Good Spiked Shoe for Walking

[iceman777]

Have used spikeless for 3 years after my hip replacement. Looking to switch back to spikes next season for better traction. Need comfort, as Im 72 and walk the 18. thanks. 

[ChetlovesMer]

Morning Iceman,

Personally, I will likely never buy spiked golf shoes again. I've done some testing (I actually have.) and I find no difference in performance from good spikeless shoes and spiked shoes. 

Since I find the best spikeless infinitely more comfortable than the best spiked shoes, I will only wear spikeless. Unless something changes, which I guess could happen. 

Anyway for my money you can't beat True Linkswear OG shoes. Any of the OG's. 

But, that's not what you asked for. You asked for comfortable spiked shoes. Back when I wore them I had the best luck with Ecco cage style spiked shoes. I still don't think they are as comfortable as True Linkswear, but they are the most comfortable spiked shoes I've found. 

That's my data point. Good luck with your search. 

[xrayvizhen]

The Adidas Tech Response 2.0 that I've been wearing are very comfortable and I walk 50% of the time. They're also one of the least expensive spiked shoes around ($65.) However, be aware they're not water resistant, and they won't last more than two years, assuming you play around 50 rounds per season like me. Mine are just about ready to fall apart, but considering they're so cheap, I'll probably just buy them again before next spring.

 

[Denny Bang Bang]

@iceman777 I’ve been wearing Nike Lunar Control spikes for 6ish years now, very comfortable, great support.  If I were to guess, the equivalent version of them today would be the Air Zoom TW.  Worth checking out.

I have the Adidas CodeChaos spikeless.  Super comfy, and I believe there is a version with spikes.  I also have Puma Ignite, and I believe they do come in a spiked version as well.

 

[DaveP043]

i now have a couple of pairs of FootJoy Traditions.  these have spikes, pretty traditional styling, and a really lightweight sole, very comfortable for walking.

[Bucki1968]

Amazon.com | New Balance Men's Striker V3 Golf Shoe | Golf

Had these for a few months. LOVE THEM. Good deal.

[Pretzel]

Not sure if you're completely dead set on spiked shoes or not, but I'll share my experience and 2 cents anyways.

I always used spiked shoes while growing up and competing, and whenever a course didn't specifically prohibit them I would use metal spikes for the extra traction. I know there's lots of debate around metal spikes specifically, but I felt they gave the best grip and I wouldn't wear them inside of clubhouses and took care to avoid damaging greens when using them (most of the bans were due to the clubhouse issue in truth).

Last fall I was in need of a new pair of shoes and a rewards program through work gave me the chance to order a pair of the FJ Premiere shoes for free. I've always used the FJ Icon or similar style shoes since I've got fat feet that don't fit inside most athletic-style golf shoes (4E-6E width depending on brand), so I ordered them and didn't notice until they arrived that the available shoes were the spikeless variant. I was honestly really disappointed since I figured the shoes would be pretty useless to me considering I'm used to spiked shoes with whatever the most aggressive spikes a course allowed installed on them.

I was, however, very pleasantly surprised by the grip that the shoes had. I actually have gone so far the other way as to PREFER the grip of the spikeless shoes, especially in wet conditions where spikes can "slip" and tear out because of softer soil conditions. I truly do believe that the tooth pattern on the Premiere spikeless actually has more grip than any spiked shoe I've ever used, the only downside is that when playing in wet conditions the tooth pattern will gather mud/soil that you should dig out with a tee but that's no different than any spikes I've used (and they gather less loose/tangled grass than spikes ever did). I'm a convert so long as FJ keeps making shoes with the same tooth pattern, or similar ones that are equally effective.

[dennyjones]

I have an older pair of FJ Contour shoes.   FJ has changed a lot of their spiked shoes to spikeless because a lot of people have found that they get as much or more traction with this type of shoe.   I have two pair of spikeless shoes and I'll never return to anything different.   I have a pair of  New Balance and a pair of True.   Both are comfortable enough to walk all day w/o any issues.  

I know this isn't probably what you're looking for but give the spikeless more time.   I believe you'll like them over spiked golf shoes.

[ChetlovesMer]

5 hours ago, Pretzel said:

Not sure if you're completely dead set on spiked shoes or not, but I'll share my experience and 2 cents anyways.

I always used spiked shoes while growing up and competing, and whenever a course didn't specifically prohibit them I would use metal spikes for the extra traction. I know there's lots of debate around metal spikes specifically, but I felt they gave the best grip and I wouldn't wear them inside of clubhouses and took care to avoid damaging greens when using them (most of the bans were due to the clubhouse issue in truth).

Last fall I was in need of a new pair of shoes and a rewards program through work gave me the chance to order a pair of the FJ Premiere shoes for free. I've always used the FJ Icon or similar style shoes since I've got fat feet that don't fit inside most athletic-style golf shoes (4E-6E width depending on brand), so I ordered them and didn't notice until they arrived that the available shoes were the spikeless variant. I was honestly really disappointed since I figured the shoes would be pretty useless to me considering I'm used to spiked shoes with whatever the most aggressive spikes a course allowed installed on them.

I was, however, very pleasantly surprised by the grip that the shoes had. I actually have gone so far the other way as to PREFER the grip of the spikeless shoes, especially in wet conditions where spikes can "slip" and tear out because of softer soil conditions. I truly do believe that the tooth pattern on the Premiere spikeless actually has more grip than any spiked shoe I've ever used, the only downside is that when playing in wet conditions the tooth pattern will gather mud/soil that you should dig out with a tee but that's no different than any spikes I've used (and they gather less loose/tangled grass than spikes ever did). I'm a convert so long as FJ keeps making shoes with the same tooth pattern, or similar ones that are equally effective.

Hey @PretzelI'm with you on this one. 
I remember when I used to play golf in metal spikes. I think people who miss them are suffering from Rosy Retrospection. They weren't that great. They gripped well in hard dry ground. But slipped a ton in wet or muddy conditions. I'd argue that today's soft spikes or spikeless shoes grip muddy or wet ground better than the metal spikes ever did. 

I also don't miss how bad your feet could/would hurt after wearing them for 18 or more holes. Especially if you walked the course. If you were a walker, you could never walk on concrete or paved cart paths as the metal spikes would cause your feet would ache afterwards. Of course there were really expensive hard sole metal spiked shoes that would keep your feet from aching, but they also didn't bend for crap. You'd end up taking 4 rounds to "break them in". Then you could play about a dozen rounds in them before those spikes would start hurting your feet again.

I talk to people (mostly older guys who panegyrize the past) who talk about how back in the day golf shoes were built on a solid bases that allowed you to carve your feet into a hill and what not. I try to tell them that's not because people wanted to carve the base of their shoe into hills, it was because they had to build the base of the shoe like a board (sometimes even with metal shanks in them) to keep the metal spikes from digging into your feet when you walked on hard ground. 

I've actually tested my True Linkswear OG shoes vs spiked shoes vs barefoot and found that the Spikeless shoes do just fine if not better than the spiked shoes. Plus I can happily play 36 holes or more in them and my feet don't ache. 

[Pretzel]

23 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Hey @PretzelI'm with you on this one. 
I remember when I used to play golf in metal spikes. I think people who miss them are suffering from Rosy Retrospection. They weren't that great. They gripped well in hard dry ground. But slipped a ton in wet or muddy conditions. I'd argue that today's soft spikes or spikeless shoes grip muddy or wet ground better than the metal spikes ever did. 

Oh absolutely, soft spikes almost always worked better in wet conditions than metal ones simply because they gripped the grass more than the soil. I had sets of both in my bag that I would swap out depending on the course/tournament, and would usually use the soft spikes if it was actively raining or just really soggy outside. Most of the time, however, it was very dry with firm ground since I grew up playing and competing in and around Colorado, which meant the metal spikes were usually better traction since they gripped the firm soil itself rather than just the grass. I don't know if it's that I grew up with better and more modern shoe sole designs or just that I'm still young, but I never actually noticed my feet hurting after wearing metal spikes. I did avoid walking on paved or concrete surfaces in them though, but that was to avoid drawing attention to the metal spikes more than anything else since they're noisy (and slippery too).

In softer conditions it's no contest, the spikeless shoes are FAR better than either soft spikes or metal spikes on any of the shoes I've had in the past (all FJ Icon, Premiere, or similar previous models). In super hardpan soil, like compacted cart path kind of firm, then metal spikes grip better than spikeless or soft spikes. In the standard range of playing conditions, however, I'd rate modern spikeless shoes as having the most grip, metal spikes having a little less (in moderately firm soil areas), and soft spikes as having the worst grip. They've got enough tooth to the pattern to get a little bit of purchase on the soil itself in anything but the hardest packed earth, and since the pattern covers the entire sole (more surface area and higher count of individual teeth) you're less likely to have a slip caused by a single spike tearing out of a weak point in the grass/soil and causing a chain reaction since all the other spikes suddenly see increased pressure that causes them to similarly tear out.

I'm a full convert nowadays, so much so that in my last cross-country move (I'm up to 3 now in 2022 alone) I actually just threw away my last 2 pairs of spiked golf shoes since I never used them anymore and their waterproofing had started to degrade. Despite being a lifelong user of the "classic" hard-soled spiked shoes I will probably never again buy another pair, at least not so long as these hard-sole spikeless variants remain available and as effective as they are today.

[saevel25]

17 hours ago, Pretzel said:

Most of the time, however, it was very dry with firm ground since I grew up playing and competing in and around Colorado, which meant the metal spikes were usually better traction since they gripped the firm soil itself rather than just the grass. I don't know if it's that I grew up with better and more modern shoe sole designs or just that I'm still young, but I never actually noticed my feet hurting after wearing metal spikes. I did avoid walking on paved or concrete surfaces in them though, but that was to avoid drawing attention to the metal spikes more than anything else since they're noisy (and slippery too).

There are times, if the ground has just gotten a tone of rain, that you will just slip. 

17 hours ago, Pretzel said:

Oh absolutely, soft spikes almost always worked better in wet conditions than metal ones simply because they gripped the grass more than the soil. I had sets of both in my bag that I would swap out depending on the course/tournament, and would usually use the soft spikes if it was actively raining or just really soggy outside.

I'd agree with this. 

I would say 98% of the time, you are not going to have issues with soft spices or spikeless golf shoes. Also, proper swing mechanics help stabilize the lower body such that you slip less often.