Introduction
From leather shoes with tassel detailing or moccasins to formal or informal shoes, golf shoes are definitely varied and give you immense options. While getting a pair of shoes that look stylish is great, you still need to take steps to ensure that they feel comfortable and fit correctly.
If you are a beginner or simply buying shoes for your golfer friend, you might have wondered how you can shop for new golf shoes.
We’ll go over some important factors that can help you find the best footwear for golfers
Do You Really Need Golf Shoes?
Golf shoes aren’t necessarily an item that you cannot do without when it comes to golf. But, they are designed to help improve your swinging and twisting by keeping your feet stable and supported. Your game will improve a lot when you get the right balance.
Keeping all this in mind, experts and seasoned golfers highly recommend playing the game after putting on golf shoes.
Traction on Golf Shoes – What You Need to Know
The traction on your goal shoe bottoms is important for various reasons. Seeing this, golf shoe manufacturers have started creating golf shoes that will give the player excellent traction to ensure they don’t lose their balance.
They have developed two types of traction on golf shoes that can be individually helpful to improve the quality of your swinging. The two options you have are the following:
Spiked or Cleated Golf Shoes
When the bottom of your golf shoes has metal spikes, they fall under this category. You will also find shoes that use hard plastic instead of metal as well. Spikes or cleats are used too commonly as a General term when describing footwear. But, spikes on golf shoes are different from soccer cleats, not necessarily design-wise but on the whole, having different uppers and technologies.
Spikeless Golf Shoes
The shoes under this category don’t have replaceable blades, soft spikes, or spikes. Instead, they use nubs, bumps, bridges, and mounds. These detailing are often termed as traction lugs by golf shoe manufacturers as they maximize the gripping power during the golf swing.
Simplifying the shoes further, you won’t get any pointy ends which spiked golf shoes have. The traction enhancers here are mostly blunt and thick.
Should You Buy Waterproof or Water-Resistant Golf Shoes?
Many of us often mistake waterproof shoes to be the same as water-resistant shoes. In reality, these two terms are different and shouldn’t be used interchangeably.
You should buy waterproof golf shoes if you go to the golf course early in the morning when the grass is still wet and damp. This can also be useful if you stay in a place that experiences frequent rainfall.
Water-resistant golf shoes would be more suitable for golfers that live in dry areas and don’t face any wet turf issues. The technology here is that the shoes will repel water from their surfaces. But, when you walk through completely wet grass, your feet will get wet. In the same way, when it starts raining too heavily, your feet will get wet. As you don’t have to worry about getting wet much, it is just wiser to wear water-resistant golf shoes instead of waterproof golf shoes.
The Anatomy of the Golf Shoe to help You Find the Right Fit – Understanding the Terms
A lot of designing goes into creating a good pair of golf shoes. You have to keep an eye out for this when you are buying one for yourself. You might have wondered what the different terms might refer to. When you become familiar with them, you will understand exactly what the shoe salesperson is referring to. This will then make the entire process of making a decision easier.
We have elaborated on the different terms of a pair of golf shoes below.
Let’s take a look…
Last
Even though it’s called last, it’s the first thing that is used to create golf shoes. It’s the wooden block or mold that is used as an anchor around which golf shoes are created. This isn’t something that is extremely important to remember. We still wanted to give you a complete introduction to the anatomy.
Insole/Midsole/Outsole
These terms are pretty much just what the names suggest. An insole is the top player of your sole whereas, the outsole refers to the outer part. The area between the outsole and the insole is called midsole. You should look for golf shoes that are sufficiently cushioned to prevent any injuries and protect your feet.
Upper
The upper is the top part of your golf shoes that you see at first glance. Leather is the most common upper being preferred by a majority of golfers. You should select a pair that has a high-quality and easy to maintain upper. Polyester is also another option that is much easier to maintain as opposed to leather.
Footbed
The footbed refers to the insole and a layer of the cushion together. The footbed should always feel comfortable and padded to protect you from any things that might be potentially dangerous to the well-being of your feet like stones or rocks. Golf courses are quite huge requiring a lot of walking if you skip using a golf cart, which makes the comfort factor crucial.
Welt
A strip of leather that is sewn to secure the outsole to its insole and upper. Along with the welt, the stitching should also be performed correctly to keep the shoe together. Often, branded golf shoes feature some very durable stitching.
Conclusion
After this detailed discussion on golf shoes, you’ll be able to figure out your right match easily. Don’t forget to try the shoes on before you make the final payment. Get your feet measured first and then start looking for options. You can also ask for golf shoes if you have anything specific in mind.
Resources– Live About, Charles Climkard, Dick’s Pro Tips
