NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
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Scottie Scheffler has a history of trying new things in the unofficial Hero World Challenge in December. In 2024 he debuted a new claw-style putting grip on certain putts that not only led to a victory in the Bahamas but to his career-best rank of 22nd in strokes gained putting in 2025.
Last month, Scheffler presented another big change at the Hero, working the new TaylorMade Qi4D driver and fairway metal into his bag.
“I would say that’s a lot of what’s really valuable for me about this week,” Scheffler said at Albany in December regarding his use of the Hero as a testing ground ahead of the new year. “I would say testing things out in competition is a good way of kind of seeing where you’re at. You can simulate competition at home, but coming out here and playing stroke play is always a bit different over the course of four days. I find this week to be pretty valuable.”
If the 7.5-degree Qi4D with a custom blue face stays in his bag to start 2026, it will be the first driver switch for the world No. 1 since 2024 when he first gamed the TaylorMade Qi10. It’s not like Scheffler was suffering off the tee, as he ranked second in that strokes-gained category in 2025.
TaylorMade’s Qi4D – which found its way into the bags of Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood last fall on the DP World Tour as well – just officially hit the retail market. While his driver features the same four-weight system as the others, Scheffler’s face is unique. He reportedly worked with TaylorMade to replicate the face design of his Qi10, which has served Scheffler well in previous driver iterations through his career.
“Yeah, for me so far this driver’s been a really good fit for my eye, and that’s always the first test for me,” Scheffler said in the Bahamas. “So far the performance has been good, my spin numbers have been really consistent, ball flight’s been consistent …
“Going into this year, I feel like Adrian (Rietveld) and the whole team at TaylorMade had a really good kind of idea of what my eyes needed to see in order for the driver to be able to work. We went through a lot of different kinds of options for what the face needed to be specifically for me and felt like we’re in a good spot, and then the testing was a lot simpler this time around for sure.”
Scheffler finished tied for fourth, two shots out of a playoff, at the Hero and walked away pleased with what he saw out of the new driver.
“I didn’t see anything off the face that I didn't feel in my hands, so that’s typically a pretty good thing for me with the driver,” he said. “When I feel something, when I look up … I want it to match so today I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, so that’s a pretty good spot to be in.”
Scheffler tried but opted against using the TaylorMade Qi35 model in 2025, sticking with the Qi10, which helped him win 13 events including three majors. The Qi4D has a similar shape to the Qi10, making for an easier transition.
“So last year I had a little bit of trouble getting into the Qi35, and I feel like we learned a lot throughout that process of what I like to see in a driver, the way it needs to perform for me specifically,” Scheffler said.
Scott Michaux