Qi10 LS vs Ai Smoke TD?

[tomg1969]

How fade biased is the smoke triple diamond?

[GeauxGolfLSU]

16 hours ago, sheppick.dan said:

With the option to go down 1deg and up 2 deg would it be best to get the 9 and move up vs the 10.5 and move down? I thought I Read somewhere that the callaway club looked like it had more loft so a 9 looked like 10.5??

 

I haven't measured my Ai ♦♦♦, but I will say I do see the loft more, and for me that's confidence inspiring. There's no doubt I'm launching the ball higher with this vs my previous Titleist drivers (both the TSR2 and TSR4) in the same lofts. That 13-14° launch angle with 2200-2500 spin seems to be the sweet spot for me. 

[sheppick.dan]

16 minutes ago, GeauxGolfLSU said:

 

I haven't measured my Ai ♦♦♦, but I will say I do see the loft more, and for me that's confidence inspiring. There's no doubt I'm launching the ball higher with this vs my previous Titleist drivers (both the TSR2 and TSR4) in the same lofts. That 13-14° launch angle with 2200-2500 spin seems to be the sweet spot for me. 

Great to hear. I have a tsr2 currently in 10.5... I bought an AI smoke TD 9deg last night with ventus blue. Hoping it is as good as the reviews are! My TSR2 launches pretty low so I am hoping with the new shaft it will help get it a little higher!

[moorebaseball]

Triple diamond was the clear winner in my fittings. I’m not really a fan of Callaway, and I have never owned any of their products. However, this driver and the 3 wood are super long and very very forgiving.

[bcflyguy1]

1 hour ago, moorebaseball said:

Triple diamond was the clear winner in my fittings. I’m not really a fan of Callaway, and I have never owned any of their products. However, this driver and the 3 wood are super long and very very forgiving.

The TD 3 wood is as good or better than anything the company has put out in the last 20 years; an absolute weapon.

[Nserav01]

As someone who hits up on their driver a considerable amount, I've always had a problem with the spinning right miss. I tried everything in my fitting from the Callway Paradym TD, Cobra whatever the hell its called, Taylormade QI10 LS and the Titleist TSR3. 

 

I was coming from a Titleist TSi3 playing it at 8° and I still hit the ball pretty damn high. I don't have ton of club head speed (around 112-115 and ball speed of 162-165). The TSi3 was probably my favorite driver I ever hit. I was a previous Callaway fan who owned many different iterations of drivers. But..

 

The Taylormade QI10 LS with a UST Mamiya Lin-Q M40X TSPX Black 6 shaft kept my spin under control and was able to drop my ball flight slightly. My misses were better with this set up. The Callaway TD was a close second but my misses were high and really spinning. I didn't feel that there was much of a difference in forgiveness between the two.

 

With that being said I also went with a Callaway Paradym AI Smoke Max 3 wood that I absolutely just couldn't miss with. For whatever reason I could really control the spin and the mishits were far better than the Titleist and Taylor Made options.

[Ylmaukst]

Ordered TD in 9. Turned down to 8. With auto flex. Tried everything during my fitting. QI10 LS was very good, but ball speed off the Ai smoke was 4-6 mph faster. Pushing 165 ball with AI smoke, and couldn’t break 160 with QI10. 

[1mcozik]

The real question is, will the Qi10 face not fall off during use through the year. 

[bcflyguy1]

1 hour ago, 1mcozik said:

The real question is, will the Qi10 face not fall off during use through the year. 

The photos of Qi10 heads that suffered catastrophic structural failures started circulating immediately after retail release. However, every company has them to varying degrees.

[Lloyd_Christmas29]

14 hours ago, Ylmaukst said:

Ordered TD in 9. Turned down to 8. With auto flex. Tried everything during my fitting. QI10 LS was very good, but ball speed off the Ai smoke was 4-6 mph faster. Pushing 165 ball with AI smoke, and couldn’t break 160 with QI10. 

Were you testing both with the Autoflex?

[J13]

I tested both the TD and the Qi LS, and found that the TD was better for me. The spin was about the same, but the TD was noticeably more forgiving around the face.

[MotherTeresa10]

I really feel like most people who've hit both these brand in the past few years will find they like the brand they prefer. I don't see anyone switching from one to the other because of a significant difference.

[McDiggles]

On 3/25/2024 at 11:04 AM, bcflyguy1 said:

Admittedly I do some side work for Callaway, but I am intentional about being as objective as able so take my thoughts with however many grains of salt you deem necessary.

Qi10LS is a killer for the player it fits, but that is a VERY small niche market (ie players that really spin the driver even on their quality strikes). When I tested the LS, I fit it up for myself as best I could and couldn't get it to spin anywhere near enough to consider it playable. In contrast, I found the core Qi10 to be a very strong performer. 

Comparing Ai Smoke TD (which I play) to Qi10LS, I can see where the LS will dupe a lot of customers into buying it because of the ridiculous things it can make a Quad/Trackman say in a fitting bay, but playing actual golf the Smoke TD is going to be the much more playable/scoreable option for the vast majority of those considering one or the other. Not EVERYBODY, but most.

What if you were to compare the base model of the qi 10 to the ai smoke TD.  I think that’s a more competitive comparison. What do you think would be better?

[phizzy30]

1 hour ago, MotherTeresa10 said:

I really feel like most people who've hit both these brand in the past few years will find they like the brand they prefer. I don't see anyone switching from one to the other because of a significant difference.

I'm a TM fan boy but switched over to the OG Paradym last year because the Stealth 2 wasn't quite there performance wise.  I'll gravitate towards TM for drivers and fairways but if something else gives me better numbers and performance, I have no issue switching things up. 

[MotherTeresa10]

20 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

I'm a TM fan boy but switched over to the OG Paradym last year because the Stealth 2 wasn't quite there performance wise.  I'll gravitate towards TM for drivers and fairways but if something else gives me better numbers and performance, I have no issue switching things up. 

Ya I've had 90% TM and my buddy 90% Callaway the last 10 years. After popping the insert on the original Stealth multiple times I thought I might be trying something new, but then they sent me a Qi replacement for free so I'm sticking it out unless the same thing happens to this one (which it isn't supposed to). I can say from the first few whaps, it looks super clean at address without the red face distracting me. Haven't gotten the numbers yet.

[owu23]

22 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

I'm a TM fan boy but switched over to the OG Paradym last year because the Stealth 2 wasn't quite there performance wise.  I'll gravitate towards TM for drivers and fairways but if something else gives me better numbers and performance, I have no issue switching things up. 

Im exactly the same. This year, i bought the AI Smoke Triple diamond and ditching the Stealth 2 plus driver

 

[J13]

On 3/27/2024 at 1:12 PM, McDiggles said:

What if you were to compare the base model of the qi 10 to the ai smoke TD.  I think that’s a more competitive comparison. What do you think would be better?

 

I'd disagree with that.  TD with weight forward was lower spinning than the Qi LS for me.  Both were sub 2000 and unplayable in that setup.  The Cally just makes it easier to adjust weighting so you can dial spin down or up depending on the needs.

[Glock917]

1 hour ago, J13 said:

 

I'd disagree with that.  TD with weight forward was lower spinning than the Qi LS for me.  Both were sub 2000 and unplayable in that setup.  The Cally just makes it easier to adjust weighting so you can dial spin down or up depending on the needs.

 

I just got my TD yesterday and have the heavy weight back and while I like the performance I am not digging the feel of it too much. I much prefer the feel of the weight forward but do not want the unforgiving nature. 

 

Have you tried varying the weights to make it not as one sided? I am searching through my spare weights and found a 9g and 7g and will see how that goes when i get to range.

[J13]

1 hour ago, Glock917 said:

 

I just got my TD yesterday and have the heavy weight back and while I like the performance I am not digging the feel of it too much. I much prefer the feel of the weight forward but do not want the unforgiving nature. 

 

Have you tried varying the weights to make it not as one sided? I am searching through my spare weights and found a 9g and 7g and will see how that goes when i get to range.

 

Yes.  I'm still dialing things in but right now I have 6g front 12g back.  Play around with a weight kit for sure.  Once I dial everything in I'll probably add some Hotmelt in my shop to get it a little more muted and or add some heal or toe bias if needed.

[McDiggles]

9 hours ago, J13 said:

 

I'd disagree with that.  TD with weight forward was lower spinning than the Qi LS for me.  Both were sub 2000 and unplayable in that setup.  The Cally just makes it easier to adjust weighting so you can dial spin down or up depending on the needs.

I’m looking at both the base qi 10 and Paradym TD.  The LS is out of the question bc of the low spin.  But if we were to compare the TD with weight in the back to the base qi 10, which one is best?

Edited March 29 by McDiggles

[sheppick.dan]

5 hours ago, J13 said:

 

Yes.  I'm still dialing things in but right now I have 6g front 12g back.  Play around with a weight kit for sure.  Once I dial everything in I'll probably add some Hotmelt in my shop to get it a little more muted and or add some heal or toe bias if needed.

Did you order separate weight kit? What’s the factory weight set up?

[J13]

1 hour ago, sheppick.dan said:

Did you order separate weight kit? What’s the factory weight set up?

 

TD would be lower spin than standard Qi in that scenario.  I bought a weight kit off amazon (4g - 18g)

[sheppick.dan]

1 hour ago, J13 said:

 

TD would be lower spin than standard Qi in that scenario.  I bought a weight kit off amazon (4g - 18g)

Thanks. 
 

what was your optimal set up? I just bought a slightly used TD 9deg with Ventus blue. 

[Lemonde]

On 3/23/2024 at 8:53 AM, Lloyd_Christmas29 said:

Interesting. I wonder what the difference is as the standard TD is already pretty forgiving. It does always have me skeptical when almost none of the callaway guys are using the retail head. Everybody is either in a triple diamond S or the TD Max.

I have yet to see a pic of the AI Smoke TD “S”. Can anyone post a pic and what is the head size?

[Lloyd_Christmas29]

4 minutes ago, Lemonde said:

I have yet to see a pic of the AI Smoke TD “S”. Can anyone post a pic and what is the head size?

I’m not sure if there is one this go around. I was more referring back to the Rogue ST and Paradyms.

[Lemonde]

1 minute ago, Lloyd_Christmas29 said:

I’m not sure if there is one this go around. I was more referring back to the Rogue ST and Paradyms.

Ok thxs. A little surprised they haven’t rolled out the S yet in this model then.  

[Lloyd_Christmas29]

17 minutes ago, Lemonde said:

Ok thxs. A little surprised they haven’t rolled out the S yet in this model then.  

Nvm, Min Woo Lee has one in the bag. 

[Lemonde]

13 minutes ago, Lloyd_Christmas29 said:

Nvm, Min Woo Lee has one in the bag. 

Nice find!   You are an internet sleuth! 

[Glock917]

4 hours ago, sheppick.dan said:

Did you order separate weight kit? What’s the factory weight set up?

I personally had weights in my junk drawer from having previous callaway drivers fwy td and UWs

 

But i just randomly experimented and put a 7g front and 9g back with a cotton pad stuffed inside and oh my what a big difference. It now has that muted carbony “crack” and it feels so much balanced instead of feeling that back weight bog it down and feeling like a ping lol. 

[Albatross85]

I have the 14 g forward in the AI 3D and it’s the most forgiving driver I’ve ever hit. I hit down 1* to up 1* on driver and this thing spins 2200 for me. It’s not fade biased but not draw biased either, it just wants to fly straight. I would say the darkspeed ls and the qi10ls are both fade biased. 
 

The qi10ls was a decent club but the mishits spin up like crazy and i think the toe miss on the 3D is way better.