Shoes!

My solution for arch and heel support in my shoes, street and golf, comes from Dr. Scholls. Makes a marginal pair of shoes feel wnderful!

A 'last' is the template the shoe is made to, has nothing to do with arch support


These will give you no indication of a shoes comfort and even if the heel cup is quite stiff it still will not control excess pronation (if you have any). Try it on!

Agree, cheap shoes are usually a load of **** and buying em cheap on the net is possibly a false economy, unless of course you've tried a pair on in the shop first.

If your feet are painfull and you can't remedy the cause, go see a Podiatrist for and assesment

BTW I'm a Podiatrist (well nearly, only 1 year to go).

Michael,

You are so right good shoes can make a big difference to your game, if you are uncomfortable then your game will suffer.

There are three comfort rules in life:

Good pair of shoes

Good bed

Good chair infront of the television (with golf on of course)


You spend most of you life doing these three, make it comfortable.


Good thread


Ian.

I never tried golf shoes. It never even occurred to me to do so. I don't have any trouble with foot pain, so that's not an issue.

What difference do golf shoes make?

IMHO, I think they make a difference. They give you some extra grip so you don't lose your footing when you hit a ball. I bought a pair of 'alias' golf shoes about a month ago. They are not the formal kind. They are the athletic kind and very comfortable. I love to walk and these have virtually no break in period. Got it at www.zappos.com for about $ 63.00.

If it makes any difference, famed course designer Pete Dye plays in running shoes.

If I try to play in normal trainers I fall all over the place. I bought a pair of addidas summer golf shoes when I played a few years ago and am still wearing them now (I took them off inbetween rounds though).

Do fat people tend to have flat feet because all that downward weight forces the flattening of the arches? Amongst my friends, it seems only the fat ones have flat feet. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Good shoes?

One word.

FOOTJOY!

It never occurred to you to wear golf shoes to play golf?

I assume you are joking?

Would you go skiing without wearing skis?

Do you see many pros wearing trainers on the course?

Not joking.

I don't wear trainers either. I wear sturdy walking shoes. You can't ski without wearing skis. Are you claiming you can't hit a golf ball without wearing golf shoes? If that *is* the claim, then please explain it: What difference do golf shoes make to swinging a golf club? It's a serious question. I've always considered golf shoes an optional accessory, like a golf glove (which I do use). Nobody ever gave me any reason to think they are essential--as skis are to skiing.

IMO, you need something with a good grip. Especially the speed at which you swing the club, one must be able to maintain balance. Have you noticed, when the pros hit their shots, their left foot does not turn at all. Even after their swing is complete, I have noticed their left foot still pointing sideways. Try doing that with sneakers. I don't think it is possible.

Again, there are many golfers who do not wear golf shoes so do as you feel what's right for you. This is a hard enough game as it is and I want to make sure that at least I have the right equipment.

Yup, I don't think sneakers/trainers are a good bet. I use walking shoes with a decent tread, mainly because I don't want to slip. As for the turning of the left foot...I never noticed. But I *have* noticed that many golfers flare the left foot out at setup, which almost suggests that they'd *like* it to be able to turn out in the follow-through.

Ubizmo, the flare out is to allow the hips to clear more easily.

Big Sheesh, I was never fat as a kid (and neither was my wife), but we both have flat feet.

Yes, and I do that myself. My thought was that if the left/lead foot were to turn on the ground a bit, that wouldn't be a bad thing. In fact, the action of twisting the body to the left without twisting the foot seems to me to put quite a stress on the ligaments of the leg and hip. Flaring the left foot reduces this somewhat. As I understand it, the main feature of golf shoes is that they have cleats, which would prevent any turning of the foot once it's planted on the ground. The right/trailing foot, of course, pivots by lifting up, so the cleats no longer grab the ground. But as I rotate my hip and come around through the swing, I put a lot of pressure on my left/lead foot. Why wouldn't I want to allow it to turn a bit, to relieve that pressure? The pressure would be at its greatest in the finish.

My feeling is, I want shoes with enough tread to provide a stable stance, and to prevent sliding, especially when I'm not on level ground. And I want support for my feet for the swing-walk-stop-swing pace of golf. But I don't think I want or need my feet to be planted in the ground so that they can't turn at all. I recognize that others may prefer this feeling, but is there any reason why I should put up with it?

__________________
Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller