When I first started playing, I used to think that shoes were shoes. And so I played with a succession of budget priced shoes from a local department store. However, I’ve found that there clearly ARE differences between shoes that make a difference in my score. I think shoes are like everythign else in golf. You’ve got to find the right one for you.

Adidas’ Mens Tour 360 Golf Shoes is the latest high tech shoe.

You can read the entire press release below:

I’m of the age where I can’t even think about shoes without hearing the voice of Mars Blackmon saying “It’s Gotta Be The Shoes!”

After the last round of golf I played, my feet were suffering from blisters, and I thought to myself “It’s gotta be the shoes”. So I went shoe shopping at Golfsmith in Novi, Michigan the and tried on about twenty pair of shoes.

The variety of shoes out now truly is bewildering. There had to be a hundred—including of all things—sandals.

I was looking for a pair designed for walking—and that wasn’t over $100. Further, they had to be black or brown. I really don’t like white.

After spending about an hour, I had the choice down to three:

The Callaway Sport Comfort in Black

This is a good looking shoe with athletic shoe comfort. The toe box is plenty and the arch support felt good. It also had a neat feature: under the sole is a removable panel which somehow adjust the inside width of the shoe. I looked at it for quite a while but couldn’t figure out how it worked. But sure as shootin’, when you remove the panel, the shoe feels wider.

My only complaint was that it felt a bit stiff out of the box.

The Nike SP-5 Brown

This Nike shoe is a bit less traditional looking, but I thought it would do. The first thing I noticed is that it runs small. I normally wear a 9 or 9 1/2 wide. I had to go all the way up to a 10 1/2 to get one that would fit. But at that, it fit well. Still, after walking around in the shoe for a while, I got the sense that they would do better as a “cart shoe” than a shoe for someone who walks three rounds a week.

E-Comfort Black/Black Weave

I’ve worn the FootJoy E-Comfort shoes for the last two seasons, and have really liked them. Still, I expected that there would be some new shoes that I liked better.  But I kept returning to them. They are lightweight, flexible, and comfortable. Like a pair of pre-washed jeans, they feel like old friends from the moment I put them on.

So that’s what I bought. A size 9 wide black with black weave Footjoy E Comforts.

Now its off to the club.