Golf is difficult sport, maybe even “painful” at times. Your golf shoes shouldn’t add to the discomfort.
FootJoy is leading the way in the golf shoe fitting space, and has for some time with a wide variety of styles and sizes of golf shoes. Recently, the company has created new fitting technology that can not only help golfers find more comfortable shoes, but actually improve their on-course performance. Learn more in our Q&A with FootJoy’s Mike Foley, the company’s director of footwear product management.
Q: Golf footwear has changed tremendously in the last two decades, as has golf fashion, often with the promise of better performance. What has been the biggest change in golf shoe design, and how is it helping golfers play better?
A: I would have to say the biggest change is one that has happened very recently, and that is the research results proving that certain players will perform better with specific types of shoes – structured or mobile – depending on their unique swing trace. We build golf shoes for every different type of player, which includes not only the critical performance aspects of stability or strategic flexibility, but also covers the vast styling tastes of players at every level.
A close second to this would be FIT. Our research corroborates that nearly 70 precent of players are in the wrong size shoes. Further research shows that wearing an improperly fitting shoe – especially one that is too long and wide – will lead to reduced distances due to unstable footing and subsequently the inability to put a solid, balanced swing on the ball. This is why we are out fitting as many people as we can to help spread the Word of Fit. Our goal is to enhance a player’s enjoyment of the game, and determining the proper fit is the first step.
Q: By now, most golf fans have probably seen the commercial that describes the new FootJoy Freestyle shoe as a “launch pad that can give you extra yards.” How long has the FootJoy team been studying the relationship between golf shoe design and distance, and what has it learned?
A: Short answer: Many, many years. Again, an improperly fitting shoe can sacrifice distance. A properly fitted shoe — not only in size (length/width), but the proper type (structured/mobile) as determined by our FJ Performance Fit System — will allow a player a much better opportunity to experience better quality swings and as a result, distance gains.
At FJ, we have our own research lab called “The Shoe Box” where we have state-of-the-art simulators complete with force-platform technology, as well as our latest iteration of the FJ Performance Fit System that was developed in partnership with the BodiTrak team. This lab is always humming with players testing footwear and technicians analyzing their results. These results then lead us to better-educated engineering and design concepts within our new shoe developments.
Q: Two of the most talked about FootJoy shoes in recent years on GolfWRX have been the Icon Black and the D.N.A. models. Has anything changed in their design for 2016?
A: In the Icon Black category, which features luxurious leathers and exquisite high-end detailing, we have added a few ultra-traditional saddle styles. These styles deliver the classic styling that many of our brand loyalists are looking for at the top of our line.
In DNA, the second generation continues with the same feature-laden performance package with a new, fresh look in the upper. In addition, we decided to update the cleat/receptacle components in the outsole, choosing to go with the new TourLock receptacles because of their super high-ranking retention properties and brought in the Tornado cleat because it delivers tremendous green-friendly traction elements. We have also added D.N.A. to our popular custom MyJoys program, which gives players more than 14 million possible custom combinations.
Q: What’s the biggest mistake golfers make buying golf shoes, and how can they avoid it?
A: This goes back to what I said earlier, and I would definitely say FIT. Customers have to realize that, unfortunately, there is no set sizing standard in footwear, so just because your running shoes in one brand are a size 10M doesn’t mean your golf shoes from another brand will also be a 10M. In addition, it continues to amaze us that so many consumers don’t even realize that multiple widths are offered. At FJ, in our top-selling models, we offer 47 different sizes in one style of shoe. That is how much we believe that a proper fit can be beneficial to you as a player. So to players out there planning to buy golf shoes soon, try and get fit on a Brannock Device first.
If that is not available, work with an associate in the shoe department to try on several sizes/widths surrounding the size you normally wear and chances are you will land on a size that you are not used to wearing, but delivers the comfort and fit you have been looking for.
Remember, it’s OK if your running shoes are one size, your basketball shoes are another size and your golf shoes are even a different size from those two. The important thing here is proper fit; the size is merely a number.
From FootJoy: Signs you might be wearing the incorrect size golf shoe.