Super easy launch? TaylorMade Qi HL Iron Review

The higher lofted TaylorMade Qi HL game improver iron offers ‘easy straight distance’ to club golfers. My review finds out if it delivers.

TaylorMade game improvement irons have been one of the brand’s biggest success stories over recent years. So much so that the previous Stealth ranked among the best irons for sales volume several times during its two-year lifespan.

With a decent foothold to grow from the brand hope the new TaylorMade Qi HL iron, which promises golfers ‘Easy, Straight Distance’, will buck the right-sided bias of the majority of game improver irons on the market, here’s how.

Everything you need to know about the TaylorMade Qi HL iron

The majority of irons contain a right-sided bias

Have you ever noticed how it’s really hard to hit long irons not just well, but straight too? Well, TaylorMade’s lab-coated boffins wondered exactly the same thing and set themselves the task of understanding what was going on. Their investigation revealed how the majority of irons, and game improvement irons in particular, contain a natural built-in bias towards the right side of the golf course (if you’re a right-handed golfer).

The company says it’s an issue that predominantly affects mid and long irons. When shafts get shorter and lofts increase any right-sided bias shrinks to minimal levels. But astonishingly, if you regularly slap mid and long irons down the right side of the golf course, it might well not be all your fault.   

It’s all about the rebound

TaylorMade says their research into the best game improver irons has found the right-sided bias stems from how the face of an iron deflects and rebounds unevenly across its surface. The toe area is bigger and higher than the heel, causing the heel to rebound faster.

This phenomenon imparts cut spin on the golf ball which for plenty of leading 4-irons can mean a right-sided miss of 10 – 20 feet – not great if you happen to make a good swing and decent contact. The new TaylorMade Qi irons cuts that bias to 3 feet.        

Ground control to Major Tom

How have they done it? Well, it comes down to controlling face deflection so it’s more uniform across the entire face surface. TaylorMade has developed a new integrated system to manage the uniformity of flex and rebound. It means good strikes go straight and fly far, with almost zero sidespin imparted by the construction of the club. Hence the club’s new ‘Straight Distance’ tagline.

Part of the new control system is a variable face thickness for each iron in the set. Additional mass and thickness are positioned in the toe area of the mid and longer irons to encourage this location to behave like the heel.    

We’re all individuals

TaylorMade has a taste for designing sets of irons as individual entities right now. It’s an idea they employed most recently on the brilliant P790. It sounds simple but in fact, it’s incredibly complex to pull off. Especially so in a cap-back game improvement iron, rather than a hollow body head. The TaylorMade Qi iron models have flighted CGs that flow neatly from lower in the long irons to boost launch, through to higher in the short irons which increase control and eliminate ballooned shots.      

In their bid to make the Qi the most playable iron on the market in 2024, Taylormade has also incorporated a new variable Speed Pocket design that changes from long to mid irons, maximizing launch and speed from where golfers typically strike the ball. This really is a smart set of completely individual irons designed with a cohesive feel.   

Expect a two-year lifespan

Less than 10 years ago TaylorMade had a dubious reputation for introducing new products and superseding them within 6 months with new ‘improved’ models. Things have changed dramatically since then. So much so today the Qi is penciled in for a two-year lifespan, just like the previous Stealth. Hence why the model has been named Qi, and not Qi10 to match the latest family of woods.

Bonded badges lower ball speed

I asked Matt Bovee, Head of Product Creation for Irons at TaylorMade, why cap back irons are considered ‘better’ for game improvers than traditional cavity back irons. His reasoning highlighted how iron cavity badges impact face deflection, which lowers ball speed and ultimately reduces carry distance.

Hence why recent generations of the brand’s game improver irons have now boasted hollow cap back designs.   

Qi iron improvements over Stealth

The monochromatic look of the Stealth iron meant the model was incredibly well received at retail, becoming the brand’s first mass-market iron to stay in the range for two years. The Qi HL builds on this understated style.

Expect a new chrome plated finish, which TaylorMade doesn’t normally use on game improver irons, more topline width, more hosel offset, 1mm more blade length for improved stability, and a lower leading edge in the long irons (which helps get shots airborne).

Crucially, the sweet spot size has also grown by 13.9% from 145mm² in the Stealth to 165mm² in the Qi. All things considered, TaylorMade says the Qi will be 2024’s most accurate game improver iron.

How to choose between the TaylorMade Qi and Qi HL irons

Over the last 18 months High Launch irons have become a massive trend with brands falling over themselves to make higher lofted, lighter, easier launching super game improvement irons. This is at the opposite end of the scale to the super strong lofted ‘distance’ irons that were marketed to less consistent strikers and slower-speed players just five years ago.

Explaining what’s changed, Bovee said: “We understand the consumer better. Slower speed golfers actually hit shots further with weaker lofted irons, the extra spin keeps the ball in the air for longer”.

So if you’re trying to decide if the Qi or Qi HL will better suit your game make sure you consider swing speed.

The company guidance, like the Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal HL and Ping G430 HL, is 75mph with the 7-iron. This is the mark at which you’ll start hitting weaker loft irons further. The Qi HL is 2° weaker than the Qi in the 7-iron. It also has a 6g lighter head weight and comes up with lighter, higher launch shafts.    

Don’t forget any good TaylorMade fitter will also use the brand’s Select Fit hosel system to let you try both models at stronger and weaker lofts to find your optimal set-up.

Specs: TaylorMade Qi HL irons

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About the author

Simon Daddow – Today’s Golfer Equipment Editor

Simon Daddow is the Equipment Editor for Today’s Golfer. Having tested and played more than 10,000 clubs in his life, what he doesn’t know about golf clubs isn’t worth knowing.

He joined EMAP Active (now Bauer Media) as Equipment Editor in 2006 and has worked for both Today’s Golfer and Golf World. Working alongside our test pro Neil Wain, Simon has made todays-golfer.com the most reliable source for golf club testing.

Despite his youthful looks, Simon has played golf for more than 40 years and plays to a handicap of 10. A lack of club speed means he’s short off the tee, but very handy from 125 yards and in.

Simon’s job means he plays regularly around the world, and rates Kingsbarns as his favorite course. He uses a PXG 0311 GEN6 XF driver, TaylorMade Stealth 2 HL (15º), Ping G400 (20.5º), PXG 0317 X Gen2 hybrid, PXG 0311 GEN6 P irons (6–PW), Cleveland CBX2 wedges (52°, 58°), Ping 21 Fetch putter and a TaylorMade Tour Response golf ball.

You can contact Simon via email and follow him on Twitter for loads more golf equipment insight.

TaylorMade Qi HL Iron

RRP: £143 (s) £157 (g)

Stock shafts: KBS Max Lite (s) Fujikura Speeder NX TCS (g)

Stock grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 Lite (42g)

7-iron loft: 30°

Category: Mid-High Handicap

Forgiveness rating: 4/5

Visit the TaylorMade website here