Are golf shoes necessary for a good game?

You’ll find specialist footwear across countless sports: Football, cricket, and even ten-pin bowling all require their own shoes for you to enjoy the best results.

At first glance, you might not think this includes golf shoes. After all, most of the game is walking from hole to hole. You can do that wearing regular athletic shoes, like trainers, right?

But in reality, you need golf shoes. Modern golf shoes are an essential component of achieving a low score, and offer a plethora of benefits golfers simply can’t do without. Especially at a higher level.

At GolfShoes.co.uk, we're home to many golf shoes you can use to improve your game, expand your golfing wardrobe and impress your fellow golfers.

With this in mind, let’s dive deeper into why golf shoes – both spiked and spikeless golf shoes – are a must-have when you're playing golf.

Why are golf shoes compulsory?

Golf is a sport that exploded during an era steeped in formality. Since spiked golf shoes (specifically metal spikes) were the norm at the time (around the mid-eighteen hundreds) official rules stated players were required to wear such shoes, for fairness across play.

As time has passed, these rules have relaxed over the decades as golf shoe designs and the overall approach to the game changed. Today, you’ll find spikeless golf shoes and golf shoes styled after your favourite trainers wandering around courses the world over.

However, for all that’s changed, you’ll still find that wearing golf shoes is compulsory on almost all golf courses; it’s rare you’ll find a long-standing course that will allow you to wear whatever you want.

Whether this is to promote consistency across all players, to uphold a sense of tradition, or for strategic purposes is unclear. But what is clear is that golf shoes, whatever type you choose, are still the ideal choice for a reason.

How golf shoes help lower your score

• Increased stability

They may look pretty from afar, but golf courses aren’t the safest places in the world.

Slippery hillsides and uneven ground are just some of the dangers you can expect when strolling from the tee to the pin.

In regular shoes, you might not be as stable as you’d like to be. Especially given you’re also expected to swing a club and potentially throw yourself off balance.

But golf shoes provide the underfoot grip you need to remain firm from the top of your golf swing to the follow-through, even when striking from an angle or in awkward weather conditions. This is especially true for spiked shoes.

• Greater power

Regular shoes, like formal shoes or trainers, may look impressive and be relatively comfortable. But on the golf course, they could actually harm your chances at shooting personal-best drives or hitting your longest fairway wood or golf iron shots.

That’s because these shoes aren’t built to grip the ground in any capacity. But golf shoes are equipped with special technology to grab hold of the ground below, helping you plant your feet and generate fantastic power, so your shots fly further.

In the case of spiked golf shoes, this is achieved with cleats. But spikeless golf shoes can achieve similar results, thanks to innovative underfoot indentations and patterns.

• Heightened accuracy

The stability mentioned above also assists in another aspect of your game: accuracy.

To achieve the best scores we can, we need to hit the ball as straight as possible every time. But even the slightest of shifts in our foot position mid-swing can result in a disastrous shot.

In other words, what was to be a pin-seeking missile could have veered off into the nearest pile of bushes beside the fairway, all because our feet moved when they weren’t supposed to.

But with golf shoes, your feet benefit from greater traction with the grass, so there’s far less movement than there would have been had you been wearing regular shoes.

Spiked vs spikeless golf shoes: Which should you choose?

This is a question that’s plagued golfer’s minds since spikeless shoes began gaining momentum.

But, ultimately, it depends on the type of playing experience you expect, the shoes that you’re used to and whether you’re willing to make any compromises.

If you’re unsure, here’s a good rule of thumb:

• If you value stability and control above all else, traditional spiked golf shoes are a good choice.

• If you appreciate modern style and an easy walking experience, go with spikeless golf shoes.

Pick up a brand new pair of golf shoes at GolfShoes.co.uk

If most golf shoes you've worn haven't been up to scratch, or you're simply in the mood for a new pair, you’ll find everything you could ever need and more at GolfShoes.co.uk.

As an official UK stockist of some of the leading brands in the sport today – including Nike, FootJoy, adidas, and more – we’re your go-to choice for all things golf shoes.

Whether you're looking for shoes made with waterproof materials, ones worn by professional golfers, ones with spikeless outsoles, or something else entirely, you'll find something among our range that'll have you playing better golf in no time.

Take a look at our selection at the link above, or get in touch with a member of the team if you need a helping hand with your purchase.