If you see me playing golf, teaching golf, watching golf (in person, not on my couch!), or shopping at Lowe’s for golf training aids…, you’ll see me wearing a pair of TRUE Linkswear shoes. They’re my every-day, every-where, every-thing shoe, and I still have and wear pairs of them dating back to the original Tour.
I love that the original Tours, even though they looked a bit “clown-ish” according to my wife, had wider toe boxes and flexible soles, were zero drop, weighed less than most golf shoes, and were still waterproof and had enough grip to play golf in most conditions without fear of slipping.
Continuing (and improving) on many of those features of the original Tours, and among the latest from TRUE are the TRUE OG Feel. They have a lot to live up to.
Do they? Read on to find out.
Technology and Construction
The OG Feel is billed by TRUE as “bringing alive the feel player in you” with the “breathable, flexible and minimalist take” on the TRUE Original. TRUE accomplishes this with:
- Fully breathable, one-piece sock-fit knit upper with DWR (durable water repellent) shell
- Flexible outsole and upper for ultimate on-course feel
- Zero-drop construction for optimal feel and power
- Reusable shoe bag in lieu of the traditional box
- Ultra lightweight (8.7 oz)
- Leather saddle and ORIGINAL lacing system for stable fit
- Wide toe box accommodates up to 4E
- Aggressive rubber tread for on-course traction and versatility
If you’re not sure what TRUE means by “flexible” and stretchy and lightweight, have a look at this quick video:
Esthetics and Appearance
The OG Feel is essentially a woven, stretchy sock with two modifications or additions: it’s attached to a thin, flexible rubber sole and is wrapped around the mid-foot and heel by a pair of leather bits in complementary colors. These leather pieces add a splash of color and, functionally, provide enough support for the laces. The paracord laces have great grip and won’t come untied, and are plenty strong enough to cinch down to fit your foot quite tightly, or to play fairly loose if, like me, you prefer as much room in your shoes as possible.
TRUE offers three color ways:
- A white sock with a light grey mid-foot upper and a navy blue heel and accents.
- A two-tone grey sock with a brown mid-foot upper and dark grey heel and accents.
- A black/grey sock with two-tone black leather pieces and dark accents, including dark red shoelace tips and heel loops.
I primarily reviewed the latter, and it coordinates well with grey of any color, black, and some other colors. I’m no fashionista by any means, but I also have a pair of the white/grey/navy blue shoes, which pair well with the clothes I wear when coaching my college team, whose colors are blue and white. Both pair have gotten a fair amount of use, too, as this summer has been relatively dry.
True to, ahem, TRUE, the fine details are attended to quite well. The sock fit liner changes stitching patterns around the collar in a seamless fashion that’s impressive. The top lace guide has accent color stitching on it when TRUE could have easily just gone with a plain fabric loop. The X-stitching beneath it could have likewise matched the color around the rest of the leather stitching, and the accent colors are appropriately chosen and just give it a touch of class and refinement. These shoes are built to last and look good throughout their lifetime.
As with most of TRUE’s shoes these days, they ship in a bag rather than a box. The bag, in a nod to the environment and classiness, doubles as a shoe bag so you can throw your OG Feels into them and save your car from the grass clippings, or tote them from place to place. Or, you can of course use the bag for anything else.
The bag is tastefully decorated with the TRUE “T” logo and a topographical map, with a braided drawstring and two cloth handles that can be tucked inside the bag if you so choose.
Performance
I’ll cut to the chase: for drier conditions, the OG Feel has become my go-to shoe… along with the TRUE Knits. And in truth, for playing golf, the OG Feel is the better shoe. The tread is just a bit more aggressive than the Knits.
I love the flexibility of this shoe. The rubber sole is thick enough that I’m protected from rocks, sticks, or other objects, yet thin and soft enough that I can really feel the ground beneath my feet. The aggressive tread pattern grips the ground well enough for me to make confident and aggressive swings, even from damp or hard-packed lies, but the tread is closely spaced enough that I don’t feel the individual tread nubs through my feet.
The sock fit liner is wonderfully stretchy: it’s taut enough to provide security and support while being flexible and stretchy enough to let your toes wiggle or spread slightly and to allow for thicker socks, thinner socks, or no socks to be worn. The insole is of course removable, and thin, with just enough cushioning that your feet aren’t pounding the cart paths, but not so much they rob you of your feel for the terrain or the break of your birdie putt.
Importantly for me, the sock fit liner is so soft and so wonderfully elastic and my heel sits down low enough that my heel is well cupped. As a result I get absolutely no chaffing or rubbing.
Now, these shoes do have a stretchy knit upper, particularly the forward section near the toes, and… while TRUE will tell you it’s water repellent, it’s not waterproof, and there is no guarantee that your feet won’t get wet if you’re a dewsweeper or you enjoy playing in the rain. A bit of dew, some water left over from a sprinkler, etc. will be fine. It beads up a bit and dries off your shoe pretty quickly. But if you’re regularly walking through wet rough, your toes are going to start to feel the moisture in a few holes.
That’s the only real tradeoff, here. You get breathable, lightweight, flexible shoes, but you have to wear them in only mildly damp to dry conditions.
Another positive side of that tradeoff: cleaning these shoes, like the Knits, couldn’t be easier. I stepped in some mud the other day and by the end of the round it had soaked in a bit and caked on. I got home, took out the insoles, and washed my OG Feels off in the sink. I put a little dish detergent on there (a fairly clear one ? I’ve known some blue dish detergents to stain fabrics a bit), and scrubbed with my fingers and a little brush. I hung them to dry and wore them again the next day, looking brand new.
Conclusion
I’m a big fan of minimalist shoes. I believe shoes should be, in no particular order, lightweight, flexible, minimally supportive, breathable, and wide, with little to no heel drop.
Golf shoes should also generally have a good grip and, depending on your location and playing habits, waterproof. The TRUE OG Feel checks all the boxes except the last.
You’ve all heard that shoes are “as comfortable as an old pair of slippers,” and that applies here. The OG Feel is a stylish, comfortable-out-of-the-box, high-performance golf shoe that will get you in touch with the ground.
They sell for $139 at TRUE Linkswear’s site.
These are comfortable and provide good support.