Equipment
What's your priority off the tee?
When you step onto any given tee with your driver in-hand, how are you feeling? Are you ready to rip one far and straight into prime fairway position, or does the finely cut grass look rather narrow among the rough, shrubbery, and hazards that line it on either side?
Are you thinking tactically of where you want to set up your second shot or are you just happy if your drive makes it to the fairway? We’re all golfers of different abilities, but even the very best of us have had wobbly moments standing over our first drives of the day.
The fact is, landing your ball on the fairway has a direct outcome on how well you’ll play the rest of the hole. Let’s walk you through the facts…
Why making the fairway matters
Let’s start by talking about greens. Having consulted trusted Shot Scope data, GolfMonthly.com found that Tour pros regularly hit 12 out of 18 greens while mid-teen handicap players only find 4 out of 18 greens on their approach shots. Clearly, the more skilled you are, the more greens you land on your approach shots, setting you up for better putting opportunities.
Landing the green is therefore paramount if you want to score well. It’s not hard to conceive that one good shot best leads to another, and the data is also there to support the notion that landing the fairway on your tee shot puts you in a better position to land the green on your following approach shot.
Mygolfspy.com similarly studied Shot Scope data, pulling statistics from handicaps across the board, they found that players were more likely to go on to make a green in regulation if they first made a fairway in regulation.
Today we want to help you consider what you think of most when you’re walking onto the tee, and pair you with a TaylorMade driver that would best help you reach more GIR.
Accuracy
If your tee shots can go any number of different ways, you might have your fingers crossed you find the fairway when set your ball down on your tee. Finding the fairway off the tee is not only sets you up for a better second shot but gives you a confidence boost when you’re walking off the tee having played your shot.
We want you finding the fairway more often, and TaylorMade’s range of Qi4D drivers will help you get there. The standard Qi4D driver serves as the versatile everyman driver that will help a broad range of players make more accurate tee shots.
TaylorMade has reengineered the Qi4D head profile over previous generations to improve the aerodynamics, and this club feels great in your hands. A multi-material construction ensures this club prioritises speed and stability for an all-round fantastic performance.
Distance
Everybody wants to hit the ball long and far, and if you’re a skilled player there’s a good chance this is regularly how you fire one off the tee. Low handicap players can generally strike the ball just how they want to, and therefore need a club that can keep up with their desire to shape their tee shots. If this sounds like you, you’ll want the Qi4D LS in your bag.
If you have a faster swing speed and you know how you like to shape your tee shots, we’d recommend the Qi4D LS. TaylorMade’s Qi4D LS is a precision-engineered driver designed for high-speed golfers seeking low-spin performance and maximum workability. It features a compact, tour-preferred head shape and a deeper face that allows skilled players to shape their shots with confidence.
Forgiveness
For some novice players who aren’t used to the game, we completely understand how standing on the tee in front of other players can feel very daunting. Like most things in life, the more practice you put in with your driver, the more confidence you’ll feel each time you play golf.
If you’re a high handicap player, you’ll want to be paired with a driver that’s packed with forgiveness, enter the Qi4D Max and Max Lite models.
The Qi4D Max is a more forgiving club and features an aluminium construction. This material is lighter than titanium, ensuring the club feels great to swing through the air without you suffering any loss of power. The Max has a high-MOI clubhead, ensuring you have tight shot dispersion for greater accuracy off the tee.
An excellent driver should you be looking to build up more power in your tee shots, the Qi4D Max Lite is essentially the Max driver’s twin but is built with lightweight components. Prioritising forgiveness and easy launch, this lightweight driver is very wieldy, allowing you to swing through the ball with more force and power, resulting in greater distance down the fairway.
Whatever your ability, we can all agree that it’s an amazing feeling when you make great connection with the ball. If you’re interested in strengthening your game off the tee, you can always find us in the pro shop ready to help you.
