50 Words or Less
The TaylorMade Qi35 Rescue has ample ball speed and more forgiveness than you might expect in a club this size. Allows players to control shot shape and trajectory easily. Adjustable hosel lets you dial in your preferred loft and face angle.
Introduction
With many players rediscovering the value of high lofted woods, hybrids are having a hard time getting the attention they once did. But just because Tour players are bagging more 7 woods, recreational players shouldn’t abandon the hybrid. If you need a club capable of everything from hitting a long approach or a tight tee shot, the TaylorMade Qi35 Rescue deserves serious consideration.
Looks
The TaylorMade Qi35 Rescue has the same chromium carbon fiber crown as the rest of the Qi35 family. This is the sharpest departure from the Qi10 Rescue [review HERE], though the Qi35 Rescue does still have the solid block of dark grey at the leading edge. Against the chromium carbon fiber, the “T” alignment aid stands out less but still provides a helpful reminder. By its measurements, the Qi35 Rescue fits comfortably in the game improvement category, and the shape is balanced if not symmetrical. It’s the same 106cc at every loft that’s offered.
In the bag, the TaylorMade Qi35 Rescue takes its cues from the Qi35 fairway wood [review HERE] with a sole that’s almost entirely gloss black. Minimal branding allows the focus to fall to the weight near the center of the sole. The club is almost entirely devoid of color, save for two small triangles of mint green.
Comparing the Qi35 Rescue to the Qi35 Max Rescue, the two are remarkably close. The core model has a slightly taller face and is fractionally shorter from front to back. While an experienced golfer could certainly distinguish them when side by side, that might be a tall task if the clubs were on their own.
Sound & Feel
For players in the “core” or standard product line, TaylorMade has delivered a remarkably consistent sound and feel across their long game clubs. The TaylorMade Qi35 Rescue sounds just like the Qi35 fairway wood to me. Both are quiet and low pitched, sounding more like an old persimmon club. Listening closely, the Rescue is a little more crisp than the fairway wood, but it’s a slight difference. I think this sound has huge appeal for the majority of low handicap players who like an understated impact sound.
The solid feel of the Qi35 Rescue blends perfectly with the sound. Your hands will know just where the ball met the face, and the club feels strong behind every hit. There’s not a great deal of audio feedback, but there’s enough to distinguish a good strike from a bad one.
Performance
As in the looks, sound, and feel, the performance of the TaylorMade Qi35 Rescue reminds me of the Qi35 fairway wood. This is a versatile club that does everything well and can be used by almost any golfer.
Ask most golfers what they want in a new club and the answer is, “More distance,” so we’ll start with the ball speed. On center, the TaylorMade Qi35 Rescue is fast. More importantly, it’s consistent. The multi-material construction allowed TaylorMade to get a lot of forgiveness into a mid-sized hybrid. I wasn’t losing more than a few MPH even on my poor toe or heel strikes.
TaylorMade bills the Qi35 Rescue as mid launch and mid-low spin, which matches what I saw in my launch monitor and field testing. It can be flighted higher or lower by the golfer with the requisite ball striking skills. While it’s not going to launch average shots to the moon, the Thru-Slot Speed Pocket helps this club to get thin strikes onto reasonable trajectories.
Something new for 2025 is the addition of a 3 degree loft sleeve. This allows golfers to add or subtract 1.5 degrees of loft and adjust the face angle. With four different lofts available, you can play a hybrid all the way from 15.5 degrees all the way up to 26.5. Having all these options is great for players who want to hit specific distances or promote a certain shot shape.
As much as I push the importance of fitting, I do want to take a moment to say how much I liked the stock shaft, the Mitsubishi Kai’li Blue Dark Wave. It had the smooth, powerful action that I remembered from the Kai’li Blue driver shaft [review HERE], but it was still stable at impact. I felt like I could go after the ball without losing it left, a common problem for some hybrid users.
Finally, I got to test the TaylorMade Qi35 Rescue head-to-head with the Qi35 Max Rescue and noticed several important differences. Before even hitting a ball, I noted that the Qi35 Max does not have the adjustable loft sleeve. What it does have is slightly higher forgiveness and noticeably higher launch and spin. The Qi35 Max also promotes a draw where the standard Qi35 has no significant left or right bias.
Conclusion
Players searching for a do-it-all hybrid can find it in the new TaylorMade Qi35 Rescue. This club has ample speed, distance, and forgiveness to appeal to a huge range of golfers. For the better player, it’s a neutral palette on which they can paint all different shot shapes.
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