Serious golfers are always looking for products that not only will improve their game, but maybe add some comfort and flexibility. How about in their shoes?
Every aspect of golf has gone high tech over the past decade including, believe it or not, shoes.
I was recently able to take the ECCO Golf Street Premier shoes for a test drive, and I can say I’m very impressed. These are the same shoes that Fred Couples just wore to victory in the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship, so if their good enough for Freddie, they must be good enough for us weekend players.
They are, and with the hybrid feel, you almost feel like leaving these shoes on wherever you go, and you can.
The shoe looks great and it performs perfectly. It’s the first and only true hybrid sport-casual shoe, With new colors and styles for 2011, including a men’s luxury version featuring high-grade uppers made from genuine camel leather, ECCO has outdone themselves. Designed to be worn both on and off the course, its unique versatility is based on a comfortably engineered outsole that has approximately 100 molded traction bars with more than 800 tractions angles.
Providing excellent grip in all conditions, the wear-resistant and highly durable outsole is constructed from a TPU material that has been shown to last five times longer than rubber. The shoes may be the most durable golf shoes I’ve ever worn. Usually after playing a round, I notice scuffs and marks on the shoes, not with these.
The Danish maker of shoes, ECCO, a world leading brand of shoes combining style and comfort, has built its success on uncompromising quality, innovative technology and the design philosophy, “the shoe must follow the foot.” ECCO is the only major shoe manufacturer to own and manage every step of the shoemaking process.
Fred Couples gives his endorsement to these shoes, and ECCO is happy to be affiliated with Fred.
“Fred really just epitomizes cool in every situation, and looked great all week wearing Golf Street without socks,” says Jesper Thuen, Marketing Manager, ECCO Golf. “He has the choice to wear any shoe in the world, but picks our hybrid styles because they provide him with comfort, stability and performance that can’t be equaled.”
ECCO golf shoes are also worn in competition by scores of international Tour stars, including Graeme McDowell, Thomas Bjorn, Stuart Appleby, Thongchai Jaidee, Aaron Baddeley, Thorbjørn Olesen, Bradley Dredge, Belen Mozo, Gerina Piller and Jennifer Johnson and many others.
As a bonus, the shoes came with an extra set of laces and they are orange. So if you really want to be noticed for something more than your play, lace it up with the orange laces this fall. Call it your Halloween costume. The shoes retail for about $139 and worth it in you need comfort while on the course.
Rick Limpert covers sports, technology and events in and around Atlanta.