Every month or so, the Golf Academy sends out an email newsletter to prospective students and alumni with some interesting or useful information. This month’s blast features an article on golf shoes, and since I’m a bit of a shoe addict myself, I thought I would pass it along:
You Should Know
The last few years have seen something of an explosion in the golf fashion industry. Every edition of the annual PGA Merchandise Show brings a new crop of clothiers hoping to find their way into golfers’ closets, a battleground that may now be even more hotly contested than their golf bags.
Similarly, the golf shoe category has seen impressive growth in terms of companies’ offerings and styles. Whereas the traditional white-brown-white saddle style used to rule the roughs of local munis and high-end private clubs alike, there are now multiple distinct genres of golf shoes, in keeping with the diversification of the rest of the world of golf apparel.
For the Player
Golf outfits from more chic and serious clothing brands like Travis Mathew, or sportier brands like Oakley and Under Armour demand a similarly modern footwear choice. Golf shoemakers are up to the task. Under Armour itself has entered the shoe game, and though it’s unclear the effect the company’s product has on Jordan Spieth’s incredible putting, it certainly can’t hurt. Adidas and Nike trend toward this general aesthetic, as well, with bold details and bright colors for those who so choose. Footjoy’s new HyperFlex line has a navy-and-lime-green version that fits this bill, too.
For the Bon Vivant
Fred Couples, one of the coolest customers in the golf world, has been a trendsetter in recent years when it comes to more casual-looking golf footwear. When he made a run at the Masters a few years ago, his turn-back-the-clock play received almost as much attention as his shoes, a pair of spikeless Eccos that looked like sneakers with plastic nubs on the bottoms. Seemingly overnight, thousands of everyday golfers were wearing them, and every major shoe company scrambled to put out their own version. Current offerings along these lines include Ashworth’s Cardiff, the True Linkswear Motion and FootJoy’s SuperLite line.
For the Purist
Fear not, traditionalists — there are still plenty of great golf shoes out there for you! FootJoy, ever the golf shoe giant, has the DNA and Icon series; True Linkswear’s Oxford line; and for the traditionalist looking to dip a toe into some more adventurous colors, up-and-coming brand G Fore has the Gallivanter.