What is your preferred golf shoe?

General Discussion
#41

Just picked up a pair on sale, at TGW.com Think I spent around a hundred or so, with an extra bag of spikes thrown in. 12 2E for me. 4E is normally just a hair too big, and I’ve lost 30 lbs the last few months, so it’s more than a hair big now. Weird how weight loss shrinks feet, but I guess it makes sense.

Anyway, snug-ish fit. Difficult to get your foot into, with this integral sock-ish thing it has. (Guess that’s the waterproofing.) And God, are they ugly. Even by New Balance standards, and as a member of the paddle foot tribe, I’ve been a NB guy since the mid 80s. (Yay, gray suede and plastic heel thingy master race!) I feel your pain, @Craigers; 12 is about right where the shoe selection in stores goes right to $*%t. Anyway, these are black nylon, and look it. I hope they’re not going to be an oven, playing golf down here in God’s Sauna.

Once in, feels good though. Much, much more stable feeling than the 12 4E MProject Footjoys I used to use. We’ll see how walking a round goes… I have high hopes.

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#42

Adidas Tech Response. I love them so much I’m on my 4th pair. Comfy straight out of the box, no issues with my plantar fasciitis.

#43

I have a pair of Under Armour Showdown that I started out with, but have now ditched for a pair of Adidas Tour360 XL-SL Spikeless - super plush and comfy all day long.

#44

I love my Ecco shoes, super comfortable.

And I’ve never tried them yet, but Johnson & Murphy has some sweet looking golf shoes that I want to try next time I need a pair.

Both are on the expensive side, but I figure if they last me a few years, I’ll get my money’s worth.

#45

I love my Johnston & Murphy golf shoes. But I have to confess, I love everything I buy from them, including their sports clothing, dress clothing, men’s shoes, belts, and miscellaneous accessories.

If you decide to go J&M, do be aware that for the most part, their entire line of golf shoes is essentially the same shoe in different colors and topside fabrics. If you need a wider selection of choices along with more features etc., then Footjoy personally is my second choice, and their prices are all over the map; I recently replaced my ten year old waterproof Footjoys with J&M, and the J&M purchase was about twenty dollars cheaper than replacing with more Footjoys. But… you don’t get a cleat/sole selection with J&M, like you can with Footjoy.

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#46

Bumping this to give an update. The NB Fresh Foam golf spikes are still supportive, still comfortable, and a numbness that would develop in my right foot after 2 hours of wear has stopped happening. That’s the good news.

The bad news, and it’s bad, is that—for some inexplicably idiotic beancounter inspired reason—the top eyelets on the shoe are in hard, but flimsy, plastic straps attached to the shoe. They aren’t part of the shoe upper. This wouldn’t be bad, except the eyelets tear. At an askew glance. Torn eyelets won’t hold laces, and I’m consequently left with a half laced-up shoe. It’s tolerable. But it’s annoying as Hell on a 100 bucks on sale shoe. No more NB for awhile.

Now to see if Saucony makes a golf shoe…

#47

I have been brand loyal to FJ for years, I tried Nike’s a while back but, to be quite frank, it seemed like 2 days after the “waterproof warranty” was up they sprung leaks. Last year, my wife surprised me with a pair of ADIDAS BOA. I really like them ALOT! Lots of room in the front of the shoe, by the heel very snug and I love not having to tie the shoe!

I’d love to get a free pass to try SQAIRZ…Sir Nick says they will add 10 yds…LOL If that’s true they will put everyone else outta business!

#48

I liked the minimalist Footjoys I used to have. M Project, or something like that. I just need some more support for my bulk and my swing. I leave bigger divots at the range from my spikes, than I do my shots.

The NB lacing thing is just needlessly stupid. I’m used to the NB old school lacing style, where you have a loop between the uppermost two eyelets, run the laces back through that loop, and thereby cinch up things around your ankles. If you try that, you’ll shear through the plastic eyelets even faster than I did. Just dumb.

I wanted to try the Adidas 21 model something or others. Especially since I now know they can make shoes for those beyond D width. But holy $h$t! 220 bucks?! “Buy once, cry once,” I guess.

#49

True linkswear
Ecco
Footjoy

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#50

I walk pretty much exclusively and I do get some foot fatigue (as well as my Achilles being absolutely shot), so the one thing I won’t mess around with our shoes. By far the best shoes for me have been the Adidas Code Chaos that I purchase from here. The boost technology soles are legit, instead of the usual marketing bs you usually see. They also look good. I had Ecco bioms previously. The adidas are an improvement in comfort to me, plus they don’t look like dad shoes. I don’t play in muddy conditions. Overwatered fairways or heavy dew are the worst I have to deal with, but have never had traction issues.

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#51

From steel spikes to soft spikes to no spike.
My personal preferred golf shoes is FootJoy. For nice dry golf days will be the Premier series. Like the BOA for ease of putting on and taking off but dislike the noise of the nylon lines rubbing the leather. Laced golf shoes are still the best.
Can’t remember but there was once a brand of leather golf shoes which I loved. This was back in the days with steel spikes full leather sole, heavy , very heavy golf shoes. It provides stability for movements involved with golf swing. Hard to maintain it after it gets wet. Had to shoe tree it for 5-10 days before I can use it again.
I remembered it had an extra spike on the sole ( 10 per and 20 spikes for the pair).

#52

Years ago, I bought a pair of foot joy from the auction house. It split just about the seam of sole. Called the Footjoy, they asked for picture then asked me send the shoes back. Two weeks later I received a rejection email.
Called again, and was told the model was older than 2 years, even it was unused when I bought it. I said, why had me spend the $19 shipping it back if it was out of warranty? They had no answer for me but offered to give me two pairs of golf socks. I said no thank you, I’d rather have the shipping charge credited to me.
a week later the socks arrived in the mail without my approval.
That was the only bad experience I had with them. Otherwise my previous pairs were great and last many years of heavy use.

#53

You sound so similar to me. I wear 11 4E and was buying only New Balance (really in everything but also golf shoes) until I couldn’t find them anymore. It seemed that they stopped making golf shoes. I heard that Footjoy had wide golf shoes too, so my last two buys were 11 XW Footjoy. I still wear both on the course, alternating, but the first pair are really wearing out now, the soles are coming apart in the middle. The other pair is better, but its soles are starting to split from the upper. I just ordered glue in hopes of fixing that, but I’m not really optimistic. All these shoes I mention were black and totally leather, basically. I like that because it’s easier to keep them looking decent. Kiwi shoe polish!

Now, I went online looking for new golf shoes the other day and saw great reviews for a Footjoy shoe, the Premier Wilcox at $220. Received them a couple days ago and am really disappointed and am going to return them to Amazon (Footjoy sells them for the same price). They are obviously inferior to the Footjoys I bought before. The insoles are junk whereas the ones I got before had really well made long-lasting insoles. Also, the bottom of the shoe is a disappointment. They will be hard to clean, the soft spikes look proprietary and Footjoy didn’t supply a spike removal tool, which they did before. To top it off, the uppers aren’t pure leather. They have plastic plating over most of the surface. Sprucing them up looks like it would be frustrating. So, I’m on the hunt for really two pairs of quality golf shoes. I typically go out at the break of dawn when the grass is super wet, so water proofing is probably basically necessary for me. Edit: Oh, and I ALWAYS walk (my home course is hilly!)!

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#54

Well, I had the FootJoy and the Adidas golf shoes for many years. Since the leather sole and the metal spikes era.
My wife was looking for a new pair of golf shoes recently. I convinced her to get the FootJoy Premier with BOA. We looked and was lucky to fins a local brick and mortar golf shop which carries the previous year model.
We were told this model ( the Premier) is discontinued for 2023-2024 model year. They couldn’t tell me why. The replacement model is Premier Wilcox and premier classic?
My wife opt for the last year NOS which in our opinion is better looking and well made, with two years waterproof warranty.
We were also informed that the new shoes warranty change from replacement to "prorated " as the OEM will not just exchange the warranty shoes for new pairs.
Looking at all the new models from most the OEM are like tennis shoes or walking shoes.
The new look gives the impression of being comfortable, but I doubt they will last more than one season on the golf courses. I also walk the golf course.
Considering an honor to walk the golf course, as I know, there’ll be time when I no longer be able to walk the golf courses in the future.
Really sorry to see everything had gone up in price and shrunken quality with less value.
If you like the New Balance golf shoes, check out the Skecher line of shoes. No leather upper I’m afraid. Only a few OEM are still offering full leather upper golf shoes.
We can still get a custom made pair of leather golf shoes in an old shoe shop in London and one near Huston TX I believe. $600-$800 is the beginning price tag.

#55

Sorry about your bad experience with the Premiers. If I’d spent that kind of money, I’d be mad too. I will say the Hyperflex BOAs are great though. Nowhere near as expensive, and though I’ve not dunked them, they appear to be waterproof.

Not leather, and in fact, they look a little funky. Like a combo sock-shoe.

I’d recommend Linksware Trues to you, for a shoe that looks like a street shoe you can golf in, but they’re just not wide enough for a legit FJ XW. Neither are Ecco Bioms Hybrids, IME.

Sorry.

#56

It is true for almost everything else. Price tag went up and quality came down.
The trending for the golf shoes are the “comfort” sneaker type. For those who only golf on a sunny dry day and riding a golf cart probably.
I had been told most the golf shoe manufacturers are going synthetic junk material.
No market for the really nice full leather upper golf shoes. Supply will match the demand supposedly.
Problem is, all the marketing guys trying to predict the future and often times jump the gun to get a quick start before the solid indication shows the true trending. Same as every other industries.
Another issue is the cost increase for labor and material where most of the shoes are made. India and Vietnam could not take over the manufacturing from southern China, not just yet.
My last pairs of FootJoy last almost 12 years, changes the soft spikes at least 10 times and still going strong, except I had to put in new insole because the original had worn out.
If you’re trying to glue the shoe back, there is a new glue on the market which cures faster than the traditional super glue and supposed to work on multi surfaces including hard plastic. I ordered one and it’s coming for testing.

#57

Since the Premier from FootJoy was discontinued and the new models are not only expensive but the questionable new material and style made me start to look around for replacement.
Not only the price tag was up, the construction with more fabric and light weight composites are good for walking or casual wear. I questioned the use of them in golf shoes.
Found something online which is awfully low in asking price. Took a chance of buying a pair of shoes ( let along a pair of golf shoes ) without trying them on first, for $40.
It was shipped from China, as most the athletic shoes are being made these days. Surprisingly, with the online measuring method ( measuring the length of feet standing up on a piece of paper from heel to toe ) was actually a better way to get true fitting, almost like the old fashioned shoe measuring device used to be in every shoe stores.
Partial leather top and synthetic material wrap around in the heel area ( where most the dirt and moisture will collect ).
No complain for $40. I was very skeptical beforehand, the risk paid off.
Quite comfortable and provides good tracking on the golf course.
My wife’s golf shoe will pay for 5 pairs of this shoe.
However the inferior design ( amateur design ) shows, one of clue is lack of the locking threads in the insert for the soft spikes. But it came with a few replacement soft spikes with tool, probably in anticipation for this design might lose a few spikes walking the golf courses.

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#58

For $40 you can replace them every year if not more often. I have heard some of the “no-name” shoes on Amazon, Temu, Aliexpress, et al are not bad for the price.

I used to wear FJ Dryjoy for years just replacing the soft spikes. When you play 7 months/year, a 9 hole league and occasionally 18 on weekends they last forever…I only ditched them because my foot grew a bit as I got fatter lol. I play a bit more now and prefer the comfort of the lighter spikeless shoes. I was able to snag another pair of Adidas Code Chaos for $40 from DSG and have been saving them while alternating 2 older pairs of FJ and Adidas.

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#59

Yes, the traditional golf shoes lasts a long time. Most my DryJoy and Premier had changed the spikes half a dozen times. Adidas leather saddle is also enduring.
The only reason I’ll retire them was when the insole lost its cushion. Or the outsole start to get hard over a decade of service. Still in one piece and looks sharp after a shoe shine. But the time is up for those pairs.
Kind of regret after I dunk the old leather sole golf shoes with metal spikes as they are now collector’s items, LOL.
The $40 pair has only seen the golf course a few times so the verdict is still out. Got it from Aliexpress. It’ll be okay if it can give me service for a couple of seasons. I’d be very surprised if it goes beyond a couple seasons.
Rained a little over night ( after 60+ days dry weather in 70-90 F) so it’ll be a good test for water proof and traction this morning.

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#60

I’ve been wearing Ecco shoes, spiked and soft spiked, for as long as I have been golfing (15 years) and I have found them to be both comfortable and durable. In terms of comfort, I know that the size I order is gong to fit because the last never changes. The size I started with 15 years ago is the same size I wear now: I order them, put them on and off I go. Durable, I play about 100 rounds in a year, walking the 9-10km length of the course (depending on the number of stray balls we search for) and the shoes last about 2 years.
Ecco shoes are more pricey than most brands but if you watch the company’s website they often go on sale. Earlier this year I found a $230 pair on for $99. These are leather, soft spikes, GORE-TEX, lace ups.

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