ECCO, already known for its fashion-forward approach to golf shoes, took things a step further (sorry) with the Street Premiere. The company describes the model as “street inspired” and encourages buyers to wear the shoes “both on and off the course.”
Try that with your grandfather’s tassled metal spikes.
ECCO’s Street Premiere features distressed-leather uppers, a removable Cambrelle-covered insole, and pre-molded traction bars. Pre-molded traction bars? It means that despite the absence of spikes - metal, soft or otherwise - these babies grip the turf like honest-to-goodness golf shoes.
The Dutch company, one of the world’s biggest shoe brands, isn’t the only manufacturer pushing the style envelope. In their never-ending quest for youthful consumers, companies like Nike and Puma offer shoes that would look right at home in a half-pipe.
A quick glance at these industry giants’ unconventional products:
Nike Air Anthem
Unlike ECCO, Nike’s entry is outfitted with spikes. (So much for the bowling alley.) But the Air Anthem kicks tradition to the cart-path curb with a low-profile setup reminiscent of tennis shoes. Built for comfort and waterproof, to boot, the Air Anthem is made from soft synthetic leather,
UGG 5803 Sale, with a full-length Phylon midsole and… suffice it to say you needn’t worry about blisters.
Puma Cell Fusion
We think these shoes are ultra-hip, but don’t take our word for it. Puma’s marketing department ups the cool quotient by stating, “If James Bond played golf, he’d wear this shoe.” Guess the lads at Puma never saw Goldfinger. But we’ll give them a pass on this one,
Uggs Boots Sale, because the Cell Fusion is quite cool indeed.
Puma trumpets its shoes’ state-of-the-art SmartQuill spikes and the optimum traction provided by “directional locking technology.” The Cell Fusion is available in black-white and white-snorkel blue.
Aside from ECCO,
UGG Cove Boots Sale, Nike and Puma, companies defying stodgy tradition include adidas, Callaway and Asics, a newcomer to the golf shoe wars. Even old-guard brands like FootJoy and Etonic offer youth-skewing models, while upstart Brisole has quickly gained a foothold in the market.