When I hit the lottery, these are the shoes I’m going to buy. For my money, Eccos are the best golf shoes made. But they’re a little pricey. And at $399.99, these are a LOT pricey.

Still, you apparently get what you pay for. The Ecco World Class Wing Tips combine leather, GoreTex and thermoplastic polyurethane to create a lightweight, flexible, long-lasting, breathable shoe.

I love the Eccos I bought last year and it would take a great deal of convincing to get me to go to another brand. But $399? Whew.

ECCO Classic Hydromax - Cognac

As I wrote earlier this year, Eccos are the best golf shoe I have ever bought—bar none.

Acting on my advice, a friend recently bought a pair of these Classic Hydromaxes, and now he, too, has declared them to be the best.

I can tell you this: for the first time in years, I am not going to have to buy a new pair of shoes at the beginning of the next season. With all of the walking I do (40 or so rounds this summer), I grind my regular Footjoys into the ground, wearing out soles, insoles and stitching. The Eccos I have still look and feel new.

ADIDAS Men s University-White/Red

For those who like the athletic shoe look on the course, Adidas offers a new design called The University. It looks just like Adidas’ running shoes, but is has golf in mind. The University has a wide platfom for swing stability, Traxion lugs and replacable soft spikes. Adiprene—Adidas’ proprietary moisture management system—is used in the construction.

It comes in five different color combinations. I personally like the white-red.

Tehama makes golf shoes?

Apparently.

TEHAMA Links - Tan Firenze

I watched a chick flick called Elizabethtown with my wife the other night (it’s the penance I do for getting time by myself on the course). The movie starts out with an athletic shoe designer who has wasted a billion dollars by creating a hideous monstrostity that no one wants. The company owner said that people would rather go around in bare feet.

The strange thing was that the shoe looked an awful lot like some of the golf shoes I’ve seen lately on the walls of my local Golfsmith.

It’s a disturbing trend in golf shoes: they’re turning into basketball shoes—overblown, overdesigned and garish. Many of the latest designs would look more at home on the feet of an overly tattooed NBA thug than on a golf pro.

Exhibit Number One: The NIKE Shox

It’s bad enough that its running shoe design makes it incompatable with anything I can wear at my home course (where jeans and athletic pants are forbidden). Wearing sneakers with pleated Dockers just makes you look like Bill Gates. The worst part though, is the bizarre red shock absorbers that make it look like a kid’s toy. My son has a toy truck with similar struts.

The Shox is just one example of many in Nike’s stable of shoes.

My other gripe involves the shoes with the massive Swooshes. It is as though the swoosh itself improves your game.