Scheffler has never looked back since switching to the Qi10 at the WM Phoenix Open.
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Scottie Scheffler has six wins this season, including a second green jacket. It should come as no surprise that his machine setup has been stagnant since his March win at Bay Hill. Moving the setup is not an option when using a heater.
If you need proof, just compare Arnie's field setup to the setup he used to claim a sixth title on Sunday at the Travelers Championship. Copy and paste if Scheffler hits paydirt.
Playing equipment favorites is an impossible task when you're tracking, even if recent bias tells us that Scheffler's switch to the TaylorMade Spider Tour X mallet — a change that landed at Bay Hill — was the most important gear move of the year. (You can read about putter movement in more depth later.)
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But let's forget about the putter for now and turn the focus to another early-season move that proved just as important to Scheffler's driving.
Back in February, Scheffler switched from TaylorMade's Stealth 2 driver to the Qi10 after going through several test sessions dating back to just before the Ryder Cup. Scheffler found the Qi10 to be an interesting option, but it wasn't until the WM Phoenix Open that he decided to pull the trigger and make the change official.
“There was no way he was thinking of coming out of Stealth 2 to do the same,” TaylorMade Tour representative Adrian Rietveld told GOLF.com. “He saw the slow speed of the ball, but that didn't bother him at all. He values accuracy more, which is why he doesn't look at the ball speed number. His spin range is wider than other players because he hits many different shots and trajectories. He's hitting shots 6 and 12 degrees off the tee.”
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
The “basic” head, better known as TaylorMade's middle-of-the-road offering, is an interesting beast. During GOLF 2024's robotic testing, the Qi10 presented a lower spin rate and launch angle than most of the drivers tested, two things that better speed players tend to gravitate toward. Another thing that interested Scheffler was maintaining the ball speed and consistent spin rates he was seeing in the outside hitter.
With each testing session, Scheffler felt they were getting closer. During the final meeting at TPC Scottsdale, Scheffler hit drivers with the Qi10 on the TPC Scottsdale driving range as Caddy Ted Scott and Rietveld looked at the results.
Start and spin numbers are dialed. The only thing left was to finish the left side of the course with interior changes and a small loft adjustment, something Rietveld was able to accomplish with the final adjustment of the loft sleeve.
“It's getting dark and we just made the final adjustments, moving the head with one click back into the upright position, which is what he usually plays with the 8-degree head,” recalls Rietveld. “The launch didn't change, the spin didn't change, but what changed was that he felt like there was zero left. There wasn't even a direct shot. He really felt committed to his first line. He was trying to take out the entire left side of the golf course.”
Scheffler won the first week out with the Qi10 and never looked back. For someone who lives in the fairway, Scheffler has been even better this season – a scary realization, to be sure. He's gone from finding the fairway 62 percent last season to nearly 72 percent this year.
The dramatic improvement in accuracy highlights TaylorMade's focus on reducing performance delta and mishits during product creation. Reduce the penalty for misses and everything starts to look up.
In Scheffler's case, the driver changes coincided with a season that rivaled Tiger Woods' incredible 2000 campaign. The other change didn't completely change the trajectory of Scheffler's season, but it no doubt played a role in making the 28-year-old nearly unbeatable on the course.
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