Are golf shoes worth it? Improved Grip and Comfort?

Introduction

If you’ve recently taken up golf then you’re probably aware of how much equipment you need to buy to play the game. One thing you might not have considered yet is golf shoes.

When you realize a typical round of golf will mean you walking somewhere between four and six miles then it pays to give your footwear some thought.

Many people starting in the game who aren’t sure if they want to commit to it might begin by playing in sneakers or trainers. I’ve even seen people playing golf in ordinary dress shoes and on one occasion someone was actually playing in rugby boots. You might imagine the sort of damage that rugby boots did to the greens on that course!

Golf Shoes: Mandatory or Not?

If your experience of golf is limited to driving ranges then you’ve probably been fairly happy to just turn up in sneakers and hit some golf balls.

As your level of interest in the game increases, you’ll find that having the right equipment can be important to your enjoyment and improvement.

Many public courses and I would assume all semiprivate and private courses expect players to wear recognized golf shoes. I certainly can’t recall visiting a golf club, other than a municipal, that didn’t require you to wear golf shoes. Given the costs and effort invested in producing a quality putting surface, no greenkeeper will want to see players wandering around with inappropriate footwear that will damage the course.

Don’t forget that just like the tires on a car, your shoes are your connection with the ground. If you don’t have sufficient grip during your swing it could cause you to lose balance and hit a bad shot or even fall over.

Golf shoes have also been designed in such a way as to provide maximum support for your feet during the golf swing. A good pair of golf shoes will provide lateral stability and give you extra confidence when playing your shots.

Beginner golfers might like to save money by not buying golf shoes until they are sure they want to continue playing the game but they really are worth the investment.

Look after your feet and they will look after you.

Anon

Types of Golf Shoe

For many years golf shoes were basically just normal shoes with spikes fitted to the sole.

Over the years manufacturers have made their shoes lighter, more comfortable and athletic.

There are currently two types of shoes available in the market, spiked and spikeless.

The design of golf shoes has changed significantly in the last 30 years or so. a massive shift towards a more athletic sport-type shoe rather than the more classic brogue styles. We also seem to have lost the ‘Kiltie’, the small piece of material that sat on top of the lace and tongues to help prevent water from getting into the shoe.

With the possible exception of certain Puma models, you’ll also note the design of golf shoes doesn’t cover the ankle bone.

This is partly because you want to maintain freedom of movement in your ankle during your swing and while walking.

Dr. Vernon Cooley points out that restricting your ankle movement could put you at a greater risk of injury. Specifically, patellar tendinitis is an inflammation of the tendon that joins the kneecap to the shinbone. Dr. Cooley is a surgeon that has worked on Tiger Woods.

Spiked Golf Shoes

The improved grip is the primary reason why people would wear shoes designed for golf.

Traditionally golf shoes had metal spikes to help stabilize your swing and also to give you better traction when walking the course.

The rotational movement in a golf swing means that you need a stable base to be successful. Spiked golf shoes had been the answer until relatively recently.

Unfortunately, it is very easy for people wearing metal spikes to cause small amounts of damage to the green called spike marks.

A number of companies developed “soft spikes”. This is a generic term to cover a wide variety of different-shaped plastic or rubber spikes and cleats.

In recent years I have seen more golf courses stipulate that you can’t wear shoes with metal spikes. Only soft spiked shoes are allowed in an effort to avoid spike marks. My personal opinion is that on soft or wet greens soft spikes can actually cause more problems but I think I am in a very small minority! The only people who can get away with metal spiked shoes now are professional golfers.

Stability is the second advantage of golf shoes over trainers. Golf shoes are designed to help support your foot during the swing, sneakers or trainers aren’t designed for that purpose.

Another major reason to consider purchasing some golf shoes is protection from wet weather. Indeed if you have a tendency to play early morning then it doesn’t need to even rain in order for your feet to get damp from the dew on the grass. If you tend to play in wet conditions then a spiked pair of golf shoes would be my advice to give you more grip.

Pretty much every spiked shoe has removable spikes since they will wear over time. Try to avoid allowing your spikes to get worn down too much as it will make them more difficult to replace. It will also make them somewhat useless in terms of offering grip when you are on wet grass.

If you can only afford one pair of golf shoes then I would advise making sure they are at least water-resistant or better yet waterproof.

Spikeless Golf Shoes

If you tend to play on courses that are flat and rarely get wet then you might be able to take advantage of the recent trend in spikeless golf shoes.

Many models of spikeless golf shoes now appear more like sneakers or tennis shoes than traditional golf shoes. However, they will still have some form of special sole intended to improve the grip for the golfer.

Spikeless shoes can indeed be useful during the all too-rare event, a dry and warm British summer. Should you play a lot of golf on a course that has clay-based soil then a prolonged dry spell could mean even soft spikes start to become uncomfortable during 18 holes. This is where spikeless shoes come into their own.

UK weather is just too unpredictable for spikeless golf shoes to be useful all year round though. You may be lucky and live somewhere that has a much drier climate so spikeless shoes could be a good option all year long.

Walking on uneven ground when it’s wet can be quite treacherous so spiked shoes certainly tend to be my preference so I don’t slip.

One of the biggest advantages spikeless shoes have over their spiked cousins is that once you are finished golfing for the day you can go and run errands without having to change shoes. No one is going to look too closely at your spikeless shoes since they most likely look like the sneakers or trainers that other people are wearing.

Cost

Like every other aspect of golf equipment, golf shoes can vary wildly in price.

Own brand shoes at your local sporting goods store or Walmart for example could probably be picked up for around £25-£30 ($30-$40). Discontinued models from last year can probably be picked up for around half price. For example, Adidas shoes often seem to be on sale and you can pick them up for around £40 ($50). At the time of writing, golfdiscount.com has Adidas shoes starting at $40.

Premium brands such as Ecco could easily set you back £200 ($275). A pair of Ecco golf shoes could be had on FairwaygolfUSA.com for around $250 or less.

For the ultimate in footwear, you could always go hand-made. Someone like Alan James Raddon will make custom golf shoes for you for around £600 ($827) a pair.

Despite some research, I’ve been unable to find a directly comparable service in the US. There are a number of shoe manufacturers that will allow you to customize with logos, initials et cetera. There are a number of manufacturers that claim their shoes are handmade. I can’t seem to find one that will take measurements of your actual feet and create the shoes specifically for you. I suppose that’s one reason why Mr. Raddon’s shoes are so expensive. 

Form or Function

Many people purchase shoes or sneakers for their looks. This is one time when you want to concentrate on the features of the shoe and their comfort above all. Don’t forget you’ll be wearing them for anything up to 4 hours.

You need to find the best shoe you can afford that will do the job. It needs to fit you correctly, and provide stability and grip. How the shoe looks should be more or less irrelevant.

Best Manufacturers

Of the mainstream manufacturers, Ecco probably offers the best levels of technology but it tends to come at a high price. I would say Adidas tends to offer the best price-performance ratio. They do tend to make their shoes quite narrow so I am always looking for the wide fitting!

For probably the first 10 years or so of my golfing life, I was very much a fan of FootJoy shoes. I tended to purchase their midprice offerings but the quality seemed to drop, so I started purchasing mainly Adidas.

I recently purchased a couple of pairs of Sketchers and have been impressed with their comfort so far.

Probably the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever had was actually a pair of Nike spikeless shoes. I particularly liked that they had a wide forefoot rather than the generally narrow fitting you get the most shoes and trainers these days. They were great when it was dry but pretty useless if the ground was wet.

Benefits of Wearing Golf Shoes

• Improved Grip – the cleats or tread on golf shoes will give you a much-improved grip over ordinary trainers or sneakers.
• Better comfort and support – well-designed golf shoes will offer support to your feet over the 5 miles that you will be walking and swinging a club.
• Waterproof – if you aren’t fortunate enough to live somewhere warm and sunny then having some waterproof shoes is going to make a round of golf much more pleasant.

Are golf shoes worth it: Conclusion

If you have any desire to take golf seriously then you really need to invest some money into proper golf shoes. The primary benefit will be a better grip during your swing. Depending on where you live you should also look at waterproof shoes to keep your feet dry during the round.

If you play regularly then your feet will certainly reap the benefits of wearing proper golf shoes rather than trying to play in sneakers.

If you are happy with just occasional visits to a driving range then you can probably just carry on wearing sneakers or trainers.

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