Even the best golfers in the world are prone to miss the center of the face with the most forgiving club in the bag. And if they’re going to miss, there’s a good chance it will be near the toe. Arguably the most common mishit location for weekend golfers, toe misses generally lead to a dip in spin rate and carry distance. The further the ball gets out on the toe, the more it will nosedive and knuckle, leading to wildly inconsistent launch, spin and carry numbers.
Or at least that was the case until recently when manufacturers started finding new ways to minimize toe misses across all models, including low-spin offerings.
This year’s crop of drivers featured a few that produced a positive carry distance number on high-toe misses. Yes, that means you could see a slight uptick in distance (at 95 mph) on toe strikes.
For the latest round of robotic driver testing, we analyzed the distance loss on toe strikes (across all three locations) to spotlight certain models and lofts worth further testing for one of the most common mishit locations. Let’s dive into the data.
(How we calculate: Each driver is tested at 95 mph using a 9-point face mapping. We hit 6 balls from each location on the face — high, low and middle quadrants — and then compared the data to the geometric center.)
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TaylorMade Qi10 LS (10.5 degrees) | 2.7 yards of carry distance loss on toe misses across all three locations (high, middle and low)
Highlight: Similar to last year’s Ping G430 LST driver that exceeded our expectations, it’s time to stop thinking all low-spin drivers are for faster players with consistent impact. In some cases, drivers like TaylorMade’s 10.5-degree Qi10 LS perform exceptionally well at slower speeds.
TaylorMade’s low-spin weapon gained nearly 3 yards of carry on high and middle toe strikes — compared to geometric center — and saw low-toe strikes dip by 15 yards. The low-toe numbers aren’t anything to write home about, but if you need to shed spin and generally live in the middle to upper portion of the toe, Qi10 LS is about as good as it gets.
Ping G430 Max 10K (9 degrees) | 4.5 yards
PING G430 Max 10K Custom Driver
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Highlight: A picture of consistency across all three toe strike locations. Even low-toe saw a decrease of just 7.5 yards compared to center strikes. Outside of Callaway’s 12-degree Ai Smoke Max D (8.1 yards), no other driver came close to matching that number. Driver is a strong option for golfers who live on the toe but don’t necessarily reside in one particular quadrant.
Cobra Darkspeed Max (9 degrees) | 4.6 yards
Cobra DarkSpeed Max Custom Driver
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Highlight: Similar to the G430 Max 10K, the three carry distance deltas remained fairly tight with Darkspeed Max. Middle and upper toe strikes only lost 1.5 yards, and low toe was an admirable 12.6 yards. One of the most reliable drivers in Cobra’s 2024 lineup.
TaylorMade Qi10 (12 degrees) | 4.7 yards
TaylorMade Qi10 Custom Driver
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Highlight: Gained nearly 2 yards on high-toe misses. If you combine middle and high toe, the distance loss is practically nil. With three models/lofts represented on the list, it’s apparent TaylorMade placed an emphasis on preserving ball speed with toe strikes.
TaylorMade Qi10 Max (12 degrees) | 4.8 yards
TaylorMade Qi10 Max Custom Driver
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Highlight: Strong low toe distance loss number at just 11.3 yards. Tight carry deltas across all three locations mimic another 10K product on this list (G430 Max 10K). Even high-toe misses gained 0.6 yards.
Want to overhaul your bag for 2024? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf.
