A TRUE story of shoes
A couple of years ago I played a Golf Digest competition at a course I didn’t know. It was an early start and, to cut a long story short, I arrived without my golf shoes. Their pro shop wasn’t yet open and they didn’t have a rental service so I had to play in what I was wearing, a pair of deck shoes. I played great on a tough course I hadn’t played before and I won the event. That set me thinking that perhaps I hit the ball so well and consistently because I was more conscious of my connection to the ground and more aware of my balance. I was afraid of slipping as until we got to the last few holes the ground was wet with dew! I have a pair of really soft Spanish leather shoes that are totally flexible with wafer-thin soles. At home if I swing a club wearing them I feel a fantastic connection to the ground. I also swing within myself and it feels much more powerful and controlled. My home course is very hilly and these shoes didn’t provide me with enough traction when I tried to play in them. So, as if it were a magic slipper, I have been looking for a shoe that would provide the same feeling of connection yet also give enough grip and support to play in, particularly when wet. Meanwhile, I got expensive, individually moulded insoles and even considered buying stick-on spikes for my own shoes. I thought the major companies seemed to be outdoing each other with unnecessary innovations and all I wanted was a shoe that would let me feel the ground. Maybe some of these shoes would be great but their marketing didn’t shout about it and you can’t exactly test drive a golf shoe. “Hey there,” I felt like shouting, “Sam Snead learned to play barefoot. Why do you want me to wear platforms?”
However, maybe things are beginning to change in the golf shoe world. One of the brands I came across is being worn on the European Tour by Oliver Wilson. He’s a braver man than me to wear shoes that are painted to look like feet! But they are low to the ground. Of course in the 2010 Masters, Freddie Couples caused a run on Ecco spikeless shoes that featured a brightly-coloured sole that just screamed for attention. The laid-back Couples also played the hilly Augusta without socks in an attempt to ease back pain. Suddenly being nearer to the ground seemed to be possible. I was going to invest in a pair of the Eccos until I came across a new company called TRUE linkswear. The prototype was being endorsed by Ryan Moore. “These are the lightest, most comfortable golf shoes I have ever worn,” he said. I never buy the first run of anything. Let other people be the test dummies I reckon. However, the marketing spiel was talking my language. According to company president Rob Rigg, “The thing that a lot of manufacturers have forgot about while creating golf shoes is “surface contact” - we took the idea of maximizing surface contact through a barefoot platform and added an Ergo-Traction system to enhance the foot’s natural ability to grip the ground - especially while walking up and downhill when it is wet. I really think you will enjoy wearing the TRUE tours.”
Well Rob when the shoes arrived I thought they were too tight. I had followed the company advice to take a half size bigger that my FJs. I even briefly toyed with the idea of availing of the ‘change the size one time and we’ll pay the postage offer’. They just looked too wide to feel tight. Anyway, I persevered and wore no socks for two rounds before they got their first wetting and started to soften up. I played in the wettest conditions imaginable and they were superb. The only time I ever felt a gripping problem was on concrete, on grass they feel totally secure. I certainly felt a different balance because of the lower heel and it made the swing feel different too.
To conclude, I feel these shoes are a real innovation that don’t rely of gimmicks. As regards the looks, for every ‘Charlie Chaplin’ comment, I got ten saying they look very comfortable. The shoes are very comfortable; they do provide a closer contact with the ground and keep water out. Time will tell how long they last. I’ve had a pair of FJs for five years and they are still in perfect nick but I’ve spend more on replacement spikes that the shoes cost me initially. I think Sam Snead would have liked these shoes. He learned the game barefoot and practiced barefoot to improve feel. Wearing these must be the next best thing.www.truelinkswear.com
Esta entrada ha sido enviada el 21. Diciembre 2010 a 20:42 y ha sido registrada en international. A través del RSS 2.0 feed podrá acceder a las respuestas. Puede dejar una respuesta o realizar el trackback desde su sitio web.
