Crocs Golf Shoes: Let me start by saying that I have never ever owned a pair of Crocs, nor have I ever wanted to own a pair of Crocs. This is not to say I have never bought a pair – it’s just the opposite as I think I have plopped down cash for at least 12 pairs between my three kids, but zippy Crocs for this guy. So in the spirit of non-judgmental reviews, I figured I was the perfect choice.

Why I never owned a pair of Crocs

I first became aware of the Croc Golf shoes at the 2012 PGA show  while strolling around the 9 million square foot venue . . . I literally made a double take when I passed their booth. What I saw reminded me of Crocs but were somehow different, somehow much cooler, somehow not as “crocish” as the Crocs my kids decorated with doo-dads and stomped around in. Well one thing led to another and the next thing you know, three pairs showed up and I was off to the races.

Croc Braydn Golf Shoe

Unlike some golf shoe companies that have basically one look with various color options, Crocs are widely styled but maintain the distintive Croc look – kinda like the Baldwin brothers. So no matter if it is in a saddle, black or wing-tip version, the Crocs vibe is apparent and unmistakeable. While I liked all three styles, I was pretty jacked that the black Braydn version was my size.

Croc Braydn Golf Shoe

One of the first things I noticed was the nubbed insoles, which is kind of like having a Sharper Image foot massager inside your shoe. Nothing new to long time Croc lovers, but a whole new ball game for me. I have no idea of the science behind the Crocs but there is definitely a springy feeling when you walk, much like a new running shoe has. I guess this should not come as a surprise as Crocs whole gig is that they make virtual sponge for your feet.

Crocs Preston Golf Shoe

In terms of the sole, I think one of the best features is the matching accent color they used to tie the whole shoe together, ie green sole with shoes that have a green trim and orange sole with the orange trim. As for the actual cleats, they are plentiful and sturdy. There is no slipping with these shoes as you have a virtual mouth full of gator teeth to grab the earth. As and added bonus, there is a nice gripping sound when you walk on pavement that reminds me of the days of metal spikes but in the rubber version. Despite the excellent traction, the spikes are not too bulky allowing you wear them anywhere without feeling like you are wearing golf shoes. In fact, I am pretty sure these are the same shoes Hank Haney wears 24/7 – or at least every time he is on TV (same thing?).

Crocs Preston Golf Shoe

For the purposes of this review, I took my new Crocs to Pinehurst for a 3 day, 5 round golf outing. I figured, what better way to see how they hold up. From a comfort standpoint, I love ’em. 36 holes in one day demands a shoe with lots of cushion and is not too bulky. Moreover, I was not is any rush to shed the shoes in between rounds or even after we finished our marathon day. In fact, I put them on in the morning and did not take them off until nearly 8pm (as opposed to a bunch of guys who would quickly ditch their spikes to throw on their flip flops as soon as they finished their 1st round).

Crocs Drayden Golf Shoe

While Croc golf shoes certainly have a “look”, I personally like the style and have made them my current shoe of choice. The only issue I found, and I think this would be the case for any non-traditional spiked shoe, is in pine-straw. While I had no problem with grip in the fairway, sand or rough, I did find it a bit hard to “dig in” when hitting out of deep pine-straw which is prevalent in Pinehurst. Other than that, I was absolutely thrilled with the Croc golf shoes.

Crocs Drayden Golf Shoe

A quick note on the Drayden shoe which is slightly different than the others as there are holes throughout allowing for added ventilation. This is a really nice feature for summer time play.

Finally, all of the Crocs are less than $100 so they will not break the bank. My only wish list item would be that they were offered in half sizes.

So there you have it, a full confession from a former Croc hater. I am going all in, these buggers have style, performance and comfort. What more do you want? Hank Haney’s name inside? Oh yea, they have that too.

You can learn more on the Crocs website.

Three Guys Golf Blog is giving away TWO FREE pairs of Crocs!

We are giving away 2 pairs (your choice of style and size). Simply leave us a comment or tweet this post. Contest ends June 22th. We would sure love for you to follow us on Twitter too!

Winners: CONGRATS to Logan and @chineline

Adidas Samba Golf Shoes: Raise your hand if you know what Adidas Samba shoes are. To those of you with your hands up, congrats on being at least semi-conscious for most of your life. To those of you who have not raised your hand, I’m guessing you don’t know who Kim Kardashian is either, which is downright criminal. The fact is, the Adidas Samba is one the most iconic shoes in history, alongside the Converse All-Star and the Nike Air Jordan (sorry Doc Marten, a solid 90’s run does not an icon make). Born with soccer DNA, Sambas quickly went mainstream, and even through times when they’re not necessarily the hottest shoe out there, they can always be found out and about.

Need I say more?

Well folks, Adidas bought Taylor Made a while back and got serious about golf, so guess what . . . behold the Adidas SAMBA golf shoe.

I guess I’ll go ahead and let the cat out of the bag now – these things are awesome. I don’t even know where to begin, except to say that the following review, as always, is just one guy’s take on where Sambas fit into the spectrum, so please don’t be upset if your stylish shoes happen to catch some of the shrapnel.

A few years back the golf shoe industry finally started adding some new concepts to the traditional line of the ol’ Foot Joy look . . . problem was, for some reason they thought people wanted their golf shoes to look like running or basketball shoes. Not cool running or basketball shoes, mind you, but shoes that you would wear to work at a nursing home or bagging groceries. If you don’t know the type, just take a look at what my boy Tiger wears 3 out of 4 days (sigh). There was a weird timeframe a while back when a few of my buddies started showing up to courses with these behemoths on, and I could never get a read on what was up: did they just get a really bad Xmas gift from their father-in-law, had they recently incurred some mild form of head trauma, or were they just suffering through a sudden flare-up of the gout?

Okay, then in 2011 the clouds opened up and we suddenly had a whole new wave of “alternative” golf shoes – nice! Companies started coming out with a cooler version of golf shoes, and in theory I was right on board. The problem for me, however, was that still none of these offerings really put the whole package together. They didn’t look like boring golf shoes, but they also didn’t really look like legitimate cool shoes either; maybe they didn’t have the athletic slant I’d like to see, they often took on more of a “skater shoe” look, which is not my speed. Some of them seemed to struggle with keeping the soles under 2 inches thick, which puts my brain right back to nursing shoes. Others kept the sole nice and thin, but as I’m told, lacked in comfort as a result. And finally, as anti-establishment as I may sound at times (in a really lame golf-y way, of course), I have to ask – when did we decide that standard soft-spikes were no longer king? A lot of the new shoes went with different little nubs that supposedly grip the turf just as well as spikes, something I still haven’t completely signed off on yet.

Then came my pair of Adidas Samba golf shoes. Simply put, they look like normal shoes with spikes attached . . . finally someone figured it out! They have the same low lines as a standard Samba, which makes you wonder how much cushion they can actually provide. To that point . . .

I have what my podiatrist calls “the feet of a 76 year-old overweight marathon runner with bad feet”. At least once every summer someone at the beach will look over and exclaim “what . . . how do you buy shoes?”, and I can’t stand on the concrete floors of a Lowe’s or Home Depot for more than 20 minutes without putting a significant negative spin on my day. So unlike most of my golf purchasing habits, I’ve always been willing to buck up and pop for the nicest pair of golf shoes out there, or at least the second-nicest (I’m not P. Diddy for crying out loud). And those high end traditional shoes usually did the trick – I was never in pain at the end of a round, unless maybe I walked a long 18. Anyway, enough of the build up, these Sambas are the most comfortable golf shoes I’ve worn to date. They don’t feel like golf shoes, they just feel like good sneakers. Good sneakers that look a bit more stylish than the standard, look athletic and not clunky, and still have soft-spikes that are actually spikes.

If you can’t tell, I’m a fan of these buggers. I guess it all makes sense – Adidas has been excelling at making shoes for the better part of a century . . . perhaps they decided it was time to show the golf industry how it’s done.

NOTE: The only issue I have with the Samba shoes are that they are not water proof so if you play a lot of rounds in the morning with heavy dew, this will be an issue.

You can learn more about the Adidas Samba golf shoes on their website and see high res pictures on our Facebook gallery.

True Linkswear PHX Review: Unlike every other product I have reviewed to date, I was genuinely worried that I would not like the True Linkswear PHX golf shoe. While I had heard all good stuff about the shoes, I was just not convinced they were for me.

Basically, I had three concerns: the style, the comfort and the traction. Let’s take these in order.

While the low profile street shoes are becoming more common, True Linkswear still have a rather unique look. Not only is the sole very thin but the toe area is much wider than any shoe I have worn in the past. Normally I judge a shoe’s look on the overhead view because that is the perspective I get when I am putting. Admittedly, it took a while for me to become accustomed to the wider toe but they have honestly grown on me. Other than my wife, I get a lot of compliments, and lets face it, my wife thinks I look like a dope most days anyhow. However, the real gem in my opinion is the contrasting blue sole which is super cool and a feature I loved from the get-go.

From a comfort standpoint the one thing you instantly notice is that walking is a completely different experience than in traditional golf shoes. You can actually feel the ground beneath your feet. Said again, you can literally feel the contours on the green as you size up a putt. While I am not nearly good enough with the flatstick to take advantage of this feature, I can see how it would help (at least sub-consciously). Of course it would stand to reason that with little apparent cushion, my feet should be sore after walking eighteen but that was not the case at all. My suspicion is that because True Linkswear are so much lighter than typical golf shoes, your feet are net winners in the cushion for weight trade-off. The bottom line is that I have found the shoes to be incredibly comfortable.

Not since Kung Fu has feeling the earth been so cool

My final concern was about the traction since the soles have much smaller spikes than a traditional shoe. Despite playing winter golf in NC, I did not have any slippage issues and as for the life span of the spikes, I have worn them for about 4 weeks (10 or so rounds) and they have not shown much wear.

Finally, from a value stand point, the True Linkswear PHX edition (which is what I have), run just under $100 putting them in the mid-range for street shoes. True Linkswear does carry a number of higher-end lines, but as an entry shoe the phx are an amazingly comfortable shoe.

You can learn more from the True Linkswear PHX on their website and see additional photos on our Facebook Page.

Kikkor Golf Shoes: Over the past few weeks I have had the privilege of wearing the Men’s Dress Sneaker from Kikkor Golf. While I have read a number of reviews that speak to the comfort of these shoes I was interested to see how they would work for me as I still suffer from damage done to a herniated disc in my lower back. Since that time, I’ve been wearing shoes without spikes to combat the foot fatigue and pounding that I could not avoid with shoes that have cleats. Up to now, I have found the only good solution has been to wear cross-training shoes with Gore-Tex, but there were times that I missed the traction of a standard golf shoe.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve worn the Kikkor Golf shoes to hit balls, chip and putt, and walk a few rounds. In each case, I have been really pleased with the results. The shoes have a very solid base with soft rubber spikes built into the sole. Although they are not large spikes, I found they were well placed on the bottom of the shoe and gripped the ground well. The big bonus for me was that my feet did not feel any pressure from the impression of the spike on the bottom of my foot like I normally do in regular spiked shoes.

Kikkor Golf recommends staying off of cement as much as possible to add to the life of the spikes which is a good idea since this was really the only issue we had with the shoe. In our experience the spikes on the Dress shoe tended to wear down with regular use. Stability wise, the shoe performed well on all types of ground and the water-proof element seems to be effective. While I was not in any downpours, I did step in some deep mud puddles and came out as dry as I went in.

These particular Kikkor Golf shoes have a kind of ‘white wall’ around the shoe that does pick up mud here in NC where winter mud is a staple on most golf courses, but it wasn’t hard to give them a wipe down when I was done to restore the shoe to looking shiny again. As for the comfort of my back, I didn’t feel the shoes needed breaking in; they were comfortable from the start and my knees, hips and feet were all very happy after spending several hours walking and playing. I am very glad to know about this company, and I think you will be too.

You can learn more about Kikkor Golf shoes on their website and  see our Facebook Gallery for pictures of the Tenny and Retro style Kikkor Golf shoes.