheme and coherent design makes it look interesting, not busy.
Sound & Feel
Starting my testing with the pitching wedge, I was enamored with the sound and feel of the TaylorMade Qi Max irons. The sound was below average in volume, mid-low pitch, a “thud” with just a bit of pop. It was much more traditional than I was expecting from a forgiving, strong-lofted game improvement iron. The feel was a similar blend of old and new: solid with just a little hint of speed.
As I moved into the mid and long irons – the ones with the slotted soles – the sound and feel moved closer to what I expected. The longer irons have a crisper, faster feel, and an impact sound that’s a bigger “click.” I would rate the impact experience as satisfying throughout the set, there’s just a difference between the high and low lofted clubs.
One thing that is uniform across the entire set is the muted feedback. TaylorMade promotes the expanded ECHO Damper as reducing vibration through the clubhead, and that was most noticeable to me on mishits. While mishits don’t have the sweet satisfaction of a pure strike, they don’t rattle your hands. Precisely locating off-center impacts takes serious concentration.
Performance
If the TaylorMade Qi Max irons were to live up to the hype – “our most complete game improvement iron, ever.” – what would it need to do? It would need to be fast and long. It would need to be forgiving. It should launch the ball high and easily. On all those counts, the Qi Max succeeds. [See Price / Buy]
Starting with speed and distance – because golf is, above all, about hitting 7I when your friends hit 6I – the TaylorMade Qi Max irons are elite. The ball speed is fantastic. I worked up from the scoring irons to the long irons, and by the time I got to the 7I, I wrote in my notes, “They just go.” I was getting 200 yard carries from the 7I without max effort. If you want to hit all your irons longer, this is a set to try.
Just as important (actually, much more important, if you like scoring well), these irons go straight. TaylorMade says that the “Qi Max irons employ patented face technology that allows the entire face to flex uniformly at impact for a straighter, more consistent ball flight.” That’s a bold statement, but it matches what I saw on the range and on the launch monitor. Right out of the gate, the ball was flying on a string. As I got warmed up, I was seeing more draws in the mid and long irons, but that’s probably not a bad thing for the target player.
In addition to flying straight, the TaylorMade Qi Max irons want to send the ball hight. TaylorMade touts their “FLTD CG” which simply means that the CG is lower in the long irons, higher in the short irons. The result is that I could easily launch the 4I at 13 degrees (quite high for me), but the pitching wedge flew on a more controlled trajectory. The FLTD CG is also noticeable in the spin: the scoring irons have ample spin for holding greens.
Does speed, forgiveness, and high launch make the TaylorMade Qi Max irons the perfect set? For some people, yes, but, there are concerns that need to be considered. As with most strong lofted iron sets, there will be distance gapping issues for many players. If you look at the specs below, you’ll see that from the 4-7 irons, the loft gaps are 4 degrees or less. From 8-SW, they are 4.5 degrees or more. I have above average swing speed and only got a 25 yard gap from the 4I to the 7I where I’d want 30 or more. Work with your fitter to figure out which irons you actually need in your bag, or if lofts need to be tweaked to create playable distance gaps.
The other “negative” is that these irons don’t provide a ton of shot control. I put quotes around “negative” because most golfers are perfectly happy with a high, straight ball flight on repeat. Some days, I’m one of them. However, if you want to play some low shots and gentle fades, the Qi Max irons will make you work. This is a game improvement set, and it does exactly what it’s designed to do.
Conclusion
TaylorMade wrote a big check by declaring the Qi Max irons “our most complete game improvement iron, ever,” but they engineered a set capable of cashing it. If you like hitting your irons a long way, straight and high, you’ll find a lot to love in the TaylorMade Qi Max irons. [See Price / Buy]
Who’s It For: Golfers seeking maximum forgiveness and straight distance in a game-improvement iron, ideal for players who want confidence, consistency, and premium feel.
TaylorMade Qi Max Irons Price & Specs
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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