Best Golf Shoes This Year
In this video, Dan Parker takes a look at the golf shoe market in 2023 and selects his favourites.
Transcript
00:00 Now, here at Golf Monthly, we've already tested 25 pairs of golf shoes released in 2023.
00:05 In this video, we're going to take a look at 11 of the best models before I crown my favorite
00:10 and my winner of the year. Now, it's worth noting that a lot of the best golf shoes released in 2022
00:15 are still available and still excellent. Down in the description, I've put a link to last year's
00:19 video where you can see my winner for 2022. For now, it's time to crown this year's winner.
00:24 Let's get started. Okay, then. First up, best shoes 2023. Thank you very much. Great throw.
00:29 This is the Footjoy Hyperflex Carbon. Now, love the way it looks. We'll start off there. Love the
00:34 colorway as well. Really great improvements on the 2021 version we saw come out a couple of years ago.
00:40 The absolute highlight and what I love so much about this shoe is the Ortholite Impressions
00:45 Fitbed. That's the insole. As soon as you put your foot in there, super, super soft. Actually,
00:51 over time, it molds to your foot, which I think is really, really cool. It took about three or
00:55 four rounds for me and bang, it was like an old pair of slippers. That Fitbed is the absolute
00:59 highlight of the shoe. I love it, but I've got to talk about why is there carbon in the name?
01:03 You might be asking. Well, here it is. Carbon fiber wrapped around the outsole. How cool is that?
01:09 It's great to have carbon fiber in your shoes, like an F1 car or something. Love that. It genuinely
01:14 helps stability. You feel really locked in with this shoe. The fact it wraps around even up to the
01:18 midsole here means that shoe is really locked in place. Put that alongside this excellent spiked
01:24 outsole you've got here and it's a real performance spike shoe as well. I know I said it was soft and
01:29 comfortable, but this is a performance shoe as well. You've got this cage around the outside
01:34 as well, which when you tighten it up, again, locks your foot in. You've got that great mixture
01:39 of that locked in sensation with softness underfoot, which I think is exactly what you need
01:44 from a performance spike shoe. This is one of the best of the year, as you might hear. I absolutely
01:48 love it. Well done, the Footjoy Hyperflex Carbon. Next up, please. Thank you very much. This is the
01:54 Adidas ZG23 or Adidas ZG23, depending on where you're from. Now, why this is in my best 11 of
02:01 the year is because it is so, so lightweight, especially for a spike shoe like this. The ZG21
02:07 that was brought out two years ago had a very similar feel to it, but they've actually made
02:11 this a little bit more lightweight, which is great, and added even more stability, thanks to this
02:15 great stability fin you can see here. It really locks your foot in. The reason why this shoe is
02:19 in one of the best 11 of the year that we've got in this video is this Lightstrike and Lightstrike
02:23 Pro midsole technology. It's new in Adidas golf shoe. You might have seen it in running shoes or
02:28 basketball shoes before, but it's different from the boot technology that we've seen in other shoes
02:32 in Adidas. I've got to say I prefer it. A little bit softer, you get a little bit more energy
02:37 return through the swing, and it's made what is a really good lightweight, stable shoe. Just that
02:42 little bit softer and more comfortable. I apologize how muddy it is. I have been wearing it a lot this
02:47 year. I've been really enjoying it, actually, my go-to shoe so far. Really impressive evolution
02:52 from ZG21 with that brilliant midsole technology and one of the lightest spike shoes you can buy.
02:57 Next up, please, is-- Thank you very much. There it is. The first spikeless entry into this year's
03:03 top 11, the Puma Ignite Elevate. Now, this is built on a very, very similar platform to the
03:09 Ignite Articulate, the spike shoe that we saw last year, which I love. That was my go-to shoe last
03:13 winter. It's very similar. I really, really enjoyed it because of that. You can see it looks very
03:19 similar. I love the chunky outsole, very on-trend fashion-wise. This textured upper looks really
03:24 cool as well, and some pops of color on the outsole. It looks great, but it's also got that
03:28 fantastic Ignite midsole, which is, again, very soft, lots of energy return, similar to the light
03:34 strike we just spoke about in Adidas. I love that. The outsole, this is a new one for Puma. We
03:40 haven't seen this on one of their spikeless shoes yet. Great in dry conditions, great in damp
03:44 conditions. Wouldn't quite trust it in wet conditions. We'll see a couple of shoes later
03:48 in this video that do have a great spikeless outsole. This one isn't quite there for me,
03:52 but I love how it looks. I love how comfortable it is. It's just like that Articulate from last
03:56 year. I love it. I think it's one of the best looking. Let me know if you agree with me or not.
04:00 But yes, the Puma Ignite Elevate, one of the best for 2023. Okay, next up, please. Thank you very
04:05 much. Another spikeless entry. This is the True Lynxwear Luxe Hybrid. Now, hybrid golf shoes are
04:12 very popular now. The shoe that you can wear on and off the course from the moment you leave your
04:15 house to the moment you get home again. This for me is the best of 2023. You can see how easy that
04:21 will blend in off the course, but it's still fantastic on it. That's the sort of thing you
04:25 need to look out for. We've got Nappa leather and a knit material mixture. It's 100% waterproof,
04:31 which is really impressive as well, so you can wear it all year round. This rubber spikeless
04:35 outsole is really impressive. You've got a mixture of this sort of sawtooth effect here
04:40 and TPU nubs that make it really effective in damp and even wet conditions. I've tried it in
04:45 some pretty naff weather and it's really impressed me with grip. You've got a Wonder Luxe insert,
04:51 which is True's insert they use in most of their golf shoes. Really soft, not as much energy return
04:56 as perhaps in the Puma we just looked at, but still really soft and really comfortable. Now,
05:00 I've tried four True Lynxwear shoes this year and I've got to say, really impressed with their range
05:05 this year. This is their range topper for me. This is their best of 2023 and one of the best in the
05:09 market for 2023. Go check it out. True Lynxwear Luxe Hybrid. Right then, we roll on. Next,
05:14 please. Thank you very much. This is the Painter X004RS. Now, this is an out-and-out performance
05:23 spike golf shoe. If you want to feel really locked in, swing at your absolute fastest,
05:27 gain a little bit of ball speed even, this will be the shoe for you for 2023. Let's go to the
05:32 outsole because that's where all the technology is packed into this shoe. For the first time,
05:36 you've got the brand new Soft Spikes Torflex Pro Spikes. Each spike has 10 individual bits
05:41 of contact with the ground. You've got, what, seven of them plus these TPU nubs as well.
05:47 You've also got a carbon fiber like we saw in the Footjoy Propulsion Plate that sits just under here,
05:53 which helps you harness those ground energy forces. It might sound like a lot, but you can
05:58 feel it through the shoe. This outsole is super impressive. As I said, if you're looking for that
06:03 out-and-out performance spike shoe to help you hit the ball a bit further, this is the one.
06:07 This outsole is why. It's really, really impressive. It's still really comfortable,
06:10 too. I'm really impressed with how soft and malleable this leather upper is. It's waterproof
06:16 as well, but that softness just really adds to how locked in you feel. You'd have to try them to get
06:22 what I'm getting at here, but as you can tell, I'm really impressed. Finally, a molded heel cup here
06:27 locks that heel into place. You've got the traction from the ground, the traction from the heel,
06:31 but the softness in this upper, it's fantastic. Painter got a really good lineup this year as
06:36 well, much like Truelinks where they brought a lot of good new shoes out this year. The X004RS is
06:41 their best spiked one. I've tried the X003F, their spiker's one, which has a brilliant outsole on it.
06:47 If they're not a brand you've heard of before, you will have by the end of this video. I'm
06:51 really impressed with this model in particular. Let's find out what we've got next, please. Thank
06:54 you very much. Here we go. It is the Duca del Cosma Bernardo. Now, one look at this,
07:00 it oozes class, doesn't it, I think. Duca del Cosma shoes tend to. I think,
07:05 speaking to other members of the Golfing with the Team, we've tested this year, this is the
07:08 best Duca shoe I think we've tested collectively. I'm going to tell you why. The detailing, again,
07:13 this soft Napa leather they use, all handcrafted. You can tell a lot of effort has gone into this
07:18 shoe and it looks fantastic for it. Now, a criticism we had of last year's shoe, the Churchill,
07:23 was it was a little bit heavy. Still, that sort of broke, so it was a bit heavy. Duca have really
07:27 worked on that and this Airplay 6 spiked outsole is one of the best in a spiked shoe I've tested
07:32 for a long time. You've got standard cleats but also these extra bits here and it's super,
07:37 super lightweight. Again, for a shoe like this, you look at the Premier Series from Footjoy or
07:42 the G4 Galavanter, that broke so it can get a bit heavy. This has stayed really, really lightweight.
07:47 It's a touch firmer underfoot. That footbed is a little firmer than some of the shoes I've spoken
07:53 about already. I've got to say, just the looks and the performance you get from this, a real
07:57 upgrade from Duca. Really, really impressed and just look at it. I think the Bernardo is one of
08:01 the best looking for sure at 2023. Okay, the best shoes train. It keeps rolling. Let's keep going.
08:07 Thank you very much. My surprise of the year, the Coltharne Zero Grand Overtake. Absolutely
08:14 love this shoe. Look at it for a start. Pretty bold, isn't it? Based on a running trainer,
08:18 I like that look. I like the more casual hybrid golf shoe. This is the best example of it this
08:23 year, I would say. Firstly, super lightweight. I said the Adidas was lightweight earlier. This,
08:28 obviously without the spikes, is even more lightweight. Despite how lightweight it is,
08:32 it's really still quite stable. You can see in orange here, this heel cut around here,
08:36 so it's your foot moving too much from side to side. It's still a performance golf shoe,
08:39 despite looking and feel like a running trainer really. The footbed is so soft,
08:46 right up there with the foot joy for how soft it is. You couple that with how lightweight it is,
08:50 and it's fantastic. Come look at the outsole because that's similarly impressive. I wouldn't
08:54 wear it in wet conditions. It's not fully waterproof. It's a summer shoe, and this works
08:58 great. I love the sawtooth effect, and it's really low profile. When you do take this onto harder
09:03 surfaces off the golf course, you don't feel it. You don't feel intruded by it. I love the color
09:08 way. Let me know. You might not. It looks like a piece of coffee cake to me. Orange coffee cake? I
09:13 don't know. Let me know down in the comments. I think it's fantastic. One of my surprises of the
09:18 year, Coltharne have got a pretty extensive range of golf shoes, actually. Worth going and checking
09:21 out if this isn't to your style. It is for me. I love it. One of the best of 2023.
09:27 Next up, we're going to chat about the Echobiome H4. Now, that might be a name you recognize. Well,
09:32 Echobiome brought out a newer version for 2023 that's been redesigned and reworked in a couple
09:37 of areas. Firstly, that toe area has been reworked slightly to be a little bit more sleeker. I think
09:42 gives it a nicer silhouette from side on versus the old version. The tongue has also been completely
09:47 redesigned to fit a lot sleeker to your foot. Very comfortable materials on that, but it still
09:52 features all the things that we loved about it a couple of years ago. What make Echo shoes great,
09:56 actually, in general, it uses Gore-Tex, so it means it's still 100% waterproof, but highly
10:03 breathable. It lets sweat out, but not water in, which is great. We loved that on the C4 from last
10:08 year as well. It also uses Echo's really soft to the touch, premium feeling leathers. This really
10:14 is one of the most premium spiky shoes of the year, in my opinion. The outsole is fantastic,
10:19 too. That mountain grip outsole, it's pretty good in the wet, better than some others, better than
10:24 the Puma, for example, but in the dry, in the damp, it's nice and low profile and still gives
10:30 you plenty of grip. Loads of great colorways available. If you're looking for something a
10:33 little bit more premium, a little bit more stylish and more spiky shoe, I think the new,
10:37 reworked, redesigned Echobiome H4 is a great option. Okay, next up is the Skechers GoGolf
10:42 Elite 5 Slip-In. Now, this is a really, really unique one that I think a lot of golfers out there
10:47 will benefit from. The key highlight of technology is that hands-free slip-in technology. The back
10:54 heel part of it, we'll show some video of it now, allows your foot to slip in without you having to
10:58 touch it. You couple that with the twist fit dial system instead of conventional laces,
11:03 and it's a really easy shoe. You barely have to bend down and touch. Something for some golfers
11:08 to be aware of, something that I think a lot of you will enjoy. It also features, which I've tested
11:13 in last year's Hyper 5 shoe, ArchFit. Now, ArchFit technology is throughout the midsole,
11:18 and basically, it raises the arch of your foot to spread weight more evenly. That means there's
11:24 less foot fatigue after a round of golf. After trying it last year in the Hyper 5, I was really,
11:28 really impressed. A bit of a weird sensation to start. You feel a bit more lifted off the ground,
11:33 but genuinely reduces foot fatigue. It being featured in the slip-in here is fantastic.
11:38 As I said, if that hands-free slip-in technology is something you're looking for,
11:42 this is a very unique option. Probably the only one on the market at the minute from Skechers,
11:45 and one definitely worth checking out. We're nearly onto my winner for 2023. We've got a couple
11:49 more to talk about. Next up, please, thank you very much. There she is. The Under Armour
11:54 Charged Phantom SL, another unique offering for 2023 that I think a lot of you at home
12:00 would like. You can see it looks very much like a running trainer, like the Cole Haan, actually.
12:04 It is based off a running trainer. Now, knit uppers, what do we think? Let me know. I really
12:10 like them. They're really lightweight. Thanks to Under Armour's Never Wet technology, it's like a
12:14 spray they put on top of the shoe, this is fully waterproof. It might not look like it, but you
12:19 could step into a puddle and no water's getting in. That's really impressive. When you consider
12:24 how good this outsole is for a spikeless outsole, I've spoken about a couple that won't work so
12:29 great in fully wet conditions. This one will. This one is absolutely brilliant in all conditions.
12:35 We've seen it on a couple of Under Armour shoes from last year, and I thought they were great.
12:38 I'm really happy to see it on this shoe. Love the chunky outsole, looks-wise, very on-trend,
12:43 and they're super lightweight. I love the looks. That outsole is an absolute highlight. If you want
12:48 something a bit more casual, they're still pretty unique and really, really comfortable. This is a
12:52 great option this year. Final shoe we're going to talk about in this video is the G4 MG4 Plus. Now,
12:58 it's not strictly a new shoe for this year, but here at Golf Run Thru, we love G4 shoes. There
13:03 are some new colorways in this one for this year, so that's worth a shout out, I think, in the least.
13:07 Now, this is another classic hybrid shoe. You can wear it on and off the course really easily. For
13:13 me, the absolute highlight-- This was all G4 shoes because they all feature it-- is the footbed,
13:18 the insole that massages your feet. How about that? It's got little nubs on the inside, so as
13:23 your foot inches along in the shoe every now and again, you get a little foot massage in that. Who
13:27 wouldn't want that? This shoe features it. The MG4 X2 I spoke about last year has it, the Galavanta,
13:33 and they come in some awesome colorways. As I said, a couple of new ones this year that we love.
13:37 Just the perfect hybrid shoe, that sawtooth outsole you can see, gives really great grip all year
13:43 round, actually. It's a slightly more unique offering, but really low profile, great on harder
13:47 surfaces when you're off the golf course, and great on it as well in pretty much all conditions.
13:52 New colorways for this year, and that footbed, that insole that massages your foot, who wouldn't
13:56 want that? The MG4 Plus, an absolute standout for 2023. There we have it. Those were 11 of the best
14:03 shoes of 2023. A lot of variety in there, I think. A lot of different styles, spiked and spiker. I
14:10 hope there's one in there that you like the look of. Which one would you go for out of those 11,
14:14 or have I missed out a shoe completely that you think should have had a mention in this video?
14:18 Let me know down in the comments. I would love to hear from you. As I said, I have to crown a winner,
14:24 and it was really, really close this year. I've got to say, great year for spiked models. It was
14:28 really close to the Adidas ZG23, which as I said, I've used a lot this year. I've really enjoyed it.
14:33 The Painter XW4RS, great new model for this year. Really, really impressive. Again, a spiked shoe,
14:40 but the winner, and only just, it just edged it, was, thank you very much, here it is. It's the
14:46 Footjoy Hyperflex Carbon. The thing that took it over the line for me, because it's very similar
14:50 to those shoes, is that Ortholite Impressions footbed. So, so soft. As soon as you take it
14:56 out of the box, and then it molds to your foot, it feels fantastic. I think for my winner of 2023,
15:01 a pretty good-looking shoe as well. There you have it. Thank you very much for joining me
15:06 from West Hill. I'll see you next time. [music]