TaylorMade Qi10 Max 5FW vs Ping G430 Max 5FW

[Hedgehog]

Had a fitting for the Qi10 Max 5 FW and was surprised how good this head is, so I wanted to ask the members if anyone is gaming this model and how have you been getting along with it?

 

I was expecting a closed faced draw machine as the presupposition has usually been that with large headed forgiving models, but found a neutral angled face and a head with tons of speed and height and pretty neutral shape. Looking back I actually think nobody has made a modern fairway wood like this (?), large (180 cc) head with this much launch. I count out the Mini drivers that are usually not designed to be hit off the deck.

 

 

I have a fitted G430 Max 5fw I tested against it, I have enjoyed the performance of the G430 5 fairway but I find the head shape a bit small for my eye (165 cc) and could always use a bit more launch/forgiveness as a low ball flight player, this gave me that and higher spin that is great for stopping the ball. According to Trackman optimizer the Qi10 Max made more sense to me:

 

 

 

I had to test what shaft fits me the best out of these in the core model, it's a shame TM still don't bother making all FW fitting heads with interchangeable adapters.. I ended up going with the Ventus TR Blue FW in X-stiff, as the KBS TD is not available for Europe as an non up-charge shaft.

 

I would highly recommend testing this fairway if you are looking for a really forgiving fairway wood that is easy to launch!

 

 

[Hedgehog]

Have had a range session and a simulator session with my Qi10 Max now and it's behaving just like it did in the fitting, way more forgiving then the G430 Max is. Some 147 mph ballspeeds make this go really far. The Ventus TR Blue FW 6X (non Velocore) has been awesome so far, delivering mostly fades at the range.

 

 

[Streuner]

I know that there lot of players out there who like the Ping fairways but to me they never worked that well. I also have a TM (stealth) fairway wood that suits my eye much more. The taller face gives me the confidence of the tee, that I am looking for sometimes. The difference between the Stealth and the QI seems not that big. 

[Hedgehog]

1 hour ago, Streuner said:

I know that there lot of players out there who like the Ping fairways but to me they never worked that well. I also have a TM (stealth) fairway wood that suits my eye much more. The taller face gives me the confidence of the tee, that I am looking for sometimes. The difference between the Stealth and the QI seems not that big. 

On the same boat as you, for some reason TM fw's typically work better for me on the course especially off the deck. Some resent models got a bit low spin and that's why I haven't gotten along with them. Qi10 Max has very optimal spin for me so far, can't wait for the golf courses to finally open so I get the opportunity to try how long this thing really is with my gamer ball. 

[Streuner]

100% agree, I do not think that there are much differences between my Stealth max fairway wood and the QI10. I have found a head / shaft combo that suits me very good. It will stay in the bag for a longer time. 

[Morry]

This is very interesting 

I am looking at the Qi10 tour head to get fade bias

coming from the g430 as well...

[dmeeksDC]

Good stuff. Keep the comparisons coming. Also looking at these for 4/5 wood: TM Qi10 Max and Tour, AI Smoke Max and Triple D, and the Ping G430  

[hammergolf]

On 3/12/2024 at 8:48 AM, Hedgehog said:

Had a fitting for the Qi10 Max 5 FW and was surprised how good this head is, so I wanted to ask the members if anyone is gaming this model and how have you been getting along with it?

 

I was expecting a closed faced draw machine as the presupposition has usually been that with large headed forgiving models, but found a neutral angled face and a head with tons of speed and height and pretty neutral shape. Looking back I actually think nobody has made a modern fairway wood like this (?), large (180 cc) head with this much launch. I count out the Mini drivers that are usually not designed to be hit off the deck.

 

 

I have a fitted G430 Max 5fw I tested against it, I have enjoyed the performance of the G430 5 fairway but I find the head shape a bit small for my eye (165 cc) and could always use a bit more launch/forgiveness as a low ball flight player, this gave me that and higher spin that is great for stopping the ball. According to Trackman optimizer the Qi10 Max made more sense to me:

 

 

 

I had to test what shaft fits me the best out of these in the core model, it's a shame TM still don't bother making all FW fitting heads with interchangeable adapters.. I ended up going with the Ventus TR Blue FW in X-stiff, as the KBS TD is not available for Europe as an non up-charge shaft.

 

I would highly recommend testing this fairway if you are looking for a really forgiving fairway wood that is easy to launch!

 

 

I noticed the 2mph extra clubhead speed. Were the clubs the same length?

[Hedgehog]

1 hour ago, hammergolf said:

I noticed the 2mph extra clubhead speed. Were the clubs the same length?

I'm not sure how they compare in length but typically my ballspeed goes up as my confidence in the ballflight crows.

 

Now that I have my custom ordered Qi10 Max, I'll try to get some time to do a Trackman session to see how my club performs vs my G430 Max. I'll update! 

 

Had a range session today and hit about 20 range balls off an artificial mat and visually the Qi10 Max has a higher flight.

[magpies69]

On 4/2/2024 at 1:26 AM, Hedgehog said:

I'm not sure how they compare in length but typically my ballspeed goes up as my confidence in the ballflight crows.

 

Now that I have my custom ordered Qi10 Max, I'll try to get some time to do a Trackman session to see how my club performs vs my G430 Max. I'll update! 

 

Had a range session today and hit about 20 range balls off an artificial mat and visually the Qi10 Max has a higher flight.

Any updates on this as I am considering to get the qi10 max fairway as well.

[animalgolfs]

What hosel settings are you using on both?

[RavishingRhett]

It might just be me but the Taylormade looks massive compared to the ping. Maybe gloss vs matte?

[mantan]

Glossy head= deal breaker. 

[woods991]

The max is bigger also no adjustment on the qi10.  I had very similar number on the simulator only difference was I was fit for a 3 wood.  I was very surprised leaving with a tm fairway especially the max version. We will see..

[dmeeksDC]

Checked them out. A lot of ball speed from these. The Qi10 MAX fairway looks a bit too large to me, don’t want that off the deck. I prefer the standard head. Not a major size difference as the standard is not small. I bought and sold the Qi10 Tour fairway. It is more demanding and I just was not getting enough height off turf. 
 

In 7 wood I liked the Ping G430 the most so went with that. I have to have adjustability in 7 wood. Looking at Qi10 standard, Stealth or the AI Smoke heads in 5 wood. The AI Smoke Triple Diamond fairways look good too. 

[SofaKingPure]

I’ve had both and liked both. The g430 won its place in the bag, 5 & 7 woods. The glossy crown, the size and the length of the shafts for the TM were some of the things I didn’t like. Surprisingly I also didn’t like the high face. I thought I’d like that but I guess I’ve gotten used to the low profile fairway wood look when the ball is on The ground vs a tee. The higher face is nice on the tee.