Tell me one thing, would you wear cricket shoes while doing a mountain climb? I think your answer would be No!
You would say why should you do so? If you would prefer to wear climbing shoes, then why should you wear other shoes instead of golf shoes while playing golf?
Now, what are golf shoes? Golf shoes are shoes that are designed in a different manner that provide you more comfort, and stability while swinging the golf club, and provide many other benefits why playing golf that we will explore later on in this article.
Even if you are a beginner or a pro player, you should always prefer golf shoes when entering the golf course to play golf.
How much important golf shoes are and how much they are used, you can assume from the report of MMR that the market for golf shoes in the USA in 2021 was $811.36 Million.
What Are Golf Shoes?
This question seems very easy to read, but the answer is not taking just one line, golf shoes are designed especially for people who love to play golf either on a golf course or in their home using golf simulators.
It comes with spikes and without spikes as well, the durability of golf shoes is more than the normal use even of rubbing them on an uneven surface, they live long due to the use of a different-unique material and special manufacturing.
The golf shoes are designed by taking care of comfort while playing golf, stability, and control while swinging the golf club, balance while walking on a wet or dew surface on a golf course, flexibility, durability, and traction.
So, I recommend that if you are using traditional sports shoes while playing the game of golf, stop it right now, and start a new era of your golfing with the golf shoes.
Why Wear Golf Shoes?
I am approaching you to wear golf shoes while playing golf anytime, so your mind should raise a question why should you wear golf shoes, do they give any extra benefit?
Let’s find the answer by exploring golf shoes, and then you will be able to conclude why should you wear golf footwear.
First of all, think that what do you need while playing golf?
Comfort, stability, control, durability, traction, flexibility, and versatility, are the main factors that you must have while playing golf.
It does not like you can’t play golf with traditional shoes, you can do so, but let me explain why you should have golf shoes by a real-life example.
If you participate in the bike race, would you enter the racecourse with a normal traditional bike or a sports bike made especially for racing?
You also can go with the traditional bike, after all, it is also a bike, right?
I think you know the answer better than I do!
So, let’s explore why you should have golf shoes while entering the golf battle!
1. Comfort
Comfort is one of the most important aspects while playing golf, if you don’t feel comfortable, you can not focus on your game.
If your shoes are too fit or loose, you will feel uncomfortable every second and your focus will stick on your legs instead of the club, ball, and hole.
Whether you wear spiked shoes or spikeless shoes, both are able to give you comfort, however, spikeless shoes will give you more comfort.
2. Firmness
Stability is connected with comfortability, you are not supposed to stay at only one place on the golf course while playing golf.
The other biggest benefit of the golf shoes is that they have a larger rubber bottom sole that is responsible to increase the grip holding and firmness to prevent you from slipping on the grass.
Moreover, if you are playing on a slightly wet surface or dew surface, and your shoes are not golf shoes having enough grip, you will not be able to play with consistency which will increase your golf score.
3. Keep Your Feet Free
I know you might be confused by reading the heading “Keep Your Feet Free”, let me explain how golf shoes keep your feet free.
Above in this article, I mentioned that golf footwear is made with a different quality of material with different technology and methodology.
Now, I assume you are a golfer who plays golf regularly, you might have observed that the sweat is always released inside your shoes to your feet with moisture.
This incident feels very uncomfortable while playing golf, walking, or running on the golf course.
Most golf shoes are made with Gore-Tex lining that absorbs moisture materials that absorb moisture and prevent sweat inside your golf shoes so your feet can breathe openly.
4. Keep You Balanced
Golf shoe manufacturing is too different from other sports shoes, as golf shoes have a very larger bottom sole that keeps you balanced while swinging the golf club.
In spite of you hitting the golf ball by standing in one place, it’s a must to keep your balance while and after swinging the golf club to hit the ball.
If you fail able to do so, you can lose the consistency which causes a high-scoring match and it’s not good for your golf records.
5. Provide Stability
In order to feel stability with golf shoes, you need to swing your golf without wearing golf shoes first.
If you swing the golf club without wearing golf shoes, you will observe that your feet move a little bit which can disturb your balance.
In order to prevent the shifting of feet left or right inside the golf shoes, most golf shoes come with inbuilt stabilizers, so you can stand with stability.
In these kinds of shoes, the spikes shoes are more recommended as spikes in the shoes play a very major role to give your more stability.
Types of Golf Shoes
Talking about the types of golf shoes, there are many types of golf shoes — golf shoes can be categorized with different preferences as well such as materials, technology, usage, genderwise, etc…
So, if we seat to count one by one, it can become uncountable, but we are not supposed to consider each one as they are interconnected with each other at any point.
So, I will acknowledge you with some major types of golf shoes on the basis of which golfers select the golf shoes.
1. Spikeless Golf Shoes
The Spikeless golf shoes do not contain spikes or cleats at the bottom sole, and many professionals use them as well till now.
These kinds of shoes are most recommended if you prefer comfort the most because you will get very much comfortable in the spikeless golf footwear.
Moreover, non-spiked shoes can be used for multipurpose as well such as you can wear them for other sports, running, and walking, and you can use them as sneakers as well, in a nutshell, they can provide you more versatility.
As the spikeless golf footwear does not contain the spikes and cleats, they are much more lightweight, and as a con, they are not generating much and required traction on the field.
2. Spiked Golf Shoes
The spiked golf shoes are known as the classic golf shoes as well that come with plastic soft cleats or spikes at the bottom sole that provide you stability, flexibility, traction, and sturdiness.
The biggest benefit is the sturdy sole of classic golf shoes that holds you with stability when you move your body to swing the golf club.
Most pro golfers recommend classic golf shoes to the beginner as control over your body is very important to maintain consistency.
3. Golf Boot
If you are a winter lover and love to play golf mostly in the winter, the golf boots are the best for you as they are very comfortable for the winter season in which the course is wet, muddy, and uneven.
In this season, you need the ultimate stability and a golf boot that comes with a sturdy sole with replaceable waterproof spikes on the bottom sole.
The only con of golf boots is that they are a little bit heavier and you won’t get full freedom for moving your leg from the ankle portion.
4. Golf Sandals
The golf sandals are specially made for golf players who love to play golf in a warm or hot environment, they are more breathable compared to all other types of golf shoes.
Talking about the con of golf sandals, they come with a spike, but can not provide you more comfort.
Pros and Cons of Golf Shoes
Pros:
- Provide you more comfortability
- Spikeless shoes are multipurpose
- Can be used in any season
- Made with advanced technology
Cons:
- Little bit pricy
- Spiked shoes are not multipurpose
- Golf sandals are a little bit heavier
FAQs:
Q1: Can you wear golf shoes casually?
Ans: If you are using Spikeless golf shoes, you can use them casually.
Q2: Can golf shoes be used for walking?
Ans: Spikeless shoes can be used for walking, spiked can not be.
Q3: Do golf shoes increase distance?
Ans: Yes, golf shoes can increase noticeable distance in golf.
Q4: Do golf shoes really make a difference?
Ans: Yes, golf shoes really make a very huge difference, as mentioned in all the major benefits of golf shoes in this article.
Final Words
By going through this article deeply, I am damn sure you have understood the importance of golf shoes, and why should you use them as well.
When selecting golf shoes, you should read the golf shoes selection guide first which will help you to make a better choice.