TaylorMade Qi35 Designer Series: The Audacity Of Hope (And Gold)

We’ve talked about this kind of thing before. As we move deeper into golf season (and especially into Year Two of any driver’s lifecycle), brands start pulling out all the stops to hook the golfer who somehow resisted their initial charm offensive.

In recent weeks we’ve seen limited-edition drivers, a parade of limited-edition golf balls, even a limited-edition Chipotle-themed headcover that makes you question both your life choices and the state of modern marketing.

Weird doesn’t begin to cover it.

What I’m driving at is this: If you haven’t bought a Qi35 driver yet, TaylorMade hopes this latest run of designer series offerings will finally separate you from your money. And, boy, they brought some … choices.

Designer Series Gold and Platinum

This latest TaylorMade Qi35 Designer Series drop brings two distinct colorways that beg the question “are you absolutely sure about this?”

While the Gold and Platinum technically are separate offerings, I’m lumping them together because they both represent the same fundamental question: “What if we just … went for it?”

Let’s start with some context from TaylorMade’s design team.

“The cool thing about Designer Series is that we can only do this in limited quantities and that allows us to do something outside the norm. Whether it’s how paints and pigments are sourced, how they’re applied, or drawing inspiration from different places like aeronautics or the automobile industry, it’s a continual learning and evolution process.” – Robert Nunez, Principal Designer of Product Creation

When I first read “gold and platinum” in the press release, I assumed we were talking about tasteful accents—maybe some subtle highlights here and there, nothing too flashy.

I was wrong. So very wrong.

Available in the core Qi35 and Qi35 Max, TaylorMade’s Gold and Platinum options represent a full commitment to what can only be described as “maximum visual impact.” When they said “Gold”, they meant gold—the entire clubhead (minus the face and accent text) is gold. Not gold-ish. Not gold-inspired. Gold.

Same goes for “Platinum” which is to say the whole damn thing is silver and proud of it.

It’s a bold strategy, Cotton.

On one hand, I’m genuinely impressed. Each colorway represents an unrepentantly audacious design choice that refuses to apologize for itself. There’s something refreshing about a company that says, “You know what? Let’s make a gold driver and see what happens.”

On the other hand … Wow! These things are going to be visible from the space station. I’m not entirely sure how the golf world is going to react when someone shows up to the first tee with what looks like a trophy instead of a driver.

The Verdict

I need to know what you think about these.

Released earlier this year, the first Designer Series option (Gloss Black) was basically Aaron Judge facing a batting-practice fastball—easy money, guaranteed crowd-pleaser, destined for success.

Gold and Platinum?

That’s a different conversation entirely. I suppose it’s easier to be daring when you’re only making limited quantities but someone is going to have to be the first person to pull one of these out of their bag at their home course. That takes a special kind of confidence.

Or a complete lack of self-awareness. The jury’s still out.