| Product: |
Adidas Tour Traxion Golf Shoe |
| Date: |
29/03/08 (250 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: Comfortable, waterproof, stylish, good grip.
Disadvantages: Make sure you break them in properly before you hit the golf course!
I wasn't over enamoured! The runner-up spot in a team competition last summer at my golf club won me a new pair of golf shoes. Problem was, they weren't the Footjoy brand that I normally wear and which have served me well down through the years, but a pair of white Adidas shoes with black stripes which for all the world looked like a pair of my teenage daughter's trainers.
I was even less enamoured when I discovered that they hadn't been purchased in the club professional's shop, which meant I couldn't exchange them for something else. Not that they were a bad looking pair of shoes mind you. Called the "Adidas Tour Traxion" they are a slightly less expensive version of Adidas's best selling golf shoe, the "Tour 360", which is worn by many of the top tour professionals.
Anyways, as my old pair of Footjoy Dryjoys were becoming slightly the worse for wear, (hardly surprising the amount of golf I play!) and being a true Scotsman who never looks a gift horse in the mouth, (heh, heh) I decided to try them out. The first couple of rounds I played were fine. Comfortable, didn't let in the water, and with their new soft spike system they kept my feet firmly anchored to old terra firma when I was taking a swing.
Then I played in a prestigious Scratch Cup that I had been gearing up to make a run at for ages. From about the third hole the trouble started! The constant ache in the ball of my left foot was bad enough, but then my heels began to rub on the high heel backs, and by the end of the first nine holes I was nearly crippled, and my only thought was to get the damn things off my feet as soon as humanly possible. I was in agony, and all thought of performing well in the tournament had gone!
So it was straight into the pro shop at the end of the round, out with the old moth eaten wallet, (all Scotsmen have moth eaten wallets!) and Euro125 later I was again the proud owner of a new pair of Footjoy Aqualites. (Great golf shoes)
The Adidas shoes were then relegated to my golfing gear graveyard (the hall cupboard) and gathered dust until about two weeks ago, when I came across them again in a periodic (and rare!) clear out. By this time my new pair of Footjoys were just about due a new set of rubber cleats (the spikes in the sole of the shoe that give you grip) so I reluctantly decided to give the Adidas shoes another chance, and to wear them for a round at my local club while my Footjoys were getting refurbished.
Surprise! No problems at all. In fact, I've now worn them for the last half a dozen rounds I've played, and am quite taken with them. If anything they are slightly more stylish than my regular pair of Footjoys. (Which are conservatively styled)
The shoes are comfortable, afford me excellent traction, and their "cushioned soles", that they expound about at length in their advertising, actually seem to work, as my feet are in grand shape at the end of a round with no pains or aches. The cushioned soles (and heels) are made out of a material called "Adiprene", which sounds suspiciously like golf "double speak" to me. (Designed to sound good, but doesn't actually mean anything!) But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and they *ARE* comfortable. I suppose I'll just have to put down my initial unpleasant experience with them to the newness of the shoe, and the fact that they weren't broken in. The foam inserts in the soles also seem to be working well, as I have no pains in the balls of my feet, a common problem with golfers that I've suffered from for years.
They use a dual grip system called "Z - Traction", which means that as well as the regular cleats, they also have "Z" grooves in the rubber soles, which supposedly give you extra grip. (It seems to work fine, so who am I to argue?)
The other worry that I had was that they wouldn't be able to stand up to the vagaries of the Irish weather, and that a good proportion of the copious amounts of rain we get here in the Emerald Isle would find its way inside the shoe, and that my feet would be permanently sopping! (Not advisable) I needn't have worried. They are every bit as good as my Footjoys at keeping out the old H2O; in fact, Adidas are so sure of their waterproof qualities that they give you a one year warranty in regard to their waterproofing ability. They call their waterproofing system "Climaproof". (Another piece of golf double speak!)
The shoes are easy to keep clean. This is also important here in Ireland, because our golf courses are often very muddy. (Especially in the winter months) I could polish my Footjoys (black) but was wondering how to best go about keeping a pair of white golf shoes in pristine condition? Simple enough. You just clean the leather uppers with a damp cloth, sometimes with a drop of washing up liquid if they are very dirty, and they quickly look like new again.
Adidas Tour Traxion come in a variety of styles and colours, so if you fancy a pair you should be able to find some that suit your own sartorial taste. They are freely available on the Web at a variety of outlets, and will be stocked in almost all good golf professional shops or golfing super stores.
I didn't buy my pair but they have a RRP of £79.95. As always, shop around for the best price and to find a bargain.
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© KenJ March 2008
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Summary: Good quality pair of golf shoes at a reasonable price.
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